Al -Ahfour control review: a good smart watch, but not a good value

At this stage, the fossils are likely to pay more Android than any other company. It continues to issue smart watches under many of its brands, including Skagen, Misfit, Kate Spade, Michael Kors and others. The third generation of fossil watches Q for the first time in September last year, with the most prominent improvement is fully round screens (unlike “flat tires” shows that use old watches). Another third-generation hour of fossil arrived in November last year-Q. It is the first smart watch directed towards sport under the fossil brand, and its design emerges from other hours of the company. Do you deserve to govern the fossil Q, the demand price of $ 275? The answer, in most cases, no – but not because it is a bad watch.

Specifications

Goodness

Not very good

Design and construction

First, let me take what I am sure that many of you think about it. Yes, this looks exactly like Misfit vapor. In fact, there are almost no difference in design between the two hours. They have the same circular screen, the same solid body with a small side button, the same looked, and even the same devices. Both hours come with silicone ranges, but they have slightly different designs.

Introduction to vapor

This does not mean that Al -Ahfouri is the “theft” of steam design – as mentioned above, MISFIT is one of the many brands in Fossil. In fact, the fossil control Q is mainly the renamed vapor, with some simple differences of programs. I will go to the details about the program later.

I pray or not, I must say I really like the Q Control design. It looks incredibly elegant, with steel and screen construction completely. The original Moto 360 has turned its heads with its design almost, and Q is like another repetition of this design. When talking about the screen, it is 1.39 inches with a resolution of 450 x 450. The text and pictures look sharp on the screen, and the navigation is somewhat easy.

As mentioned above, Fossil recently got rid of the “flat tire” screens with the third generation of smart watches Q. The control element contains a fully round screen, but unfortunately it still lacks the edge -free design in the Moto 360. In the back of the watch, there is a heart rate sensor and the charging connector.

Charger

The embedded band is silicone, as you may expect an hour designed for sports activity. If you want to replace it sometimes for something more beautiful, you have made Fossil the process incredibly simple. The control of Qes does not use only 20 mm watches, but the guaranteed range has a quick version mechanism, so you do not have to use the spring strip set like this.

One of the most prominent improvements coming from the first -generation Huawei watch is the surrounding light sensor. Just as your phone happened for years, the screen will shine or light up to suit the light level around you. Although this is far from a new feature on smart watches (Zenwatch 3 and LG Watch Sport/Style), it was great not to manually adjust the watch of the watch whenever you are in direct sunlight or in a dark room.

Another great feature of control Q is 5 ATM waterproof, which is better than IP67/68 that many others enjoy. This means that the Q control can escape survival, rain, snow, bathing and swimming. However, it is not a good idea to dive with the watch, because high water pressure can break the seal of the tight water.

As much as I like the design and features of the Q control, there are some places where fossil can improve. First, there is no digital crown, so it is completely navigated by the strikes. The watch screen is large enough as this does not represent a big problem (especially since the frame was not raised), but it was good to be that. Second, there is no speaker. Since Android Wear does not benefit from the sound at all (even the assistant responses are the text only), this is not a really problem unless you plan to respond constantly to calls on your watch.

Perhaps the lack of NFC support is the most obvious lost feature, and the watch remains of Android Pay. Personally, I am torn. The demand for a smart watch compatible with Android-Pay is not thick (looking at you, LG and Huawei) high, at least judging comments on many of our posts. But the terrible experience of using Android Wear, which David explained in the Huawei Watch 2 review, leads me to believe that I may not use it anyway. If Android Pay does not support your bank/credit federation, this is largely illegal in any case.

One feature is missing that He is The problem is the lack of GPS. Although it is a fitness watch, you cannot really go and follow your way without bringing your phone. Not cold, fossil.

programming

The Fossil Q is running the latest Android Wear version, which is the V2.8 at the time of this report. Since Android wearing updates are often presented through the Play Watch Store, instead of air system upgrades, you do not need to worry about delaying the fossil important updates. This Android 8.0 Oreo watch will receive at some point, adding customized vibration power, new touch lock option, and other simple features. At the time of writing this report, the update hours did not receive, but I am sure it will come soon.

Android wear is generally not allowed to customize a lot of OEM, but there are some additions from the fossil present. There are 30 included, including nine digital faces and 21 representative designs. Personally, I hold the default “Sport Digital”, since the numbers are large and there are three points for “complications” (Android user interface erosion).

Some of many faces.

Although the Q control is designed to use fitness, there are no dedicated fitness applications. On the watch product page, Fossil recommends either Google Fit or MyswimPro. Each of these applications is likely to be better than anything that the fossil itself can develop anyway. I used Google Fit several times to track the operation, and I just worked like Tracking Runs on any other watch on Android Wear. I could not test swimming tracers per hour, as it is mid -winter where I live and there are no open swimming pools.

In conclusion, the experience of the Al -Ahfour Q program is largely identical to each other Android Wear 2.0 watch. The applications open quickly, the animation is smooth, and everything works as expected. I will not go into details about current problems and shortcomings with the statute – I recommend reading the Ryan post about the LG watch style for that.

Personally, I think Android Wear 2.0 is often well, but uninterrupted notifications are still a problem. I also realize that this will not be a problem for most people, but I really hope you can switch phones without wiping the watch.

conclusion

Al -Ahfar x is a good watch. Yes, she misses some of the features I wanted (such as the digital crown and a loudspeaker), but I love design and software experience. The battery life lasts easily for a full day, and it can extend up to two days if you do not use it much. Despite all this, it is almost no meaning to buy one.

As mentioned above, this is basically inappropriate vapor. It has the same design, charger, devices and programs. Steam is only 0 on Amazon at the present time, and it has decreased to $ 140 in the past. You mainly pay $ 75 for fossil name and company watch library. I realize that many people buy watches based on the brand, but I think most of the smart watches buyer is more concerned about the price than anything else.

Fossil often has sales on its smart watches, so if the Q control element falls to about an inappropriate vapor price, I recommend it. But with its standard price of $ 275, there is no reason to buy steam.