I have recently been lucky enough to be sent a new smart watch called the Banaus B2 Sport IP68
So here are some thoughts and a general review
Firstly lets talk about how this watch feels
In my opinion it feels just a little too large on the wrist, this could of course be simple case of me not wearing any kind of watch on a daily basis, and having to get used to the feel of something on my arm, although it does tend to feel as though it is pushing against my wrist bone? it’s not painful just not comfortable for me.
It does however look very nice, it won’t be to everyone’s taste with the bright Orange boarder,
but I think it looks far more funky and modern that other smart watches which I have had in the past, and looks and feels far more premium then it’s price might suggest
The user interface is very easy to use and navigate with various menu’s accessed by swiping up or down or Left to Right
The One thing which is very annoying though is the lack of a back button, meaning that once you have left any particular setting menu, you then have to press the home button on the side of the watch to go back to the main menu, then start again to make any further changes, which takes time to get used to and is frustrating on initial setting up of the device (a firmware update may fix this)
Mine arrived set to Portugese language and did take quite some time to change to English as the instruction leaflet made no mention of how to change langauges, but it is pretty obvious if you have ever had to do this on any Android device in the past
As mentioned, the device menu is very easy to navigate, and setting up Blue Tooth was extreamly simple,
on testing this function I found the conectivity between phone and watch was super fast! and calls answered via the watch were clear and audible
The Banaus B2 uses Bluetooth 4.0 unlike most other smart watches which have 3.0 – using the “Fundo Wear App”
One nice feature was the watch will activate it’s built-in alarm to match any alarm on your phone, which is very useful for me as I have a few daily alarms set on my phone, which will now also set the watch alarm off too
Likewise playing music on the watch via the BT Music app was a handy function
It also comes with a “find my device” function which I m sure most of us will use at some stage
Remote picture capture is also present, although this is not something I use personally
The pedometer is a fantastic function to have along with heart rate monitor built in, so if like me you like going to the Gym, or are simply counting calories this is a really nice addition to have – there is a sleep monitor and sendentary function too, which acts on your motion, if you are sitting for too long the watch will actually let you know it’s time to get up and move about, and this can be set to your interval preferences
Obviously there is a Sim card slot which again is very useful for me, as my current Android device is single Sim, so now I can have my spare Sim set up to make/receive calls and SMS messages using the watch
Charging is via a USB magnetic strap which can be connected to a USB power source, or of course can be charged using your PC/laptop
Unlike most magnetic strap charging systems, this One works well, and does not fall off (as some others I have had used to) it locks into place very securely
This watch has a 1.54 – 240x240px IPS screen which is clear from almost any angle, with 4 different watch face choices, although I really would have liked to see Gorilla glass here, as for clumsy people like me, I’m sure to see some scratches pretty soon!
The 300 mAh battery may seem like a tiny amount of power for a device which does so much, but 96 hour standby time, 48 working time, and around 4 hours of talk time is pretty amazing I’m sure you will agree
Another nice function is the twist to mute function, meaning if you want to igonore call just twist your wrist and it will mute/end the call without the need to press anything
This smart watch is advertised as being at the highest level of waterproofing at IP68 – there will be absolutley no issue’s wearing this watch for swimming or having a bath/shower (l though I am unsure as to deep water swimming (as it’s a little cold to test in the ocean right now) They do suggest limit of 20 Mins submersion however
In conclusion
I have had a few smart watches in the past, but found them to be some what of a gimmick, and did not really use them daily, but this Banaus B2 may well be a perminent fixture for me
The simple fact is that this smart watch does everything I need it to do and more
So why not use it everyday
The only negatives I have found – are the bulky size which feels somewhat annoying at times, and the lack of back button, but apart from these small issue’s, I can highly recommend this Banaus B2 to anyone who may be looking at getting themselves an affordable waterproof smart watch
In fact this nice little device has changed my opion on the need to have a smart watch
and I can see me using this quite a lot in the future
Retailing presently at round $100
