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Casio adds fitness features to original G-Shock digital watch
- ragazzina 3y agoI love everything about G-Shock watches and I really want one, but I just can't get over how small the time is compared to the whole area.
- jmcphers 3y agoCheck out the GAB2100 line. They have full-size analog dials that cover the whole face of the watch, with digital insets for the other features.
- ghaff 3y agoThat seems to exist in a price and battery life no man's land between a true smartwatch and a basic $30 LCD watch that gets years of battery life. Both smartwatches and cheapo time pieces have their place. Not sure about this sort of in-between model.
- fer 3y agoSame. Especially when sold at $300; for that price you have better options.
- chrisfosterelli 3y agoYeah, I can't see why someone would choose this when you can get a Garmin forerunner 45 for $199 (or even cheaper as it's on sale right now) with better battery life and more features. The smartwatch market has categorically left casio behind and it'll be really hard to try to catch up now.
- ghaff 3y agoYeah, some of the Garmin models have a place if you're focused on getting a fitness/hiking/etc. watch and not really on a smartwatch as such--especially if you're not bought into the Apple ecosystem. You can get better battery life and maybe get a better price (though at the high end the Fenix is pretty pricey).
- InitialLastName 3y agoI have a Garmin watch and am baffled when I hear people say they charge their Apple Watches every day. I had to add my watch charger cable to my vacation checklist because I often forget I need to charge it.
- ghaff 3y agoThe Ultra is a bit better but battery life is definitely a downside. However, as soon as you get below the better part of a week of battery life you pretty much need to remember to charge now and then. I'm not sure there's a big difference between charge every couple of days and charge once a week. On the other hand I never have to remember to charge my cheap Timex.
- salad-tycoon 3y agoHaving had both, I ditched the AW and now have fenix 6 sapphire for less money (~$300 new) than used AW 8. The thing is indestructible (practically), battery lasts for weeks, and it has less smart features and more onboard “stuff”, which I like. Instinct 2 is now $200 at Costco. I think the watch technology is pretty mature. I feel cutting edge with a 3 year old watch. Sensor maybe not as good as AW but for anything that really matter you would wear a chest strap hrm anyways.
- scruple 3y agoThat's a great price for the Instinct 2. I've had my eye on it for a while and $100 off might get me to pull the trigger. Thanks for mentioning that.
- criddell 3y agoI think you underestimate the number of G-Shock collectors out there and how well loved the brand is. Casio has sold more than 100 million G-Shocks. Price and features matter for some, but not so much to watch collectors in general.
- chrisfosterelli 3y agoFor the smart watch market, it's entirely price and features that matter. It could be that there's enough g-shock fans to sustain a product here, but it's not going to grab any of the smart watch market. I say this as someone who loves their F91-W. It's a great watch and I like it. But I don't want to use it for the things I want to use a smartwatch for.
- MegaDeKay 3y agoIndeed. When I was researching which G-Shock to buy, it was common to read about collectors buying the same watch in different colors.
- usrusr 3y agoI'm not disagreeing, but the observation that Garmin is doing the Instinct series which is basically an elaborate G-shock counter suggests that Casio is onto something.
- brvsft 3y agoPersonally, this watch seems pretty cool and right in the niche of what I would want in terms of 'dumbness' and also aesthetic, and the battery life does not sound intolerable to me. But $300 sure is a lot for it, although my impression has always been that "G-Shock" watches were inexplicably more expensive than they look, presumably as a branding thing. This is something I'd wait for to go on sale.
- octobus2021 3y agoThe basic G-Shock (e.g 5600 model) will be around $50 which I think is a fair price given the ruggedness of the thing. More expensive models (like 5610) will be in $100 range since they have solar cells and self-adjust based on radio signals from atomic clocks. I think that's fair (I don't have one though, I'm cheap :) ).
- ChuckNorris89 3y agoWhere the hell can you get the 5600 for 50 USD? In Europe it's more like starting from 80 Euros. I feel Casio is taking us to the cleaners here.
- octobus2021 3y agoDW5600E-1V is $49.98 on Amazon in the US right now, but it's listed as 33% off, and $74 on US Casio site. So we might be both right :)
- SamReidHughes 3y agoIt's been available at $40-$50 in practice for years and years.
- ChuckNorris89 3y agoWithout a time machine, the prices of today are more relevant for me right now.
- throwaway049 3y agoI'm puzzled by the whole range. There are some that look just like a £10 digital watch but sell for £100. The difference seems to be the robustness but not that many jobs or hobbies put your watch in constant danger.
- systemtest 3y agoSome notable models in the line-up of classic looking digital watches: - Casio F-91W: $14 which gets you a basic watch - Casio AE1200: $40, modern module with timezones, stopwatch, timer - Casio G-Shock DW-5600: $50, Similar to AE1200 in functionality, adds shock-proofing - Casio G-Shock GW-M5610: $110, Similar to DW-5600E but adds solar, radio time-sync - Casio G-Shock GW-5000: $300, Similar to GW-M5610 but has a stainless steel case instead of plastic - Casio G-Shock GMW-B5000: $400, Similar to GW-5000 but has a stainless steel bezel and bracelet - Casio G-Shock GMW-B5000T: $1100+, Similar to GMW-B5000 but in titanium
- EwanToo 3y agoI have a Withings Scanwatch 30 day battery life, looks like a regular watch, but has health tracking built-in. https://www.withings.com/us/en/watches https://www.withings.com/us/en/watches
- ghaff 3y agoThe main battery life killers seem to be the full-screen always-on display of many smartwatches and GPS. If you can dump those you can do a lot better it seems. Though in my case I have no interest in a fitness tracker without GPS.
- lmm 3y agoI use a Mi Band which I wouldn't really recommend on the whole, but it gets great battery life and one reason might be that AIUI it piggybacks the phone's GPS rather than doing GPS tracking itself.
- KomoD 3y agoI'd love a Steel HR but 225 euro (~$250) for the one I want :(
- guidoism 3y agoJoey Castillo’s Sensor Watch project seems to be the only example in this no man’s land. Over 365 days on a single coin cell battery so far. https://github.com/joeycastillo/Sensor-Watch https://github.com/joeycastillo/Sensor-Watch
- curiousgal 3y agoI have this and I love it!
- orhmeh09 3y agoI used a Garmin vivofit 3 for about a year and a half without a battery change. I liked it and it felt a little bit like an F91W. I switched to an Apple Watch 4 for a while and I'm back on Casio for now but I might consider another vivofit if they keep making them. > Activity Tracker with Garmin Move IQ Automatic Activity Detection Features 1-year battery life Shows steps, calories, distance, intensity minutes and time of day on backlit display; monitors sleep Auto activity detection classifies activity type on Garmin Connect . . . it DOES NOT include a built-in wrist heart rate monitor.
- ghaff 3y agoThe step counters always seemed wildly inaccurate to me and they're pretty much useless for hiking. But I'm generally not really into the quantified health stuff.
- orhmeh09 3y agoAh, I never really bothered to verify and instead used it to measure whether I walked as much as I did the previous day. I assume it does a bit better at this. Thanks for pointing that out.
- kumarsw 3y agoThis one does seem too expensive for what it is. The GBD-200 at $150 seems much more appropriate for a smartwatch-lite, besides scratching the itch for a modern take on the old Casio squares [1]. https://www.casio.com/us/watches/gshock/product.GBD-200-1/ https://www.casio.com/us/watches/gshock/product.GBD-200-1/
- gsgshwyy677 3y ago35 hour battery life? Compare this to Garmin's most modern watch (the Venu 2) with OLED screen and it's just not even worth considering. I get 6-8 days with mine, but I don't use GPS at all. This G-Shock only gives basic data too. I like the look of it, but $300 is just way too much. Part of the appeal of the G-Shock is 10 year battery, so you'd think they would go for something a little better.
- scrapcode 3y agoI agree. They simply fail to identify their niche here, or at least miss the mark.
- lipoid_ecole 3y agoI think their niche are existing G-Shock fans who want fitness tracking
- scrapcode 3y agoI am of the understanding that much of the allure of the G-Shock is the 2-15 year battery life. This offering takes what I assume is one of the biggest benefits of a G-Shock and trades it for fitness tracking capabilities that are available through many other solutions that offer much better battery life.
- gambiting 3y agoHow? I can't wait to order one, there's nothing quite like it on the market. Garmin has a similar watch but it's bigger and heavier - I'm not interested in that.
- CydeWeys 3y agoThe fact that this G-Shock is smaller and thinner likely explains the shorter battery life. It's definitely a trade-off that some people (like you) are interested in making. I have a Garmin Fenix 5 and that thing is HUGE.
- MegaDeKay 3y agoOn top of the nasty hit to battery life requiring USB charge for advanced functions, this watch loses the 24h count-down timer and multi-band daily time sync from my beloved M5610BC (the latter is worked around with phone syncing but I don't generally carry a phone). The new pixelated display looks great though. I love the fact that my watch is this wonderful, self contained unit that I never have to bother with charging or setting. It is in fact my second one - my first one got run over by my tractor and then got a ride through the attached lawnmower. I only found it months later twenty feed away hidden in a patch of zucchini squash. The band was destroyed and the case was mangled, but the display still worked and the time was accurate to the second. Incredible. When Casio says these watches are tough, believe it.
- nerdchum 3y agoBomb proof but also in the off chance they do get destroyed by some force of nature...they're only like 12 bucks to replace. I've gone through like 4 smart watches and any time I'm in a harsh environment always default back to the g-shock.
- kevin_thibedeau 3y agoThere's no way you're getting a real, new G-shock for $12.
- ChuckNorris89 3y agoHe's probably thinking about the F-91W but even that is at least 20 Euros now.
- MegaDeKay 3y agoI bought an F-91W after destroying my M5610BC for whenever I'm messing around in the yard. It's great! So cheap that I don't worry about getting dirt in it, scratching the bezel, or whatever. It keeps great time, is easy to read, and weighs nothing. What's not to like for that price???
- j7ake 3y agoStill wearing my Casio vibration alarms. 10 year battery life can’t be beat.
- glouwbug 3y agoI'll always love my F91W for being able to tell me the time, date of the month, and day in wording, all on my wrist, for $14,00, at a 7 year battery life
- ghaff 3y agoI have an Apple Watch Ultra which is nice. (The added battery life vs. the standard model makes a big difference.) But it's mostly for hiking. Day-to-day I just wear my $30 Timex a lot of the time.
- Zanovis 3y agoF91w is the best value watch on the market.
- wkat4242 3y agoI prefer the F-105W. It's almost the same but it replaces the mediocre led backlight with a beautiful EL backlight. Fixes the only drawback of the 91 and hardly costs any extra.
- slicktux 3y agoI had to stop wearing mine because what went from a making fun of my antiquated watch turned into I’m a terrorist… All because of this Wikipedia page: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_F-91W https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_F-91W Scroll down to usage
- jrmg 3y agoThe title says “Casio Adds Fitness Features to Original G-Shock Digital Watch”. They haven’t added features to the ‘original’ one at all. They’re releasing two _new_ G-Shock watches with more features, including some fitness features.
- hammock 3y agoDistinction without a difference. When Chevrolet added a convertible top to the original Corvette they didn’t go in people’s driveways and cut the roofs off
- nluken 3y agoNo, but there's a difference between selling a convertible Corvette alongside the hardtop and discontinuing the hardtop to sell the convertible.
- InitialLastName 3y agoThe difference is between "Company releases new product in current line with X feature" and "Company releases software update that provides X feature to current products in the field". "Company updates product line with X feature" is ambiguous between the two.
- hammock 3y agoOk. I don’t work in SaaS and I know something about Casio G shock watches, so I came from a different perspective. Thanks for adding that
- benatkin 3y agoYou were right. Especially the quip "distinction without a difference" was relevant here. With the context it is certainly not ambiguous.
- arrrg 3y agoIn my mind G-Shock is a brand of watch and there are many different ones. So the statement “Casio releases a G-Shock watch with fitness features” makes sense. “Casio adds fitness features to G-Shock digital watch” also makes sense. The “original” is a bit confusing to me. And judging by the comments here others, too. I get why it’s in the headline. This fitness watch is sort of styled like the very first (= “original”, though given the plethora of G-Shock watches and their enormous diversity that seems like a weird way of framing it) G-Shock watch from 1983. Maybe “Casio releases 40th anniversary G-Shock watch with fitness features”.
- kotaKat 3y agoI wish it could keep the fitness features but ditch the Bluetooth. I've got a friend that's been looking for a good fitness-tracking watch he can wear to work -- a government contractor that disallows use of personal wireless devices past the main entrance. No phones, smartwatches, nada.
- trts 3y agoon previous bluetooth models I've had experience with, the feature is fairly easy to ignore completely. Probably not to the same degree with this version. The B5000 series has a press-and-hold to connect to bluetooth, otherwise pairing is not automatic. When it connects it will sync the clock to GMT (handy if multiband is not available) and also log your geolocation if you choose to configure that in the app.
- CydeWeys 3y agoFor the specific government use case, having a feature but not using it is not good enough. It cannot have that feature at all, full stop.
- Someone1234 3y agoBe careful, the US can use this as a justification for you being an enemy combatant[0]. [0] https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna11750939 https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna11750939
- sjilo 3y agoThat's not a G-Shock though.
- circularfoyers 3y agoThat's an article from 2006...
- shipscode 3y agoThis is going to have a huge response with Casio connoisseurs. They took the original design and added heart rate tracking which is MVP what those people want from their watch. Great play.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- qbasic_forever 3y agoI love my solar powered triple sensor g shock watch. I keep it in a window to get light every day when not wearing it and it's run fine for 10 years and counting. The lack of any smart features or wireless connectivity is a feature IMHO. It's got three main sensors (atmospheric pressure, magnetometer, temperature) and all the interface to access them on the device. It's perfect.
- 10729287 3y agoThe famous Rangeman GW9400. Probably the best bang for the bucks in the G-Shock lineup. I particularly love the Sunrise/sunset feature between winter and spring when I want to know where i'll be able to enjoy the sun as soon as I wake up or spend more time outside after work. I love G-shock. They're a little bit gimmicky but I absolutely enjoy their "low tech" awesomeness.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- washadjeffmad 3y agoI haven't needed to shop for another G-Shock since buying my solar a decade ago, so I was a bit surprised by their collection and the "up to 35 hour charge" of the new line. I might replace the battery soon; the battery drained early this year from wearing my jacket. In years past, it always survived through winter and into spring. It's been so reliable, I find it hard to blame the watch. Maybe my arms are getting shorter?
- joecool1029 3y agoI bought an Amazfit Neo awhile back for a cheap heart monitor. This is a smartwatch clone of the gshock with a much better value ($30?) and battery life (a month). I then got the real G-Shock gm-5610u for a daily watch and love it. I think Casio does great with non-smartwatch but I don't know who the submission's watch is for other than a collector. It can run for a day and a half on a charge at that price point? Go buy a Garmin.
- karussell 3y agoThe Amazfit Neo serves well as a rough estimate for heart rate and give good value for just $30 (currently even just 10€ it seems). But if you e.g. enable the detailed heart rate and sleep measurement the battery life is not more than a week and the quality of the measurement cannot be fully trusted & bigger latency (plus in the app the resolution of heart values is just one value per 5 minute). So it is not that good quality ... still worth the money.
- joecool1029 3y agoMaybe some variability with batteries, even with everything on I get around 3 weeks. Agree with the rest of what you said though, it's not a high-end device but I don't really have to care where I bring it for the price point. I think their Bip was a better rounded device but I like physical buttons like the Pebbles had. (Oh and without a phone the Neo's clock drifts multiple seconds per week, vs about a 2 second drift for my F-91W over the course of TWO YEARS.)
- dumpHero2 3y agoToo many casio purists here. But I'm happy to see this. There are not a lot of design choices available in fitness trackers. Apple watch works only with iOS. Samsung watch is too round & cute to suit wrists of a grown man, the build quality of Fossil is questionable. Garmin is too expensive. I'll wait for some reviews and then consider buying this.
- octobus2021 3y agoI don't consider unlimited battery life (meaning battery will likely last longer than the watch itself), water resistance, and ruggedness to be part of "casio purism". I don't want to charge my watch daily or weekly, like I don't charge my clothes or shoes or umbrella.
- gambiting 3y agoThen......good news, you don't have to do this with this one! If you use it as a watch, and only use the fitness functions sporadically, then it will work forever just off solar power, like any solar powered casio for the last 20 years.
- hungryforcodes 3y agoYikes! $300. Okay...I guess I'll wait until Christmas.
- lostgame 3y agoInteresting! My ‘hubby’ actually sold me her Apple Watch and I gave her a G-Shock in exchange as she felt the Apple Watch to be a little too much - but she actually recently (only yesterday) did the Toronto Marathon (so proud of her!) and I couldn’t help but feel like she could’ve maybe used or kept some interesting data from her runs in general. I immediately sent her this and with her birthday coming up I’m thinking this could be a great gift. :)
- nerdchum 3y agoI wish there would be a health tracker without a display that I could wear in combination with my g-shock.
- coredog64 3y agoAmazon just discontinued that. Halo was a screen free tracker with decent battery life.
- salad-tycoon 3y agoI had 2. They were borderline useless at health tracking. HR widely inaccurate. Good for telling you heart is probably still beating but otherwise worse than a just taking a guess/rated perception.
- themodelplumber 3y agoSame. Or a tracker that clips onto any existing watch band. I collect and don't like having the same thing on my wrist all the time.
- cja 3y agoOura
- lipoid_ecole 3y agoThere is Whoop but the subscription adds up.
- iamatworknow 3y agoI'll second this but add _without a subscription_. I like the idea of Oura or Whoop but I don't want want the monthly fee, and just want the minimal amount of data (acceleration, heart rate, maybe temperature), in something I can wear along side a legit mechanical watch.
- partiallypro 3y agoHas anyone noticed a recent "counterculture" movement against fitness trackers, at least for casual wear? Sure, people at the gym will wear them, but more and more I see people wearing normal (and more fashionable) watches for regular activities that aren't fitness related. If you have a nice outfit on, be it suit, dress, even just nicer casual wear...fitness trackers just look comically bad even with non-sports straps.
- neilv 3y agoWhich of these watches can be used with open source software on my desktop/phone for fitness tracking, and never try to phone home?
- vanous 3y agoCheck out Gadgetbridge: Gadgetbridge is an Android application which will allow you to use your Pebble, Mi Band, Amazfit Bip and HPlus device (and more) without the vendor's closed source application. http://gadgetbridge.org/ http://gadgetbridge.org/
- samuell 3y agoTell me when they have GPS tracking and a traceback function, and I might consider switching from my Garmin Instinct.
- Infernal 3y agoI'm not a big G-Shock person but a quick google led me here [0]. Sounds like it does what you want? >GPS and a digital compass combine to guide you to your destinations, while the watch tracks your routes and stores waypoint information in memory, making this the perfect tool for survival activities. Curious if that does the trick. I've occasionally considered a g-shock watch here or there but I always get lost in the hundreds of possible configs, and can't quite figure out what the master list of options I can choose from is. [0] https://casiofanmag.com/g-shock/gpr-b1000/ https://casiofanmag.com/g-shock/gpr-b1000/
- samuell 3y agoThis looks pretty cool, but can't seem to find it for sale anywhere in Sweden. Also, I would prefer a slightly sleeker form factor, similar to the G-shock in the OP, something that the Instinct is closer to. Some of the G-shock designs are pretty ridiculous in my eyes. Way too much excess form without apparent function or benefit.
- kubectl_h 3y agoThe Instinct is probably the most practical smartwatch on the market. They did a great job with it. I had the first generation for a year and a half before making the jump the Fenix. The full GPS came in handy a handful of times (paddling down a river) but it was nothing I couldn't have used my phone -- other than that I think I probably could have been just as well off sticking to the Instinct.
- comprev 3y agoCasio G-Shocks are the Nokia 3310 of the horology world. I love my G-Shock.
- pokstad 3y agoI’m wondering how this stands up against Garmin’s MIPS display fitness watch. I love GShock design, but Garmin seems to be winning the fitness enthusiast market. This Gshock watch is a collaboration with Polar.
- chaostheory 3y agoStill miss the Pebble. Seeing this makes me wonder if they would survive had they opted to being bought out by Timex
- anshumankmr 3y agoAny idea how I can buy this in India? ( It is not possible for this to be sent to India via Casio.com)
- bobobob420 3y ago300 dollars is a no go for me
- maratc 3y agoWhat else is there in the 35-hour battery life/$300 range? Apple Watch SE starts at $249 and frequently goes on sale at $199. A regular Apple Watch of a previous generation can be bought at $299. Last-generation Apple Watch is $399 but is sold at $329 frequently. For people who have iPhones it's a no-brainer. I love G-Shocks and I hope this model will get down to more reasonable $170-180 range.
- LelouBil 3y agoI just bought a fossil hybrid gen 6 and like it very much. It's an E-Ink display with fitness tracking. It has about two weeks of battery life for about an hour of charge. I would also recommend using it with GadgetBridge, and combined with Tasker you can do pretty much anything you want on it.
- lproven 3y agoI see others have mentioned Amazfit but this is an important comparison. The G-Shock range is famed for being simple, robust, and inexpensive, with epic battery life. This is expensive, complex and has a poor battery life. My 5YO Amazfit Bip was £60 new, still lasts a month on a charge even though used daily since 2018, can show notifications, screen and reject or take calls, and monitor my heart rate (badly) for 6 weeks when new. It has a daylight-readable full-colour display. Yes, if I turn on activity tracking, it burns through a charge in days, but I rarely do. I expected Casio to match or exceed that. This fails on all points.