Budget Smartwatch Guide: Five Things To Check While Buying A Budget Wearable

|
Budget Smartwatch Guide (2022)

Buying a budget smartwatch has become an extremely difficult task in 2022. Just on Amazon.in, over 40 brands are selling over 1000 smartwatches in the ₹ 1,000- ₹ 5,000 price range. If you include other e-commerce portals, brand-owned D2C websites, and the offline market, the figure can easily double or triple. Finding a good budget wearable in such a large volume-driven market is akin to spotting a needle in a haystack.

 

We attempted to make the process of purchasing a good-budget smartwatch in 2022 as simple as possible. The pointers provided below should assist you in locating a feature-rich, low-cost wearable that meets all of your requirements. Let us take a look.

Circular Vs Rectangular Dial- Select Your Type

Circular Vs Rectangular Dial- Select Your Type

Wearable user interfaces are typically designed to run on rectangular and squarish displays and may not provide the best user experience on circular displays. The user experience suffers even more on low-cost smartwatches because software experience isn't usually prioritized in low-cost wearables. Before making a purchase, we recommend trying both form factors.

Based on our experience with most budget smartwatches, Xiaomi and Realme's budget smartwatches provide slightly better overall software performance within the rectangular dial design. In the sub-5K price range, Noise also provides a good UI experience.

Style And Personalization
 

Style And Personalization

The wearable ecosystem is divided into two categories: sports and lifestyle. Sports-oriented smartwatches are brightly colored and have a slightly rugged appearance. Lifestyle-centric wearables have a more traditional watch appearance and blend in easily with everyday outfits. If you want a watch for regular use, go with the lifestyle version. If you are sports enthusiast, a sports-centric wearable would serve you better.

When choosing a wearable, the customizability factor must also be considered. Colors of straps, material, and dial finish are all important factors to consider before purchasing a smartwatch. Having said that, select a smartwatch that will serve you well in your daily routine.

Display Type, Peak Brightness And Touch Response

Display Type, Peak Brightness And Touch Response

Most low-cost smartwatches feature LCD screens, with a few exceptions featuring AMOLED screens that are slightly more expensive. The extra money will get you brighter colors and better visuals with watch faces, icons, and text. Furthermore, some smartwatches priced under ₹5,000 have 60Hz refresh rate screens, which provide a smoother scrolling experience and a better overall UI experience.

We recommend buying a wearable with an AMOLED display for a better visual experience.

Health Sensors, GPS, And Utility Features

Health Sensors, GPS, And Utility Features

Even the most basic budget smartwatch in 2022 includes a slew of health sensors, though their accuracy is mostly questionable. You can track steps and calories, monitor your heart rate and sleep cycle, and do a lot more, but don't trust the aggregated data blindly, especially when it comes to tracking critical body vitals.

Some budget wearables can also measure your body temperature, which is another useful sensor that is not commonly found on affordable smartwatches.

Also, if you are a runner, invest in a sub-5K wearable with a built-in GPS for better tracking of your running and cycling sessions. Realme Watch 3 Pro and Fitshot Axis are two sub-5K smartwatches with built-in GPS. It's also important to know which third-party health apps your wearable supports. Google Fit and Strava support has now been added to low-cost wearables making them more user-friendly in the longer run.

Budget smartwatches rarely lack in terms of utility features these days. They bring along useful features such as Alarm clocks, calculators, reminders, stopwatches, and even Bluetooth Calling, a feature that has gained wide popularity in recent times.

Battery Life

Battery Life

Last but not least, knowing your wearable's battery life can help you use it more effectively in your daily routine. Because most low-cost wearables use proprietary UIs from OEMs, they can easily last five to six days on a single full charge when used sparingly. Wearables with built-in GPS tend to last less time when GPS is used frequently, which is to be expected. Furthermore, some low-cost wearables now include Always-On Display modes, which can deplete battery life dramatically.

Best Mobiles in India

Best Phones

Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Yes No
Settings X
X