Makibes F68 is a smartwatch with fitness features (HRM, pedometer…) and smartphone notification support, that is supposed to last around one week on a charge, and certified with an IP67 ingress protection rating. GearBest asked me if I wanted to review that model since SMA-Q watch was a disappointment, and I accepted so I have yet another smartwatch to try out. Today. I’ll take a few pictures of the watch and accessories, better writing a full review in one or two weeks.
The package looks quite nice, but one detail is quite revealing: there’s no Makibes brand, nor F68 model name anywhere, and it looks exactly like FlyShark BW410 reported a few days ago by Charbax, so it must be an OEM design that will show up under multiple brand names, not only Makibes.
The watch is not fully assembled, and instead the watch face comes with two watch bands, a charging pad, a micro USB to USB cable, and two “Quick Understand” guides in English and Chinese.
The round shape is nice, but it has the same black band on the lower part as Moto 360. There are no buttons at all around the watch, so everything will have to be handled by the touchscreen.
The bottom of the watch features the HRM sensor, and two charging pins. There are also four screws, but I’ll resist the temptation to open it before the review since it’s supposed to be somewhat waterproof with an IP67 rating.
That’s how the watch is placed on the charging pad.
and once assembled, it fits on the wrist nicely with a band long that should be long enough for most wrists.
Time to charge the watch before testing it… Sadly, I’ve already found a pretty bad issue (to me): there’s no backlight at all, or none that I could find, so the watch is unreadable at night or in the dark, unless you turn on the light…
F68 sports smartwatch can be purchased on GearBest for $29.89 in blue, orange, or black. Alternatively, you can also find it on GeekBuying, and eBay for about the same price.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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On gearbest the discount deal ends in 6 days, would be nice to have the watch review before that..
thanks
@storm
I’m not sure I’ll publish the full review by that time. So some comments first:
1. Battery life – 2 to 4 days on a charge (without HRM on all the time)
2. Waterproofness is pretty good. Shower OK, 15 minutes in swimming pool OK
3. However the touchscreen interface can be changed with the flow of water,. I managed a factory reset while taking a shower
4. HRM does not seem to always work (9km run oscillate with periods at 160 bpm, and others at 80 bpms).
5. Pedometer also unreliable: 9km run -> ~ 4,000 steps.
I have not tried notifications yet. But no text will be shown, only icons and vibrations.