IT168 Review In the field of smart wearable, smart watches (or smart bracelets) can be said to be the forerunner and one of the smart wearable products most easily accepted by consumers. First of all, it is easy to wear; secondly, the functions of sports tracking, heart rate monitoring, sleep monitoring, quick payment, localization, and incoming message reminder can be integrated into the smart watch. In fact, the functions of the smart watch have not been developed, its development space is still very large, and now there is no one set of smart watches, also shows that the road of innovation of the smart watch is still very long.
In the field of smart devices, Withings is not a new recruit, smart electronic scales, healthy sleep, blood pressure monitors, smart watches and a series of interconnected health products, Withings very early involvement in the field of intelligent hardware. Withings price is not cheaper than many domestic smart hardware, and even Withings in the domestic has not been the case of after-sales, there are still many people chasing, Withings has become a light luxury brand in the field of intelligent hardware. From last year, there is news that Withings has been acquired by Nokia, and to the early summer of this year, Withings series will be a new Nokia brand, to provide Internet health services for users around the world, that is to say, once familiar and have faith in the Nokia brand is back, and the expansion of the domestic will also be fully paved.
The product we're bringing to you today is the Withings Steel HR smartwatch, or as it's also known, the Nokia Steel HR. In fact, this smartwatch has been unveiled at CES2017 earlier this year, and is currently available for sale on Jingdong Mall, Tmall, and Amazon in China, so let's first take a look at what users are saying about this watch.
▲Jingdong Mall user reviews click to go to Jingdong Mall to see details
▲Tmall Withings flagship store user reviews click to go to Tmall to see details
Withings Steel HR smartwatch has a black and white model in the size of 40mm and 36mm. The first impression of everyone's review is the high value, the watch has always been a status symbol, the smartwatch should not only meet the needs in terms of function, but also in terms of appearance and design of course to meet the aesthetics of everyone, coupled with personalized innovation, it would be great.
First, let's have a general look at the features of the Withings Steel HR.
1, function, including heart rate monitoring, sleep monitoring, exercise tracking, incoming calls, messages, alarms, note reminders;
2, contact wireless charging, battery life of 25 days;
3, waterproof up to 50 meters, the general hand washing, bathing, rain, etc., can be worn;
4, support for iOS and Android dual platforms
4. Support iOS and Android dual-platform, the Withings Health Companion app makes it easy to manage the watch.
With the parameter list above, we can also see that the biggest feature of this Withings Steel HR watch is the battery life and monitoring of heart rate, sleep, etc.
The Withings Steel HR smartwatch connects to your phone via Bluetooth, and you can set up and manage the watch in the mobile app, which allows you to view real-time activity pedometer, heart rate monitoring, sleep monitoring, and other data through the app. Since the watch is not a touch screen, it only displays reminders in the dial through a circular OLED that provides reminders for incoming calls, messages, alarms, notes, etc. The watch vibrates slightly when there is a message and displays the caller's number.
Appearance: understated fashion
If I had to use a few terms to describe the Withings Steel HR, the first would be understated heritage, with a round dial, slim hands, stainless steel frame, and wristwatch scales. On most smartwatches, you need at least a touch screen, or the ability to lift your wrist to display information, but on the Withings Steel HR's appearance, the first impression is hard to associate with a smartwatch. So let's go back to the beginning, a smartwatch, it is first of all a watch, auxiliary functions should be secondary.
The second adjective, fashion. Watches for men are temperament, for women is an accessory, but no matter who wears it, no one does not love fashion and elegance. Withings Steel HR stainless steel frame with numerical scales, mineral hardness glass cover, especially the dial on the two circles, like a pair of eyes, black and deep is the dynamic display, with scales underneath is the movement status indication. The slender hands look like they want to move and still, just without the ticking of the second hand, it is impossible to feel the passage of time.
On the back of the Withings Steel HR is the heart rate monitor, as well as two contacts for wireless charging, and also because there are sensors that need to fit snugly around the wrist, the back looks like it sticks out. But looking at the watch flat on its side, it doesn't feel chunky.
The third adjective is simplicity, with only one button on the side of the watch in its entirety, for displaying information and switching functions. And the real simplicity is also the first impression, no matter the white dial or black dial, the slim hands and two gray scales, all look very low-key, and there is no extra logo.
▲Withings Steel HR and wireless charger
Withings Steel HR standard strap is made of silicone, slightly elastic, very comfortable to touch, the length of the strap is also suitable for the vast majority of people wearing, just this material is easier to absorb dust, the easiest way to clean it is to wash it directly. The easiest way to clean it is to wash it directly. Of course, you can also choose to replace the strap.
Experience: 25 days of battery life
First of all, wearing the watch, the strap is soft, easy to operate with one hand, and the fixation is relatively firm. The 40mm Withings Steel HR weighs only 49g, and the thickness of the dial is 13mm, which is between a mechanical watch and an electronic watch in terms of actual wearing texture, meaning that it is not heavy, but not as heavy as a mechanical watch. That is to say it is not heavy, but also not as light as an electronic watch, after all, the watch a little texture would be better.
The watch uses wireless contact charging, which isn't quite what we'd expect from wireless charging, as the watch makes contact with the charging disk, which requires the contacts on the dial to make contact with the contacts on the charging disk, rather than just putting it on and charging it. The box does not come with a charger, commonly used USB charging ports can be charged, full once the time of about 2 hours.
▲Withings Steel HR in charging
Withings Steel HR can last up to 25 days, which is truly amazing. This is not just an official figure, but actual usage is definitely more than 20 days, reducing the hassle of having to carry a charger on a business trip, but of course, this is also due to the fact that the Withings Steel HR has been designed with just a built-in information display on the dial, rather than a full-screen touchscreen. Also, the watch doesn't have a second hand, which will save some power.
The other best experience is waterproof, the official data can be waterproof depth of 50m, of course I did not swim to verify. But in wearing this half a month or so, hand washing, bathing, sleeping, I did not take off, and even sometimes the watch is dirty, I rinse directly under the faucet to clean, are no problem. Visible, the waterproof performance of this watch is still commendable.
The watch doesn't support a touchscreen and displays very limited information. Another slight regret is that when in a dark environment, when you want to check the time, you can only display the electronic time by pressing the buttons, and the hands and dials can not be seen, it would be great if the hands and dials could come with luminescence.
Apps: iOS and Android support
As we said earlier, the Withings Steel HR only provides alerts for incoming calls and messages, as well as displays for motion tracking, heart rate monitoring, sleep monitoring, and calorie, etc., and can't be installed with third-party apps, which won't be able to display information from WeChat and Weibo, news recommendations, etc., but the Withings Steel HR's apps are still very powerful.
To use the Withings Steel HR properly, we need to install a Withings Health Companion app on our phone, which currently supports iOS and Android systems, and you can search for and download it through the app store on your phone. To connect for the first time, you need to turn on the Bluetooth on your phone, start the program, follow the prompts to set up and register, and after connecting, the time and date of the watch will match with your phone on its own.
▲Configure the watch and app interface
The Withings app includes a timeline, dashboard, leaderboard, profile, reminders, as well as main menus such as My Devices, Help Center, etc. It's worth mentioning that the Withings program supports not only the Withings Steel HR watch, but also almost all Withings devices, such as smart electronic scales, sleep meters, blood pressure monitors, thermometers, etc. That is to say, with the Withings program, you can manage all Withings devices.
▲Menu navigation and adding devices
In the Timeline panel, you can display all your activity and sleep data, etc., and each time you open the program, it syncs with your watch to get the data. In addition, for example, you exceeded the set number of exercise, reached the time of sleep, including nap naps, etc., in the program will be displayed in a different way, as well as to add your Withings friends, at any time to share your Withings data, in the program you may find more fun and interesting things, it may be worthwhile to click on the various interfaces, a lot of hidden information to really feel the Withings is powerful and smart, as well as fun.
▲App home and discover new sports
The app is indeed very powerful, but there is a little inconvenience in the Withings interface is still a mix of Chinese and English, some data and information, for users who do not speak English well, it still looks very inconvenient. But with Withings being taken over by Nokia and its development in China, I believe it will be optimized better in the future.
Withings Steel HR has been sold in Tmall and Jingdong have flagship stores, with the increase in the number of users, some of the problems are still concerned about the use of some of the difficulties encountered, so we next roughly summarize some of the common problems, I hope to bring help to the Withings Steel HR users.
1, Withings Steel HR can install third-party applications? Can it receive information such as WeChat, QQ and Weibo?
Answer: Withings Steel HR can't install independent apps, and can't receive third-party information such as WeChat, QQ, etc. However, it can receive incoming call alerts, SMS, and calendar alerts from cell phones; it can display the number of incoming calls and SMS, but can't display the content of the SMS, and it doesn't support the display of incoming callers' contacts in Chinese. The watch will vibrate slightly when prompted.
2. Is the Withings Steel HR a touch screen?
A: The Withings Steel HR is not a touchscreen; all information is displayed via an OLED display inside the dial. The buttons on the right side allow you to view information such as exercise, real-time heart rate detection, and more at any time.Withings Steel HR also does not support lifting your wrist to light up the screen.
3. Can the Withings Steel HR be upgraded with firmware?
A: You can upgrade the firmware. You can check for updates and view the current firmware version through the mobile app by clicking on "My Devices".
▲Check information and update firmware
4. How to reset Withings Steel HR watch?
Answer: Reset, is the operation of restoring Withings Steel HR to factory settings, or if you have replaced the Withings Steel HR watch, or replaced your cell phone, etc.
(1) Press and hold the button on the right side of the Withings Steel HR watch for 5 to 6 seconds, and a prompt in English will be displayed in that round box on top of the watch, including version information and so on.
(2) Press the button three times until "Factory Restore" is displayed, restoring the factory settings.
(3) Once you see the prompt, press and hold the button for 1-2 seconds until the prompt "Press 5 times to reset" appears in English.
(4) Press the button 5 times, you will see the number change, and your watch will be restored to its original state.
5. How does wireless charging work on the Withings Steel HR?
Answer: There are 2 contacts on the charging base of Withings Steel HR, which correspond to the 2 contacts on the back of the watch. When connecting, you can feel a slight magnetic attraction, if the watch doesn't show charging, it means that the contacts don't correspond to each other, at this time, you can rotate the watch's position to adjust it, until it shows charging status. status.
6. Should I buy a 36mm or a 40mm?
Answer: The Withings Steel HR is currently available in two sizes, 36mm and 40mm. This number refers to the diameter of the dial, which is the size of the dial, and in general, those with thicker wrists can buy the larger size, and vice versa for the smaller size. But the watch is also a kind of decoration, there are also personal favorites, so the dial size is not too big a problem, the key is whether the length of the strap is suitable for you. In addition is that Withings Steel HR also supports replacement straps.
Summary: First of all I would say that Withings Steel HR is indeed worth buying, except for the strap which I feel is average (the good thing is that it can be replaced), the dial as a whole is almost impeccable, and in terms of functionality it is able to detect heart rate, activity tracking, sleep monitoring, etc., and incoming call and text message alerts are also very useful, which makes it so that I don't miss calls up. Secondly, there's nothing better than the battery life of the Withings Steel HR, 20+ days is really good and very stable, even though the watch itself is less playable, but why would you necessarily want to play on a watch? Also on the mobile app, you can find a lot of interesting ways to play and settings to make your data tracking more fun, such as adding Withings friends for competitions, and those interesting displays after completing a task, all very user-friendly, and of course, I hope that you can dig it yourself.