Nubia Watch - watch from the SF movie

Nubia Watch is a device slightly simpler than Nubia Alpha, which we had the opportunity to see almost two years ago at the MWC. It's smaller, less ostentatious, but still intriguing and eye-catching, thanks to a large, flexible display. The aforementioned AMOLED display is - by smartwatch standards - even huge. It has a diagonal of 4.01 inches and a resolution of 192x960 pixels, and it is flexible and reaches far to the bar. It looks amazing and makes a great impression - although the functions of the watch remain typical, and the design itself - is actually simple.

Nubia Watch - videoreview video: mGSM.pl via YouTube

Construction, style

Nubia Watch is quite a big watch. It weighs almost 100 grams and measures 125 x 41.7 x 14.4 mm - what you can feel when you are wearing it. In my opinion, this is typically male equipment, especially that the colour of the housing is typically male. We have a choice of classic black or Army Green, which you can see in the pictures. In fact - only the main part of the casing is coloured, and the strap always remains black. Speaking of the strap - it is silicone, quite solid and equipped with a decent clasp. The set includes an additional fragment of it to be able to adjust the size for a slimmer hand. The shape of the main case, however, suggests that it is not a smartwatch for smaller users. Why?

The answer is simple: because of the display. The screen "extends" beyond the watch case, smoothly transforming into a strap. It is only flexible at the ends, which gives the device housing a specific shape. It fits my arm perfectly - but on the slimmer one it is probably a bit less. The case of the watch is made of metal and ceramics and has a rather specific styling. If you like futuristic style - you'll like it, but if you prefer the classics, not necessarily. The case of the watch is really solid, so I think the weight of the device can be forgiven. The screen is protected by Schott glass.

The bottom of the watch case has already been covered with a plastic - probably to allow the placement of the heart rate monitor and charging pins there. These pins connect to a simple magnetic stand, which, in turn, can be connected to any smartphone charger... But why through the old microUSB socket?! A strange case... Another peculiarity of this structure is the lack of full waterproofness. Unfortunately, it only has an IP 54 certificate, so let's say that the drizzle is not afraid, but in a decent downpour it is worth putting the watch in your pocket. The lack of IP68 is - in my opinion - probably the biggest shortcoming of this design - but IP54 is enough for training.

Display

The Nubia Watch display - as I mentioned - is large, but has specific proportions. It is long but quite narrow. In practice - we move around the interface mainly in the central zone of the screen, and the edges overlapping the bar are mainly responsible for an interesting visual effect. Fortunately, the screen is quite bright and clear. The colours are decent and the blacks are deep. The surface of the display feels "plastic" to the touch - but gives a good glide of the finger and looks quite resistant. I couldn't scratch it during testing. The readability of the screen is good on sunny days, and the comfort of viewing the time is ensured by the ability to wake the screen when you raise your hand - it works properly. The screen lighting time after waking up can be adjusted - 5, 10 or 30 seconds. The screen can also glow constantly - it's a pity, during this time it remains unlocked...

Performance

Nubia Watch works on the basis of the not very young Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor, supported by a gigabyte of RAM and 8 GB of internal memory, although in reality we have just over half of it. The device also has GPS and Wi-Fi modules, as well as - as I mentioned - an optical heart rate monitor. I have no serious objections to the smooth operation of the device. The touch panel efficiently follows the finger movements, the smoothness of the animation on the screen is satisfactory - I do not expect more. We can upload music to the watch's memory and play it after connecting Nubia Watch with Bluetooth headphones via the phone. I would like to add that the watch - outside Europe - also comes in a version that supports the eSIM card.

Software

Nubia Watch does not use any of the popular system platforms. This means that we are doomed to Nubia's proprietary software and the inability to install popular applications. We only have what the manufacturer gives us - like in a simple headband. True - we get quite a lot, but the support of popular fitness apps would also be nice - or at least the ability to export data to them. In this respect, the Nubia watch is closer to sports bands than to full-blooded smartwatches.

Navigating the interface is quite simple. We wake up the device by pressing the only button on the casing (imitating the crown of a classic watch), and then we use typical gestures on the screen. By sliding your finger to the right or left, we get to the main menu in the form of vertically scrolling icons, and by dragging your finger from top to bottom, we will expand the shortcut panel. By moving the panel in the opposite direction - we will review the notifications. The interface also includes classic on-screen buttons and "sliders" - the main ones in the settings section. Overall, the interface is easy to navigate and its layout is intuitive.

The Nubia watch is accompanied by a smartphone app. And here is a small screeching - scanning the QR code from the manual with the phone - we find the older version. The newer one - we have to download it manually, the older one will not be updated. Maybe newer copies already have updated brochures...? A minor slip-up - but the application itself is decent. Connecting to the watch is very simple - we scan the QR code from its screen. The application allows you to configure the watch and to read the data collected by it about our activities. It's a pity we can't do anything more with them apart from viewing.

Despite some limitations, the Nubia Watch software managed to fit a few useful things. In addition to the obvious - like measuring time with the possibility of creating your own unique dial - we also have an almost equally obvious preview of notifications from selected applications. Unfortunately - we can only read them. We also have the aforementioned music control and an alarm clock independent of the phone. We can use the compass, calendar view from the phone and heart rate measurement. Additionally, of course, we also have steps, distance and calories counting, as well as sleep and exercise monitoring. Unfortunately, their selection is limited to only four, two of which are running - on a treadmill or outdoors. Not too much. The pedometer and heart rate monitor work properly, their indications did not differ significantly from the other two devices with which I compared the Nubia Watch readings.

Nubia Watch also allows you to read text messages and even handle voice calls. Unfortunately, actually one way - it has an extremely quiet speaker. It's hard to communicate - but we can always answer the call and say we'll call back. In my opinion, the potential of the device and its large screen have been slightly wasted here. Not being able to respond to notifications, I'd still suffer - but not being able to chat and write a message - coupled with limited activity monitoring options - is making a pretty big impact on my rating for Nubia Watch's usability.

Battery

The Nubia Watch has a 425 mAh battery. The manufacturer ensures that the battery will provide the watch with up to 36 hours of work in normal mode or up to a week in the energy-saving mode, limiting the functionality of the device to show the time. These are nice results considering the size of the watch's display. What's most interesting, the manufacturer does not mislead. Nubia Watch (as long as we don't "play" with it too much and turn off Wi-Fi and GPS), it can actually work for about three days. Working time in economy mode - even exceeded the manufacturer's promises. It's fine - but I also know a way to discharge the battery in a few hours - just turn off screen blanking. So - if you want to play with a constantly glowing, futuristic gadget, take this into account.

Charging the battery takes quite a long time, almost an hour and a half. In addition - you have to remember to have not only a charging stand at hand, but also an older type microUSB cable - fortunately Nubia adds it in the set. The charging stand is magnetically attached, but the watch must be on its side when filling the battery. It is a pity that nobody thought that the horizontal "night clock" would be displayed on the screen then...

Why is it worth buying Nubia Watch?

Nubia Watch costs 219 euro. The price does not seem excessive for such a futuristic gadget. However, it must be remembered that the Nubia Watch does not really offer us much more than ordinary bands for EUR 50. It just has a bigger screen and a more interesting style. And it is the amazing appearance, like from a science-fiction movie, that should be behind the decision to buy this device. Appearance - this is the greatest advantage of this device. The quality of the image presented by the AMOLED display and its readability are also at a high level. Nubia Watch also enjoys a friendly, simple interface, as well as quite good battery performance, which, however, could charge a bit faster.

The watch disappointed me with its limited functionality - especially that it could be significantly improved with just minor modifications - for example the option of responding to a notification. I am also surprised by the low power of the built-in loudspeaker - maybe my copy is simply faulty...? In any case, if you asked me if I would recommend Nubia Watch - I will answer yes, but only as an intriguing gadget. It works great in this role.