Meet OPPO Band - Solid budget wearable with SpO2

Alongside Enco X's local launch is an entry-level wearable, the OPPO Band. 

Meet OPPO Band

Inside, it features the Apollo 3 chipset, 16MP of storage, GPS, Bluetooth 5.0. It also has a 100mAh battery that is rated to last 14 days on a single full charge. Charging time from 0 to 100 percent takes 1.5 hours via the pogo pin charger.

After getting to use it for a few days, we're now ready to share our thoughts about it!

Meet OPPO Band

The accessories

The device arrives in a slim white box with an imprint of the product's render in front. The package includes the following: OPPO Band itself, magnet adapter (for charging), and paper documents.

In terms of build material, the screen is covered with 2.5D scratch-resistant curved glass, meanwhile, the back is made of polycarbonate. The band style is made of TPU and is very lightweight making it ideal for all-day use. 

Watch

Sensors and charging pins

At the back, you can find the charging pins and heart rate monitor, and SpO2 sensors.

The watch's face has an OPPO branding below and features a 1.1-inch AMOLED screen at 126 x 294 resolution. It has a 100 percent DCI-P3 color gamut and can display up to a maximum of 50 characters. There are also over 40 watch faces available to choose from on the HeyTap Health App.

Stylish look, no doubt!

We love how its small screen can give me the full details that we need when working out or just simply looking at the time. It's also vibrant and responsive, leaving me no issues while using it indoors. Although I wish OPPO had made the screen slightly bigger because, for me, it's smaller compared with other fitness bands.

However, I personally suggest putting the brightness level to 100 percent in order to view on-screen content.

Sleep monitoring

OPPO Band has also a "raise-to-wake" feature. This can also be turned on and off according to your preference.

As for the battery life, OPPO Band is packed with a 100mAh battery. It is advertised to last up to 12 days, but, in reality, we were able to enjoy it for over a week of continuous usage.

One thing that I don't like with its bundled magnetic adapter is that I have to take off the strap for me to be able to charge the watch. Charging time takes over an hour from flat to full. 

SpO2/Blood Oxygen feature

In order to turn on the watch, charging is essential. Pairing the Band to any Android or iOS device is a breeze. I was prompted by the watch to download the HeyTap Health app and followed the instructions and it's connected.

In-app, I was able to tick the apps I prefer to receive notifications from through the watch. Essentials like Messages, Facebook, Gmail, Messenger, and alike are available. I don't know why but when I got a Messenger notification, it flashed the "Whatsapp icon". But for the rest of the apps, it displays the right icons. 

Sporty strap in Lavender

For every notification or prompt, the watch vibrates gently. Note that you can set the vibration level from normal (default) to weak, and strong.

Plenty of workout functions!

There are a total of 12 workouts available in the watch and they are as follows: Outdoor Run, Indoor Run, Fat Burn Run, Outdoor Walk, Outdoor Cycling, Indoor Cycling, Elliptical, Rowing, Cricket, Badminton, Swimming, and Yoga.

Plenty of workouts to choose from

I tried the Outdoor Walk in the OPPO Band. While walking, it's able to monitor my heart rate, calories burned, distanced I walked, while doing this light exercise. 

Another handy feature available in the OPPO Band is the SpO2 or in Layman's terms, Blood Oxygen. The SpO2 sensor is designed for those who like climbing high altitudes and suffering conditions like hypoxia. This can be useful these days in case you'd like to get a pretty perspective on your current Blood Oxygen level.

Notably, it also has a Heart Rate Monitor that helps users to keep an eye on their heart rates. This is really beneficial for those who have dangerous medical conditions who want to have a safe exercise. 

Heart rate monitoring

Just like other fitness watches, OPPO Band also has a sleep monitoring feature to track the user's sleeping pattern. It also has a "Daily Activities" feature where you can see a summary of the steps, calories burned, workout, and activities you did for the day.

No drink your water reminder

For a kind of busy person like me, I wish this has a water reminder feature. I think this is a necessary feature for smartwatch or fitness bands in order to remind people who are working or studying from home to hydrate themselves.

The box

Other features:

1. Breathe - helps you inhale and exhale for a minute in seven intervals (by default). This can be adjusted according to your preference.

2. Music Controller - this can be found under the Tools section of the watch. You can choose to on or off the "auto-launch Music controller" in the HeyTap Health app. I opted to turn this on, and when I play music, the music controller in my OPPO Band automatically opens and from there, I can play/pause my music and even skip to another track. 

3. Alarm, Timer, Stopwatch - this can be handy while cooking, baking, or even doing skincare like facial masks when picking up the phone is inconvenient.

4. Camera - OPPO Band can be used as camera control when taking photos and even videos.

5. Find Phone - in case you misplace your phone. Although this works only as long as the band is connected to the phone so don't misplace your phone in a far place. *wink*

6. Weather - in case you're too lazy to check it on your phone or Google, this comes handy in OPPO Band.

7. Incoming Call and Rejection - yes, you can reject a call using the OPPO Band, however, you can't answer a call through it.

OPPO Band Specs

Display: 1.1-inch 2.5D curved AMOLED screen with 294 x 126 resolution at 291 ppi

CPU: Apollo3 chip
ROM: 16GB

Battery: 100mAh

OS: Works Android 6.0 or higher and iOS 12.0 or higher

Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0

Sensors: 3-axis acceleration sensor, optical heart rate, optical SpO2

Others: 5ATM water resistance, Colors: Black, Lavender (sport strap)

Dimensions: 40.4 x 17.6 x 11.45 mm (11.95 mm including heart rate sensor)

Weight: 10.3 g (not including strap)

Price: PHP 1,699

Quick thoughts

Solid budget wearable

In case you've been looking for a budget wearable with essential features, OPPO Band makes a solid option.

It has almost everything one might look for in a fitness watch, and these are all to be enjoyed under PHP 1.7K.

From a wide array of workout modes, notifications, music controllers, camera controllers to call rejection, OPPO Band with very few weak points makes a good entry-level fitness watch.

Do you guys agree?