Realme Watch S review - smartwatch with SpO2 sensor

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

A relatively inexpensive model that is unlikely to compete with Xiaomi and Amazfit counterparts.

Together with a set of smart devices for the home, which left a pleasant impression, Realme introduced its new Watch S smart watch to the Russian market for 7,490 rubles. In terms of price-performance ratio, the accessory looks very attractive. However, there are certain trade-offs behind such affordability. Whether this is so, we will figure it out in this review.

Table of contents

• Specifications
• Design
• Screen
• Interface
• Functions
• Application
• Autonomy
• Outcomes

Specifications

Screen	1.3 inches, IPS, 360 × 360 pixels
Frame	Aluminium alloy
Protection	IP68
Connection	Bluetooth 5.0
Sensors	Ambient light, heart rate monitor, accelerometer, blood oxygen (SpO2) sensor
Navigation	Only from smartphone
Battery	390 mAh
Working hours	Up to 15 days
The size	47 × 12 mm
The weight	48 g

Design

The watch case is made of aluminum alloy, which is a rarity in the segment of inexpensive devices. The mechanical buttons on the side are also made of metal. Their travel is minimal, and pressing is accompanied by a subtle click. The upper button opens the menu and returns one step back, while the lower one allows you to switch to sports modes, however, it is active only from the main dial.

The bezel is engraved with knurled numbers to emphasize the sporty slant. The display is protected by Gorilla Glass with a beveled edge - it looks original, but this feature pales against the background of a screen frame that is too wide by modern standards.

The back panel is made of matte plastic. It contains the usual sensors and two magnetic contacts for recharge.

The watch strap is replaceable with a 22 mm fastening. The complete bracelet is made of coarse silicone and has a classic metal buckle, one spool and two longitudinal grooves, which in theory can serve to drain water. In practice, dust settles well in them.

The thickness of the case of the Realme Watch S is 12 mm with a diameter of 47 mm, that is, the watch as a whole is rather big. Due to the impressive bezel, they do not come across as an expensive device. And the aluminum alloy does not change this situation: the watch looks at its value or even a little cheaper.

Screen

Perhaps the bezel would not be so striking if the display had an AMOLED matrix, like the Xiaomi Mi Watch. However, the Realme Watch S uses an IPS panel, which does not give the same rich black color. As a result, even with dials on a dark background, you will always see the boundaries of the display area.

The display itself is touch-sensitive, with a diagonal of 1.3 inches at a resolution of 360 × 360 pixels, which gives a density of 278 ppi. This is an average, which is generally enough to keep the text from splitting into pixels. Reading notifications is quite comfortable, especially since there is an automatic screen brightness.

The watch has a function to activate the screen when you raise your hand, but there is no way to set up a scheduled activity. To keep the display out of the way at night, you need to manually turn on Do Not Disturb mode in the quick settings menu.

Immediately, we note that the watch does not have the option of backlighting the screen in 24/7 mode, as well as the Always On Display, since it has an IPS matrix.

Interface

In terms of the interface, Realme Watch S is very similar to the previously mentioned Mi Watch. Here is the same menu in the form of a bunch of icons and the same cards of the main functions, almost all of which cannot be scrolled down.

The cards display the main data, and the details can only be viewed in the application, that is, not even on the watch itself through the menu, like in Xiaomi.

Also Realme Watch S differ in gestures. Swiping from the dial to the left here allows you to flip through cards, and swiping to the right opens quick settings with the date, connection status and charge level. Swipe up to go to the main menu, swipe down to go to all notifications.

And this is where one of the main problems of this watch comes to light: notifications come with a delay and do not disappear when you view them on your smartphone. Most likely, this is a software flaw, which, possibly, will be fixed with one of the next updates.

It is also worth noting that there is practically no animation of transitions between screens in the system. It is noticeable only when you lower the curtain with notifications, raise the main menu with a swipe up and turn over the dials. But the change of all cards, access to quick settings and the opening of mini-applications occurs without animation, that is, a new picture simply appears abruptly.

There are more than a hundred dials in the application to choose from, but among them there are very few truly informative and functional ones that would display all data on activity, heart rate, battery charge, or something else useful. Almost all options are purely decorative and show only the time, day of the week and date, just like on fitness bracelets.

Functions

The Realme Watch S offers the following features:

• calculation of steps, distance traveled and calories burned, and the activity card does not display distance - it is available only on some watch faces;
• 16 sports modes, including soccer, yoga and rowing machine;
• round-the-clock monitoring of the pulse and warning of its excessive increase;

• measuring the level of oxygen in the blood;
• breathing exercises (meditation);
• sleep monitoring;

• displaying notifications about new calls and events in applications on a smartphone;
• a reminder to warm up and drink water;
• weather information;

• control music and release the camera shutter on a smartphone;
• search for a smartphone;
• alarm clock, stopwatch and timer.

As mentioned, the cards on the watch cannot be scrolled. The only exception is the sleep monitoring card. In it, with a swipe up, you can go to the phase data for the last night, but not for the previous ones, as on many other watches.

But with an activity card or a weather report, there is not even this: all data is limited to one screen, so you will not know the temperature for a week, as well as step-by-step statistics for the past days.

Also note that the Realme Watch S does not have sports modes for swimming and other water sports, since the device does not have 5ATM protection, but only IP68 (diving to a depth of no more than 30 minutes). In theory, it is better to take off the watch even when taking a shower. Considering this, as well as the lack of a GPS chip, they can hardly be called sports. Rather, it is a basic model for everyday use.

Among the available settings on the watch, you can only highlight the ability to select the vibration intensity, screen brightness and backlight time. Everything else is only from the application.

Application

Realme Watch S connects to the smartphone via Bluetooth 5.0 via the Realme Link app, which we already mentioned in the review of Realme home gadgets.

The application is visually pleasing, with clear diagrams and intuitive settings. But some minor text data is not translated into Russian. This, of course, does not create problems, but Realme would clearly be worth working on.

In addition to charts for activity, sleep, heart rate and blood oxygen levels, Realme Link maintains a sports training log and offers all the necessary settings.

Here you can activate reminders, music controls and the search function for your smartphone, set a daily goal for steps and choose from which applications you want to receive notifications, as well as the design of the watch face. In addition to choosing from hundreds of ready-made templates, it is also possible to set a photo from the smartphone's memory as a background.

Autonomy

The manufacturer claims that the Realme Watch S can last up to 15 days without recharging. The watch has a power saving mode that allows you to turn off all functions except for displaying the time and battery level.

In 22 days we have discharged up to 30%, despite the fact that we constantly measured the pulse, monitored sleep, received some notifications and periodically controlled music. However, the charge consumption itself is displayed somewhat incorrectly. At the beginning, the watch could not charge up to 100% (only 99%), then for a couple of days it seemed as if it did not lose its charge at all, and then every day 1, 2 or 3% chaotically disappeared.

It was not possible to identify any regularity in such a consumption, and it is quite possible that the watch battery will suddenly go down from 20% immediately to 0%. If this happens, then this will indicate obvious problems with the power controller (the material will be supplemented when the battery is discharged). But already now we can say that autonomy is a clear advantage of the accessory, especially against the background of the declared 15 days.

Update March 18: the clock worked for exactly a month, discharged on the 28th day from 7% immediately to 0. Even taking into account the small number of notifications, this is an excellent indicator.

To power the watch, a two-pin dock is used, which is included in the kit. There is no adapter, of course.

Outcomes

Alas, the Realme Watch S clearly does not claim to be a potential hit. You can close your eyes to the bezel, assuming that for someone this detail is unimportant. But there are several other, more critical flaws: a mediocre display, a minimum of settings, uninformative cards and dials, a lack of animation, problems with notifications, and, in general, a clearly crude software shell.

The watch loses to potential competitors from Xiaomi, Amazfit and Huawei both in appearance and in its software capabilities. Yes, they are somewhat cheaper than analogs and last longer, but this hardly compensates for the disadvantages.

If you are looking for a relatively inexpensive smartwatch, then it is better to take a closer look at the same Mi Watch, Huawei Watch Fit, Amazfit GTS 2 mini or even Amazfit T-Rex, provided that you do not need an SpO2 sensor.