Realme Watch 3 Review: Affordable smartwatch packed with features
The affordable Realme Watch 3 segment is becoming increasingly popular and some of the older market players have already gained a good hold in it. Realme is also one such brand which is working very hard to build its own ecosystem.
The company’s products have a strong presence in a wide variety of segments including smartphones, audio products and tablets. The company’s latest addition in the smart wearable segment is the Realme Watch 3 which is trying to strike a balance between functional features and affordability along with fitness and health tracking.
Realme Watch 3 The price in India is Rs 3,499. This is the latest affordable smartwatch from the company. Through this, the company is trying to compete with the products of the same price range of Noise, Fire-Bolt and Boat. With a bigger display, Bluetooth calling and fitness tracking features, is the Realme Watch 3 the best affordable smartwatch you can buy right now? Find out in this review.
Realme Watch 3 Design and Specifications
Priced at Rs 3,499, the Realme Watch 3 directly competes with the recently launched Noise ColorFit Pro 4 which offers similar features and specifications. Here the Realme Watch 3 sports a 1.8-inch TFT LCD display, which is slightly larger than the Noise smartwatch. But it is not as sharp as the noise and it has a resolution of 240×286 pixels. It comes with a maximum brightness of 500 nits.
Realme Watch 3 comes in two color options which include Black and Grey. The company sent me its gray model. The strap is gray but the sides of the smartwatch are very glossy and the bright shade of silver looks good in my opinion. The front and back of the watch are in black color and the 22mm strap can also be changed with later market options.
Thick borders have been given around the screen of the watch, due to which its look seems a bit old. You can hide this a bit by using a black background. A microphone is given in it on the right side, which is along with the primary button. The primary button comes with power controls and some navigation options. Speakers are provided on the left side which are useful while receiving calls. There are contact points for charging at the bottom of the device as well as optical sensors for heart rate and blood oxygen readings.
The Realme Watch 3 is rated IP68 for dust and water resistance. It weighs 40 grams with its strap. It uses Bluetooth 5.3 for connectivity. You also get a magnetic charging cable in the sales package.
Realme Watch 3 software and apps
The user interface of Realme Watch 3 is quite simple in which some fixed apps have been given. You can neither install any other app in it nor uninstall its apps. For connectivity with the smartphone, it uses Bluetooth, through which it works to sync fitness data and show notifications.
Swiping the right or left cycle on the watch shows the main apps including activity tracking, sleep tracking, heart rate tracking, weather and music controls. Notifications appear when you swipe up from the bottom. Swiping from top to bottom brings up a toggle for brightness, power saving mode, settings and other options. On pressing the side button, the entire app menu appears to you in grid or list format.
The main functions you’d expect in a smartwatch are apps that include stopwatch, timer, alarm, camera shutter control, heart rate and blood oxygen tracking, workout and workout records, settings, and more. It is quite easy to access and use.
With the help of the Realme Link app, the watch and the smartphone are connected together. This app is available for both Android and iOS. The fitness data in the app can be viewed in a detailed and organized manner. With its help, you can also customize the settings and other functions in the watch.
You can choose from the growing list of watchfaces of Realme and quickly change any of the four watchfaces saved in the watch. Here you can also choose which app will send you notifications or not. The watch enters active mode by pressing the button and lifting the wrist. Tapping the screen in standby makes no difference.
If you have other realme products like earphones or IoT devices, then this app becomes very convenient and works as a common hub for all. The connection with the smartwatch was stable and the notification delivery was also reliable during the review period.
Realme Watch 3 performance and battery life
There are many features to say in an affordable smartwatch, but the real experience comes out very different. Especially in this price segment, it has been seen a lot. But, as far as showing the time and notifications, changing the watchface is concerned, this watch from Reality does a good job here.
Bluetooth calling is useful in this and I used it for short calls in quiet places like my home and office. It is very easy to receive calls on it and works without any hassle. When it comes to health and fitness tracking, I found it lacking. But there are not many options in this price which provide accurate tracking. This watch counted 1072 out of the 1000 steps I counted. The same figure was also seen in Noise ColorFit Pro 4. For longer distances, the difference increased to 85 extra steps per 1000 steps.
It measured the distance less when compared to the Apple Watch. Whereas the measurement of calories showed more. The heart rate reading was also not accurate when recorded while walking, but it showed fine when standing or sitting. Blood oxygen level shown to be accurate. It also did sleep tracking properly.
It matches what the company has claimed about its battery life and lasts up to 7 days. I did a lot of activity in it, did health tracking, sometimes used it for calls and also checked notifications.
Our decision
Realme Watch 3 offers a lot for a price of Rs 3,499. It looks good, is reliable for connectivity, has good battery life and comes with Bluetooth calling. Its fitness and activity tracking does not impress. But according to the price, there is no shortage of features in it. If your budget is very less then you can consider buying it.
The Noise ColorFit Pro 4 also can’t take your eyes off it as it has more watchfaces and a sharper display. Here it also comes down to brand and personal preference. But it can definitely be said that for the Realme Watch 3, it is giving more than what you spend.
