Three futuristic smartwatches for golfers, sportspeople and the common man

After the drone calamity and go-karting debacle of last month, the past week or so I’ve been gaffe-free, primarily because I’ve been too depressed to leave the house after watching Years and Years. Set in the not-too-distant future, the show – a joint production by the BBC and HBO – is an all-too-realistic and bleak look at how we’ve screwed ourselves, with the added bonus of Emma Thompson as a Mancunian Trump-type figure. Despite all that, I cannot recommend this six-part series enough. So watch it, and feel sad and hopeless. It’s probably cathartic.

On to the watches. This week, we’re getting futuristic, although not bleak, with the latest smartwatches, starting with the Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 “Golf Edition”. Swiss watchmakers are no strangers to golf, with pretty much every major player endorsing one brand or another. While the likes of Richard Mille have leaned heavily into gimmicks, by creating light­weight watches that can withstand the velocity of a golf swing, Tag Heuerhas created a genuinely useful golfing time­piece, or rather a proprietary app to link with its smartwatch, which might just improve your game.

The key feature is the on-your-wrist access to 39,000 golf courses around the world, all rendered and mapped in 2D and 3D with analysis on how to play the fair­ways and greens, how to avoid hazards and all sorts of other things that might possibly be cheating. Who’s to say? The app also records your scores and gives shot distances and other handy informa­tion, all at the touch of a button.

The watch itself is “golf inspired”, says Tag Heuer, and the most obvious thing is the black ceramic bezel engraved with 18 markers, a nod to 18 holes. The 45mm watch is shock-resistant and made from tough but light black titanium. Like most smartwatches, this piece offers all the usual features, such as notifications, health tracking and Google Assistant. Priced at HK$15,100, the watch comes in a luxurious box, which includes three branded golf balls.

Another specialist smart­watch, or should I say smart­watch plus accessory, that has caught my eye is the Alpina AlpinerX and its heart-rate monitoring belt. Alpina, which is owned by Japanese watch­making giant Citizen, has gone all in on smart­watches over the past few years and it looks like it’s paying off. The company reported a 35 per cent spike in sales last year and it’s all down to its tech-forward timepieces.

The AlpinerX, which comes in 10 colour and style variants, is the smartwatch for out­doorsy types – take it climbing, running, jumping and everything else. It’s a hybrid, what Alpina call a “horological smart­watch”, meaning you have analogue elements (no black touch screen) but the functionality of smartwatches, with notifications and fitness tracking. The latter aspect is boosted by accessories such as the heart-rate monitor, which you wear around your waist just under your chest when you do any strenuous activity. The health data it gives will be useful to pros and amateur sports­people alike.

Sized at 45mm, the case is steel and the watch has a two-year battery life. The AlpinerX is priced at HK$8,300. Prices for the heart-rate belt should be available soon.

After all the bells and whistles of the previous two smartwatches, something more orthodox now from Fossil’s affordable and reliable Sport collection. Fossil has given the line an upgrade in hardware and added eye-catching colours. Sized at either 41mm or 43mm, this time­piece, unlike other smart­watches, won’t dominate your wrist but there’s still room for notifica­tions and apps to be seen clearly.

It runs the popular Wear OS software, Google Fit and several other fitness apps without any trouble at all. It should have enough battery for 24 hours of heavy use but can be stretched to longer in battery-saver mode. Priced at HK$2,400, the watch comes with an interchangeable silicone strap, available in a variety of colours.