In the middle of 2014, French hardware company Withings released the first smart watch Activity é with the appearance of a traditional watch. It may be that knowing that the price of the original version of 450 dollars is not very friendly, it launched a low-level version of Activity é Pop at the CES exhibition at the beginning of the year, which costs 150 dollars.
As the originator of a number of "smart watches" in China that adopt the appearance of traditional watches, they are essentially ordinary watches with motion sensors. Their biggest selling points can be summed up in three words: high appearance.
appearance
There are two versions of Withings Activity é for the time being, the new ordinary version of Activity é Pop, and the Activity é with a price of up to 450 dollars (about 2800 yuan). Their functions are identical, and the price difference is reflected in the materials: the more expensive Activity é can give you all the Swiss movement, refined steel watch body, calfskin strap and sapphire glass; Activity é Pop "shrinks" to PVD vapor deposition coating surface, silica gel watchband and ordinary glass, but the price is only 1/3 of the former.
The Activity é we got is a black dial equipped with a black calfskin wrist strap, and there is a bright orange pointer on the secondary dial used to display the step counting records. Of course, if you don't like this color match, the official version is a light color match with a brown strap and a white dial (the pointer of the secondary watch is blue).
If you compare Activity é to the elegant, luxurious and low-key Montblanc/Earl watch, the ordinary version of Activity é Pop is Swatch. Just as it is difficult to distinguish between brands with different positioning, the ordinary version also has its own distinctive selling points: it is cheap and has the same functions, and there are colorful versions available.
use
Although the skin value of Activity é is significantly higher, the silicone strap of Activity é Pop is better managed and is not afraid of sweat and rain. However, it is worth noting that the silicone strap is airtight, and it is not as comfortable as Activity é when worn for a long time. However, if you sweat a lot or exercise regularly, it is recommended to buy an Activity é Pop. Anyone who uses it knows the feeling of egg pain after wet dermis.
The biggest problem with its appearance design is that the dial has only one size and its diameter is only 1 inch (2.5cm). You should know that the small size version of apple watch also has 38mm. Although it can be used by both men and women, many Chinese papers may hope that the official can provide the arrogant dial size of Moto360.
Both versions don't need charging, so there are almost no official accessories. The machine uses button battery for power supply. The official said that it has a life of 8 months, and the battery needs to be replaced after power failure.
In addition to the ordinary schedule dial, there is also a sub dial in the lower right corner to display the step completion. Its default scale is 10000 steps per day, and users can change the step target in the app. In addition to this simple step counting function, the machine can also be used to display the alarm clock time: double click the dial, and the pointer will jump to the preset alarm clock time.
Although this function is very small, it is very considerate. When I first found this function, I was moved a little. Unfortunately, it is not very sensitive. Sometimes you need to double click the dial with different force, and occasionally there is no response. It can also make you slap your face when you pretend to show your friends.
app
Because the interaction that can be done on the watch is very limited, its application bears most of the functions. The official application is called Withings Health Mate. After entering height, weight and fitness goals, you can see the main page of the timeline consisting of "heart rate, step count and sleep data". Click on the data to see the analysis with pictures and texts, and this interface style will surely make the data maniacs feel happy.
You may wonder why it has heart rate data? Well, this is actually data collected by mobile apps. Its principle is the same as that of the third-party heart rate monitoring app launched a few years ago. Put your finger on the camera and flash light. After the flash light penetrates your finger, the blood flow can cause the light and dark changes that can be monitored by the camera, and finally the algorithm will convert them into heart rate.
As for accuracy, we took the Microsoft bracelet with its own heart rate sensor as a comparison. The comparison results are surprisingly close. The real-time heart rate data of the Microsoft bracelet is always 1-3 times less than the data read by the with client every minute.
In addition, because it uses flash to detect brightness changes, if there are changing light sources around, its data will be significantly affected. But what's more painful is that you need to take out your mobile phone to measure your heart rate
In terms of sleep detection function, although it sounds strange to sleep with a watch, the smaller dial brings good "sleep comfort". However, it may be because the author has the problem of insomnia from time to time, and the results of sleep statistics are relatively small. Maybe the official deliberately improves the sensitivity, leading to the small statistical results? In this way, users can be persuaded to go to bed.
In addition, I have to mention that there are some problems in the design of the official app. For example, the sports medal suddenly came out without telling us how it would be available and how it was obtained (when the total number of steps of the author reached 42km, a marathon medal suddenly appeared in my homepage information stream, which made me wonder what it was for a long time).
In addition, these medals will only appear on your timeline, not on the industry's general personal page. The personal page does not display medals, which is naturally a good place without forcing, and the effect of encouraging users to move is much weaker.
The more painful design is still in the alarm clock settings. The only thing we can do in the interface is to move the horizontal time bar up and down. It will display different times according to different positions. Although it looks cool, it requires extremely high operating accuracy. Believe me, you will miss the classic design of time wheel after using it.
In general, both in terms of function and stability, the client of bearing is still a little too tender compared with the big manufacturers such as Jawbone and Fitbit. I hope the official can remove the small bugs and egg pain design in the app as soon as possible.
Purchase suggestions
In fact, the strategy of Withings to launch two versions of the product is good, but compared with Samsung and fitbit, it is still weak.
In terms of pricing, low-grade Activity é Pop has been hit up and down by fitbit Charge HR (heart rate detection) and Flex (no dial). If you are used to watching time on your mobile phone, flex may be a better choice. Its step counting and sleep detection are easier to use, and its price is much cheaper after its ordinary appearance and simplified display.
The new Charge HR launched by Fitbit is a bracelet, but it has a heart rate sensor and an incoming call notification function, and its price is the same as that of Activity é Pop.
If you budget a little more, you can find the $200 Basis Peak smart watch, which is more similar to the shape of an ordinary watch (although it is a cartoon watch), can display all mobile phone notifications, and can automatically identify your movement and sleep status.
As for high-level Activity é, its price has made it easy for you to buy LG G Watch R and Moto 360, and you can also save a lot of budget to go to Star Dad. In addition, they have more functions than counting steps. The Moto360 is also a smart watch with comparable appearance. If you want more silver, you can also choose Adidas Adidss miCoach sports watch, but to be honest, the latter is hard hurt.
In addition, it is worth noting that Activite é only supports Apple phones, and there is no Android client yet, which makes its direct rival Apple Watch. In the eyes of many technology enthusiasts, although the latter is also very weak, the cost performance and attractiveness can be compared with Activity é, and the beggar version of Apple Watch is only $349
However, its traditional watch shape doomed many ordinary people to prefer to buy it. You can adjust all settings when you first connect to the mobile phone, and then the app can be thrown away (although you can see movement and sleep statistics in the app, how many people will stick to it?).
If you want a sense of technology and a pile of sports data, please go out and turn right to find Android Wear and fitbit. For those who want exercise and sleep data but can't accept the appearance of existing products, the $450 Activity é is worth having. If it's really worth $450, it's only $449 of its exclusive appearance design. You should give away the extra step counting function, which will balance your mind a lot.
Withings Activité
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Summary
If you need a smart watch with high appearance as a symbol of identity and pursuit, it will be a good choice: fine steel body, calfskin strap, sapphire glass all have. But the appearance of Shuaifang can not hide its weakness in function. It really only depends on time and counting steps. Wearing it can definitely rely on its appearance to pretend everywhere, but you don't need to show off its functions with others.
Withings Activité Pop
fabulous:
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Summary
Although the price is only 1/3 of that of Activity é, its functions are exactly the same, saving expensive materials, but its appearance is still not low, and it will not drain your wallet mercilessly.
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