Amia DalveyAugust 14 2022, 10:09:10 IST
Rating: 3.3 / 5
Price: 3,499 rupees
The fitness watch section in India is very crowded with many brands vying for a place on your wrist. Watches under 4,000 rupees usually try to woo consumers who are considering a fitness bracelet by offering features like a larger screen, additional sensors and more fitness modes for a small premium. Noise recently threw two new options into the track it hopes to make an impression.
We got our hands on the Noise ColorFit Pro 4 which offers some interesting features. After using it for nearly two weeks, it’s time to tell you what impressed us and what needs improvement.
What we liked about Noise ColorFit Pro 4:
Lightweight and comfortable to wear, in multiple colors
The design of the Noise ColorFit Pro 4 is fairly generic with a standard rectangular frame and a physical button. The good part is that the frame has a matte finish and does not attract fingerprints or smudge marks. The Teal Blue variant we got for review had a gold frame that might be too catchy for my tastes, but I’m sure it will appeal to a younger audience. And if not, the company offers several interesting color options to choose from.
The polycarbonate casing makes the watch very light (24.2 grams) and the silicone straps do not irritate the skin even after wearing the watch for a long period of time. Given that the straps have a standard width of 22 mm, they can be replaced with any external straps of the same width. The IP68 rating makes the watch resistant to dust and water, but not swimming resistant. You can wear it outdoors at the height of the monsoon without worry; Just don’t dive into the pool wearing it.
Simple user interface with crown swipe
The design of the watch may not be eye-catching but it has one interesting element. The solitary physical button on the right edge has a small crown that serves multiple purposes. When pressed, it can launch the screen, display preloaded apps, or also act as a home button when on a different screen. The crown can be used as a scroll wheel in different menus or to cycle through all installed watch faces when they appear on the home screen; Nice touch.
Image Credit: Tech2 | Amia Dalvey
The user interface is simple and lag free. You can swipe down on the home screen for settings and swipe up to check notifications. Swiping left or right takes you through tools like daily activity progress, heart rate, sleep data, SpO2 level etc. Swiping to the right on most screens (other than the home screen) will take you to the previous screen, and as I mentioned, you can go to the home screen from anywhere by pressing the physical button.
Direct connection feature
Noise ColorFit Pro 4 also has calling functionality and you can take calls and conduct live chats from this watch with its built-in microphone and speaker; You can also have a dialer on the watch screen. Of course, the watch must be synchronized with your phone to route the call. Similarly, you can answer or reject incoming calls on the watch as well. Call quality is serviceable at best in a quieter location as the speaker isn’t too loud. It’s a great feature though.
Sharp and Vivid Display
The display is the hallmark of this watch with ease. The Pro 4 has a 1.72-inch TFT-LCD display with a resolution of 356 x 400 pixels. With a pixel density of 311 ppi, the screen is quite sharp and color reproduction is very good. The company didn’t mention any scratch-resistant glass or anti-oil coating on the screen, but I couldn’t detect any scratches after two weeks of use. But smear marks are visible on the screen and one needs to wipe them periodically.
Image Credit: Tech2 | Amia Dalvey
The company reports a maximum brightness level of 500 nits for the screen, which is bright enough indoors near the center mark. When you are outdoors in bright sunlight, you may need to push it close to the limit to get a better reading. In short, we had no issues with screen quality or brightness throughout the testing period.
Automatic detection of some exercises
The Noise ColorFit Pro 4 is supposed to track 100 different exercises but they are mostly different forms of walking, running, cycling, free training and some sports. The good part is that the watch can automatically detect and prompt you for certain exercises. For example, after using the treadmill for about 5 minutes, I asked the watch if I was in the middle of a workout and chose one of 3 or 4 options. He posted that he also took into account the data from the first 5 minutes he was automatically tracking. This is so clever!
Walks and runs are tracked with reasonable accuracy for a watch without GPS. Expect a margin of error of 5% which is the norm for the sector. You can also monitor your heart rate throughout the day with a frequency of 5 minutes to an hour. This watch also has a SpO2 sensor to track the level of oxygen in the blood. It does a fair job if you wear the watch tight enough. The readings are a point or two lower than over-the-counter oximeters, so don’t take them too seriously.
Decent battery life
To be honest, the battery life of this watch is one aspect that we neither like nor hate. The company calls for one week of battery life for the Noise ColorFit Pro 4, and we were able to get a full six days of it with a standard load. The good part is that it doesn’t overcommit, but six days to an hour without GPS isn’t a great number. Many fitness watches in this price bracket can easily cross the 10-day mark comfortably. Again, although 6 days isn’t bad, the noise should aim higher.
What we didn’t like about Noise ColorFit Pro 4:
An elementary companion app with very little data analysis
Before you start using this watch, you need to install the NoiseFit app on your phone or tablet and sync the watch with it. The app is very simple with very little analysis of the fitness data collected. It’s like the same basic information available on the watch displayed on a larger screen. It shows you your daily activity progress, past exercise data, heart rate chart, sleep data the previous night and the last measured SpO2 level.
Image Credit: Tech2 | Amia Dalvey
Other than the exercise data, I don’t think it keeps the old data because you don’t get any weekly or monthly analysis or reports. Yes, I realize this is a budget watch but competitors do a better job at similar price points. So, I feel like the watch has an extra gear but the shallow companion app is holding it back. Something for the company to think about.
The calling feature is buggy at times
While the calling feature is good, it can be erratic at times, especially for incoming calls. The app pushes incoming call alerts to the watch nicely and you will get options to accept, silence or reject incoming calls. Sometimes, he may simply refuse to do anything despite clicking on the buttons on the watch screen. This is something the company can fix in their next software update if they wish.
Some features could have been implemented better
Likewise, there are quite a few features that could have been implemented intelligently, for example, sleep tracking. The company has taken the trouble to calculate the amount of deep sleep, light sleep, and REM sleep, and provide its break-up, but it can only store the results the night before. And I’m not even talking about checking it on the watch, but I think it simply erases the old data in the middle of the night, and it’s not even available in the app.
The other issue is with stress monitoring. It’s great to see this feature on a budget watch but it doesn’t seem to track it automatically. There is also a widget dedicated to it on the watch but it won’t do much. I had to do the measurement manually from time to time, which is of little use. The idea of having this feature is to monitor your stress levels throughout the day, and if you don’t do it automatically, it’s almost pointless.
Only one slot on the watch for the watch face of your choice
The company claims that there are more than 150 watch faces for the ColorFit Pro 4, and this is probably true. There are more than decent spreads to choose from, and I found half a dozen I wanted to use. My excitement ended there as this watch allows you to store only one watch face of your choice on the watch along with pre-installed options that you cannot delete. Every time you move a new face from the app, the last uploaded face is replaced. The upload speed is also very slow as each hour takes over a minute to be transferred to the watch.
Price, Judgment and Alternatives:
Noise ColorFit Pro 4 can be bought for 3,499 rupees with a one year warranty. The price is reasonable for what it offers, and it has two great features such as the sharp screen, dial and coronal scrolling. At the same time, there are some shortcomings that are difficult to overlook. The very basic app doesn’t do that either. To make life more difficult for this noise clock, this is a competitive part and you will get better alternatives under Rs 4000.
Image Credit: Tech2 | Amia Dalvey
Our top pick in this segment is the Amazfit Bip 3 Pro which can be picked up for just another 500 rupees but has a lot of additional and useful features. You get built-in GPS, double the battery backup, 5ATM water resistance making it swim-proof, and most importantly, the Zepp app that beats NoiseFit in terms of features and data analysis.
For similar features as the Pro 4, but with a bigger and better screen, you can also consider the Boat Watch Primia we reviewed recently. You can get an excellent round AMOLED display if you prefer that form factor, and the watch has a higher style quotient as well. With better options available at a similar price, it is hard to recommend Noise ColorFit Pro 4.