GROUP TEST SMARTWATCHESWhat’s the story?
Remember those hi-viz snap
bands? Slap them on your
wrist and they’d flip from
flat to flexible. Maybe they
were the precursor to the
Nubia Watch, the world’s first
smartwatch with a truly flexible
display. It bends and flexes
around your wrist as you
move, with a huge 4in AMOLED
screen. Find a way to pick one
up from China and you’ll benefit
from eSIM tech for phone
calls; in the rest of the world,
functionality doesn’t appear
to extend beyond a basic
activity band.Is it any good?
The Nubia Watch looks
futuristic. Whether that’s
post-apocalyptic or utopian
will be down to your taste,
but we’re definitely getting
‘Robocop meets Judge Dredd’
vibes from it.
Like the aforementioned
duo, it’s well built, and the
responsive wraparound screen
is certainly unique, although
only water-resistant for the
odd splash. The anomaly is that
it’s heavy at 98g – but factor
in the big screen, its supporting
components and a seemingly
indestructible aluminium alloyframe, and it’s a minor miracle
it doesn’t weigh more.
A custom interface means
no third-party apps. You’ll get
notifications from your Android
phone, but iOS is limited to
phone, text, WeChat and the
instant messenger app QQ.
Not good. Plus speaker quality
is atrocious for calls.
There are some fun features,
such as customising patterns
that roll along the display,
decent photo and music
management tools, plus space
for 4.1GB of songs; but while
a smooth UI and powerful
processor promise much,functionality falls in line with
a fitness tracker – albeit
one with GPS and accurate
heart-rate tracking.
The Nubia Watch is for an
exclusive club of tech-heads
who love the idea of a novelty
wearable. Many tricks were
missed in the making of this
watch, though, and that’s a lot
to swallow for Apple money.Price €399 / stuff.tv/NubiaW
O 4in 960x192 AMOLED
O Nubia proprietary OS
O Bluetooth 4, GPS
O Splash-proof O Up to 7 days
O 98gNubia Watch
PIC AND NIX
While there are 13
watch faces, it really
misses a trick with
its inability to
display photos
as faces.
POGO STUCK
This watch uses
a pogo-pin-laden
magnetic charging
base, which hooks
up to power via a
microUSB port.STUFF SAYS Flash, but blighted by a bad app experience and too niche for mainstream appeal ++,,,
CALL IT OFF
The Nubia Watch
won’t make or take
phone calls outside
China, but will act as
a Bluetooth receiver
for your phone.