Popular fashion accessory company Fastrack launched the Reflex Wav smart band in India in late November for Rs 4,995.
I used the Reflex Wav for more than a week and have to say, it impressed me with the long battery life. There are other interesting aspects of new Fastrack's new fitness companion, which caught my attention during the trial period and you will know later in this review article. Here it goes.
Build quality and display:
Fastrack Reflex Wav is the lightest smartwatch I have used so far this year. Once you put the band on your wrist, over time you will forget there is a watch in the hand and you have to feel it know to assure yourself it's still there.
The main module can be detached from the strap, but it's very tedious to put it back and I suggest prospective buyers keep them intact unless you like to keep changing straps for different occasions.
The strap comes with a textured finish and feels premium when touched and also the whole unit including the main module, comes with an IP67 rating, meaning you can go for a dip in the swimming without worrying about the device getting damaged internally. I can survive up to 3 feet of fresh water for close to 30 minutes.
On the back, it comes with a two-pin dock, which attaches to charging port quite easily without any fuzz.
As far as the display is concerned, the OLED screen is quite bright and was able to see the notifications in direct sunlight and more clearly in pitch darkness. I faced no issues in this aspect.
User-Interface and battery performance:
Fastrack Reflex Wav comes with the simplest interface for a smart fitness band. Even a person with no prior knowledge of using the smart wearable can get a hang of it in an hour. I was able to install the Reflex Wav app on my iPhone and got it paired in a few minutes. I just started using, and within minutes, I was able to get notifications such as sedentary alert, messages (WhatsApp and also SMS), weather details, locate my phone via triggering ringtone and several more.
It supports Apple devices and Google's mobile OS-powered phones running iOS 8 (& above) and Android 5.0 (& later) versions, respectively.
I also liked the gesture features, you just have to swipe left/right at the capacitive arrow buttons at the bottom to navigate on the smart band good to go.
Even the gesture features, user interface are simple and easy to understand. I liked the wrist twist option to mute calls. You can also use similar movements to take a selfie and also change music tracks.
Like other smart wearables in the market, Reflex Wav offers fitness tracker, which counts how much steps I took in the day in addition to the distance travelled in terms of kilometres, how much calories I burned and totally how much time I was active in the day.
It also offers sleep tracking, which is very important in the time we live. Sleep is very important for normal function and decision. Lack of sleep causes a severe long-term health issue. With this, you can see how much deep sleep and light sleep you had. Over time, you can develop a routine to make sure you get a proper sleep every day and lead a long healthy life.
But, I was a bit disappointed that there is no heart rate sensor, as the rival brands offer this feature in devices, which fall in the same price range.
On the bright side, the battery of the Reflex Wav is well optimised to serve you long. I am very impressed. I only charged once and used it for a week actively, then I took it off for three weeks and when checked back, it still had more than 20% juice left.
Final thoughts:
Over-all, Fastrack Reflex Wav is value-for-money fitness smart wearable. It is light and yet more durable compared to other rival brands. The gesture features and amazing battery life is the highlight of the Fastrack fitness companion.
If you are planning to buy a smart band for your old parents or even children this Christmas, you can bet on Reflex Wav.
Pros:
- Very light in weight, but durable build quality
- Long battery life
- Sedentary alert feature
- Multi-notification capability
- Gesture control features
Cons:
- No heart rate scanner
- A bit expensive for a smart wearable considering rival brands with similar features
