The word ULTRA in scientific terminology indicates quality or quantity higher than normal and in the case of the new Haylou Solar Ultra, the definition fits perfectly. The wearable world is increasingly within the reach of the user, boasting low-cost devices that offer functions often typical of professional devices and in the case of the Haylou brand, since the beginning it has shown us that it is not always necessary to break the bank on the purchase to obtain excellent quality levels both in construction and in monitoring health and sports data. The only flaw of the past wearables proposed by the company was the absence of the Italian language in the system and the GPS but with the brand new Ultra, users have been listened to and therefore we find the Italian language and a fantastic GPS system for tracking your outdoor activities. Ready to discover the new smartwatch/sportwatch in this review?
HAYLOU Solar Ultra GPS Smart Watch 1,6 inch AMOLED Display 60Hz Refresh Rate Bluetooth Calls 5ATM Water Resistance Smartwatch...
As usual, we start from the contents of the package which is rather essential and specifically consists of:
- Haylou Solar Ultra;
- Instruction manual;
- Magnetic charging cable with USB connection and magnetic pogo pin terminal.
Haylou Solar Ultra is not far from the previous generation model, although there are many improvements also in terms of aesthetics but above all in terms of software and hardware. It comes with a military grade zinc alloy bezel that combines resistance, style and lightness, ensuring comfort during training while on the back and on the rest of the case the material used is polycarbonate, which houses the magnetic pins for charging and a new sensor dedicated to heart rate and SpO2 value, with measurements via photodiodes. Available in multiple colors: black or silver case and silicone strap in black, gray, orange.
Circular dial with a diameter of 51,4 mm and a thickness of 15,2 mm, which is inspired by classic watches, but offers modernity thanks to the use of a 1,60-inch AMOLED Ultra HD touch display, 480 x 480 pixels, capable of reproducing animations at 60 fps (refresh rate at 60 Hz). Considering the technology used, the colors are decidedly bright and the blacks absolute, but above all the peak brightness is able to reach up to 1000 nits, thus offering excellent readability of the information on the display even under direct sunlight. Unfortunately, there is no automatic brightness sensor, but this lack is compensated by the presence of countless watchfaces all free, many with animations that marry perfectly with the super reactive touch and the fluid and visually pleasing system animations.
As mentioned, the touch has always been fluid and never jerky, but if we have wet or simply dirty hands, we can navigate the menus through the physical buttons among which we also find a rotating crown (digital crown) that allows for easy navigation in the menus and quick change of watchfaces. Under this crown there is also an additional button to quickly recall the sports activities to be monitored but through internal software we can decide the function to associate with this button. Finally we also have an additional button, positioned above the digital crown, also programmable for recalling certain functions.
Haylou Solar Ultra is comfortable to wear and not at all annoying even in the most reckless conditions, thanks to the excellent work that the company has done in creating the strap with quick release and 22 mm pitch, thus allowing a quick and easy replacement with the many models available online, obtaining your own outfit to combine with the many Watchfaces available for free on the companion app, but if necessary we can also create a personalized skin with your own photo or video. I forgot to tell you that the display also boasts the Always On Display function, which can also follow the background of the reproduced watchface, but above all compared to the previous generation, visibility is good even under direct light but unfortunately the display does not remain active in the sports monitoring phase.
English: What has been renewed and improved on Haylou Solar Ultra are above all the sensors and algorithms used which have delightfully surprised me for the precision and reliability of the data collected in the health and sports fields. We can even track multiple parameters simultaneously with a simple touch, obtaining results on heart rate with precious alerts on low/high frequency or zone to optimize training, but also SpO2, Stress and Respiration, values that can be monitored 24/5. There is also a sleep monitor, which has also been improved and is able to return traces on breathing, heart rate and sleep phases, such as light, deep, REM and of course recognize if you got up during the night but also identify any breathing difficulties. We then have the certification for XNUMX ATM diving, therefore counting on swimming monitoring with specific settings for this activity, including drainage mode. You can therefore also monitor your heart rate in the shower.
At the moment there are about 170 sports that can be monitored with the possibility of synchronization with Strava and Google Fit. It should be noted, however, that many of the 170 sports do not use dedicated metrics, but allow us to meticulously differentiate the activity we have carried out, being able to also monitor eSports, board games, parkour but also car driving, keeping an eye on stress levels above all. Significant innovations in the sports field are the introduction of the PAI value which converts complex information, such as heart rate data, duration of the activity and other health data, into a score that visually shows your physical health. And then finally a multi-satellite GPS module has been inserted which for outdoor sports allows you to have a track but above all frees us from having to carry our smartphone with us. The GPS has also been enriched with elements such as a compass, barometer and altimeter and I admit that the precision of the module has proven to be above all expectations even in situations where, for example, buildings or trees could shield the signal and its precision.
Furthermore, during your activity you can also use the watch to listen to music, managing it remotely on your smartphone or directly importing your music tracks into the wearable's memory, and you can also pair Bluetooth earphones. Haylou Solar Ultra integrates a memory that allows you to import music (MP3/WAV formats only) from the associated smartphone so you can listen to it through the watch's speaker. We can also import a gallery of images, up to 50, so we can have a photo album with us to relive our dearest moments always at hand on our wrist.
There is also a microphone, with which we can for example record voice notes for up to 70 minutes, to jot down ideas, memorize work meetings and more, but unfortunately it is not possible to export the notes. The presence of the microphone and speaker instead bring with them the ability to make and receive calls as well as the ability to call up the voice assistant of your smartphone (Google / Siri / Alexa), after connecting to the smartphone via the integrated Bluetooth 5.3, which guarantees low energy consumption.
However, if we do not want to simply refuse a call by appearing impolite, we can send a message to our interlocutor, drawing on a series of quick responses that can be customized via the app. I specify that although the data collected by the Haylou Solar Ultra are quite accurate, if you want to combine a chest strap, you must abandon the idea since the watch does not offer the ANT + protocol, but if you are a "maiden" know that the brand's smartwatch also allows you to monitor your menstrual cycle.
The Solar Ultra battery is a 450 mAh unit that can guarantee up to 12 days of use without the aid of energy saving, taking advantage of everything the device has to offer. The autonomy drops to a minimum, that is 3 days, if you constantly use the AOD function while overall you can count on up to 32 hours of use in GPS mode. Charging via cable with magnetic pogo pins takes about 2 and a half hours. Unfortunately, the brand has invested little in the notification theme, which on Haylou Solar Ultra can be received by all the apps on the smartphone, but we can only read and therefore not respond, moreover without full compatibility with emojis, but only with some. Furthermore, photos, videos or audio are not supported and finally the notifications are not fully synchronized, that is, reading them from the watch or the smartphone, they do not disappear from one or the other device.
The rest of the functions consist of the ability to view the weather, manage alarms directly from the clock, calendar, compass, breathing relaxation, stopwatch and timer, find phone function, tomato timer, control of the smartphone camera and even a series of games to play directly from the wrist in addition to the classic functions typical of smartwatches. The accompanying application is the usual one already seen previously with other smartwatches of the brand, namely Haylou Fun, downloadable for free and available for Android and iOS systems. I will not dwell on this chapter for long, as there are no substantial innovations in this regard.
HAYLOU Solar Ultra GPS Smart Watch 1,6 inch AMOLED Display 60Hz Refresh Rate Bluetooth Calls 5ATM Water Resistance Smartwatch...
In short, the Haylou Solar Ultra is a truly complete and functional smartwatch, improved compared to the past by entering the most sought-after segment of economic devices with premium functions. Its cost is $69,99, a balanced and fair price, superlative for those who need the functions of calling and managing music from the watch but above all for those who are looking for a watch that is reliable even in the sports field and in the data collected relating to health, also counting on a GPS track. The price becomes even more interesting using the 20% discount coupon, EMANUELEIAFULLA20 which brings the price down to $55,99 and makes the brand's new wearable a device that could even improve over time, as Haylou has recently been slow to release updates and so if you are about to take the step of abandoning the few-euro wearable and wearing a more professional (but not too much) smartwatch/sportwatch on your wrist, the Solar Ultra is without a doubt one of the best choices you could make.
