Should you get the Fire Boltt Epic? Here’s what we think. (Express Photo/ Chetan Nayak/WideCare)

It seems like there’s a new smartwatch launching in the Indian market every week, especially in the entry-level category. These wearables largely have similar feature sets, looks, and sometimes, even the same companion app. So how does a brand competing in these segments make a product stand out? One way is to bring a standout feature or design aspect, but that isn’t really feasible at such low price points. The other is to bring the price down really low for the existing package, which is something Fire Boltt’s new Epic smartwatch is trying to do.

At just Rs 1,499, the Epic is packed with enough features to put some 2021 smartwatches that cost twice as much to shame. However, are there compromises that you should expect at this price? Find out in my full review below.

What’s good?

The Fire-boltt Epic doesn’t have the best design, but there is one design aspect I must point out. It is one of the few watches to come in multiple sizes at the same price. On Flipkart, the watch is available in both 1.69-inch and 1.83-inch variants. The watch features a well-lit LCD display with 2.5D curved glass. This is not an AMOLED panel and doesn’t have the highest resolution either at 240×286 pixels, but for the price you pay, these are pretty good numbers.

The main menu of the watch can be switched to an Apple Watch-like honeycomb pattern. Some icons here also resemble those of the watchOS UI. (Express Photo/ Chetan Nayak/WideCare)

The UI of the Fire-Boltt Epic is the same as a number of other budget wearables, with the watch dial as the main page, health and other activity widgets infinitely scrollable sideways, and a quick settings panel drops down from the top. There’s a fluid motion to all the transitions here, and even at this price, I surprisingly did not encounter many instances of lagging or jerky animations.

Apart from features like heart-tracking and blood-oxygen monitoring, the watch also has other smaller features that might be easy to miss, like two in-built games, which are hard to play on the tiny screen, but hey, who complains about free inclusions?

The watch connects with the ‘Da Fit’ app and which offers you a few extras like using the app’s in-built camera for remote picture-taking or setting one of the many watchfaces. There is also a custom-watch face option that allows you to set your own pictures as the background.

What’s not good?

The Fire-Boltt Epic’s looks are the biggest downside for me. With the same rectangular design and side-crown placement as every other budget smartwatch, there’s is nothing to give the wearable even a little bit of a unique touch. This is accompanied by sub-par build-quality on accessories like the flimsy pogo-pin charger or the cheap-looking straps. Thankfully, the straps are replaceable easily, so you may want to add some better straps to this wearable in the future if you end up getting the Fire-Boltt Epic.

Despite a tiny screen, the watch manages to pack two casual games – 2048 (above) and Young Bird. (Express Photo/ Chetan Nayak/WideCare)

The fitness tracking options are also not the most accurate, as can be expected at this price. The step counter can oscillate between logging legitimate results when you take a walk, to way off numbers when you don’t but the watch detects otherwise, such as during sleeping. The heart rate also was way off for me, showing an eerily consistent 99 instead of my usual numbers around 70-80.

Verdict: Who should buy the Fire-Boltt Epic?

The Fire-Boltt Epic is not exactly a good budget smartwatch, and it doesn’t do much new compared to other smartwatches of the past. However, at a price lesser than that of most annual prepaid plans, it would be unfair of us to ask for more of the Epic.

The real question is, should you go for a smartwatch this cheap? Well, if you just want a watch that has a display and gets the basics right like the time and a few extras like nice watchfaces and a couple of games, the Fire-Boltt gets the job done, without asking for much. However, if you can stretch your budget to even Rs 3000 if not Rs 5000, know that is much more on the table, including better build quality, designs and features like Bluetooth Calling. This includes watches like the Realme Watch 3 Pro and Dizo Watch R Talk, as well as some of Fire-Boltt’s own offerings.

News Article Source:- Indian Express