Vibe 8, the affordable rugged smartwatch from Zeblaze with infinite battery life!
I remember when they first appeared on the market, to buy a SmartWatch you had to open a mute! Fortunately today they are very widespread devices, as much as smartphones, and the quantity of offer is nothing short of "oceanic", in fact you just have to open a mute Amazon (just to give an example) and there will be thousands of them on offer, of every price and brand (mostly unknown). Today I want to talk to you about the VIBE 8, rugged smartwatch zeblaze A Chinese brand that produces smartwatches with consistently excellent value for money. I've tried several, and they've never disappointed. For those less familiar with the subject, a rugged smartwatch is a "robust" smartwatch, suitable for people who work in "hazardous" environments where it's easy to damage their watch. Let's take a look at its detailed technical specifications.
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VIBE 8 PACK
The box is really well made and very refined, it has nothing to envy to the packaging of products that cost even €200:
- SmartWatch Vibe 8
- Strap
- Type A Magnetic Charging Cable
- Instruction booklet with Italian language
VIBE 8 AESTHETICS AND DIMENSIONS
From an aesthetic point of view, as had already happened to me for the Stratos 3 Ultra, I have to tell you that I like it a lot. Unfortunately, however, the weight increases and settles around 82 gr. with a display of 1.43" (like the stratos 3 which weighed 25g less) and a case of 49.2". There is actually an explanation for this increase in weight and it is the increase in battery which goes from 300 to 500mAhLet's just say it's a smartwatch that's difficult for a woman to wear, so if you want to give it to your girlfriend, think about it for a moment.
VIBE 8 TECHNICAL FEATURES
The technical sheet of this smartwatch is very respectable, and in some details I would say surprising. Why? Well, simple I would start right away why I used this adjective..
- Certifications: Certificate MIL STD 810H ! For many this acronym will mean little or nothing, but it is instead very important as it is released to devices that pass a series of very complex military tests. Here is the list:
- Extreme Temperatures: Ensures performance in a temperature range from a minimum of -32 ° to a maximum of 65° (for 4 hours)
- Humidity: The device is subjected to humidity cycles between the 58 and 88%.
- Rain: It is tested under the direct rain and receiving abundant splashes of water to assess whether internal problems are created.
- Vibration resistance: The performance of the smartwatch is re-evaluated after a journey of approximately 1600km on an off-road vehicle with intense vibrations of various levels.
- Drop resistance: A common situation of an accidental fall of the smartphone from a piece of furniture or from the hand is represented, sometimes if specified even from greater heights.
- Sand and dust: Leaving it in a room with dusty and windy atmospheres, the smartwatch is re-evaluated and disassembled to check its integrity.
- Salt Spray: This test is useful for evaluating the resistance of the coating, the paint and the corrosive effect that can occur on the internal electronic components.
- Thermal shock: Not to be confused with the extreme temperature test, this test is used to evaluate the resistance of the smartphone when it undergoes rapid changes in temperature with very high ranges, between -21° and 60°.
- impermeability: IP69K - 5ATM
- Display: 1.43″ HD Amoled Gorilla Glass, 1000 Nits, 391 PPi With over 300 watch faces (you can upload your own photos) and the option to enable the always-on display, it's a shame there's no automatic brightness adjustment; you'll only have a manual setting with a scale of 1-5.
- Battery: 500 mAh, 60 days of standby time, 30 days of average use, 18 days of heavy use (sports)
- BlueTooth 5.3
INITIAL CONFIGURATION
As soon as you turn on the smartwatch you will have to set the language, Italian is present, and install the application fitcloudproe set your health data, your physical details and the goals you want to achieve, and you're done.
Now you can set up your smartwatch as you like, change the skins, and view your activity stats. Among the most interesting features are heart rate, SpO2, and even blood pressure monitoring. I have to say that, incredibly, even the blood pressure monitoring returns values that are close to reality. My partner and I tried it, and the values are what we usually get.
FUNCTION KEYS AND SWIPE
There are 2 function keys:
- Top right: START to enter the phone application menu and go back
- Bottom right: Customizable button. By default it is set to SPORTS But through the settings, we can configure it with many different functions and with two modes: single click or press and hold. This is a really interesting feature that is very rarely seen on a smartwatch in this segment.
- swipe down: quick menu
- Swipe on: notifications
- Swipe left: a series of applications (steps-HR-sleep-BT-music-blood pressure-SPO2) with the possibility of adding more
- Swipe right: access the application menu
PHONE MENU
Using the button at the top we can access the phone's application menus, in 4 different views, which are really a lot:
- Calling
- Frequent contacts
- Call log
- Voice assistant
- Daily step data
- Sports
- Sports records
- Heart rate
- Sleep monitor
- SpO2
- Blood pressure
- Messages
- Weather
- Music
- Breathing training
- stopwatch
- Countdown
- Wake-Up
- Business card (Social QR code)
- Calendar
- Calculator
- Find phone
- Camera
- Settings: Menu style (4 different) - Display brightness - Battery - Vibration and audio - Language - QR code - Button settings - System (info - Power off - Restart - Reset)
SPORTS MENU
The predefined and installed sports menus on the smartwatch are only 8 but don't worry because via the application you can install many others (around 130) present in a long list within the "device" tab of the application.
To install them, simply select them from the list and they will be downloaded/installed on your smartwatch. I've installed about ten additional ones and had no problems. I don't know if there's a limit to how many you can install, but I don't think so. What I haven't been able to do, however, is uninstall added sports or sort the list of existing ones. Hopefully, this will be a feature that will be added via software.
If we enter the sports activity monitor we will find, on the central screen, HR – Time elapsed – Calories burned – Colored crown (blue – green – yellow – orange – red) that will indicate the level of effort we are making based on the heart rate: light, intensive, aerobic, anaerobic, VO2 max. To interrupt/pause the activity, just swipe left.
APPLY BY
The app is a classic Chinese fitness app, so some Italian translations are a bit imprecise and some menus are a bit chaotic. But overall, it has everything you need and works well. To install it, simply go to your smartphone's app store and search for "fitcloudpro" or scan the QR code that appears when you turn on your smartwatch (see "initial setup").
Once installed, you'll need to register and set up your health data, including your daily goals. You're then ready to go!
As soon as it is opened it will sync with the smartwatch (enable BT and location) and you will find yourself on the “home" where you'll see your steps taken, daily % covered, and calories burned. Immediately below are your sports records, heart rate, sleep monitor, SpO2, and blood pressure.
In the menu device You can set up your smartwatch as you like, and most importantly, enable notifications from the apps you want. Remember, you can also make and answer calls on your smartphone. Our Vibe 8 is equipped with a microphone and speaker!
In the last tab, my profile, you can then set your goals, update the firmware, etc.
HOW IT WORKS
How does it work? Well, like all smartwatches. zeblaze Well, that is, good. Let's start with battery life, always a crucial issue when it comes to smartwatches, which is excellent. It practically consumes no battery in standby mode, and with even heavy use (sports tracking, HR, SpO2), you can easily get 15 days without having to recharge it. I tested it with a professional treadmill, and the step/distance counting proved to be accurate and realistic. HR detection is excellent, as is blood oxygenation (compared to a pulse oximeter, it varies by about 1%), and heart rate measurement is also incredibly acceptable. One piece of advice I would like to give you: always take these measurements with a pinch of salt. They're fine for those with good health, but they absolutely shouldn't replace the use of professional equipment!
The responsiveness of the switch on to the movement of the wrist is good, the only flaw is that it does not have automatic detection of the external brightness and therefore adjustment of the display brightness.
The always-on display, which allows you to always have the date, time, and battery life on-screen, is also a good option. However, if you use this feature, despite the AMOLED display, you should expect significantly shorter battery life than standard devices!
Excellent resistance to impacts, weather, and outdoor use. After all, the certified standards are truly the toughest to meet.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
As always, the final considerations are based on the product's price. For its features, its beauty, and the fact that it's a rugged smartwatch. IP69K e MIL STD 810H which looks like a "normal" smartwatch, a good application, I expected a list price close to €100. And instead we are well below this figure. Vibe 8 in fact it only costs 49€ of the price list but the fantastic thing is that thanks to GOOD BANG (thank you for sending us the sample) and with our discount code you can take it home with a discount of 45%! I remind you that on BanggoodTo protect your purchases, you can pay with PayPal and delivery will take place in approximately 10/15 days without the risk of incurring annoying customs duties.
