Wrist real estate is a reality and what one sports on the wrist speaks volumes. But a person who’s new to smartwatches may not be comfortable wearing the best because it can be costly and second, digital watches may not be the “thang” for the person in question. For a smartwatch newbie it makes sense to start with affordable options before climbing the price ladder.

Since Redmi phones are almost everywhere, it makes sense to also try the Redmi Watch, which has just hit the market. This is Redmi’s first smartwatch and no it doesn’t resemble the Rolex Datejust 16013 which Christian Bale wore in American Psycho. As far as design is concerned, it’s cut from the same cloth as the Apple Watch but the Redmi effort is kind of an extension of the Redmi phone. Not flashy and it doesn’t make people think “ the dude’s burning up money” yet, it does all that it promises.

Look, flaws can easily be found on the costliest of devices but let’s not forget that under Rs 4,000 there’s decent value on this smartwatch. The target audience for it comprise those who are careful with their wallets, looks for certain functions and wants to see what a smartwatch can offer.

Out of the box, the watch looks clean as long as it is not the white-ish variant. The bezels are biggish but here’s a device with a 350 nits display. That’s very bright for TFT LCD display. Reading content on the 1.4-inch screen with a resolution of 320x320 is not at all a problem. After wearing it for six days I haven’t had any skin irritation and have managed to power through without charging. There is just one button on the side, which takes the user deep into the main menu.

It could have been a complicated relationship with the menu interface, for everything is in the form of icons with no labels. The icons have been designed well and I really didn’t confuse sleep mode with the workout icon!

There are a few things to like about the Redmi Watch. First, heart rate and step monitoring is quite good. Plus, it comes with GPS for tracking runs. Though slightly slow off the block, like a couple of minutes to hook on to a signal, it does a good job with the mapping. The mode is handy when you go for a walk or run without a smartwatch. Second, the workout modes are restricted to the things most of us need – walking, running, cricket, swimming, hiking and so on. Third, sleep tracking can be a useful feature for some but personally, I don’t think it’s worth going to sleep worrying about what your watch may throw up the next day; digital anxiety is the last thing I need.

What’s missing is oxygen monitoring. Personally, having SpO2 reading is quite useless, especially given the situation when a slight fall in oxygen saturation is giving us a nightmare. So, what do you do with a reading?! In the same breath, rival brands are offering it at a similar price. Whether Redmi likes it or not, the missing feature could make the buyer go with another brand.

But were this smartwatch scores is battery life, which easily lasts seven to eight days before you use the pogo connector for charging. Redmi as a brand enjoys a massive following across India but in the last few years, Amazfit has been able to drum up a lot of success in the smartwatch category with options like the Amazfit Bip U. And there’s also Noise ColorFit Pro 3.

Having said that, the Redmi Watch scores with its colourful interface and design but the company needs to come up with more devices in the category to sustain its run.

All about Redmi Watch

The Telegraph Picture

Device: Redmi Watch

Price: Rs 3,999

High notes

• The interface is colourful

• Bright display

• Good battery life

• GPS support

Muffled notes

• SpO2 monitoring is missing

• Redmi is known for pricing; this time it’s almost the same as rival devices