Back in December, I plunked $20 down (plus an additional $7 to cover tax and shipping) to preorder a new watch from Wyze (cleverly called: Wyze Watch). You might know Wyze from their inexpensive line of cameras, outlet controls, smart bulbs, and other internet-of-things devices. They make quite a few items and keep updating and adding new ones to their offerings. The watch caught my eye because it 1) was only $20 and 2) looked pretty decent (both physical design and features) for an inexpensive “smart watch”. I’ve been wearing the watch and using it regularly for over a month now, thought I’d write up a bit on it.
A couple of things to note up front. The most recent “watch” I’ve worn regularly is a FitBit Alta, that is to say I haven’t had an Apple Watch or other smart watch to compare the Wyze Watch against. Additionally, I won’t be covering some areas of functionality because I don't own other Wyze products to test integrations with, nor did I enable the Android app permissions to access phone data/functionality (erring on the side of caution, as I’m not sure how well Wyze protects my data and how secure their app and watch are).
First impressions and beyond
The watch arrived in a nice little box with a USB (type A) charging cable and small Quick Start guide:
 |
| Simple, no frills... |
The “watch end” of the charging cable is magnetized (sorta like MagSafe, but not reversible), and everything seemed intuitive to figure out for charging and basic usage. There are also iOS and Android apps available to really get the most out of your purchase. The watch body is gray aluminum, offered in two face sizes (44mm and 47mm; I bought the latter), and the default band is black silicone, though they have some others you can order (including a couple of leather variants):
 |
| From the front... |
 |
| From the back... |
The watch has only one button (along the right side of the face), which you can use to turn the display on or off (it also supports a “wake on raise” behavior which turns on the display for a couple of seconds when you raise your wrist to check the time). The default screen on wake is the clock (which has a customizable "face" with many designs they offer, or you can use your own pictures with the time overlaid on top; the watch itself can only store three faces at any time, but it’s easy enough to download new ones from the app). From the clock, you can swipe right to access your current daily activity data:
 |
| Datums... |
Or, from the clock screen, swipe up to see battery life, screen brightness (3 levels, no “adaptive” option), do not disturb, and a “find my phone” option --lower right-- that will make your phone ring/vibrate if it’s within bluetooth range:
 |
| Settings... |
And if you swipe left on the clock screen, you see the apps, which appear to be built-in with the firmware version (and the watch firmware is upgradeable via the app):
 |
| Apps...! |
Some of the app highlights include getting your oxygen saturation levels and heart rate.
I found the Android app to be pretty user friendly. Seems that it works with many other Wyze products, but all I have is the watch...
 |
| Main page, lists all your Wyze devices... |
 |
| "Watch" page... |
 |
| Data view in the app... |
The app also supports a "find my watch" function, that will vibrate your watch if it's within bluetooth range (so listen closely!).
How's it holding up?
Wearing the watch and messing with it over a month now has surfaced some things I like and don't about it...
Pros
- Affordable - $20!
- Looks nice - the aluminum body and assembly seem to be solid and visually "works well" with the black silicone band.
- Takes a beating - I've accidentally slammed this into hard countertops quite a few times now, neither the glass nor aluminum body show any evidence of these abuses.
- Comfortable, considering the band is plastic-y - I'm not a huge fan of silicone bands on my wrist, but I find it to be not uncomfortable.
- 7+ days between charges - that is with regular walks each day, and it recharges pretty quickly (caveat would be that I didn't test using it for email or text notifications and such)
- Regular weekly email comms on status of preordered products - Wyze keep folks in the loop on how the preorders were coming along with once-a-week emails, was really nice.
Cons
- When running an app, you can't get back to the clock without leaving the app (annoying).
- Scrolling response via touch is a bit choppy.
Unknowns
- Wyze privacy and security postures (both app and device) - I'd love to have tried the email/text/call notifications, but opted not to without having more data on how Wyze positions itself (and executes!) on privacy and security.
- Integrations with other Wyze products - I didn't have any to test these capabilities with.
- Accuracy of heart rate and oxygen saturation readings - I didn't have something "more authoritative" to check them against, and if you don't wear your band tight, these readings will lose accuracy.
