realme has launched its latest smartwatch in India under its TechLife initiative, the realme TechLife Watch R100 is an affordable smartwatch priced at ₹3,699 and features a 1.32-inch touchscreen, IP68 design, 24-hour heart rate tracking, SpO2 measuring, 100+ sports modes, 100+ watch faces, Bluetooth calling and more. Here’s our review of the realme TechLife Watch R100.
realme TechLife Watch R100 Specifications
- Display: 1.32-inch (3.35 cm) TFT LCD touch display, 360 x 360 pixels resolution, 450 nits brightness
- Software: Proprietary, realme Wear app
- Protection: IP68 Certified, Dust and water-resistant
- Sensors: Heart rate sensor, SpO2 sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope
- Features: Bluetooth Calling, 24-hour real-time Heart rate monitor, Blood Oxygen (SpO2) Measurement, 100+ Sports modes, 100+ Watch Faces, Sleep Monitoring, 24/7 Stress Monitoring
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2
- OS Compatibility: Android 6.0 or iOS 9.0 and above
- Battery & Charging: 380 mAh, 7 days battery runtime, USB Magnetic charger, 100% in 2 hours
- Dimensions: 54.1 mm x 46.0 mm x 12.2 mm (excluding straps and protrusions)
- Weight: 46g (with strap)
- Price: ₹3,699
- Offers: ₹300 off introductory offer
Design, Display, & Build
Moving to its design, the realme TechLife Watch R100 has a 1.32-inch TFT LCD touch display with 360 x 360 pixels resolution and 450 nits brightness. It has a matte finish metallic design and a round 46 mm dial that looks quite similar to what we saw on the realme Watch S, yet the sides are plastic, not fully metallic. The Watch R100 is certainly light in weight weighing just 46 grams with its straps and is 12.2 mm thick. The overall design looks good and feels light in weight.
The TechLife Watch R100 has a water-resistant design i.e. IP68 certified meaning it can resist water and dust up to certain limits. You can take it for a swim or take it along in the rains or shower with this type of rating (IP68) which is why the water resistance is one of the major highlights of this watch.
There are two buttons on the right side of the smartwatch, the top one is the home button that takes you to the homescreen (app menu on double press) while the other button is the sport mode that takes you to the built-in sports modes. The left side has a loudspeaker and a microphone both used for Bluetooth calling, this is where we find the watch impressive. The bottom side has a couple of sensors, a heart rate sensor, and a SpO2 sensor alongside the charging pins with a USB magnetic charger that sticks in.
By sliding the latch on the straps, you can remove them easily and change them to your liking, different types of straps are available for different styles and for different occasions. Charging is easy, it comes with a magnetic USB charger that sticks on the back of the watch, plug the USB, and charge.
Software, User Interface, & Features
The realme TechLife Watch R100 offers a customized smartwatch interface, it comes with its own customized proprietary software that packs a punch of health and fitness features along with 100+ built-in sports modes and 100+ Watch Faces which you can use to customize your smartwatch’s homescreen. We got the latest firmware version 1.01.06 after we received an update from realme India via its realme Wear app, you can see in the screenshots below.
The smartwatch pairs via Bluetooth version 5.2 with your smartphone, you will need to install the realme Wear app. Follow the pairing instructions on the app and the watch is now connected successfully. You can see all the info and detailed statistics about your health and fitness, watch faces, tweak the settings for the app notifications, and much more. You can also install the latest firmware updates using the realme Wear app.
One of the key highlights of the realme TechLife Watch R100 is that you can directly use the smartwatch’s built-in speaker and microphone for calling. It works as a Bluetooth device for calling, and you can see on the phone’s calling menu where it shows you the Bluetooth audio connected while on call. One of the most useful features that we saw on this smartwatch, you don’t need to pull the phone out of your pocket to talk, just answer directly from the watch. On top, you get the Amazon Alexa support for hands-free input, you need to login to your Amazon account on the realme Wear app to use this feature.
The sensors on the watch include a 24/7 Heart rate sensor for continuous heart rate monitoring, a SpO2 sensor for Blood Oxygen monitoring, an accelerometer, gyroscope, along with features and modes such as 100+ Sports modes, 100+ Watch Faces, and Sleep Monitoring, 24/7 Stress Monitoring. We tried the heart rate monitoring and oximeter SpO2, and they worked out quite well. Stress management shows you the stress levels of your body which is useful, it reminds you to take a rest. You also get the sleep cycle monitoring in detail which you can view inside the app.
About the interface, you get the watch face on the homescreen with date & time, day, calories burned, steps count, and battery percentage level. Swipe to right and you can see heart rate monitoring, stress monitoring, weather, and music controls while the left side of the homescreen shows you an overview of the activities, call history, alarms, SpO2 levels, heart rates, stress levels, weekly weather, and exercise records. This is great if you want to catch up with the summary of your activity, health trackers, alarms, calls, and weather info. The only downside is that the interface lags a bit, responsiveness of the UI isn’t as good as expected.
Pressing the top button will take you to the homescreen and the app menu if you double-press. You get – Activity, Exercise, Heart rate, Sleep, Blood Oxygen, Stress, Breath training, Event reminder, Phone, Clock, Weather, and Settings in the app menu. The Exercise option will show you the built-in sports mode which is also accessible by the second button on the right side. Other features such as Drinking water reminders, Women’s health tracking to keep a track of your Menstrual cycle, Find phone, music control, do not disturb, and customizations of the shortcuts and widgets on the smartwatch.
Battery Life & Charging
Moving to its battery life, the smartwatch last about 7 days on battery with a single charge, the watch has a 380 mAh battery that can be charged in approximately 2 hours. The runtimes vary depending on your usage, but as a daily driver, expect a battery life of up to 7 days.
The battery life might be a letdown if you compare it with that of the fitness bands, but still, it’s fairly well compared to many smartwatches in this price segment. To charge the smartwatch, it has a USB Magnetic charger that connects seamlessly, it takes about 2 hours to fully charge.
Verdict – realme TechLife Watch R100
The realme TechLife Watch R100 offers a bunch of great features and compressive health monitoring, it comes with an IP68 water-resistant design and can be used for Bluetooth calling. You can directly make calls on the watch which is an impressive feature altogether. It offers real-time heart rate monitoring, measures your Oxygen levels (SpO2), and tracks all your fitness activities. The smartwatch packs a 380 mAh battery that lasts about 7 days on a single charge, it takes about 2 hours to charge the watch fully. Overall, at this price, the realme TechLife Watch R100 is a great choice, it has all the features you need in this budget, the TechLife Watch R100 is currently priced at ₹3,699 with ₹300 off as an introductory offer.
