Timex iConnect Smartwatch Review – Durable Smartwatch with Voice Call Support

Timex is one of the most trusted and leading wrist watches brands in India. Apart from the entry-level Analog and Digital wristwatches, Timex also includes a wide range of luxury and sports watches for men, women, and kids. Now, the brand has entered into the Smartwatch segment with the launch of Timex iConnect in India. Check Out my review of the Timex iConnect Smartwatch (40mm Rectangular Dial) below.

The Timex iConnect comes with a rectangular box that includes a securely positioned iConnect Smartwatch, A Micro USB Cable for charging and a couple of manuals to help pair the watch with your smartphone. Coming to the design, iConnect has a well-built metal casing that gives a premium look and a display is placed inside the casing with sufficient padding on all sides to provide better protection. The edge-to-edge display may provide a slightly better user experience and good looks but may break in case it falls down even from a short distance.

Due to the extra padding around the display, you can expect better durability and also slightly better protection from accidental drops. Additionally, the watch is rated IP54 for dust and splash resistance. On the left side of the casing, you’ll find a loudspeaker, a Micro USB port for charging and also a microphone for voice calls. The Micro USB port is protected by a good quality flap and can be removed or closed without extra effort. A multi-function button is placed on the right side that allows you to turn ON/Off the watch and Navigate to Home screen.

The casing may not have the polished look like other premium smartwatches, Timex has provided a high-quality silicone band which is comfortable to wear and also feels very premium. The strap is soft, has a smooth finish and also allows you to easily wipe off the dirt and dust. The strap comes with a premium buckle with two free loops and about 12 adjustment holes. The band is not user-replaceable and you need a special tool to replace the band just like regular analog or digital watches.

To get started, you’ll have to pair the smartwatch to your Android or iOS smartphone. The pairing process is easy and hardly takes about 5 minutes. According to Timex, before the first use, you’ll have to charge the watch for two hours. To pair the watch with your smartphone:

• Turn on the watch by long-pressing the multi-function button
• Select the language – English or any other as per your need
• Swipe left on the watch and tap on BT (Bluetooth icon)
• Tap on the Search new device
• You’ll get a popup to turn on the Bluetooth. Select Yes
• Download iConnect by Timex App from Google Play Store or Apple App Store
• Turn On Bluetooth on your Smartphone
• Open the iConnect App on your smartphone and add a few details such as Age, Height, Weight, etc.
• Once done, the app will search for the nearby devices
• Select iCon S and tap on Binding
• Select OK from the popup to start pairing

• Allow access to your contacts and call history so that you can access the phonebook from the smartwatch
• Tap on Pair from the popup
• That’s it. You’re done

Coming to the display, Timex iConnect has a rectangular LCD touch display placed inside a 40mm casing and offers great viewing angles. The display also provides better visibility even under the bright sunlight and also comes with a pre-applied screen protector to provide protection against scratches. The text and the icons on the display are crisp and the touch response is also good. You’ll not experience any touch issues especially while using the dial pad or calculator. The major drawback of the screen is the absence of Always-on-display and it is also a little tougher to read the display in dimmer lighting conditions.

This smartwatch comes preloaded with three watch faces that can be changed only using the watch. Also, you cannot add other 3rd party watch faces. All the watch faces show steps, distance and calories burned but they are not touch-sensitive and don’t redirect to the corresponding app when touched. The watch also doesn’t support auto-brightness and you’ll have to adjust the brightness levels manually using the settings on the watch. By default, the watch doesn’t support Rise to wake up. Means, every time if you want to check the time, you’ll have to push the multi-function button. But, if you enable the Wake-up gesture from the watch settings, the display automatically wakes up when you bring the watch in front of your face. Additionally, the display wakes up automatically if you receive any notification or call.

You can also read messages from popular apps such as WhatsApp, Messages, Gmail, Twitter, Skype, WeChat, etc. Make a note that you can only check the notification but cannot reply back from the watch. If you get a notification on your watch, you’ll have to fetch your phone to respond. The iConnect supports both Vibrate & Ring alerts for notifications and also allows you to customize the tones from the watch itself. To be frank, the preloaded tones are retro-styled and recall the phones from your childhood. Also, it sounds very bad at higher volume levels. Vibrate-only mode works well and the watch vibrates whenever you receive a call or a notification.

The key highlight of Timex iConnect is Voice Calling and you can easily Make, End or Receive voice calls right from your wrist. Make a note that the iConnect doesn’t support SIM cards and uses your smartphone to make voice calls. Once you pair the watch with your phone, open the Phonebook app on the watch to access your contacts and make calls. You can also dial the number using the Dialer app. The voice quality is fairly decent but the speaker is not loud. You may not hear callers’ voices clearly especially when you’re on the go or in the crowd. The most annoying thing about the Timex iConnect is the lack of Caller Name display. Whenever you receive a call on the watch, only the number of the person shows instead of the Name on the phonebook. I hope this issue will be solved in the upcoming software update.

The smartwatch comes preloaded with a few useful apps but doesn’t support any 3rd party apps. Unlike the Fitbit smartwatches, Android Wear, or the Apple Watch, the Timex iConnect has no dedicated app store, and you can only use the 19 apps that come preloaded with the watch. The Preloaded apps are Phonebook, Dialer, Call logs, Messaging, Notifier, Bluetooth, Pedometer, Sleep monitor, Heart rate, Sedentary, Anti-lost, Alarm, Calendar, BT Music, Camera, Sport, Stopwatch, Calculator and Settings. For better user experience, this watch also supports various gestures such as:

• Flip to mute incoming calls
• Flip to mute alarms
• Wake-up gesture
• Shake to switch to the main menu
• Shake to answer a phone call

The iConnect is also equipped with a heart-rate sensor and you can either choose a manual mode or continuous mode based on your requirement. Make a note that the continuous mode keeps track of your heart rate at regular intervals but consumes a lot of battery life. It takes around 15 seconds to get the heart rate data and the Heart rate log can be checked on watch and also on the iConnect app. The heart rate monitor works well and gives near accurate results when you fasten the band tight. Results during the regular day-to-day activities are good but not satisfactory during the workouts especially high-intensity workouts.

As a fitness tracker, the Timex iConnect supports Pedometer and also three Sport modes – Running, Hiking, and Cardio. It also supports Pace Reminder, Goal time, Daily reminder, Goal mileage, and Per mile reminder. The step counter works fine most of the time and the step count is almost similar when compared with Mi Band 3 and Mi Band 4. You can also set Goals for the Pedometer.

The watch also automatically monitors sleep quality from 9 pm to 9 am and it can be controlled through the app and or watch. The sleep monitor function can be turned on or off manually from the watch. I personally do not like wearing a watch while sleeping but tested a few nights and results are decent. The watch shows you light sleep and deep sleep data. The history of sleep can be checked by scrolling through the watch as well as on the app. It also supports Sedentary reminders and vibrates as a reminder to get up & move. It can be set from 30 to 300 minutes.

One of the key requirements of the Smartwatch is the battery life which is fairly decent on the Timex iConnect. I have been using this smartwatch from the past few days and on average I got about 8 to 9 hours of battery life with most of the functions turned off such as Pedometer, Continuous heart monitoring. You can also use the smartwatch with Bluetooth off for a slightly better battery life. The data will sync to the app once you enable the Bluetooth. The watch comes with five brightness settings and can be changed on the watch itself. Another key thing missing is the battery percentage indicator both on the watch and phone. The battery icon is placed on the top right of the watch and you’ll get a low battery notification once the battery level falls below 15%. It will take about 1 hour 20 minutes to go from 0 to 100% with a standard USB power adapter. You’ll get about two and a half days of standby when all battery draining features are turned off.

The Timex iConnect smartwatch is compatible with Android smartphones with Android 4.4 or later and iOS devices with iOS 8.0 or later. The iConnect app which is supported by the watch is very basic and has a very simple user interface. You cannot change the settings of the Watch from the app and it needed only to pair the watch and to check the watch data. Additionally, the app helps you find the watch in case you misplaced it within the Bluetooth range and you can also control what app notifications you need on your watch. Most of the configuration settings such as Time, Watch faces, Ringtones, etc. can only be adjusted on the watch.

My Opinion – For ₹7,795, the Timex iConnect gives you multiple functionalities such as Pedometer, Activity Tracking, Continuous heart rate tracking, and also useful Voice call support which is not present in most of the similarly-priced smartwatches. Even though the screen is fairly decent for the price it offers, the resolution and DPI are noticeably lower. Another thing I didn’t like is the lack of watch faces and no other way to add even 3rd party watch faces. I have been using this watch as my daily driver for more than 15 days and haven’t experienced any connectivity lags or drops. There are a few drawbacks but, overall, this smartwatch justifies its price. If you are looking for a durable smartwatch with voice call support and basic fitness features Timex iConnect is a good choice.

Things to remember

• You can only take the photos when the camera app is open on your smartphone.
• You cannot turn on the Music app using the watch. Once you open the music app on the phone, you can use the watch to change the tracks, change the volume or play or pause the music.
• Message synchronization is only supported on Android. Not supported for iPhone.
• Do not immerse the watch in water during swimming and also do not wear during showering or bathing

The Timex iConnect smartwatch is offered in the Black casing with three strap colors to choose from – Black, Grey, and Beige. It is priced at ₹7,795 and available to buy through Timex online store and also through Amazon.in. If you have any queries, let us know in the comments. Follow GizArena on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates.

Timex iConnect Photo Gallery

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