iTOUCH’s Air 3 Smartwatch Is an Affordable, Easy-to-Wear Option for Anyone on the Go
I have to admit that I've been super late to the smartwatch game.
I've never seen them as essential, given that I tend to have my phone on me whenever I need it, and I typically wear an old-school analog watch for those times I want to check the time at a glance. Another big turnoff was that new smartwatch models often retail for upwards of $200. However, when the team at iTOUCH reached out to me to discuss their affordable Air 3 Smartwatch, its health- and wellness-oriented features immediately caught my eye. I agreed to check out a watch for review, and they were kind enough to send me the watch in a lovely rose gold. Keep reading for my honest thoughts.
The Watch
The Air 3 Smartwatch is a smartwatch designed especially for active users, with features designed specifically to help them stay on top of their health. On top of monitoring your heart rate at all times, it offers various health reminders, special activity tracking modes for different levels of workouts and sports, and so much more.
With 19 different options for case and strap color combinations, there are looks for pretty much any wearer, and at the time of this writing, the watches cost just $49.99 each, making them a fraction of the price of other smartwatches. The Air 3 can also be paired with any iPhones with iOS 13 and later or Androids with Android 9.0 and up.
(via iTouch)
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The Experience
My iTOUCH Air 3 Smartwatch arrived fully charged, so I was able to immediately dive into my experience with it. Right away, I fell in love with the look of my watch, with a textured band and sleek casing, both in a great shade of rose gold.
(via iTOUCH)
I put it on right away. The band attaches magnetically, with the most convenient way of putting it on being loosening the band to slip a hand through without allowing it to detach from the face completely. The process of getting it on and off quickly took a little getting used to, but since I only take it off when I'm getting into water, this isn't a big deal at all.
Next, I downloaded the app by scanning the QR code in the included instructions and got my account set up. It asked me some basic stuff about myself, including my gender, birthday, height and weight. Finally, I paired the watch with my phone with a simple button press within the app, and I was ready to go.
I jumped right in to check out everything the Air 3 had to offer. First, I scrolled through the Watch Face Library, offering hundreds upon hundreds of watch faces in seven different categories. I picked one from the "Minimal" category, featuring just a pretty blue-green flower and a digital readout of the time, but different faces also include everything from the date to your daily steps taken, your current heart rate and your calories burned for the day. Now, anytime I tap the screen, I get a quick readout of the current time before the screen fades to black, or I swipe to access its many functions.
First, I checked out the features that intrigued me most. The "Activity" section is essentially a step tracker, recording daily activity for your stats at a glance. I could also go into the app to set specific goals for everything from steps taken to calories burned, distance covered and water consumed. It didn't take me long to realize just how many of my steps the tracker in my phone is missing every day because I'm not carrying it with me literally every step, and that other activity really adds up. It didn't take long for me to get a little obsessed with checking my activity here, as well as trying my best to keep up with my goals. I also enjoy the reminders I can set within the app to both hydrate and stretch regularly, which I make great use of.
Another favorite feature is the Heart Rate monitor, which you can check at any time to check out your heart rate, either at rest or during activity. My resting heart rate tends to run a bit high, so it was interesting to be able to see this at a glance at any moment, and you can also record your heart rate whenever you feel like it to set points of comparison at a glance.
But the one feature I might get the most use out of is the Relaxation Mode, which helps me to stop and participate in a breathing exercise whenever I need one. It's super simple, with a flower expanding and contracting as it tells me when to inhale and exhale for a few breaths, also displaying my heart's BPM so I can see it slow down in real time. It even vibrates with each change, so I don't even have to be looking at it to get its benefits.
(via iTOUCH)
But that's just the start of what this watch is capable of. If you keep your watch synced with your phone regularly, you can access weather forecasts at a glance, use your watch as a camera or music player remote, read messages and get phone, SMS and social media notifications.
For fitness lovers, the watch also has Sports Modes for basketball, baseball, football and soccer, as well as Workout Modes for running, elliptical, cycling and hiking. Each record the total time of the activity while tracking your heart rate, contributing to your goals. There are also built-in alarms as well as countdown timers and a stopwatch, which I find so much more convenient than having to grab my phone to set a timer for exercise or cooking, or when I feel like taking a 20-minute nap.
It also includes sleep tracking, though it isn't incredibly thorough. The watch itself gives a readout of your total sleep time, including breakdowns for deep and light sleep, with the app giving more insights with REM sleep and times you awake after falling asleep. However, I am a little dubious about these numbers, as they do seem to count the time I'm awake and trying to fall asleep as actual sleep time.
The battery is also incredibly long-lasting. In my experience, I can use my watch 11 to 12 days between charges, with the low battery mode turned on occasionally when I know I won't be needing more juice. When the battery does get low, it vibrates every hour as a reminder. Don't be like me and forget to charge it, going to bed with it on low battery, because the reminder vibration will wake you up with its hourly buzz.
(via iTOUCH)
Luckily, a USB charging cable is included in the box, and when it's time to charge, you can simply snap it magnetically onto the black disc charger. It takes just over two hours to get back to a full charge, making it ready yet again for wear.
Over time, I have found that the watch's time can get a little funky if I don't have it synced to my phone or recharge it for a while. In between by first and second charges, I didn't connect it to my phone at all, and found that there was a four-minute disparity between the actual time and the time on my watch, which ran four minutes slow. However, the minute I charged it and it synced back up, the time corrected itself. It's a small issue, but something to be aware of.
Overall, I'm incredibly happy with the watch. Even when I'm not actively using it, it makes for a super stylish accessory, and its practical functions and healthy reminders allow me to practice mindfulness and stay on top of my goals, without having to tote my phone around just to go up and down the stairs or for a neighborhood stroll. There are some minor issues with the time desyncing, and I wish it shared more info as a sleep tracker, but for $49.99, it's a great deal, making it a great starter option for someone who loves the functionality and doesn't need other unnecessary bells and whistles.
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