OPPO Band: a stylish smart bracelet with earrings

Until now, the Chinese brand OPPO, which arrived in our country only last year, has been known for its interesting mobile phones, which offer functionality and appearance. prime at more or less affordable prices. But this 2022 they will add other products to their catalog, which although they are not new – many of them were launched in Europe last season – they will debut in Chilean stores in the weeks coming.

These are wireless headphones. OPPO Enco X , its OPPO Watch smartwatch and the OPPO Band smart bracelet, which we had the opportunity to test. The market of smart band has become extremely competitive, with a multitude of brands – some recognized and prestigious, others that even their mothers don’t know and many simply generic – vying for this niche – that of people who would wear a watch but not very expensive and even better if it gives them information about their physical activity, which turned out to be more than expected.

The OPPO Band is not yet available in major stores, but it is still possible to get it in some e-commerce. It comes in two models: one called Style, which features a strap with a metal edge, and another called Sport, which was the one we tested, which has a similar strap to other smartbands. After several days and nights on our wrist, exploring all its possibilities, we found it to be a smart band very affectionate, although with plenty of room for improvement. To continue, the details.

• Cut : 40.4 x 17.6 x 11.45mm
• Mass Weight: 10.3g (without strap); 25g (with strap)
• Filter : 1.1 inch AMOLED (126 x 294 pixels)
• Belt : thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)
• connectivity :Bluetooth 5.0
• Battery : 100 mAh (lasts up to 12 days depending on usage)
• Waterproof : Yes, 5ATM
• sensors : Heart rate and SPo2 (blood oxygen saturation)
• sports modes : 12 (running, cycling, walking, elliptical trainer, rowing, swimming and yoga, among others)
• Compatibility : Android and iOS

Inside the OPPO Band package is the tablet, which is how the device is usually called, its TPU strap, the charger and some user manuals. The pill weighs only ten grams and the bracelet another 14, so its less than 25 grams is barely felt on the wrist.

Although the first time it is difficult to adjust it a bit – the protruding area does not fit into the holes so easily – putting it on or taking it off is very simple, and it is also much firmer than the straps from others smart band that we tried. Its range is between 130 and 205 mm, so it should fit any wrist without any problem.

Since the OPPO Band has no buttons, it is completely touch—, the way to turn it on is to connect it to its charger via its two POGO pins. But for this you need to remove the tablet from the strap, because with it it fits very tightly into its socket. This procedure is cumbersome and can lead to the loss of the strap, which does not happen with the Xiaomi Mi Band, for example, which can be left on charge without having to detach anything.

Where you could also have made the most of it is on your screen, a magnificent AMOLED glass, with brilliant colors, very good brightness and deep black. What’s the problem? That its bezels – the areas of the screen that aren’t occupied – are very large, a space that could have been put to better use and which you feel when looking at the phone’s notifications – such as emails or WhatsApp messages—the text of which usually doesn’t fit and looks very small.

As for the visual design, the so-called “spheres”, there are four options by default, but many more in the app —HeyTap Health —, which can be loaded for free. There is something for almost everyone, some with a very oriental aesthetic and others more modern. They are divided into six categories: Health, Art, Joy, Simple, Classic and Dynamic, but you can also create an original by uploading a photo.

To start using the OPPO band, you must first synchronize it with your phone, and for this you must first download the HeyTap Health application, available on app store Yes google play – which will function as the operations center of the bracelet. In it, all our performance or health statistics will be loaded – such as steps taken per day, exercise routines metrics or heart rate data, for example – and it will also be possible to make some adjustments. to smart band.

It’s a very intuitive and minimalist app that’s easy to navigate, but, at least in our test, it closed several times, forcing a restart. Another problem is that the bracelet does not connect by itself once you open the app, but you have to do it manually. To avoid this, you have to enter the phone settings and give it many usage and privacy permissions, including avoiding saving battery, which is not very comfortable.

In any case, it’s easy to configure and the OPPO Band is too: you navigate it with finger movements up or down – to scroll through applications and menus – and also on the sides — which allows you to change the spheres or , if we swipe to the right, we will return to the previous screen. A touch in the middle, when we are on the main screen, takes us to a quick information panel with the calories we have spent, the steps we have taken and the battery we have left.

The applications available are Activities —which shows us the daily physical performance—, Exercise —where we can choose between twelve types of sports so that the application monitors us more precisely—, Heart rate, SpO2 —which measures the level of oxygen saturation in the blood—, Sleep—which gives information about the last night—, Breathe—a relaxation exercise to lower the heart rate—, Weather, Tools, Settings and Message.

In Tools, some options are used to operate the mobile phone remotely, such as taking pictures from the smart band, control the music —both work very well—, or search for the phone if you don’t know where it is. And in Message is where we see notifications – such as phone calls, WhatsApp messages or emails – but we can’t reply to any, something normal in a smart bracelet (these functions are left to the strongest smart watches).

The great attraction of smart band this is the information they give us about ourselves, a novelty that a few years ago was very difficult to obtain. To know, for example, how many kilometers we have traveled, how fast, how our heart rate behaved or how deep we slept.

The OPPO band delivers all this data, and with precision. When it comes to sleep, it’s hard to know how accurate its measurements are, but at least in our test, they were pretty close to what you felt when you woke up. Once I woke up in the middle of the night, got up to go to the bathroom and the app registered it as an awake period. The best thing is that the bracelet does not disturb you when you sleep, it does not cling to the sheets and, if you configure it in the app, it only turns on if you touch it.

As for sports, smart band It does not have GPS, so it depends on the mobile phone to be able to record distances and routes. The metrics it provides – speed, distance, calories and heart rate – are interesting but not unlike those provided by others. portable Of the market. The good thing is that it is submersible up to 50 meters underwater, so it can be used for swimming.

OPPO promises that one battery charge can last up to 12 days, which can only be achieved with minimal usage. If we activate all the options offered by the smart band —like permanent heart rate measurement, sleep monitoring with oxygen saturation included, automatic screen activation and always-on phone connection—in just three days we’ll have to plug it back in.

It’s not that terrible either: full charge is reached in just over an hour, but that means not only removing the strap, but also removing the tablet from the strap. Now, if using this one is intermediate, what lasted us was a week, a time frame that’s not bad at all.

As a first bracelet, the OPPO Band leaves very good impressions. It’s lightweight yet sturdy, with a firmer strap than the mainstream competition and enough features to satisfy undemanding users. For more intensive athletes, yes, their services may be few, and there are smart band with longer lasting batteries.

But for the quality of its screen, the comfort of its adjustment and the ease of use, the balance sheet is positive. It’s a wristband that looks great, doesn’t disturb sleep, and can complement or speed up phone use, such as camera control and music playback. Of course, it lacked a special feature that would set it apart from the rest of the intense competition.

Note: ⭐⭐⭐⭐★

*Prices for products in this item are current as of April 18, 2022. Values ​​and availability may change.