realme recently launched the realme Watch 3, the latest smartwatch from the company and the successor to the Watch 2 is priced at Rs. 3499 and is available in Black and Grey options. Apart from its own brand IoT space, realme has several accessories being sold under the Dizo brand name, but the realme Watch series has been doing well with every new version that the company has launched so far. Though realme has been generating a good number of sales for its wearables, brands like boAt, Noise, and others have been giving it tough competition. Will the Watch 3 be a good choice for what it offers at Rs. 3499? Let’s check it out.
Physical Overview
The realme Watch 3 looks like the lot that is available in the market with that polycarbonate body having curved edges and 22mm silicone straps, and there is also a reflective metallic texture frame that is also made of plastic. This is a pretty light watch, but it does feel a bit fragile. Also, for the display size, it feels like one that won’t look oversized or too small for most wrists and the screen-to-body ratio is better than what was on the Watch 2, but while offering some newer features, realme seems to have compromised on the resolution and thus the pixel density is now at 207 PPI compared to 323 PPI on the realme Watch 2.
The sunlight isn’t going to be an issue as the 500 nits brightness of the watch is well readable. There is also an absence of AMOLED display which makes the color output not of the best quality.
Since the realme Watch 3 is now coming with the Bluetooth calling feature, you would be able to see a microphone under the multifunction button on the right, while on the left there are two speaker vents too.
Fitness Features
As for the fitness features, those are powered by the Accelerometer, 24h Heart Rate Monitor and SpO2 Sensor for tracking the different health features. A total of over 110 sports modes are available for users to choose from, for the tracking of the fitness data for the same. The watch though shows only 16 sports modes to choose from, and that is understandable because those are the most common activity types to choose from. Also, if you wanted to add one of the sports modes from the bigger list, you can change that in the companion app.
The health tracking and step counting are quite good with the sensors not detecting unnecessary movement of the wrists and continuous shaking of the wrist without any real step movement didn’t count it as steps. Also, the heart rate monitoring was close to a medical heart rate monitor but I wouldn’t suggest this as an alternative to the real medical apparatus. Even with sleep tracking, the number of hours was approximately the same but it works only for those who sleep in the night, and daytime sleep and nap aren’t tracked properly.
Bluetooth Calling
The highlight feature of the realme Watch 3 is the Bluetooth calling feature. This is what was missing in the previous generations and it seemed like this could be the biggest reason for this watch to sell. The good thing with the calling feature is that you get to access the dialer, call history, and frequently dialed numbers from the watch face.
The call quality is decent, and you cannot expect it to match the levels of those flagship smartwatches from Apple, OPPO, etc. but even if the calling is happening without an issue, one of the drawbacks of the smartwatch is that the speaker output isn’t so good that you can hear the audio of the caller on the other side only if you have no background noise around. Also, the watch face dedicates itself to the call and you cannot go back to any other screen when the call is going on.
Smart Functionality and Battery Life
As for the smart functionality and notifications, you can enable or disable them for the apps from the realme Link app. There is a huge number of watch faces that can be chosen from and added to the “My faces” section that shows on the watch directly. The health reminders available include stand-up reminders, and water reminders and these can be set for certain times. The watch has a 24-hour spO2 tracking and this can be set for particular intervals, while one can track heart rate too, and the stress levels of the body can also be tracked with an interval of about 10 minutes each.
Now, let’s talk about battery life. The smartwatches in this price range usually offer a 7-10 day battery life, and the Watch 3 also claims to have 7-day battery life on a single charge. But this number primarily depends on what tracking options you have enabled, as the continuous heart rate and spO2 tracking eats up battery more and the battery life falls down to about 4-5 days.
Final Verdict – Good for Rs. 3499?
The realme Watch 3 is a well-priced smartwatch that is capable of tracking health data as promised, and it offers a good battery life, but the stand-out feature of the watch is the Bluetooth calling that makes it easier for users to do some quick call-receiving and call making on the go when you have your phone on charging and cannot take calls on it directly. The calling feature won’t be something that would come handy always but at times when you would be able to take calls on your watch, you would then realize the advantage of it.
The Watch 3 does have some alternatives including the Fire Boltt Ninja Call 2, Noise ColorFit Pro 4, and Crossbeats Orbit smartwatch, but there’s that brand preference and the service part that makes us recommend the realme Watch 3 over the other ones.
Very useful watch.