Heena Sharma Blog

  Amazfit GTR 3 , the successor to the Amazfit GTR 2 , seems a promising entry in this year’s smartwatch line-up, bringing several upgrades such as a brighter screen, better battery life, and more. Amazfit has been good value for money, but the only issue, as we have seen earlier, is weak software support that spoils the experience. Has Amazfit managed to cross the barrier with GTR 3? Let’s find out this and more about in this review: Amazfit GTR 3: Build and design Amazfit GTR 3 Straight out of the box, I set my eyes on this sleek smartwatch with a large round screen curved at the edges meeting aluminum alloy case giving this watch a pristine look. The GTR 3 has a 1.39-inch AMOLED HD touch display (454x454 pixels) with 326ppi pixel density. it offers crisp and bright colorus even in direct sunlight. The display has a 1,000nits peak brightness and features tempered glass with an anti-fingerprint coating. The display feels really good in daily use and clearly, this is one ...

  Xiaomi needs to be credited for popularising low-cost wearables in the mass market. The first Xiaomi band priced under Rs 1,000 attracted a fair number of users in India. However, the market has changed. Fitness bands have given way to watches that are also replacing traditional timepieces. Apple’s revolution is becoming familiar at lower rungs, with players like Realme, boAt and Amazfit.   Realme earlier launched its Watch and Watch S versions and followed them up with second iterations. Now it has launched a pro version of the Realme Watch 2 . The screen size has increased, and battery life has got a bump. And Realme is also trying to improve its tracking features. All of these under Rs 5,000. Design There is not much to complain about design. Most other companies have either copied the Apple or Samsung model. The rectangle or the square can vary from one manufacturer to another. For the new Realme offering, an improvement is in screen size. The bezels are not as ...

  American activity tracker and sports watch maker Garmin recently launched in India its Forerunner 55 . Aimed at runners, this smartwatch is a successor to the company's budget-oriented health and fitness tracker the Forerunner 45. Priced at Rs 20,990, the Forerunner 55 brings meaningful upgrades over the predecessor with regard to design, features and utility. So does it make a good upgrade? Let’s find out: Design and build The smartwatches in the Forerunner series look identical, albeit few changes here and there. That said, the Forerunner 55 does not bring any drastic design changes. There are in total of five physical buttons familiarly placed -- three on the left side and two on the right. The Forerunner 55 has a 42mm plastic case with a 1.04-inch transflective display (208 × 208 pixels resolution) on the top, surrounded by thick bezels. The watch’s transflective display lacks the brightness, thus, suffers from sunlight legibility issues. It takes some effort to read th...

  Homegrown earwear and wearables brand boAt on Wednesday launched an affordable smartwatch called Xtend that offers seven-day battery life, over 50 Watch faces, heart rate, SPO2 and sleep monitoring. The boAt Xtend is available at an introductory price of Rs 2,999 with a one-year warranty on Amazon and boAt website, the company said in a statement.   The smartwatch comes with built-in Alexa voice assistant. "We are thrilled to introduce a smartwatch with built-in Alexa which adds a whole new dimension and capabilities to the smartwatch category as whole," said Aman Gupta, Co-Founder, boAt. The audio brand in January raised approximately $100 million (over Rs 731 crore) from an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity fund, towards ramping up manufacturing and go global. The significant investment will enable boAt, that has emerged as the leading brand in India's true wireless stereo (TWS) market, further fortify its leading market positio...

  Fossil recently launched the new smartwatch Gen 5E, a stripped-down version of the Fossil Gen 5 launched in India in November 2019. The latest smartwatch features a set of sensors to measure key health metrics, a bright screen, stunning looks, and more. Besides, it allows you to receive calls and the option to shuffle among various battery modes. Despite a fresh look and several improvements over predecessor, the Gen 5E is priced competitively to suit those looking for a premium lifestyle smartwatch. We reviewed this smartwatch to see if it balances looks and performance in everyday use. Let's see what we found: Looks and design Fossil Gen 5E The Fossil Gen 5E has good looks with a metal strap holding the 1.19-inch AMOLED circular touchscreen with slim bezels on a 44mm stainless steel case, and a crown on the right to wake the watch up. All this in a black finish gives this smartwatch a premium appearance. The body is not too bulky, either, and the sensors sit at the bo...

  Apple has launched a limited-edition Watch for the 'Black History Month , with a unique band and a new face. Available from February 1, the new hardware is part of what the company is calling the Black Unity Collection , a group of products designed to "celebrate and acknowledge Black history and Black culture." Apple says the limited-edition Watch will be available in "over 38 countries and regions." It hasn't yet confirmed international prices, but the $399 Watch starts at 379 pounds or AU$599. The band will also be available separately for $49. Apple Watch users can participate in a new 'Unity Activity Challenge' and earn the limited-edition award by closing their Move ring seven days in a row during February. As part of this effort, Apple is supporting six global organisations to help advance their missions in promoting and achieving equality and civil rights in the US and around the world: Black Lives Matter Support Fund via the T...

  Ahead of the launch on December 17, Amazfit has started taking pre-orders for its flagship health and fitness wearable the GTR 2 on Flipkart and Amazfit online portal in India. The Amazfit GTR 2 will come in two variants, the Sport Edition and the Classic Edition, priced at Rs 12,999 and Rs 13,499, respectively. The Amazfit GTR 2's pre-orders will continue until December 17. Amazfit is offering an additional replaceable strap on the pre-orders for free. Amazfit GTR 2 features The Amazfit GTR 2 features an 1.39-inch HD Color AMOLED display with 326ppi pixel density. It features a rotatable screen, 90+ built-in sports modes, and built-in microphone and speaker. The watch is touted to boast a 14-day long battery life. The Amazfit GTR 2 is powered by Huami-developed BioTracker 2, the second-generation PPG bio-tracking optical sensor for 24-hour heart rate monitoring. Read More    

  Xiaomi sub-brand Redmi on Friday launched its first smartwatch in China for about $45. The watch will go on sale in China on December 1, but it may come to other markets - including the US, reports The Verge. It comes in varied dial colour options like elegant black, ink blue, and ivory white. Strap colour variants include elegant black, ink blue, ivory white, cherry blossom powder, and pine needle green.   The smartwatch features a 1.4-inch (320x320 pixels) square display with 323ppi pixel density and 2.5D tempered glass screen. The watch has 120 watch face options, and it comes with a 230 mAh battery. Redmi says the watch will take two hours to get charged completely with seven days of battery life in regular usage and 12 days in battery life mode. Read More

  Casio’s G-Shock has maintained its niche fan base of people that prefer rugged look and study design. So far, the G-Shock line-up has been restricted to non-smart watches despite the growing clutter of smartwatches but 2020 seems to be the year of the unusual. Known for making watches for adventurers, Casio in August launched the G-Shock GBD-H1000 . This smartwatch is one-of-its-kind as it carries forward Casio’s legacy of making rugged watches but with smart features this time. It has built-in GPS for location services, multiple sensors, and solar charging on top of regular USB charging. Besides, it features an optical heart rate sensor. Being a G-Shock, it goes without saying that the watch is both shock and water resistance. Priced at Rs 39,995, the Casio G-Shock GBD-H1000 brings the modern day features in a conventional G-Shock form factor. Business Standard took the smartwatch out for a spin to test its worth. Here is the review: Build and design Casio G-Shock GBD-H10...

  Chinese tech giant Huawei on Friday announced six new products including notebook, smartwatch and audio accessories during an event in China. The new products include Huawei MateBook X, MateBook 14, two new lightweight notebooks along with FreeBuds Pro, FreeLace Pro and new pro-variants of the audio products featuring improved Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). The company also unveiled Watch GT 2 Pro and Watch FIT, the latest entries to Huawei's wearable product line-up with new fitness data tracking features and workout modes. "Great user experiences are always founded on innovation, but our journey of innovation always begins and ends with consumers. In future, we will continue working with our valued partners to offer more smart and high-quality experiences to consumers worldwide,'' Richard Yu, Executive Director and CEO of Huawei Consumer BG said in a statement. Read More

Casio has become a rage among youngsters and adventure seekers alike as it offers some ideal accessories for outdoorsy people. While G-shock needs no introduction, we came across Casio's Pro Trek WSD-F20 smartwatch, which takes the smart wearable game a notch higher, and used it for a few days. Here’s what we observed: Design and display A rugged look has become synonymous with Casio (Considering G-shock watches); the Pro Trek is no exception. This smartwatch is heavy on the wrist, as the dial has layers of protection to make the watch withstand extreme conditions. The casing gives it a metallic look, and the bezels are thick. The straps are thick but complement the overall look. We, however, felt that the buckle could have been of a better quality. Read More

It is widely believed that smartwatches have a future and analogue watches have little life left, unless, of course, they take on some of the features of their utility-rich ‘smart’ counterparts. The Fossil Hybrid HR is one product that bears testimony to this assumption. As the name suggests, this watch is a hybrid of analogue and smart digital wrist watches. Its analogue-like design and smartwatch-like utility justify its hybrid title. The Fossil Hybrid HR seems to be a new-age analogue watch with smartwatch-like features. But does it succeed in delivering the best of both worlds? Let’s find out: Design This is one area where the Fossil Hybrid HR exceeds your expectations. It does not have ordinary looks, thanks to its classic circular 42-mm stainless steel case of a smoked colour. On the top of the case, there is a circular digital e-Ink display (non-touch), for smartwatch-related utilities, with a physical dial at the circumference, and hands for hour and minute readings...

From entry-level fitness bands to premium smartwatches, wearables are going to stay for a while. The appetite for digital bands in the India’s price-conscious market is driven by products that are usually feature-rich and do the job without burning a hole in the pocket. The Pebble Impulse and the Ubon SW-11 smartwatches fall in that category. Design The overall design of both the smartwatches is inspired by the Apple Watch. Both watches have single-button touchscreen design with bezel-less square bodies curved at the edges. The strap is made of silicon with three strip holes throughout to accommodate users of varying wrist sizes. The Ubon SW-11 is available in three colours--black, black and green, and black and red—and it comes with two straps bundled in the box. Display Both Impulse and SW-11 have a 1.3-inch screen, but the Impulse uses a premium OLED display and the SW-11 has a somewhat less premium IPS display. Though different screens, both have decent viewing angl...

It has been an eventful year for fitness enthusiasts, especially those who wanted an ideal companion to track their workouts and offer insights. The year 2019 saw smartwatches becoming part of daily life for many. These devices not only help you keep track of your daily steps and heart rate but also measure other fitness metrics crucial for overall insights. What’s more, you get regular notifications on apps ranging from WhatsApp to Instagram, and you can reply to them from your watch itself. They can also store music, so you wouldn't have to carry your phone during workouts. With some smartwatches, you could even attend calls. Of the many launches this year, Business Standard lists top 5 smartwatches that stood out in 2019: Apple Watch Series 5 Apple Watch The Apple Watch Series 5 does a lot to ease your everyday life — it is not only a phenomenal lifestyle gadget but also a proactive health support. The addition to an always-on display, a compass, and an electrica...

With the new series of smartphones it introduced for India’s price-conscious buyers this year, South Korean electronics major Samsung also brought to the country its full portfolio of smart wearables. From fitness bands to smartwatches, this new range of Samsung wearables caters to users in all price bands. The latest addition to the portfolio, the Samsung Galaxy Watch LTE , a smartwatch with eSIM support, serves as a standalone device rather than a smartphone companion — just like the Apple Watch. With this device, Samsung seems to have offered Android users everything that Apple Watch offers iOS users. But does it perform equally well on all metrics? Let’s find out: Design The Samsung Galaxy Watch LTE is no design marvel. It lacks the charm of most current-generation smartwatches, even the Samsung Active (review). One culprit is its thick and bulky stainless steel case (Silver, 46mm review unit), which looks neither classic nor modern. And its black silicone strap looks r...

It has not been long since Chinese smartwatch maker Huami’s much-appreciated Amazfit GTR was launched. The company’s new offering, the Amazfit GTS, does possess an elegant look and sport one of the brightest screens in the segment. It appears to be a promising entry in the price range sitting just above the budget segment. But does it have all the makings of a great smartwatch? We used the watch for a few weeks to see if it is only looks or does it have commensurate substance, too. Here's what we discovered about this Apple Watch lookalike: Design and display Amazfit GTS smartwatch Bulky smartwatches stuffed with too much features are a turn off. Amazfit GTS doesn't follow any of it. Its square display may not be what you expect in a smartwatch, but it does enhance the overall look of the watch and the silicone strap is one of the best we have seen. Also, unlike most feature-laden smartwatches in budget and mid-range segments, this one has a great battery life. ...

The premium smartwatch segment seems empty with very few options that can take on the exalted Apple Watch or Samsung S3 gear. However, some players now want to carve a niche for themselves. We recently came across Mobvoi's TicWatch Pro, a premium smartwatch with one of the best displays and a bag full of features. We felt the watch can easy give premium smartwatches a run for their money, but does the first impression stick on after almost a month of use? Let’s find out. Design and build quality Mobvoi TicWatch Pro smartwatch Mobvoi TicWatch Pro looks like a premium smartwatch from every angle. It has hybrid leather straps on the outward side, while the inner side has a silicone layer. You can carry the watch with formals and casuals, it complements both the looks. The smartwatch has a large face (1.39-inch) with a carbon fiber case. It looks bulky but isn't heavy on the wrist. There are two buttons on the right, one for navigation and the other is dedicated to...

Smartwatches can recognise a range of hand motions and identify what the wearer is doing, scientists have found, paving the way for novel health-related apps that could monitor activities such as brushing teeth or smoking a cigarette. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in the US have used a standard smartwatch to figure out when a wearer was typing on a keyboard, washing dishes, petting a dog, pouring from a pitcher or cutting with scissors. By making a few changes to the watch's operating system, they were able to use its accelerometer to recognise hand motions and, in some cases, bio-acoustic sounds associated with 25 different hand activities at around 95 per cent accuracy. Those 25 activities are just the beginning of what might be possible to detect. "We envision smartwatches as a unique beachhead on the body for capturing rich, everyday activities," said Chris Harrison, assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon. "A wide variety of apps could...

After launching the Honor Band 4 fitness band, Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei’s sub-brand Honor introduced in India the Honor Watch Magic – a smart wearable that functions both as a watch and a fitness band . The watch is made of steel and comes in black and silver colour options, priced at Rs 13,999 and Rs 14,999, respectively. Design The Watch Magic has a solid build with a CNC-processed bezel on the top, and laser-engraved markings on the lower side. These engraved markings, along with an accentuated red colour marking on the bezel and menu button, go well with the dual colour textured strap that the watch comes with. However, the sweat-proof strap has a silicone rubber on the bottom that might not suite suit everyone, especially those with skin sensitive to allergies. Thankfully, the watch is water resistant (5ATM/50 meters) and is designed so that it does not accumulate water for a long time. Display The watch has a 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen, which is big e...