The smartwatch market has grown like anything over the past few years, thanks to their sheer advantage over regular watches. What has helped them gain even more traction and reach masses is, of course, the affordability. Today, we have one such affordable smartwatch, dubbed as Play PlayFit SW75 from a Delhi-based tech start-up. We’ve been using the watch for over two weeks now and here’s our detailed PlayFit SW75 review for you to decide if it’s worth buying.
Play PlayFit SW75 Watch Review
Design & Display
The Playlist SW75’s design is pretty much inspired by the Apple Watch, thanks to the square-shaped body and curvy edges. Notably, it gets a dual-tone finish with black on the bottom and dark metallic grey on top that gives it a premium appeal, especially when the display is off.
As for the controls, you get two textured buttons on each side- the one on the left is for entering an option while the one on the right lets you go back. Fortunately, buttons aren’t the only way to control the watch.
There’s a 1.3-inch touch LCD panel with a resolution of 260 x 260 pixels. The display offers the right amount of sharpness and gets bright enough outdoors. Furthermore, it is quite responsive and is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for resistance against scratches. For starters, there are only four watch faces given on board, and there’s no way you can add more which is a tad disappointing for my liking.
Like most other smartwatches, this one is certified to 5ATM standards, making it waterproof for depths up to 50 meters. Overall, the watch doesn’t look cheap at all and feels comfortable to wear on an everyday basis.
Performance & Battery
The Playfit SW75 watch utilises a low power Nordic Semiconductor nRF52840 SoC. This allows it to last for over a month when used as a regular wristwatch. While in the other case, using specific features on a daily basis will make it last for up to 17 days on a full charge.
In my usage, I got a 12-day endurance with active heart rate scanning and notifications which is quite good considering that it has an LCD panel. As for charging, it uses a proprietary magnetic charger that connects through the back of the watch.
The SW75 is compatible with Bluetooth 5.0 and can connect with your Android smartphones and iPhones without any issues. The company also mentions it to have 8 Gigs of onboard storage, but I haven’t found any way to utilise it yet as there’s no provision for loading music files on the watch.
User Experience & Features
Most of the navigation on the watch is handled by touch controls, including swipes and clicks followed by the buttons given on each side. As mentioned earlier, the button on the left lets you select or enter a menu or option while the one on the right is for exiting or navigating back.
Additionally, you can configure the left button to launch any one activity from the available presets. The screen can be turned off using the right button while you need to head to the Settings to switch off the watch.
The interface is well-composed and is easy to use for the most part. Swiping right will lead you through the available features while swiping down will show notifications if any. Just like the Amazfit Bip, there’s no option to interact with notifications. Thankfully, alerts from the majority of apps including WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram, Twitter and more are supported here.
The PlayFit SW75 flaunts features like Sedentary Alerts, Alarm, Timer and schedule history, accompanied by a music controller that lets you control music on your phone from the watch. There’s also a ‘Raise to Wake’ feature that’s a little low sensitive and often requires multiple tries to turn on the display.
Fitness Features
Coming to the fitness-oriented features, you can track up to 14 sports mode including walk, run, bike, hike, cycling, basketball, football, badminton, dance, climbing, treadmill, spinning, cardio, and yoga.
The heart rate scanner works pretty accurate and is on par with my Amazfit Bip. And thankfully, the pedometer generally avoids false hand movements, and Sleep Monitor too is seemingly reliable. As a unique feature, the SW75 also keeps female health in check by keeping track of the menstrual cycle and irregularities in conjunction.
All the data from fitness tracking features are recorded within the watch and can be seen in the PlayFit app when you sync the watch with your phone. In certain instances, it even warns you if you get your heart rate above the recommended rate.
As you might’ve already noticed by now, there’s no swim mode on offer despite the watch being suitable for pool use, so keep a note of that.
Pros
- Sharp display with good sunlight legibility
- Great design
- Easy to use Interface
- Good overall battery life
- A plethora of fitness features
Cons
- Strap quality could’ve been better
- Limited watch faces
- Lack of customisation
- Absence of Swimming Mode
PlayFit SW75 Review Verdict- Should you buy it?
For a price of Rs. 3,499, PlayFit SW75 is indeed a very compelling option in the market. However, it’s not perfect and has its own set of cons, as mentioned above.
If you are on a very tight budget and want a fitness tracker disguised as a smartwatch, then it’ll be the right choice for you. Otherwise, you can have a look at options like Honor Band 5 and Mi Band 4 (review) that offer similar core functionality at a cheaper price tag.
