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Interface and app
The alarm is a fun feature. You can set your alarm on the Lenovo Healthy app and the Lenovo HW02 Plus will vibrate to nudge you awake in the morning.
There are three different intensities that you can set the band to — low, medium and high. I don’t see the point of the low and medium settings since the high setting was the only one that could wake me up. But that might just be me because I sleep like a log.
You can sync a whole host of apps to deliver notifications directly on to the HW02 Plus. I can understand the appeal of such a feature but it honestly felt like a reboot of the 90’s pager. One bug that I found was that if you're using WhatsApp Web, the band vibrates every time you swipe to the app (on your PC) regardless of notifications.
The band is feature rich and really does try its best to be as comprehensive as possible. You can even set the band to running mode and it has the capability to map your route. Alas, it falls short of what a perfect fitness band should be.
One thing that you have to keep in mind is that if you don’t sync the band to your app on a daily basis, it won’t sync that day’s data. I wasn’t aware of this which led to so much disappointment because I’d gone out dancing on those nights and it would’ve definitely contributed towards my PAI score. #justsaying
The display
This may seem nit picky, but why is the display so shoddy? Under the sun’s full glare, it’s impossible to see what time it is. If you’re indoors, it’s perfect. But, every time you wanna see the time, you have to tap the little button on the watch because the hand gestures activating the display works on its own whim and is hardly dependable.
Even when it does, it automatically switched off within 4 seconds.
There is an option to turn off the gesture from within the app though, so this may not necessarily be a hindrance for everyone.
Now, onto the main point of buying a fitness band in the first place, the measurements. The pedometer is more or less accurate, but I wouldn’t call it perfect. It’s overestimating the number of steps I've been taking. Ordinarily, I wouldn't think twice about it but for an accurate measurement of PAI, it's crucial that this data should be on point.
Even my heart beat measurements are a little off. While sitting in my chair at nine in the morning, the Lenovo Healthy app recorded my bpm at 145 though my regular bpm is 60 (measured using the Omron HEM-712, a pro bp measuring tool). Regardless of the accuracy, I think I would’ve noticed the spike in my own body.
Verdict
Since the two devices won't be sold as a bundle, the Lenovo SmartScale is priced at Rs. 4499 and the HW02 Plus is going to cost you Rs. 3299.
Given that the Lenovo SmartBand is so feature rich, it's not that bad a deal at this price. In competition with the Xiaomi Mi Band 2, the HW02 is less bulky and more feature rich.
The Lenovo HW02 is a nice change from bulky smartbands, but that's the only thing working in its favour. As a fitness gadget, it's hardly dependable and the value proposition is just not enough.
