realme Watch Review | The Watch for the New Normal

The realme Watch launched simultaneously with the realme X3 SuperZoom, realme’s first foray into Flagship phone territory (without the ginormous flagship phone price, of course). This was months back — July 9, 2020 to be exact. I only got to test the realme Watch extensively a couple of weeks back and the watch has not left my wrist since.

And after experiencing what I feel is one of the best inclusions to this (or any) smartwatch, I strongly believe that the realme Watch IS the watch for the New Normal. Read on and I’ll try to explain why.

Design

The realme Watch has everything you’re looking for in a modern smartwatch. Design-wise, it has a large enough screen at 3.5cm (1.4″) with sufficient brightness at 300 nits. The square screen size sits pretty decently on my wrist, and it is light enough to wear for an entire day (yes, I wear this while I sleep as well). Now depending on how big your wrist is, this can look just right or quite tiny. However, you’ll be able to read the labels and see the values with ease. If you’re not happy with the default face, you can choose between the various watch design faces inside the realme Link App, their proprietary app to pair your phone and really get the most out of it.

You can scroll through the various functions by swiping up or down or left and right so you can see any of the real-time data it’s tracking including the weather, your heart rate, activity and your sleep pattern.

Now, going back to the realme Link app, notice how I said “phone” above. I did not say realme smartphone. For those wondering, you may use the realme Watch and gain access to full functionality without needing to pair it with a realme smartphone. You can use whatever Android phone you have.

The strap is made out of synthetic polymers that are resistant to sweat and bacteria buildups so yes, you may wear this the whole day and you’re going to be fine. I did find locking mechanism a bit odd, though but after wearing it for 2 weeks I understood the reason for it. The realme Watch needs to be a bit tight on your skin if you want to utilize one of the best features the device has, an Oximeter.

Functionality

Aside from the usual watch functionalities (like telling the time), the realme Watch is packed with loads of other goodies. For one, you can control your smartphone to play music or move forwards or backwards in your playlist, it can also act as a remote trigger to take photos via your camera (you need to open your camera app on your phone, though and give the device permission).

There’s a bunch of workout modes that you can choose from as well (14 in total) which should track your workout and activity routine more accurately; but I guess what caught my attention are 2 features that are quite innovative.

Meditation Function

The New Normal is plagued with so many unknown variables. For one, this virus has taken everyone’s lives hostage and we’re all in this weird limbo of being stuck at home and trying to run things as “normal” as we possibly could. There are a lot of uncertainties even when it comes to the virus itself that your anxiety would probably kick in overdrive — mine certainly did. Imagine if you or a loved tests positive for COVID-19? The mental strain alone, outside of what possible physical ailment, is definitely going to get you.

It got to me — and I had a pretty mild case of COVID-19 at that. Yes, I tested positive; and yes, that’s the reason why I had the realme Watch stuck to my wrist for more than 2 weeks as of this writing.

The meditation app allowed me to stay in focus and helped me whenever I felt my world is spiraling down. The app, because it consists of various breathing exercises that you can scale also helped me exercise my lungs just to ensure that I wasn’t having any major problems. As the virus targets the lungs, having regular breathing exercise also ensures that you’re actively monitoring the situation.

Oximeter (Blood Oxygen Measurement)

If your blood O2 falls below 90%, call your doctor immediately!

This brings me to the second feature that I felt is a must in this day and age: the oximeter. The realme Watch is one of the few budget smartwatches that has a built-in oximeter.
This medical-grade technology allows you to conveniently monitor how much blood oxygen you have in your system. During the times when my mind would go on overdrive and I made myself believe that I could be suffering from shortness of breath, the scheduled measurement of my blood O2 gave me peace of mind knowing that things are still okay. It’s this tech that really makes this apt for the new normal. When the possibility of COVID-19 infection is rampant, just monitoring your blood O2 gives you a huge advantage in either keeping you sane or keeping you abreast with your condition.

When I was going through my isolation, I would track my O2 levels and chart them just so I could clearly see that there were no sudden shifts in my condition. This gave me some reassurance that I was doing fairly well in my recovery.

OC much? 😀

Also, if you’re a budding athlete, checking your Blood O2 levels before and after an activity should give you better indications of your overall health as well.

Everyday Reliability

The realme Watch is also IP68-rated, so you don’t have to worry about taking the watch through your entire workout routine or bringing it while you shower as well. As for battery life, the realme watch reportedly can last up to 2 weeks on a single charge (sometimes it can be more). The last time I charged this was when I got my initial positive test. That was more than 2 weeks ago. Recently, I got a confirmatory test and I’m glad to say, I’ve finally tested negative…and my realme Watch is still running with a lot of juice to spare!

All in all, for less than 4000 pesos (SRP Php 3,990), the realme Watch is jam-packed with features that are not only useful, but can sometimes be crucial, especially when the virus is rapidly spreading. While social distancing plus proper health and safety measures are still the best way to beat this, having a device just tracks your overall health much more thoroughly than others is a worthy investment. Even now, I’m still using the realme Watch to track my sleep patterns and setting water-break reminders every so often just to ensure that I’m consciously monitoring my health.

If you’re keen on getting a realme Watch, they will be going on sale at Php 2,990 during Lazada’s 9.9 Big Brands Sale! Catch other realme gadgets that will be on sale by checking the link HERE.

realme Watch Specs

Dimensions: 36.5 x 11.8 x 256mm
Removable Wrist Strap, 20mm width
Screensize: 3.5cm, 320 x 320
Battery 160mah (up to 2 weeks)
3-axis accelerometer, Heart Rate Sensor
Rotor vibration Motor
IP68 (1.5m) Water Resistance Rating
14 Sports Mode (including Outdoor Run, Walk, Indoor Run, Outdoor Cycle, Aerobic Capacity, Strength Training, Football, Basketball, Table Tennis, Badminton, Indoor Cycle, Elliptical, Yoga and Cricket)
14 Health Trackers (including Automated Heart Rate Measurement, 24-Hour Real-Time Heart Rate, Resting Heart Rate, Exercise Heart Rate, Heart Rate Alert, Blood Oxygen Measurement, Sleep Detection, Steps Throughout the Day, Calories, Distance, Water Reminder, Sedentary Reminder, Activity Records)