Realme Watch review: Feature-loaded budget smartwatch marred by a weak app

Priced at Rs 3,999, the Realme Watch is basically a health-and-fitness tracker doubling up as a smartwatch

Chinese smartphone maker Oppo’s spin-off brand Realme has been working on expanding its product portfolio beyond smartphones. With the aim of creating an ecosystem of connected products, the Chinese smartphone brand first entered the smart wearables segment, launching true wireless earphones and a fitness band. Expanding the portfolio further, it recently launched the Realme Watch, a budget smart wearable that doubles up as a fitness tracker.

Here’s what the Realme Watch offers:

• Display: 1.4-inch touchscreen of 320x320 px resolution
• Display protection: Gorilla Glass 3
• Watch faces: 12 preloaded and up to 100 more available via Realme Link app
• Straps: Replaceable; available in blue, black, red and green
• Weight: 31 g
• Battery: 160mAh, up to 20 days on-battery time
• Features: Heart rate monitor, Blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) monitor, intelligent activity tracker, music and camera controls, phone’s notifications, and ingress protection for water and dust resistance (IP68)
• Price: Rs 3,999

Now, let us look at how these features fare in real-life scenario:

Realme Watch Design

The Realme Watch is one of the better looking fitness trackers in its segment. It has a black case — that is common irrespective of the strap colour you go for. The black variant that we have reviewed has black straps, which look decent and go well with most outfits. The straps are hard, so some people with sensitive skin types might find them uncomfortable. Moreover, the slightly raised bottom side of the watch leaves a mark on the skin if the watch is worn for long. Other than these, there is no are real issues with the Realme Watch design. 

Realme Watch Performance

The Realme Watch is loaded with features like music and camera controls which you otherwise do not get in this segment. Besides, the company has promised regular updates to make it even better in future with regard to features. Though the Realme Watch is one of the feature-packed smart wearables in its segment, it is not an optimised one, especially with regard to features requiring Realme Link app. For example, music controls work only when the Realme Link app is open on the phone or running in the background. The watch loses connection with the phone if the Realme Link app is closed. Therefore, you need to add exception for the Realme Link app on your phone to keep it running.

So far as health features are concerned, the Realme Watch is competent. Though it shows some deviation in recorded data, it comes close to accurate activity-and-fitness trackers in its segment. A caveat: You need to pull it tight on the wrist to get accurate data points from the heart-rate sensor, such as resting heart rate, exercise heart rate, sleep patterns, step counters, etc.

The Realme Watch supports up to 14 sports modes for intelligent activity tracking. However, the absence of GPS limits its utility to an extent. It takes GPS location from phone, but that restricts its usage as it cannot be used as a standalone activity tracker. Nonetheless, the watch has your basics covered. It shows relevant information like heart rate, exercise duration, average calories burned, etc. 

Talking of the smartwatch features, the Realme Watch shows caller information and receives app notifications when linked with a smartphone through the Realme Link app. It is a budget smartwatch and covers only the basics right. It would have been better if there was a provision to use quick replies for calls and notifications.

Realme Watch Review: Verdict

Priced at Rs 3,999, the Realme Watch is primarily a health-and-fitness tracker that also doubles up as a smartwatch. The watch is worth its price, but it is important to note that it takes its strength from the Realme Link app, which does not seem optimised in its current form. Realme has a good track record of updating its product and services, so we hope it would fix the current issues soon and bring a sync between the app and the watch.