SuperWatches

Super Smartwatches and Wearables

Mel Richards

Withings Move Review

Two female runners stopped to check their smartwatch

The Withings Move can easily be personalised and is an affordable hybrid smartwatch. It tracks strolling, running, swimming and rest, but its lower price means that a few corners have been cut. It lacks a pulse screen and uses more plastic, for instance. Despite that, though, it retains the Withings feel.

What sets the Withings Move apart is its cost. At $70/£60 it is much cheaper than the rest of the Withings lineup. Previously, prices began at $130/£120 for the Withings Steel and ended upwards of $200/£190 for the Withings Steel HR Sport. The Move’s price is even more notable given that Withings sells leather straps for $50/£45.

Design

Withings has a solid reputation for delivering watches which resemble normal timepieces. The face is clear and simple to see and fast discharge bars means any industry-standard strap can be fitted. There’s a wide choice of colours, Withings have been somewhat traditional in this department in the past. Five choices are available for the case and face. In addition to a further four or five strap alternatives for each, depending on the version chosen.

It’s light and less bulky than many smartwatches. However the plastic case – no sapphire glass here – is vulnerable to scratching and is evidence of cost cutting.

Fitness

The auxiliary dial on the watch face records The Move’s wellness tracking. This indicates the percentage of daily step objectives accomplished.

The watch syncs with your smartphone each time the Health Mate application is opened and the recorded steps are sent. Adjusting will in general take around ten seconds.

Since there’s no display, no GPS, no pulse screen and no capacity to make phone calls, time between charges is long – a fortnight or even up to a month between charges.

Interface

As with all Withings smartwatches, the Move’s Health Mate application is iOS and Android-friendly. Generally, Health Mate is a useful application which covers the majority functions the average user needs, and it displays information clearly.

It shows daily and week-by-week information and items such as improvements in fitness, complete rest and normal rest. Features include an eight-week course intended to enable users to rest better, with others to monitor heart fitness and pregnancy. Furthermore, a new feature for the Health Mate application is the ability to update two Withing’s watches with the same information.

Summary

Despite its low value, the Move retains Withings’ tasteful house style and is an ideal choice for somebody looking for their first cross breed smartwatch/wellness tracker.

It’s certainly a great deal. It looks good, is available in a range of colours, can be fitted with a wide range of straps and has the useful Health Mate app.

The only real disadvantage is the plastic case.

Withings Pulse HR

Simple and minimalistic in design, the stylish and sleek Withings Pulse HR fitness tracker is perfect for the casual user looking to track and work on their fitness with an effortless-to-use affordable fitness tracker.

With its extraordinary 20-day battery life, heart rate monitor, tracking support…. This is definitely one to consider.

It’s not all good though. Lacking a standalone GPS, the Pulse HR solely relies on a connected GPS and your smartphone. There’s also a small range of workouts available to track.

A Design Breakdown & Analysis:

The Pulse has a sophisticated design that makes it look slimmer than it actually is. The strap is made of ultra-smooth black rubber and the body is hardened plastic and mixed metals. This does resist scratching and should be very durable. The Pulse is light weight, at only 45g, which is much thinner than competitors such as the Fitbit Charge 3.

Underneath the Pulse HR lies the high-precision MEMS 3-axis accelerometer, the hotoplethysmography (PPG) and light sensor. All sophisticated technologies designed for accurate measurements of heart-rate, distance/direction travelled and more. Water resistant down to 50m makes this fitness tracker primed and ready for pool and shower use.

Is The Screen Any Good?

The screen is where the Pulse HR’s quality begins to waver. With the OLED display of only 0.75 inches, the screen covers just 30% of the total surface area of the face. This is a real disappointment for users looking for a bigger and more detailed display. Icons are very clearly pixelated and quite blurry.

To keep the device user-friendly and easy to use, it sacrifices a colour screen for a minimal and simplistic display. The digital clock is set as the default screen. Easy to activate with a simple raise of the wrist. Below the clock lies a progress bar indicating how far away you are from reaching your set goal. Unfortunately, there is no way to customise any of the display features. This makes the device easy to use, but boring for users who want a fun and customisable design.

In order to increase the convenience of the device and improve user experience, the Pulse HR has an ambient brightness sensor. This automatically adjusts the brightness to allow reading regardless of light levels.

A Performance & Software Breakdown:

The performance of the Withings Pulse HR can be summed up in two words – very basic. It tracks basic exercises such as running, swimming, cycling or ‘other’. A multi-sport option adds some depth to user experience. Accessed by a long press of the right hand button to gain enter the exercise tracking menu. However, it doesn’t compare to other devices of a similar price.

Data shown includes current heart rate, calories burned, steps counted, and distance travelled. Ideal for a casual jogger and so on, but not for users seeking an advanced fitness experience. The Health Mate App, on the user’s phone, displays a summary of daily activity, data on sleep and also maps cycling/running routes.

Sleep tracking is quite impressive and users are able to wake up to a sleep score. Calculated based on light and deep sleep cycles and the amount of interruptions over the night. A nice vibrating alarm is also included.

Overall, the screen is very simple and easy to navigate – the instruction manual will rarely be required. The 20 day battery life significantly reduces downtime for charging. However, the weak magnetic pull when charging the device means that it can easily dislodge from its charger.

In Summary

If you’re a professional athlete or you’re looking for a fitness tracker that provides an in-depth and sophisticated analysis of fitness data, then the this is probably not for you. However, if you’re a casual user wanting a simple fitness tracker, then the Pulse HR is definitely worth considering.

Stylish and non-intrusive. It’s perfect for all-day use no matter what the occasion and the battery life is an impressive feature. Costing £120 ($150), this is a viable choice for a casual user looking for a simple and affordable fitness tracker.

Suunto 5

This most recent GPS-tracking, multi-sport wellness watch by Suunto certainly adheres to the Finnish brand’s comfortable style. Underneath the rough exterior, this substitution for the Suunto Austere Coach Wrist HR brings features seen on higher-end Suunto watches down into the mid-run value section.

The Suunto 5 incorporates a 40-hour battery life. Also featuring a smart direction that reminds users to charge the device before the next session, in case levels are excessively low to complete it. There’s versatile preparing plans, fitness level following, and movement, rest and stress monitoring as well. Furthermore, the watch has heart rate monitoring for 80 adaptable activity modes.

Design

Comparing the Suunto 5 to its ancestor, it’s very difficult to separate them. There’s a similar little screen, with far less space for details. There is still the Suunto trademark five side catches to control the watch and still no touchscreen. Like the Suunto Straightforward Mentor Wrist HR, there are a lot of inflexible joints that stand out from the watch face and drop down into the silicone strap. While the strap is bent to fit the state of your arm, it’s significantly less flexible than different straps. When tested, it was certainly difficult to get a genuinely agreeable fit, especially during sleep. Furthermore, these fixed joints make the watch feel chunkier on the wrist. It is also more compact and more reduced than other Suunto watches.

On the underside of the Suunto 5, there is a 4-Drove optical pulse screen and the usual four-stick charging port. Fortunately, the charging port is equivalent to other Suunto watches, maintaining a strategic distance from Garmin’s irritating propensity for changing the USB connectors with each new gadget. The heart rate sensor isn’t as raised as other devices,  which means there’s no uncomfortable poking from a forceful knock. The watch can be purchased in four colours: Black, White, Burgundy Copper and Graphite Copper.

Features

The Suunto 5 is a great watch with unique feature-customized preparing plans. The Suunto 5 auto-creates 7-day preparing plans dependent on the objectives set. There are options to improve or increase your fitness. For each prescribed session, there is an objective length and power. The watch provides constant updates during a session to keep users working at the right level.

The preparation plan doesn’t venture to recommend which activity users ought to accomplish for every session. However, users can look down from the home screen to perceive what sessions are coming up for the week and the aggregate sum of exercise time.

In case users switch on versatile preparing, they will get a next session suggestion dependent on performance in the last exercise and how well they’ve recuperated.

The post-exercise information users receive from the new Suunto application is really far-reaching. With the standard pace, separation, speed and pulse details, there are also some extra wellness measurements including PTE (Pinnacle Preparing Impact) and EPOC (Assessed Post-Exercise Oxygen Utilization).  The Suunto 5 joins the new Garmin Trailblazer by offering pressure following as well.

The significance of rest for wellbeing, wellness and prosperity is clearly indicated. The optical pulse sensor recognizes significant examples in pulse information in periods of rest to evaluate what extent and how well a person has slept by giving a  general rest score (0-100).

Battery

The Suunto 5 is a well-designed watch with great specs. One of the champion selling points of the Suunto 5 is the 40-hour asserted battery life in preparing mode and 14 days in watch mode, alongside insightful updates. These changes to the battery modes enable improved power-sparing if the watch spots you’re low on juice.

Suunto has designed a reasonable, multi-sport fitness tracker with wellness tracking and heart rate monitoring.

Against

The display deteriorates in light, despite the watch face following the same size as the Polar Vantage M and Garmin Harbinger 245. Unusually, the small 218 x 218 screen is encircled in such a way the data displayed feels cramped. Furthermore, when contrasting its lucidity and freshness with a large majority of different watches, it’s tragically deficient. Notwithstanding the backdrop illumination is dull, experiences glare, and is hard to peruse in several light conditions. Additionally, the Suunto 5 scratched easily, bringing into query the trademark Suunto solidness.

Competition

The Suunto 5 packs a huge amount of highlights into a moderate multi-sport watch, however, the diminished display might be a major issue. A strong option to consider is the Garmin Nature, which has a comparable rough plan with highlights that are designed for outside experiences. Multi-sport competitors who enjoy running ought to consider the lightweight Precursor 245 or the enduring Coros Pinnacle.

Summary

Despite reasonable features, even against Suunto’s own watches, the Suunto 5 feels out of date and awkward. It’s difficult to move beyond a poor screen, muddled route and a slightly disagreeable design. Currently, Garmin, Polar and the new brand Coros offer much better value for a reasonable price. What Suunto does best is make enormous, rough, worked to-last watches, prepared for the sort of experiences where your tech is probably going to get hammered. They’ve seldom strayed from that way and the new Suunto 5 follows the same pattern.

Read more and compare Garmin and Suunto in this article.

TicWatch E2 Review

ticwatch e2

The TicWatch E2 offers a simple fitness smartwatch that’s one of the most affordable on the market. Claimed to be the “ultimate fitness and swim companion” by its Chinese manufacturer Mobvoi, the TicWatch E2 provides more features than previous models. The E2 is now swim-proof and capable of accurately tracking swimming lengths.

The specs of the TicWatch E2 are actually identical to the TicWatch S2 that came out at the same time. The difference between the two smartwatches being that the E2 has a sleeker, simpler design and is £20/$25 cheaper than the S2.

Although the TicWatch is not as sophisticated or advanced as the Samsung Galaxy Watch or the Apple Watch Series 4, the TicWatch E2 has managed to achieve an award for value – falling just behind the Huawei Watch GT Classic.

Performance

When comparing it to other smartwatches such as the Samsung Galaxy Watch or the Fitbit Ionic, the E2 is as easy to use. However, it has a less-responsive touchscreen and less water-resistance – 5 ATM or 50m, which is fine for use within a shower or pool.

Features

The TicWatch E2 uses Google’s Wear OS making it compatible with third-party apps such as Spotify, Uber, Messenger and more. It doesn’t have integrated speakers, so users can answer calls, but have to get their phones out to continue them. The E2 does, though, include a microphone which can be used to summon and give voice commands to Google Assistant.

This wearable also lacks NFC capabilities so you can’t make contactless payments. It does, however, include a GPS that’s well-integrated for a superior mapping experience.

Fitness

A user seeking a smartwatch that turbo-boosts their fitness will be quite impressed by the TicWatch E2. The smartwatch has a remarkably high step accuracy counter, out by only 18 steps a mile. This makes it perfect for a user trying to hit high step goals and requiring reliable results.

The TicWatch E2 uses fit workout apps and Google Fit to track user’s workouts, everything from from steps to squats to surfing! Regrettably, the smartwatch does have some limitations in terms of data accuracy. The heart rate monitor is inferior in accuracy compared to the chest strap. During exercise the monitor is sometimes off by 40 bpm or more! However, when resting the monitor is within 10 bpm.

Design

The overall ethos of the TicWatch E2 is that practicality takes precedence over fashion. With the crown button on the right side of the smartwatch, the E2 conforms to traditional watch design. This feels more natural and easily accessible. However, there is a lack of any rotating feature to scroll through any menus or notifications, leaving users to use finer-on-screen actions instead.

On the rear, the smartwatch has a smooth polycarbonate surface with a central bump where the heart monitor is located. Lightly pressing against the wrist to prevent any discomfort. The presence of polycarbonate is a reminder that the TicWatch E2 is a budget smartwatch.

The 1.3 inch AMOLED screen is bright and colourful, with an impressive resolution of 400 x 400. Small text is easy to read and the backlight works well in the dark. However, it can’t adjust to ambient light levels, so is not so good in bright sunlight.

With a 30% larger battery than its predecessor, the TicWatch E2 can easily last two days without a charge. However, the larger battery requires a bigger case, so the TicWatch E2 is not as slim as it could be. Nevertheless, as it weighs in at only 52.5g, users will often forget that they even have the smartwatch on.

Summary

Taking all factors and features into consideration, the TicWatch E2 is a highly affordable smartwatch that does basic jobs and tasks well. Priced at only £145.99 ($159.99), it’s a great entry-level smartwatch.

Withings Steel HR

woman using fitbit and music

Recently, more and more people want to wear a fitness tracker to watch out for their methods and exercise framework. However, many dislike the plastic device style, like the Fitbit Charge 3, sat on their wrist. The Withings Steel HR seems to be endeavouring to push the cutoff for what is customary for a hybrid watch, uniting a commendable structure with fitness features.

Design

Steel HR is one of the most watch-like wellness trackers available. It is a great-looking watch to wear and is somewhat slimmer than other brands. It looks appealing and has an excellent structure that devices like Withings Activite Pop and Withings Go have been missing. The watch face is available in black or white on the 36mm option but only in black in the 40mm choice. In the 36mm choice, there is the option to purchase a rose gold device with a black or white watch face.

To the right side of the watch is the crown-like button without the ability to rotate. It functions as a button to access menus on the device. Pressing it once will activate the little screen on the watch face to illustrate the time and with each ensuing press, it will indicate pulse, steps, separation, cautions and battery life, in a specific order.

Wellness

Withings have designed a fantastic watch packed with tons of features and one of the main components of the Steel HR is the heart rate tracker on the underside of the device. This feature tracks a users’ heart rate every 30 minutes and so provides continuous and accurate data. The Withings Steel HR is water-resistant and can be worn in the pool. Additionally, the device tracks swimming activities and provides results of the lengths.

With a variety of wellness features, it comes as no surprise to see the Withings Steel watch tracking sleep and rest activities. Furthermore, the battery life on the watch empowers users to wear it to bed without charging it every night. The sleep tracking looks at how well a user has rested by gauging heartbeat and understanding the amount of movement in rest. It’s not the most pleasing device to wear around night time, but it is accurate in checking how well a user has rested.

Sports and fitness

The Withings Steel HR won’t, in all likelihood, do as much fitness following as other trackers but it will keep a check of steps and exercise plans. after observation, the Withings Steel HR showed precise movement tracking and basic level results in comparison to similar wearables

Battery

Withings predicts the Steel HR will last  25 days and after testing, the watch appeared to offer a comparable measure of charge. Understandably, the battery life of the device does rely upon the amount users utilize the pulse highlights. Upon testing,  it was concluded the device could maintain a  little more than a month of utilization from a single charge. In comparison to the Fitbit Charge 2, which continues for just three or four days, the Withings Steel has exceptional battery life.

For

Firstly, the Withings Steel HR is a stylish, well-built watch with a user-friendly companion app. The fitness features on the device are accurate and easy to use. The ‘regular’ watch design helps to disguise the watch as a fitness tracker therefore enabling users to utilise the watch in other situations like out for a meal or at work. The Steel HR works with several iPhone and Android devices with the Withings Health Mate app showing the daily statistics. The battery on this device is exceptional in contrast to some other brands with a charge that lasts for little over a month. The watch is quick to recharge with a charging pad and it doesn’t need watch batteries.

Against

Withings Steel HR is a very well designed watch. However, it is very expensive for a fitness tracker with Limited fitness features in consideration with other brands like the Ticwatch E or Fitbit Charge 3. For traditional watch lovers, the Steel HR can feel on the small side and the button disguised as a crown can cause confusion. Furthermore, the screen displaying heart rate stats is on the small side and users can not access all the data from the watch alone. To see charts, users would need to access the companion app on their smartphones.

Competition

The Withings Steel HR is a great-looking watch with a good selection of fitness features. For those after a fitness tracker that costs less than the Steel HR but with all the features, The Activité Fly may be a nice choice. It’s significantly more affordable than the Steel HR at and has an increasingly broadened suffering battery. However,  the heart rate monitoring is less than satisfactory and the watch is less engaging than the Withings Steel HR.

Probably one of the best fitness trackers around is the Fitbit alternative- the Fitbit Charge 3. It has a good mixture of fitness features and at a lower more affordable cost than other devices.

There is the option to get it at a comparative cost to the Steel HR but it doesn’t look as tasteful, so those looking for a watch that is aesthetically pleasing will not get that with the Charge 3.

Summary

Overall, Withings are really remarkable at producing fitness trackers veiled as watches with the Withings Steel HR showing no exception. Some of the different hybrid choices accessible are irrefutably progressively exorbitant, and despite the higher cost, the Steel HR is a better alternative than most Fitbit devices. However, the Withings Steel HR isn’t for every dedicated fitness fan out there. This is a watch that works for people with less intense fitness needs and wanting something with some degree of style, like an ordinary watch.  

Nonetheless, the watch is a high-quality watch and users will feel continuously inclined to wear it. The device has a classic watch design enabling users to wear the watch in a variety of situations. Unfortunately, Withings hasn’t stuffed in other exercise types into the Steel HR. Finally, if usual action routines are limited to walking, running and swimming users will coincide well with this tracker.

Mobvoi Ticwatch E2 Review

ticwatch e
ticwatch-e2 by Mobvoi

The Ticwatch E2 by Mobvoi packs all the essentials at a great price.

Design

The Ticwatch E2 can be hard to distinguish as a smartwatch. Its thick appearance can give the impression of an analogue watch despite the always-on display.

The watch display is one of the best features of Mobvoi‘s Ticwatch E2 with a 1.14-inch OLED display. The sharp and vibrant resolution sits at a suitable 400 x 400 pixels, which is considerably higher than options like the Huawei Watch GT 2.

The Ticwatch E2 is a Wear OS smartwatch. As with all watches in the same classification, there is a button around the watch crown to access all installed apps or Google Assistant. However, unlike other smartwatches, the button sits on the left side.  

In comparison to Mobvoi’s Ticwatch 2, the Ticwatch E2 has had several features amended. For example, unlike other designs made by Mobvoi, this watch does not have the unique ‘tickle strip’ allowing users to scroll by sliding a finger along the side of the watch.  The watch is made from basic build materials with its body made from polycarbonate and the watch face coated in anti-scratch glass.

On the underside of the device, a small optical sensor has been centrally placed to pick up the heart rate. Fortunately, the sensor does not bulge out from the body of the watch. Beside the heart rate sensor are the charging pins. However, this method of charging is significantly less efficient and is less user-friendly than other charging methods such as the inductive charger available on other devices like Ticwatch 2 and other brands.

Every Wear OS device provide similar levels of performance with the Mobvoi Ticwatch E2 following the same pattern; despite its non-standard MediaTek dual-core processor.

Inside the watch, there is 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage for applications available via the Google Play Store and music. Mobvoi’s Ticwatch E2 is compatible with both Android systems and iOS. Mobvoi has proceeded to take this a step further with a dedicated app providing a birds-eye view of a user’s fitness statistics.

 

Woman wearing a smartphone and stretching after an excercise

Features

The Mobvoi Ticwatch E2 has all the necessary elements to accommodate different workouts without having to use a smartphone. The Mobvoi fitness app can track basic vitals and show paths of travel with the built-in GPS and heart rate sensor. For those keen to track simple metrics such as steps, calories burned or time spent working out, it’s perfectly adequate.

For those with higher levels of fitness, the app is not great – but you can download a more efficient app from the Google Play store. Google fit is s suitable option and offers more detailed results than Mobvoi’s app.

The Ticwatch E2 has a greater variety of workout options – including ice-skating and canoeing with a water-resistance of up to 50m. Despite this, Mobvoi has failed to provide a swim tracking feature.

For

The Ticwatch E2 has a good collection of features including built-in GPS and a heart rate sensor. The heart rate sensor is centrally placed and is more subtle without bulging from the body of the watch. The built-in GPS is effective with a lock on the signal of fewer than 10 seconds.

It’s compatible with Android and iOS devices and has a microphone and speaker so users can make and accept calls in WiFi environments. The device is affordable and great value for customers looking for a no-frills smartwatch.

Against

The design for the Mobvoi Ticwatch E2 will not suit everyone, and the dedicated app available needs more development. Additionally, the watch is less user-friendly compared to other brands on the market, and has an inelegant charging method.

Ticwatch E2 Competition

Mobvoi has provided users with a good selection of watches to choose from with its Ticwatch collection. With its fantastic GPS performance, the Ticwatch S is more robust and suitable for higher levels of sport and fitness for those looking for a fitness watch able to cope with a more rigorous workout.

The LG Watch Style is one of the best looking Wear OS smartwatches available but has fewer features than the Ticwatch E2. The watch does not have built-in GPS or a speaker to take calls without a mobile phone. So, despite a less pleasing aesthetic, the Ticwatch E2 may be a better purchase with access to better features.

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Summary

It can be challenging to find a suitable smartwatch for a low budget- Mobvoi’s Ticwatch E fills that requirement. With its basic design and robust set of features, the Ticwatch E2 impresses with its friendly, affordable budget. For those looking for an affordable, well-built wearable providing a good selection of features, the Ticwatch E2 is an excellent option to consider.