AQFiT W6 Review: Best Smartwatch Under Rs. 5,000?

AQFiT W6 is the latest budget smartwatch from the India-based smart wearable brand. The watch offers SpO2 monitoring, an official IP68 rating, and a battery life of up to 10 days which sounds too good for a smartwatch under Rs. 5,000. So, we decided to test it ourselves. In this review, I will be sharing my experience of using the AQFiT W6 for three weeks. Before we start, let’s quickly glance at the specs of the AQFiT W6.

AQFiT W6 Specifications:

• Display: 1.69″ IPS LCD, 240 x 280 pixels
• Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.0 LE
• Chipset: Realtek RK8762CK
• Battery: 200mAh (Up to 30 days of standby time)
• Charging: magnetic charger
• Companion App: Coolwear (Android | iOS)
• IP Rating: IP68 dust and water-resistance
• Price: Rs. 4,999

AQFiT W6 Smartwatch Review:

Design and Display 

• Metal frame, plastic back
• 1.69" IPS LCD screen
• IP68 rating

Let’s start with the design. Here, AQFiT has provided a metal body with a plastic bottom. The former is quite rare in the budget segment. Likewise, the weight distribution is quite good too. It does not feel bulky by any means. That being said, I am not impressed with its strap that feels a little cheap. Thus, I recommend getting a decent third-party strap whenever possible. I noticed some discoloration on the edges of the AQFiT W6, the third week into the review. AQFiT also doesn't mention any protection on the display and that could be an issue in the long run. Moving on, there is a physical button on the right side of the watch. While the smartwatch does have a raise-to-wake, I did not find it reliable. As a result, I was instead using the button for the most part.

Decent Color Saturation

AQFiT W6 has a rectangular display with a diagonal length of 1.69-inch. It is an IPS display with a big chunk of bezels all around. The brightness is what we usually get in a smartwatch of this segment. During my review, the brightness of AQFiT W6 fared well indoors but I found it to be on the lower side for outdoor usage. Thus, you will face visibility issues with the AQFiT W6 on a bright sunny day. On the flip side, the color saturation is actually good for the price. AQFiT does provide over 60 different watch faces, but the ones I actually liked were few and far between. That being said, there are some live watch faces too, which is cool given the price tag of the watch. Further, you can even make a custom watch face by uploading your pictures if you don’t like the default ones.

Watch UI 

AQFiT W6 runs on a proprietary software platform. Scrolling through the UI is not a swift experience, but it is to be expected from a b budget smartwatch. You can find the quick toggle screen on the bottom of the Home screen. Here, you can find shortcuts for brightness, Do Not Disturb, Find My Phone, and other features and settings. Likewise, pulling up from there opens up the main menu. From here, you can change watch faces, start a workout and even read your phone’s notification. As expected, you can reply to these notifications/messages. The watch can store up to 5 of these notifications at a time, and you can either view or delete them. Going sideways from the home screen, you will find different cards giving you insight into your health, fitness, and workout data. There are also cards for weather and music. During this review, I tested music control on the AQFiT W6 with Spotify, and it worked quite well. I was able to control music playback as well as adjust volume right from the watch.

Companion App

• Coolwear app
• Compatible with Android 5.0/+, iOS 9.0/+

For the aforementioned weather and music playback features, you must connect your watch to your phone via the Coolwear app. The app is available on both Android and iOS platforms.

Straightforward UI

In my review, I found the UI of the AQFiT W6 to be pretty straightforward. The home screen has all the data related to your fitness and workout. Furthermore, the app also has options to start a workout and change different settings of the watch. Similarly, if you happen to misplace your watch, you also have the option to ring it as long as the smartwatch is still connected to the phone.

Fitness/Health Tracking

• Heart rate, SpO2, Sleep monitoring
• 10 sports mode
• No built-in GPS

In my review, I found the step counter of the AQFiT W6 a little deceiving. The watch would often record more steps than actually taken. That being said, I found the sleep tracking to be accurate. The bedtime and wake-up time recorded by the watch was pretty accurate. Likewise, it even categorizes sleep time into deep and light sleep. Furthermore, heart rate and blood oxygen readings were usually within the realistic range. For all the fitness freaks, AQFiT W6 has 10 built-in sports modes, which football, cycling, skipping, and more. There is also a dedicated swimming mode. However, I would not recommend taking the watch to a pool as it only has an IP68 rating. If you want a smartwatch to swim with, look for something with a 5ATM certification instead. The watch doesn’t have a GPS built-in, but you can use your phone’s GPS to record your workout sessions from the Coolwear app. The app also has five more workout modes.

Battery 

• 200mAh battery
• Magnetic-pin charger

Now, let’s talk about the battery. Inside, AQFiT W6 packs a 200mAh battery, which the company claims to be enough for 7-10 days on normal usage. However, throughout my review period, I found the AQFiT W6 to offer 5 days of endurance on average. Likewise, the company ships a magnetic-pin charger in the box that fully charges the watch in 1 hour and 50 minutes.

AQFiT W6 Review: Conclusion

So, should you buy the AQFiT W6? Well, if you are in the market for a smartwatch but don’t want to spend much, AQFiT W6 could be a decent option under Rs. 5,000. Usually, budget smartwatches in this price range have promising specs but compromise on design and comfort. However, it’s not the case with the AQFiT W6. The design, display, and battery endurance of this smartwatch are well worth the price. That being said, if a smartwatch is not an absolute necessity to you, fitness bands like Mi Band 6 and Honor Band 6 offer more tracking options, AMOLED screens, and greater battery endurance.

AQFiT W6 Review: Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Metal frame
• Display saturation is good for the price
• Compatible with both Android and iOS

Cons:

• No display protection
• Strap feels
• Slight inconsistencies in readings