This is a reasonably decent (albeit basic in comparison to most others) fitness tracker/smart watch (ID208Plus) that appears well-built and for the most part works as expected. It has 2 of the 3 most common monitors (HR and SpO2, but not BP) which is typical of these devices nowadays. However, unlike most others with metal casing/shell, the shell/case for this is entirely made of plastic including the buckle which is a bit shocking to see (rarely) and at the same time disappointed.
It does have many of the standard features as most other budget or off-brand smart watches have and it has the typical silicone/rubber straps. In addition, it also has a plastic buckle whereas most others have a metal one instead and that tells you a lot about this watch, isn’t it? Lastly, it has a single crown which again is rather basic and that’s certainly nothing to write home about.
≡ Note
These so-called SMART WATCHES are really just FITNESS TRACKERS with added features (i.e. flashlight, calculator; mostly useless ones too) and it’s NOT a true smart watch/device. A true smart device operates by itself on its own without the NEED to install an App for it to run and without depending on another device (i.e. your phone) to run.
For instance, if your PHONE requires an App to be installed on a LAPTOP in order for various functions on your phone to work, or if your phone would lose certain features WHEN your laptop goes offline, would you consider your phone to be a SMART phone? Well, I wouldn’t and I’ll be extremely upset if that’s the case, and that’s exactly what happens here most of these so-called smart watches.
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≡ Features
By standard I don’t mean one or two, in fact, the standard nowadays is about a dozen or so including heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen monitor just to name a few. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have BP monitor and the HR monitor doesn’t seem to be accurate at all (SpO2 appears to be reasonably accurate for the most part although we know the figures for the vast majority of healthy people is usually either 98% or 99%) which is quite upsetting to have found out after numerous tests. In addition, the steps counter seems to be off by about 4100+ so that’s not exactly accurate either.
It also has the typical sports and/or exercise related features that many others have. It has a reasonably large screen of 1.8″ but this has been somewhat of a norm at this point in time so that’s nothing to write home about either. I should also note that the advertised 100+ sports requires the app; otherwise, only a handful or so are available (which is more than most people would need under normal circumstance).
≡ Battery
Its battery capacity is unknown because it’s NOT advertised and that’s always a warning sign to me because everyone wanna brag about good things and the lack of it usually signifies the opposite. In either case, whatever the capacity might be, the only thing I really care is that it can last me an entire day (charge once a day is fine with me).
With that being said, I also don’t have a clue about the longevity of the battery but that’s a common concern for all rechargeable smart watches out there (i.e. battery dies unexpected fast). Note that the default screen timeout is 5sec which is unusably short for me but it can be increased up to 30 seconds (whereas some other can’t t at all while a few can do 60 sec) so that’s great. I don’t necessarily want 30 sec but it’s nice to have the options (I set mine to 15sec).
≡ Water resistance
Btw, these fitness trackers/smart watches are NOT meant to be submerged in water (salty or otherwise) longer than a few minute even though they advertised as being IP67 or even 3 ATM which is completely nonsensical if you know what that really means (around 50m under water but it’s really meant for accidental submersion); otherwise, there is an extremely high probability that it will die prematurely.
≡ App
For those who are curious about what the ‘VeryFit’ app (3.9 rating) requires;
✘ Any data may be shared with other companies or organizations, including but not limited to;
* Email address and Phone number, Fitness info, Precise location, Photos and videos, Contacts
* SMS or MMS, Files and docs, Installed apps, Device or other IDs
✘ Data isn’t encrypted (typical practice in China)
* Data is encrypted during transit
✘ Device & app history
* read sensitive log data
✘ Contacts
* read your contacts
✘ Location
* approximate location (network-based), precise location (GPS and network-based)
✘ Phone
* directly call phone numbers, read call log, read phone status and identity, Photos/Media/Files
* read the contents of your USB storage, modify or delete the contents of your USB storage
✘ Storage
* read the contents of your USB storage, modify or delete the contents of your USB storage
✘ Camera & Microphone
* take pictures and videos, record audio
✘ Wi-Fi connection information
* view Wi-Fi connections
✘ Device ID & call information
* read phone status and identity
✘ Other
* receive data from Internet, view network connections, pair with Bluetooth devices, access Bluetooth settings
* control flashlight, full network access, run at startup, control vibration, prevent device from sleeping
✘ Note
Like nearly all other budget smart watches (or any other ‘smart’ devices really) out there, an App is REQUIRED for this to function at its fullest which means you are giving the manufacturer (and whoever they decide to share it with or without your permission) AND the app OWNER (i.e. some company in China and that equates to the gov in this case) your COMPLETE and entire historical data.
Some people consider some of these (i.e. precise GPS location, health info, heart rate, blood pressure, or the alike) to be ‘extremely’ personal information and therefore are private. Data mining, analysis, prediction, and eventually profit making and/or a form of control will be vital in many aspects of our lives in the foreseeable future. If this concerns you at all, look elsewhere.
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≡ Value
All things considered, this is a somewhat decent (albeit basic) FITNESS TRACKER (with some smart watch functions) that works just fine if you don’t care about any of the issues mentioned above, in particular the issues with the HR (and the lack of BP) monitor. Suffice to say I’m not a big fan of the plastic shell/case/buckle and that’s quite disappointing to see to say the least. It’s somewhat reasonably priced at $40 for what it provides (a generic fitness tracker, ID208Plus) and its overall build quality and performance. Your mileage might vary.
Genie - Research Bot
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