A competent and easy to use exercise tracker but it requires iPhone
After using a $30 knock-off for a few months, which looks like an Apple watch but lacks many features, I decided I needed a better fitness tracker. I use an Android phone (long term plan is to switch to iPhone, but right now this is what I'm stuck with) and this is no good for setting up an Apple Watch, so I got a $100 refurbished iPhone that barely holds a charge but is good enough. Once it was all set up, the watch works great and doesn't really require a phone, but the phone does come in handy for doing setup stuff on a larger screen, and also for recording daily workouts in the Fitness app. When I come back from working out, the watch synchs up with the phone, and my sessions are accurately recorded, going back months. Convenient. As for fitness, I use it for cardio (running, elliptical, swimming) and core/strengthening (weight lifting etc.). The watch is a competent tracker and is quite impressive in the lap pool; it not only can track your vital signs underwater but knows how many laps you have swum (you need to tell it the size of the lap pool in advance). Some of the machines at my gym are set up to pair with an Apple Watch; just hold it near an NFC or similar spot on the machine, and the watch instantly knows what kind of machine it is (elliptical, bike, treadmill), knows when you start and stop, and transmits heart rate and estimated calories to the machine's display. About heart rate and calorie tracking: I also have a Polar heart rate tracker, the kind with a chest strap, which is supposed to be pretty accurate for estimating calorie usage, a metric that is important to me. The watch tracks pretty closely to the Polar, so I have quit using the Polar completely. The display is normally off and the watch relies on gestures to see what time it is. A quick flip of the wrist usually turns it on, or else tap the screen. This is the one thing I don't love; the more expensive Apple Watches have an always-on display which is obviously a little more convenient, but for this rock bottom price, I can live without it for a while. The main issue for me is that the battery holds out for about one day (12-16 hours) and then must be put in its charging cradle. Luckily, it doesn't take too long to charge; about 2 hours is sufficient. It would be nice, however, if it lasted a week or so, for example if you take it into the wilderness for a weekend hiking trip. Speaking of charging, I would recommend buying a second charging cradle; they're very cheap and then you can put one in your office, another one by the bed, etc. It's handy to have one in your travel bag with your other charging paraphernalia, if you're a frequent traveler. Overall, I do not regret this purchase, and I use it every day. It's superior to several other types of electronic trackers and watches I have owned – an Android watch, Fitbit, Chinese knockoffs... this watch stands alone in the quality of its sensors and smooth software. Read more
