Like I mentioned in my previous post, BlitzWolf has expanded their product range to so many things, I sometimes wonder what is BlitzWolf’s product focus. But like a true blue tech brand, BlitzWolf dabbles into anything tech. Just search in Banggood.com and you will find products like LCD projector, portable monitor, smarthome switches, even humidifiers. In this post, I will share my experience on their smart watch, BW-HL3.
Unboxing and Design
Here’s what you can expect when you receive the BW-HL3 for the first time.
The BlitzWolf product packaging is unusually functional. No images of the product, only the model number. If they are on the retail display shelves, you won’t even lay your eyes on them. I guess BlitzWolf is fully aware that all their products would be sold online and so they are saving packaging costs. Inside the package, there is only the watch, magnetic charging cable, and user manual.
The BlitzWolf BW-HL3 is styled to look like a traditional watch, even the button is shaped like the crown. The strap has a silicone layer underneath with brown leather on the outside, so it’s slightly more durable against sweat than full leather, although it may not feel as breathable.
The strap has a quick-release mechanism to allow easy swap of straps. I don’t fancy the brown leather but the silver case can be rather striking with darker straps. The BW-HL3 fits 22mm strap size.
Smartphone App: GloryFit
Like all smartwatches, you need a smartphone app to connect to and sync all the data captured from the watch to the phone. GloryFit is the app and it’s quite comprehensive. You basically manage all the available functions and settings, including firmware updates, setting alarm, selecting apps for notification.
The watch itself has 4 preloaded watch faces, and I was pleasantly delighted to find that there are dozens more pre-installed watch faces available in the app to be uploaded to the watch. I can also customise the watch face by selecting any image as the background. But after the upload is completed, the custom dial resets to default without an option to save. The upload takes about 2 minutes which I thought was unusually long.
Operations
The BW-HL3 smartwatch can support step count and heartrate measurement, and also claims to be able to measure blood oxygen level (SpO2) and even blood pressure. I tested the BP measurement with a real BP machine and the readings are inaccurate, so don’t count on that. I also find the heartrate readings erratic on some days. For sleep measurement, it sometimes started counting when I sat on the bed, perhaps because I did not move much.
For exercise measurement, you can select the exercise from the watch and start the tracking. Once the exercise is completed, it will sync to the smartphone app and captured as a run activity. It captures basic stats like step number, distance, and calorie burn.
You can also start the exercise activity from the GloryFit app, but it does not link to the watch, so you will get 2 sets of workout results. The advantage of triggering the exercise from the app is that you get workout voice notification at intervals which you can define. It also captures the workout route using GPS on the phone.
The HL3 offers basic app notification feature: it displays a preview of the notification without any option to respond or reply. After opening the message, it will be removed from the unread message list.
The smartwatch has a healthy battery life of 7-8 days. The odd thing is that when it reached Day 4, the battery icon showed an empty battery (there are no percentage indicators), but the watch did not die until Day 8. The screen just died and there was no warning alert.
Conclusion and Verdict
The BlitzWolf BW-HL3 is a well-built and visually appealing smartwatch with dozens of watch faces available and numerous watch straps in the market to freshen up the style. I find most of the sensors and tracking metrics not as accurate as established fitness brands, but I believe anyone with a S$60 budget would not be looking for accuracy. Wearing a smartwatch to track my activity 24/7 gives me a good sense of how active I was, how well I slept, and how consistent my heart rate is. It offers a gauge of my relative wellness, and motivation to stay healthy and live well.
If you are interested, you can buy it from Banggood online store using this promo code BG2BWHL3 which lets you purchase the BW-HL3 at US$36.99, expires 30 July 2020. Buy purchasing through the affiliate link, I will earn a small commission, but most importantly, I will get more products to review from Banggood and share with you.
I encourage you to visit Banggood online store to browse the products and compare prices. Personally I find Banggood products are not the most competitively priced, but they sell some products which other sites do not. And when they do, their products are sourced from a network of trusted suppliers in 100+ regions of China to ensure only top quality products are offered. Comparatively, products sold at AliExpress or Taobao are handled by individual merchants so the quality and shipping varies.
