realme Watch Review - The feature-rich budget smartwatch
The realme Watch recently generated a generous amount of hype due to its attractive design and array of useful features for just PHP 3,990.
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| realme Watch |
Almost two weeks after we first unboxed the device, here's our full review.
Is it worth it? Read on.
For our review part 1: realme Watch Unboxing and First Impressions
Display Quality
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| Good screen |
The realme Watch uses a 1.4-inch big color touchscreen with a 320 x 320 resolution. At 323 ppi, it is reasonably crisp.
What I like about its screen versus most budget fitness watches is the color reproduction. It may not be an AMOLED screen, but it has great colors.
It also has 3 brightness levels. Level 1 or 2 would be enough for most. The max brightness (level 3) makes the screen readable even for outdoor use. Under direct sunlight hit, it'll struggle. But, it is still a bit viewable.
Don't expect its screen to match the likes of the Galaxy Watches and other higher-end smartwatches, but at this price point, the screen is viewable. To nitpick, my only concern is the understandably thick chin bezel for the price.
I'm not sure about its number of touchpoints, but it is responsive. Swiping from left to right as well as up or down is possible.
I just wished that it has a double-tap to wake function. Also, the automatic brightness reduction at night found on the realme Band is not available.
Battery Life
realme claimed that this watch with 160mAh battery can last for 7 to 9 days on a single charge.
However, that is not the case. I'm now on my 11th day and I still have 15 percent left in my tank. How disappointing.
Kidding aside, that's very impressive.
My watch on default brightness is connected to the phone with a few notifications and the Drinking reminder turned-on.
Similar to all of my watches, I remove the realme Watch when I type to work. But, that won't remove the fact that its battery efficiency is quite good.
If you want to save power further, the watch has a power-saving mode when you switch at left.
For charging, all you need to do is connect its charging cradle to the watch. Charging time from 0 to 100 percent is around 2 hours and 30 minutes to 2 hours and 45 minutes.
Performance
If you are an Android 5.0 and above user, setting up the realme Watch is very easy. All you need to do is download the realme Link app, log in your account, and follow the on-screen instructions to pair your watch to your phone.
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| The modes |
It connects via Bluetooth 5.0. Reconnection speed when you turn off an on the Bluetooth of your phone is not so fast at around 4 to 5 seconds, but it works.
The downside? The watch doesn't pair with iOS devices.
Function-wise, it is similar to most budget fitness bands. It comes with the usual calorie and step counter. It also has 14 Sports Modes, Intelligent Sports Tracker, and Sleep Quality Monitor.
Obviously, I wasn't able to test all the Sports Modes. But for the ones I'm using like Outdoor Run, Outdoor Walk, Indoor Walk, and a few more Sports Modes, it works.
I just find it a bit odd that it can't track swim activities. I hope that it is a feature that could be added here via software update to make use of its IP68 rating for water resistance.
But, it has extra features like the SpO2 (Blood Oxygen) Measurement and the Real-time Heart Rate Monitor. The SpO2 sensor is useful to those who like climbing high altitudes and suffering conditions like hypoxia.
The Heart Rate Monitor could help its users watch out for their heart rates. It could help users be safer during workouts as well. The watch allows its users to choose heart rate data sample is taken every five minutes to every 30 minutes
Similar to most fitness watches, it has a Sleep Quality Monitor to track and record sleep.
The Heart Rate Monitor could help its users watch out for their heart rates. It could help users be safer during workouts as well. The watch allows its users to choose heart rate data sample is taken every five minutes to every 30 minutes
Similar to most fitness watches, it has a Sleep Quality Monitor to track and record sleep.
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| Tracker during workouts |
It can record distance in Sports Modes like Walking if the GPS on the paired smartphone is on. But since it doesn't have a built-in GPS, it relies on the GPS of your smartphone.
To help its users release stress, there is a feature called Meditation to help users relax by inhaling or exhaling. It comes with 1 minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and 10 minutes sessions options. It displays the beats per minute of your heart after the session.
Personally, I also love the Water reminder that notifies me to drink water every 1.5 hours by default. You can also adjust its intervals to every 15 mins, 30 mins, 1 hour, 2 hours, and 2.5 hours.
The watch also has the usual inactivity alerts.
Personally, I also love the Water reminder that notifies me to drink water every 1.5 hours by default. You can also adjust its intervals to every 15 mins, 30 mins, 1 hour, 2 hours, and 2.5 hours.
The watch also has the usual inactivity alerts.
Other features
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| realme Link interface |
To customize your watch, the realme Watch has a few personalized watch faces (Personalized Dial Face). It is still limited, but at least you can change it to your liking.
The watch also has Call reminders, Notifications for SMS, WeChat, Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, and more. The notification alerts are near-real-time.
On your watch, you can view the notifications by swiping below. It can also be used to read the notified messages on your phone.
The watch also has a Find My Phone, Music playback control, Remote Camera, MyGoal adjustment, and Weather functions.
The Music playback control and Remote Camera are quite useful and responsive at the same time.
Pros - Comfortable fit, IP68 water and dust resistance rating, good display for the price, strong battery life, decent tracking, plenty of features, affordable price tag
Cons - Android-only compatibility, no GPS, no swim mode
realme Watch Specs
Display: 1.4-inch 2.5D curved Color Touchscreen w/ 320 x 320 resolution at 323 ppi
Battery: 160mAh
OS: Works for Android 5.0 and above
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0
Sensors: 3-axis accelerometer, heart rate, rotor vibration
Others: IP68 water and dust resistance, Colors: Black
Dimensions: 256 x 36.5 x 11.8 mm
Weight: 31 g
Price: PHP 3,990
Verdict
The realme Watch is an enjoyable and feature-rich smartwatch for the price.
Minus the use of premium materials, the realme Watch does most of the things that pricier fitness smartwatches can do like fitness tracking, heart rate monitor, workouts, notifications, and more.
It also has a bigger display than a lot of budget fitness bands.
Minus the use of premium materials, the realme Watch does most of the things that pricier fitness smartwatches can do like fitness tracking, heart rate monitor, workouts, notifications, and more.
It also has a bigger display than a lot of budget fitness bands.
If you can spend more, there are better options with more polished software. But for the price, few smartwatches that can compete with its overall decent performance and set of features.
The realme Watch is priced at PHP 3,990. It will also come with a PHP 1,000 off during Lazada's 7.15 mid-year sale.
Build / Design - 4
Display - 4
Battery Life - 4.5
Performance - 4
Average - 4.125/5
Average - 4.125/5
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