New boAt Wave Call review: Bluetooth calling at an affordable price & more – Republic World
Indian consumer wearable company boAt has launched yet another affordable smartwatch in the country. It is called boAt Wave Call and it is available on Amazon for Rs. 1,999. The smartwatch comes with a large display, supports fitness tracking features and features Bluetooth calling as well. But how does it actually feel like to wear the smartwatch? it is better than the competitors in its segment? Let’s find out.
Built Quality
The boAt Wave Call might have a large display, but it is very compact and handy. The textured-metal casing around the screen feels sturdy and makes the smartwatch durable. On top of the display, users get a layer of curved glass which adds a premium touch to the device. The back panel of the smartwatch is made of textured plastic and has the optical sensors (protected by a plastic sticker) located in the centre.
Since the smartwatch weighs 46g, it feels comfortable to wear for long hours, which is suitable for college-going users or professionals who may purchase the device. The strap quality is decent – users get one free loop to push the additional strap after wearing the watch. Users can even take the smartwatch to workouts in the gym or on a run outdoors, as it has an IP68 rating. Moreover, the built quality of the smartwatch justifies its price.
Display
The boAt Wave Call has a rectangular 1.69-inch HD LCD with equal bezels on three sides and a chin at the bottom. The display quality of the smartwatch is above average as the colours produced are vibrant. Thanks to the peak brightness of 550 nits, the display is visible in most outdoor situations. In indoor conditions, the display is legible even on minimum brightness.
The smartwatch’s display does not shy away from bright sunny days. Although users might have to turn up the brightness, the display is legible even in direct sunlight. To adjust the brightness, users have to swipe down from the home screen, tap on the sun-shaped icon and adjust the slider.
User Interface
To wake up the smartwatch, users have to press the button given on the side. Just like on smartphones, users can access quick controls such as starting a workout, brightness, sleep mode and call connection by swiping down on the home screen. Swiping up on the home screen, users can browse through several menus, such as the Sports menu that displays the number of steps taken and the calories burnt, the heart rate, sleep and weather widgets and the dedicated dialer.
By swiping right on the home screen, users can access all their smartphone notifications. The notifications appear as tiles with an app icon at the left and a title at the right. To expand the notifications, users can tap on it. For instance, tapping on the ‘missed call’ tile will show the contact number. Similarly, tapping on a WhatsApp tile or message tile will display the entire message. However, users do not get the feature of quick responses or cannot reply to the messages. Nevertheless, most smartwatches in this price segment do not come with the feature.
Swiping left on the home screen opens a list menu that contains shortcuts to measure heart rate, SpO2, view sleep stats, turn on the sports mode and enable camera control. In this menu, users also get features like stopwatch, timer, screen timeout, watch face settings and raise to wake. To return to the last menu, swipe from the display’s left corner or press the …….