Vcall U8 Smart Watch (Black) Review

Vcall U8 Smart Watch (Black) Review

Buy it at Amazon: Vcall U8 Smart Watch (Black) [Affiliate Link]

Takeaway: Very basic Android smart watch, good for notifications, alarms, and handsfree calling.

This is a fairly basic smart watch that, in addition to telling you the time and setting alarms, has health related apps, a number of phone functions when paired to your smartphone like handsfree calling, text message reader and push notifications for your smartphone's apps. The band is a simple black rubber that'll fit wrist sizes from 7.5" to 9" inches comfortably. The watch face is 2" x 1.5" and about 1/2 inch thick. It weighs an ounce and a half.

The watch charges via microUSB and the port is located on the left hand side under a silicone protective cover. The unit takes several hours to fully charge and for me lasts about 3 days of moderate use before I need to charge it again. The watch has a built-in speaker and microphone for handsfree calling, you can also set it to transmit all of your phone's audio through the watch, e.g. media like video, music etc. You can turn media playing off so that the watch only does audio for calls or even shut off the audio completely and just use the other smart features like notifications. The handsfree calling works well and the sounds good on the caller's end.

The watch boots up in a few seconds with a short splash screen and there are three default apps on the home screen as well as the Android touch buttons along the bottom. To pair with your phone, connect to a device called U8. If you're familiar with the android interface you'll recognize the touch buttons along the bottom for menu, apps, and back. However, pressing the menu button actually opens up the app drawer, pressing the apps button opens up the dialer, and pressing the back button functions as expected. There are some interesting apps bundled with this watch including and "anti lost" feature that prompts the watch to ring and or vibrate if you put it down and walk out of bluetooth range (about 33 ft). There's also a barometer, altimeter, and calculator. Health related apps are also included like a pedometer, sleep monitor that detects if you're moving in your sleep, and a drink and rest reminder to help you remember to take breaks and stay hydrated during the day.

In order to take full advantage of the watches features when paired with your phone like reading text messages, camera, and push notifications, you'll have to install the Bluetooth notification BT app on your phone. I tried the one in the instruction manual but it kept crashing on me. So I downloaded a different one in the Google Play store (there are many of them) and found one that worked for me. This app is only available for Android phones so iOS users will not be able to access the features that require this app. Without the app, you can still access your phonebook, dialer, call history, and music. There's a lack of search/type options with the OS, so if you go to your phone book for example, you can only scroll alphabetically through your contacts. Not fun over hundreds of numbers if you're looking for someone who's name starts with 'T.'

There are 5 screen brightness levels but I found that setting on the second to lowest level is pretty adequate for viewing and it saves on the battery life. It's unclear what other apps, if any, can be loaded to the watch and there aren't any instructions on how to do this. I'm also not sure, how waterproof this watch is since sometimes I find that the rubber seal over the charging port doesn't really stay in place and pops out easily. To err on the side of caution I take it off when in the shower. However for a low priced smart watch, this does all the basic features that I would expect and a few more and the interface is easy to understand, though the controls can sometimes be a bit frustrating.

Buy it at Amazon: Vcall U8 Smart Watch (Black) [Affiliate Link]