Among the emerging brands that have arrived in Italy we find IMIKI, which has made people talk a lot about itself for the launch of the Myvu AR Smart Glasses, smart glasses capable of “augmenting” the information present before our eyes with monochrome graphics that show real-time translations, transcriptions of incoming audio, information and navigation during a journey, and the ability to read notifications. But today we are not talking about this product, but about the new Holo Ultra smartwatch featuring a round case, style and many smart features dedicated to health and sport. Let's discover IMIKI Holo Ultra together in this complete review.
ALTERNATIVE ON AMAZON
The sales box does not give any particular emotions even if it is well made, but the content does not offer any noteworthy exceptions compared to the many wearables that we have analyzed here on the blog. Specifically, the package includes the Holo Ultra, the 22mm hypoallergenic silicone strap characterized by the fact that it is magnetic, resulting at first a little difficult to attach but which is appreciated for its practicality after a few days of use. The only two negative aspects concern the fact that the internal intersections of the strap retain a lot of dirt and therefore for cleaning a simple rinse under running water is not enough and then I add that the magnets, in case you were to have a "COACT" driving style, i.e. with your arm out of the window, these could anchor themselves to the sheet metal of the car door. Finally we find the classic charging cable with magnetic pogo pins and manuals. Unfortunately there is no plastic to protect the display, but it is difficult to find it even in competing products, so I do not consider it a negative point, while I would have preferred a charging base instead of the classic pogo pin cable, typical of Chinese and low quality products, although I must admit the magnets are solid enough to keep the cable in place and not come off at the slightest touch of the watch.
Aesthetically, the company has hit the mark, offering a product that gives a premium feel from the first touch on the wrist. Made with a zinc alloy case, available in black or silver, it immediately transmits a sense of solidity and resistance over time to the watch and then the gem of the digital crown that corresponds to the central button, on the right frame of the case, while we find a second lower button that can be programmed with the recall of some functions via double click, considering instead that by default it is set to recall the monitoring of sports activity. Finally, we find a third upper button that is used to turn the display on/off, but this too can be set to recall some functions, all managed by the watch settings.
What stands out, however, is undoubtedly the magnificent 1,60-inch circular AMOLED display with a resolution of 480 x 480 pixels, protected by 2.5D glass with oleophobic treatment, unfortunately surrounded by not very small frames, which with white dials diminish the premium appearance. There is no brightness adjustment sensor, so you will have to calibrate the correct intensity based on the context you are in, keeping in mind that already at 50% you can have excellent visibility even in direct sunlight. As already mentioned, the definition of the screen allows full visibility even outdoors with direct sunlight and there is the Always On Display, although in this case in my opinion the visibility is decidedly reduced even in shaded areas. Personally, I consider the AOD a function that only serves to increase energy consumption, also because in the case of IMIKI Holo Ultra, it only allows the display of the Home screen, even if sports monitoring is enabled, forcing us to turn on the display via a wrist gesture. It's nice that each watchface has a dedicated AOD.
Holo Ultra has a mature and stable software, making it more than complete for everyday use, without any particular compromises. Considering the economic nature of the product, it is understandable that some shortcomings in general are present, such as NFC, but we have the possibility of setting a QR Code to show when needed to refer, for example, to your Instagram profile or other.
The smart watch interfaces with the smartphone via Bluetooth 5.3 through the IMIKI app, available for both Android and iOS users, which allows us to set notable functions such as receiving notifications from certain apps rather than others. On the Holo ULtra display we can in fact read notifications, but we cannot respond or view photos or voice notes. However, for calls, we can reject the call by sending an SMS with preset responses, such as WE'LL CALL YOU BACK LATER.
Excellent is the ability to receive and make calls via the watch, viewing the sender (provided that you insert it in the watch's address book among the special contacts) and deciding whether to hang up or answer directly, counting on an excellent speaker and microphone, which offer a "call" experience almost comparable to that of a smartphone. It should be noted that for calls, we can import quick contacts from the companion app or make calls using the numeric keypad.
The speaker allows you to listen to music from the watch, which actually allows you to store music tracks, counting on an internal memory that is not better specified in terms of GB but is still not very large. The software in general is proprietary and this does not allow the possibility of installing third-party apps, although it must be admitted that those integrated by IMIKI cover a good part of the uses, making the lack less burdensome. Holo Ultra is a cross between a simple smartwatch and a sports watch, offering very precise sensors for monitoring health and sports data at the hardware level, but unfortunately there is no GPS, which would have given independence from carrying a smartphone for training sessions. In any case, there are well over 100 physical activities that you can detect and monitor, including aquatic ones, counting on an IP68 certification, but strangely we do not find the actual swimming activity. There is no automatic detection for certain activities such as running or walking. Overall, the data collected is quite complete but above all reliable, differing very little from more professional and expensive products. Therefore, step counting and heart rate monitoring are reliable, but if necessary we can also keep track of the SpO2 value, thanks to a dedicated sensor in addition to the continuous monitoring of the sleep phase with nap recognition, but also stress.
At the software level there is no shortage of functions such as the daily activity log, sports log, stress, breathing relaxation, weather, stopwatch, timer, flashlight, games, remote control of the smartphone camera but also the ability to call up the smartphone's voice assistant and much more, which you don't always find on common smartwatches of a similar price. Many functions and all practical but someone might think that our IMIKI Holo Ultra is drained by this in terms of autonomy... well even in this chapter the wearable does not disappoint, easily reaching at least 7 days with active app notifications, active wrist rotation and many, many daily notifications. If necessary, an energy saving function is available that brings the autonomy up to 15 days.
Finally, let's talk about the application, available for both Android and iOS systems, completely free of charge and which responds to the name of IMIKI WATCH. The application is well designed and made and like many others, it shows on the first screen the item of activities with a summary of sleep, monitoring of health data and sports activities performed. We then have the training section, from which to start certain activities with the track monitor using the smartphone's GPS. There are also all the settings and customizations, including setting a reminder for drinking water, washing hands, sedentary lifestyle and reminders but we can also set personalized watchfaces not only with photos but also videos. From the app we can then create a contact list, import music, photos, set a QR Code and enable synchronization with third-party apps, namely Google Fit and Strava.
ALTERNATIVE ON AMAZON
Holo Ultra has really convinced me and I'm happy to have tried it in preview, because I was able to appreciate the true essence of this smart watch that will surely mature with future updates. Accurate in the monitored data and full of useful functions for everyday life. Stunning display and excellent call management, are prominent elements for this device that probably still has a lot of potential to bring out, but overall to date it is one of the best complete and low-cost wearables that you can find on the market.
If you are interested in purchasing this IMIKI Holo Ultra you can find it directly on the manufacturer's website at a price that will surprise you, thanks to the spring discounts, which will bring the price down to only $76,99, redeeming a discount of $33, shipping included. In any case I will also leave you two valid alternatives of IMIKI already available on Amazon Italy, while waiting for this Holo Ultra to arrive.
