Smartwatches are better when they're dumber - this wearable shows why

A smartwatch is a watch. It has always been a watch. This sounds simple, but smartwatch buyers and makers continue to not fully accept it.

Result: the gadgets aren't selling. The only one that might be doing okay, the Apple Watch, has the benefit of the biggest tech brand in the world, and has decided to become more of a fitness tracker than a smartwatch.

Shrinking apps and processors to fit on a tiny watch face is difficult. Wearing something big enough to fit the right tech is awkward. The reality is that a watch can't really replace your phone.

Still, there are some snippets a device can take from a smartphone and do well even when it's native to your wrist.

The Misfit Phase does a good job of finding those things. More importantly, it does them while looking like a watch. I've been wearing it for the past couple of weeks - here's why I like it: