Microwear L2 smartwatch, X2 smart barcelet review
Microwear is a Chinese brand that mostly dabbles in accessories like sports watches, fitness bands, and Android watches. It is a seven-year-old brand whose latest product is the Microwear L2 (Waterproof) smartwatch that launched around ten days ago. The company was kind enough to send us a review unit and we used the smartwatch extensively and here’s our review of the same.
Microwear L2: Design
In terms of design, the Microwear L2 is a very neatly crafted wearable and the one that reached us was a Black variant that comes with a USB charger cable and some user guides. It has really well built stainless steel straps that look premium just like the smartwatch itself. The straps are also adjustable in accordance to your wrist size with a hook buckle as and when needed and the buckle has a flip lock. The one sent to me fit me perfectly and I didn’t need to change adjust anything. The straps can be replaced and the company also has silicone straps if you don’t like metal straps.
Talking about the dial, it is circular and most importantly it is IP68 waterproof-rated. So, you can practically dive with it. However, IP68 is limited to 1.5 meters and around 30 minutes. The watch is bit hefty but it isn’t something you can’t live with. The watch weighs around 70 grams.
Microwear L2: Specs
The Microwear L2 has a 1.3-inch display with 240 x 240p resolution. In our daily use, we found it to be serving its purpose well. Viewing angles on it are good, brightness is also good, and daylight visibility is also not an issue. The display is touch responsive and worked well in our regular use of the device. It also has two physical buttons that can aid in navigation.
If you’re looking for more basic specs here they are:
CPU: 1.1GHz MTK2502
RAM: 32M
ROM: 32M
Compatible OS: Android 4.4 and above, IOS 8.0 and above
Battery: 380 mAh, 2-3 working days
Bluetooth Version: 3.0, 4.0
Microwear L2: Features
Where the Microwear L2 really shines is in its features and battery life. Not only can it serve as a smartwatch, it can also double up as a fitness companion. For the former, I was able to use the built-in calculator, alarm clock, calendar, stopwatch, and music apps very comfortably. Needless to say, it connects with both iOS and Android for calls and message alerts. The L2 uses Bluetooth 4.0 and can take and receive calls all by itself, thanks to the integrated speaker. This is a really great feature especially the price at which it is being offered. It can also display notifications from Facebook, and Twitter and it supports around 20 languages which include most of the European ones.
If you’re a sports fanatic, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see the Microwear L2 tracks 10 types of sports activities. This includes walking, running, swimming, cycling, mountain climbing, basketball, and many more. I was able to use the mode and it tracked my running and walking perfectly. It also has an optical heart rate monitor that can work also in a motion state. The L2 can also measure atmospheric pressure with a barometer and it also has a compass, something greatly useful for hill climbers and travellers.
Other important features include a sedentary reminder that alerts you when you’ve been sitting for too long. The sleep monitor comes with a chart that allows users to gauge sleep quality over time and I found it to be handy. Interestingly, the Microwear L2 can also be used as a smart remote camera, I found.
If you’re a casual fitness lover or someone who doesn’t do extreme sports or someone who isn’t stats-driven sports enthusiast then I think the Microwear L2 is for you, especially if you don’t want to spend more.
The other highlighted feature of the smartwatch is its battery. It promises a standby of 100 hours and 10 hours of continuous use while on Bluetooth. In our use, we were quite happy to see it push through our whole day of regular use and that’s the best you can ask from a smartwatch right now.
Final thoughts
The Microwear L2 brings a lot of functionality to the table for the price at which it is offered. On AliExpress it retails for just $51.99. At that price and with all those features, we really can’t say no.
Microwear X2
Microwear recently released two new products one of which is the premium Microwear L2 smartwatch, the other is a smart bracelet called Microwear X2 or X2 Plus. Thanks to the company, we were able to review both the smart accessories. Here we share our thoughts about the Microwear X2.
The Microwear X2 is the company’s first smart band. Unlike the L2, the X2 is more of a round-design wearable although the screen or dial inside is rectangular. Also, the screen itself isn’t touch responsive but you can interact with it through touch via a touch button below the screen.
In terms of design, it is a different product which is unlike the metal-made L2 but is also a lot cheaper. The straps are also made of edible silicone instead of stainless steel. The sporty and trendy look of the bracelet hints that it is made to withstand daily wear and tear and is suitable for sports enthusiasts.
The Microwear X2 also has IP68 waterproofing like the Microwear L2 which is great for a bracelet that costs nothing more than $32. The highlight of the bracelet is its great battery life due to the smaller OLED screen. The watch’s 480mAh battery can last you 180 days in standby mode and advertised regular use is 70 to 90 days. The TFT LCD 1.04-inch display is quite bright, has a wide colour gamut, and high contrast.
In terms of features, the standout function is blood oxygen as well as blood pressure measurement. Also, it does measure heart rate in real time so that takes it a step further than the Microwear L2 which doesn’t measure blood pressure levels. Besides, it has all the 8 sports and fitness tracking modes like the L2 including running, riding, climbing, badminton and so on. If you forgot, it also has a dedicated mode for measuring your performance in intimate moments just like the L2.
The Microwear doesn’t skip on the smart functions of a watch either with notification pushing available. Only you won’t be able to receive calls because it doesn’t have a speaker.
The Microwear is mainly for fitness enthusiasts who always want to keep a track of their regular performances but do not want to spend top dollar. We’ll share the links to buy both the smart accessories below. You can also visit Microwear’s own website for a full portfolio of its products also linked below.
