The next product attracting the greatest consumer interest after smartphones is the smartwatch. While the market is flooded with relatively numerous possibilities, there are few options that are specifically geared for sports. Enters House Of Play with their PlayFit Strength smartwatch, which offers a wealth of features but is primarily designed with sports in mind.
We have been using the PlayFit Strength smartwatch for good two weeks now. The round sporty dial, metal case, solid silicon straps, SpO2 monitoring, and other features make the watch unique. Coming in at a price of INR 3,999, the PlayFit Strength is an enticing product.
So should you invest in the PlayFit Strength as your next smartwatch? Let’s find out in our full review.
Key Specifications
- Display – 1.28-inch (240×240 resolution) IPS LCD panel
- 24 tracking modes
- 24/7 Heart rate sensor
- SpO2 monitoring
- EBEL Speaker
- IP67 Rating
- Bluetooth 5.0
- Up to 4 days of battery life, 15 days on Standby
Box Contents
A complete list of items you get inside the box:
- PlayFit Strength Smartwatch
- Charging Cradle
- User instruction manual
Design & Display
Upfront we get a 1.28-inch IPS LCD panel with a 240×240 resolution which is dense enough considering the size of the watch. The benefits of LCD are great brightness, a broad color gamut, and power efficiency in general, all of which are reflected here. The watch gets a two-button layout on the right side with the top one controlling all of the key operations, including menu navigation and watch wake-up, while the bottom one can be remapped.
Software & Performance
The company’s unique real-time operating system (RTOS) powers the PlayFit Slim. This is simply a scaled-down version of a standard OS that is used on other inexpensive smartwatches and was created for low-powered devices. On this model, there are just 24 fitness modes available, which is disappointing since the watch has this sporty theme.
The setup process is easy and requires minimal work. To link the smartwatch, just download the PlayFit app from the PlayStore and follow the on-screen directions. The app needs to be updated and does appear to be a little antiquated. The PlayFit app is not the best companion app we’ve seen till now and certainly needs a lot of work. Functionality-wise, the app gets you all the basic metrics at your fingertips for ease of use.
In our tests, we found that the heart rate and sleep statistics were mostly trustworthy. The watch properly tracked the amount of time spent sleeping and even detected irregular sleep patterns. The watch gets a calling option which is increasingly in demand on budget watches. For this, the watch relies on a Bluetooth connection to the phone, though you can dial a number right from your wrist. There is a small EBEL speaker placed inside the watch which gets loud enough during calls.
Moving to the sensor suite, the PlayFit Strenght does justice here with all the possible sensors you would need in a budget smartwatch. Even budget sensors these days have an accuracy level of 98% or greater due to the advancements made in the algorithms for heart rate monitoring, stress detection, and SpO2 monitoring, and the sensor suite on the PlayFit Strength is no exception.
The battery life on the PlayFit Strength has been good; the performance matched the claimed statistics, and we were able to use the device for around 3 days before needing to recharge it. Using the included magnetic charger, it took us just under two hours to recharge the watch.
