If you asked a child to draw a smartwatch, what do you think he or she would draw? Probably a square with straps coming out from the top and bottom, and they’d be right. The square shape has long been synonymous with the smartwatch ever since a certain fruit brand released theirs in 2015.
Just to clarify, the drawing wasn’t made by a child; I drew that, so…
Kidding aside, we were actually surprised to learn that vivo, no longer a newcomer in the smartwatch industry at this point, had their first foray into the square-shaped smartwatch with the newly released vivo Watch GT. But the market is already filled with square-shaped smartwatches. How will the vivo Watch GT stand out in a sea of square-shaped smartwatches?
Unboxing Experience
The vivo Watch GT comes in a thin, long box that has a photo of the watch as well as its name on the top. As for the unboxing experience itself, there’s really not much to talk about.
Inside the box, you’ll find the watch itself, the charging cable, and some documentation. The watch charges via magnetic pins, which are found underneath the watch, beside the heart rate/blood oxygen sensor.
Why mess with a winning design?
As we mentioned, this is vivo’s first foray into the square-shaped design. Which is why vivo made it a point to go big or go home, opting for a classic yet elegant design. Within that square-shaped design lies a 1.86-inch 60Hz HD AMOLED screen with a 2.5D curved design.
The watch itself is made of a matte aluminum alloy followed by a stainless-steel digital crown. The crown isn’t just there to add to the overall premium design; it’s there to provide some convenient functionality like rotating to switch interfaces or pressing to go back a menu. The Watch GT isn’t just premium; it’s also light, coming in at just 33 g.
Right now, there are two colors available: Summer Black and Cloud White. The Summer Black colorway is a combination of a dark-colored watch body and a black soft rubber strap, while the Cloud White option, which is what we have here, is a combination of a light-colored body with a white leather band.
Battery that doesn’t stop
What good is a good design and display if the watch doesn’t last long? While it may not compare to a traditional quartz watch, it does boast a whopping 21 days on a single charge. That 21-day promise is thanks to its 480 mAh battery.
When compared to its contemporaries, the Watch GT is one of the watches with a long battery life, making it perfect for prolonged outdoor adventures like hiking, marathons, triathlons, and other endurance events.
I guess it’s one of the advantages of being a company that has a long-standing history in battery development; I mean, just look at the V50 series with its BlueVolt Battery.
Not just for show
With that long of a battery life, you must be thinking, “If it lasts, then maybe it has fewer features to power?” And you’d be wrong. The vivo Watch GT has a host of features that not only make it an endurance monster but a practical buddy to take on the day-to-day challenges of life.
These features include:
- NFC Access Card – Less is better when you’re working out, so having a watch that carries your physical cards is a plus. However, there’s a caveat: the NFC Access Card feature only works with non-encrypted cards, so do take note of that. But at least the Philippines is included in the list of supported countries.
- Bluetooth Calling – When you’re in the middle of a workout, it can sometimes be difficult to keep track of who’s calling you. With the Bluetooth Calling feature, you’ll never have to miss another important call while working out.
- GPS – For runners, maybe even hikers, the single-frequency GPS enhances urban positioning precision by boosting signal strength by 200%. This allows for more accurate tracking and professional sports data without keeping your phone nearby.
Live life to the fullest
Earlier, we posed the question of how the vivo Watch GT will stand out. Well, here’s vivo’s answer to that: Basically, vivo aims to provide the most accurate sports and health monitoring in its price range.
For sports monitoring, here’s a glimpse of what this bad boy can do:
- Over 100 sports modes to choose from – vivo developed their own algorithms to help professionally guide users in choosing workouts from over nine categories, including running, riding, strength training, and pool swimming, to name a few.
- Pro Racket Sports Mode – First of its kind to possess this unique feature, this mode supports six racket sports like badminton, table tennis, pickleball, squash, and cage tennis. And get this: beyond basic metrics, it also tracks advanced data like swing count, longest streak, and forehand/backhand percentages. It even details overhand and underhand stroke ratios when in Badminton mode.
- Fitness Course – Of course, not everything needs to be intense; sometimes it also helps to wind down a bit. Which is why the vivo Watch GT offers relaxation practices that take 3-5 minutes, which include stretches and shoulder/neck relaxation.
- Four Daily Goals – Whether you’re working out to gain muscles or lose some weight, it helps to have a goal. The vivo Watch GT tracks four of the most important fitness goals to help users stay energized and improve their health. These include tracking steps, calories burned, standing activities, and moderate-to-high intensity exercise.
- Track mode – For 400m track running, it accurately records lap times, distance, and trajectory, with lane selection and automated reminders.
While being active is good, keeping track of your health is better. The vivo Watch GT can help you track these:
- 24/7 Heart Rate and Blood Oxygen Monitoring – Using AI-powered algorithms and the vertically arranged four-channel PPG sensors, the vivo Watch GT can achieve up to 98.5% heart rate accuracy during runs, continuously monitoring for abnormalities.
- Undisturbed Sleep Monitoring – The vivo Watch GT employs “senseless” (it’s not what you think it means) CPC cardiopulmonary technology and borrows the non-intrusive infrared monitoring that was revolutionized by the vivo Watch 3. These combined accurately track sleep stages, including naps, without emitting an annoying light that disturbs your sleep.
- Period Monitoring – For the women out there, the vivo Watch GT offers real-time tracking and forecasting of menstrual periods, including ovulation day, fertile period, and safe period, with reminders one day in advance.
Verdict
While it doesn’t necessarily reinvent the square-shaped wheel—after all, what more can you do with that design?—it does appear to be a strong contender in the smartwatch market. It focuses on what really matters, like long battery life, comprehensive sports tracking, and accurate health monitoring.
Plus a few more that add to the convenience like the NFC access card and Bluetooth calling, most of which we think the everyday Filipino would use. So, if you’re ever in the market for a square-shaped, feature-packed smartwatch, then you should consider the vivo Watch GT.
The vivo Watch GT is now available for as low as ₱7,599 in vivo concept stores, kiosks, and authorized retailers nationwide.