- Price is awesome!
- No microphone or speaker is disappointing (no phone calls, sounds, AI assistants, voice-controlled smart home devices, etc).
- You can accept or reject answering a call without touching your phone (though you can’t talk or hear through the watch itself). This could be useful while driving or exercising while wearing a headset with microphone connected to your phone.
- Bluetooth - the launch page on their site says it is 5.0, but their FCC filing says it is only 4.0 and that all tests also showed it functioning in the 2Mbps range which is only 4.0 (Why this matters: If it’s 4.0 that means it isn’t classified as an IOT device, the range is way shorter, it burns battery faster, it’s slower, and uses more resources than a 5.0 device would). Waiting on clarification on the discrepancy (EDIT: Clarification received and summarized at the end of this post, it is 5.0).
- No NFC.
- Will allow you to use Wyze shortcuts quickly (can’t unlock the Wyze lock with it though)
- No API yet (ie: can’t connect to Sleep as Android or others), but in a recent AMA they said they are working on releasing API’s for their devices in the future.
- Works with Google Fit and Apple Health
- Has an oximeter! This is awesome, but you can only check it manually (not passively/automatically) and only once every 5 minutes at most (See confirmation by Wyze below as making this decision to ensure longer battery life).
- Passive monitoring for heart rate is limited to once every 5 minutes. You can’t set it to check more or less frequently (confirmed by Wyze below). They said they made the decision to take this choice away from us (to ensure longer battery life). The watch will use this passive monitoring to help with the sleep monitoring.
- No local storage (ie: for storing music).
- Functionality is limited when not connected directly to a phone, but it will still do some things (track heart rate, use oximeter, tell time, alarms, etc).
- Water resistant (IP68) = effective for limited continuous submersion underwater (most swimming pools), but not high-pressure or for a long time (scuba diving or really deep pools).
- Can customize the display, including using pictures
- OS = RTOS (confirmed by Wyze below)
- Does allow some access to some apps on your phone (Messaging, weather, music controls for what’s playing on your phone are in testing, emails, though it doesn’t specify which apps or many details about what the limitations are)
In short, it’s more of a basic fitness band with a big square display, rather than what is normally considered a standard “smartwatch” nowadays. If they open up the API to third parties (in the AMA they said they working on API for their devices), then you could possibly make a little more use out of some of its features (the passive tracking, etc). Still, it is an amazing price, and it looks really nice. This is a really great inexpensive item for some people that looks good and has basic features, and for others it doesn’t quite have what they want or expect in a smartwatch. It totally depends on what you want to use it for, and your own preferences. I’m just answering a lot of common questions and assumptions many people want to know to help make a better personal decision for yourself.
EDIT: Wyze has officially affirmed that the Bluetooth for these watches is indeed 5.0, and that the earlier FCC submission saying 4.0 will be updated. Wyze made a great decision to make that upgrade before launch! It is a significant positive.