Breaking your expensive gadgets is the worst. It happens, sometimes because of something we've done and sometimes because of bad luck. I just had a bit of the former.
I wasn't really thinking about it and was wearing a Galaxy Watch 4 while working on the exhaust of my old truck. One slip of a wrench is all it took and the display was toast and there's no way this is fixable. I should have thought about it before it happened, but of course, I didn't.
Sometimes you shouldn't wear a watch at all. Other times, you should think twice before wearing a watch that's a bit more delicate than a Casio or Timex on your wrist. The good news is that the watch absorbed the blow that could have been to my wrist. Maybe I'm lucky.
This all sounds dumb. You're probably thinking that everyone knows you shouldn't wear a smartwatch anytime you need to use a big wrench on rusty bolts, and you're right. Your watch uses special glass and materials to make it resistant to scratching. You can even buy a screen protector if you want, but nothing makes one smash-proof.
The larger issue is that maybe a smartwatch isn't for everyone. If you work in construction as a tradesman or general laborer, you shouldn't wear one at work unless you're OK with breaking it. The same could be said for first responders and service men and women. And, of course, mechanics can end up breaking one, too.
People in all of these professions do wear smartwatches, though. We've seen it ourselves, and most of the time, I assume there aren't any problems. I know I've worn a smartwatch while working on a vehicle before and had no problems. It's something to think about the next time you're tying rebar or dropping a transmission, though.
Companies could build almost indestructible smartwatches. Heavy steel housings and thick crystals with a raised bezel that acts as a guard would make a smartwatch as tough as an old Soviet submarine commander's watch. The issue is that nobody wants them to be even more expensive, so even "Pro" models designed to be tougher than the rest aren't really that tough.
Manufacturers have to compromise to deliver the features we demand built in a way that will withstand normal life yet still be within a certain price range. Some more expensive smartwatches will fare better than others at certain tasks — and you'll need to pay more for that — but the companies making them and the people buying them have decided on an acceptable price. Like all mass-produced goods, that price is a primary consideration in a watch's design.
I'm not mad, and I definitely don't blame Samsung for my busted watch. It was never designed to take a blow that way and is not advertised as being able to do it. To me, that would be like blaming Chevrolet for a bolt under my truck getting rusty.
This one is all on me. I should have known better and thought about it. I will next time, for sure. Hopefully hearing about it happening to someone else will help you think about it next time, too.
