Budget TWS maker Boult has expanded its offerings to smartwatches. We tested Boult’s Striker smartwatch to see what features it offers in this category. Here’s what we found out about the device that retails at ₹1,799 on the company’s website.
In the box
We received the Boult Striker smartwatch, a magnetic USB-D charging cable, and documentation for the device.
Design
As soon as we unboxed the Boult Striker smartwatch, we felt it resembled a watch that might interest a teenager. The watch’s dial was large with a diameter of about 1.28 inches and has noticeable bezels. Apart from this, there is a white rim that sports the name of the watch, marks 10/20/40 second intervals and indicates where the microphone is placed. The big dial looks out of balance when compared to the strap, and hides the beauty of the device’s metallic brown finish.
User experience
The Boult Striker smartwatch offers most features that would be expected in a budget level smartwatch. It has a wide selection of watch faces and is set up to help users accept/reject calls and play music. It measures vitals such as the wearer’s heartbeat, their blood pressure, their blood oxygen level, and also keeps track of their sleep and menstrual cycle.
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However, one immediate disappointment was the clarity of the screen, which has pixelated lettering. While icons are accessible, the crumbly typeface was a strain to read.
What mainly confounded us was that the Boult Striker smartwatch not only measured heartrate and blood pressure while worn on the wrist; it was even measuring that data while it was taken off for hours on end and placed on a table. The smartwatch seemed at times unable to detect when it was off the wearer’s wrist, and continued to record completely erroneous health stats. This naturally makes a user wonder if they can take the smartwatch’s on-wrist results at face value.
The smartwatch recorded health stats even when kept on a desk for hours | Photo Credit: Sahana Venugopal
The Boult Striker smartwatch further offers an extensive list of sports profiles that users can activate while exercising, in order to time themselves and keep track of their burned calories. The app helps them analyse this information and assess the quality of the workouts.
The watch feels rather heavy on the wrist and gets in the way of using a laptop. It is also uncomfortable to wear while sleeping. The device is rated IP68 for water/dust resistance. During our review period, it was not affected by sweat or water splashes.
The Boult Striker is sturdy and can take quite a few knocks and scrapes in the gym without revealing any scratches.
App
The BoultFit app that connects to your smartphone should allow the user to handle calls, import contacts, play music, and take a closer look at the recorded vitals and cycles. The app, however, would not let us access the smartphone’s call and music features via Bluetooth.
The BoultFit app’s interface is clean and simple. However, some sections fail to make sense, as on-screen graphics do not always match their colour coding.
The smartwatch feels rather heavy on the wrist and is also uncomfortable to wear while sleeping. | Photo Credit: BoultFit app
Battery
Though we couldn’t access all the advertised features, the Boult Striker smartwatch lasts for around four consecutive days when at peak brightness and when it was instructed to continuously monitor the wearer’s heartbeat. The smartwatch finishes charging in about an hour. The charging cable is too short for comfortable use and the magnetic backing is weak, meaning that it is easy to disconnect the watch by accident.
The charging speed and battery life are impressive for an entry level smartwatch, if you are merely using the device to tell time and test your vitals every now and then.
Verdict
The Boult Striker smartwatch draws in potential buyers with a highly attractive price point and a durable build, but its health trackers are far from reliable and the unwieldy design will disappoint buyers who want a more elegant time piece.
