My $10 Casio beats every smartwatch I’ve tried

I've been down the smartwatch rabbit hole more times than I care to admit. I've tried Apple and Android smartwatches, fitness bands, and several other computers you can put on your wrist. They're great if you're looking to track workouts or manage notifications, but they're not as good as a much cheaper watch.

There's a good chance I'll probably never buy another smartwatch. That's because the $10 Casio I've been wearing for the last decade does everything a watch should, often better than smartwatches that can cost up to 30 times more.

It's as durable as watches can get

Survives drops, water, and time

Anyone who knows even a little about watches knows that Casios have a reputation for being practically indestructible. I was gifted my F-200 as a birthday present by my dad in the ninth standard back in 2014. It's not specifically built for durability like Casio's G-Shock lineup, but the watch has held up to some extreme abuse in the 11 years I've been wearing it.

I have a habit of wearing my watch around the clock, meaning it never leaves my wrist until I have to take it off for situations like security checks at the airport. It has been through accidents, crashes, heavy rain, storms, underwater, and extreme temperatures. While the surface is pretty dinged up with all sorts of scratches, the watch and all its buttons are still perfectly functional.

Credit: Yadullah Abidi / MakeUseOf

I've previously daily-driven a Galaxy Gear Sport, Galaxy Watch 4, Galaxy Watch 6, Pixel Watch 2, and Apple Watch Series 9 in addition to trying out a bunch of others from the likes of Garmin, Fitbit, and more. I didn't treat any of these smartwatches with special care, but I was always worried about banging them into doorframes or getting their surfaces scratched up. With my F-200, I never have to give it another thought.

The Casio is also far lighter and thinner than just about any smartwatch you can find on the market. You quickly forget that you're wearing it, and the subconscious worry of damaging your expensive smartwatch goes away.

That said, I've had straps fail or break after everyday use. Even then, I've only had to change the strap twice over the last 11 years. They barely cost anything and are readily available at just about every watch repair shop you can find.

Battery life that actually lives up to its promise

Years of use, not hours on a charger

As someone who wears a watch 24/7, I wasn't used to the concept of charging one. This meant that in my initial smartwatch days, I often ran out of battery when going about my day, turning a functional watch into an expensive bracelet with no purpose. I eventually did get used to the idea of charging my watches, often during morning showers or when I was asleep at night.

However, the fact that I couldn't be away from a power source for more than 24 hours just to keep my watch running doesn't sit well. Yes, there are battery-saving modes on smartwatches that can extend battery life for as much as 30 days at a stretch, but the watch loses all of its extra functionality at that point.

Credit: Yadullah Abidi / MakeUseOf

My Casio, on the other hand, claims a 10-year battery life on the watch face. To Casio's credit, I've not had to replace the battery since 2014. I don't have to worry about charging because there's nothing to charge, and the watch doesn't show any signs of running out of battery anytime soon.

And when the battery finally does run out, all I have to do is remove the back panel and swap out a new cell—a simple operation that barely takes a minute. I've been carrying one around in my backpack for a few years now, but I still haven't had the opportunity to use it.

Smartwatches are distracting

Alerts and apps make them feel more like work than timekeeping

My primary vehicle is a motorcycle, meaning I need to be fully focused on the road ahead and be mindful of drivers around me to get anywhere safely. The problem with smartwatches is that they're always vibrating and lighting up with notifications from my phone. As you can probably guess, I've had quite a few close calls where I glanced at my smartwatch out of habit and nearly ran off the road.

I understand that this counts as user error and isn't exactly the smartwatch's fault. I also know that you can control what notifications show up on your smartwatch and make it a lot less distracting. However, this feels to me like dumbing down the smartwatch to act as a regular watch. I also can't go around changing notification settings every time I'm on or off my bike, so it's just a hassle.

Credit: Yadullah Abidi / MakeUseOf

My Casio, however, does exactly what a watch should do without being distracting. If I want to look at the time, I can glance at the watch. Otherwise, it's quietly sitting on my wrist, keeping track of time, ready when I need it to be.

The F-200 does what I need it to do. It tells the time reliably, has weekly, hourly, and custom alarms, a built-in stopwatch, and a backlight that's bright enough to see the time in the dark. It can even keep track of a second time zone, which I use for my work hours. All wrapped up in a nearly unbreakable, lightweight, and maintenance-free package that I can take anywhere with me with zero worries.

Simple solutions are often the best ones

A $10 watch does what I need—without the noise

I'm not saying smartwatches are bad, and if they work for you, feel free to use them. However, in order to get them to work the way I want, I realized that I was dumbing the watches down to a regular watch.

It just didn't make sense when I realized I had a lighter, more durable, and far more reliable alternative all along. From that perspective, a smartwatch became one of those unnecessary tech purchases you shouldn't waste money on.

Yes, I'm giving up some features by choosing the Casio. I can't control my music from my wrist, check the weather, or pay with a tap. But pulling my phone out takes barely two seconds, and it does all of those things in a much better manner.

Meanwhile, the $10 F-200 sits on my wrist right now, quietly counting the seconds, asking nothing except the occasional button press for the backlight. And honestly, that's exactly what I want from a watch.