Breath new life into your old tech with these handy tips.
By Isaac Egbon Nov. 8, 2026 12:00 pm EST Pocketlight/Getty Images Add Engadget on Google: Google DiscoverUpgrading to one of the best smartwatches can be exciting, but it often means your old smartwatch is left with nothing to do. Unfortunately, it's at this point that users may toss their old smartwatch in a drawer and forget about it. But it doesn't have to be like that.
Your old smartwatch is a versatile piece of hardware, so despite how it seems, that small device that's been gathering dust still has some pretty unexpected and interesting uses. With the right guidance, you can give your old smartwatch a new lease on life, or at the very least, you could sell it for some quick cash. Even if your smartwatch no longer receives major OS updates, you can still use it as a dedicated AI tool, an easy-access note-taking device, a child monitoring tool, or a dedicated sleep tracker. So free your old smartwatch from its drawer and blow the dust off. Most of these unexpected uses only take a few minutes to set up and require an extra app or two, though some require a cellular plan or a phone for full functionality.
