Originally Posted by
Dan333SP
You guys buying smart watches for checking messages while riding... Have you tried just using line in control earphones and having the phone read the messages to you? Maybe you have and you don't like it, but it's a way to check messages without pulling your phone out of your pocket and it lets you control a music app. I do this with a little $15 pair of Sony earbuds, I have the earbud with the controls in my right ear while I ride so my left ear is free. I need to slow down a little so the wind noise lets Siri hear me asking it to read my messages and if I want to reply, but I usually just save that for the stop signs/lights and I'm good to go. Quick way to send my wife ETA updates on longer rides and it lets me skip crappy Pandora stuff without fuss. Only issue is most control buttons seem to fail from sweat eventually. I'm on my 3rd pair of buds in the last couple years, but that's probably partially my fault for letting them run through the washer every now and then.
I've never tried Siri reading me messages, does it work with emails too?
I do use the earbud controller to skip songs and whatnot, but sometimes I'll hear a song and not know what it is and don't want to pull out my phone to check. However, checking it on the watch is about the same hassle. Currently, my favorite earbuds to use are Etymotics because they seal well in the ear. My last set just died after two years. I believe it was a sweat issue in the controls. I then tried the bluetooth Jaybird Bluebuds...those things are overpriced hunks of junk. They cut out constantly and fall out of the ear even with the little rubber flange thing. Those were quickly returned to Amazon and I now have another pair of Etymotics.
Getting back to the watch and the Strava app...Every time I try to start the Strava app on the watch, it tells me I need to sign in on my phone, even when I'm already signed in. As far as I'm concerned, Apple has failed with the watch.