So far my quest for a smartwatch as not been successful, with massive disappointments with both No.1 D3 smartwatch and SMA-Q color e-Paper smartwatch, with the latter completely failing after a week. The next potential candidate is Makibes F68 with similar features as SMA-Q, but instead with a grayscale display, IP67 ingress protection rating which should make it suitable for swimming (apparently not, see comments), as well as a promised 7-day battery life during “normal usage”.
Makibes F68 specifications:
- MCU/Memory/Storage – Not disclosed but it’s supposed to run Nucleus RTOS.
- Display – 1″ round capacity touchscreen display, 128×128 resolution, always on
- Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0
- Sensors – 3-axis accelerometer and gyroscope
- Battery – 180 mAh charged via magnetic connector
- Dimensions – 38 x38 x 10 mm (aluminum alloy material)
- Weight – 31 grams
- IP Rating – IP67 meaning it’s been tested for 30 minutes under one meter of water.
The watch supports Bluetooth 4.x enabled smartphones with iOS 8 and Android 4.3 or greater. Supported function include call and message reminders (Android only shown via icons on the watch, no text), heart rate monitoring, pedometer, sedentary reminder, sleep monitoring, alarm, and clock display. The app is called HPlus Watch and can be downloaded from Google Play or iTunes for iPhone or iPad. GeekBuying also released the user’s manual, and that’s how I discovered the device.
A video shows a little more how the watch and app works, and it looks good in theory, but we’ll have to see how well it works in practise, and the few app reviews so far are rather mixed.
Makibes F68 is selling for $34.99 on GeekBuying right now, buy you can also find it for $32.99 on GearBest, as well as Aliexpress and eBay for just under $40.
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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