PowerWatch X
My latest review gadget has been the PowerWatch X from Matrix Industries. The USP of this watch is the fact that you never need to take it off to charge. I’ve worn the watch every day for the past two weeks and have grown to love it. Read on for my Rapid Review of this smartwatch.
What Matrix Industries say
MATRIX PowerWatch X with notifications, tougher with a reinforced bezel, 200m water resistance, and with a nearly indestructible silicone rubber strap at an incredible price.
https://www.powerwatch.com/products/powerwatch-x
Key features
- Thermoelectric generator core
- Synced smartphone notifications
- Calorie counter
- Pedometer
- Sleep tracker
- Market-leading water resistance (200m)
- Customizable strap
Design
The first thing you will notice about the PowerWatch X is its robust design – it’s chunky and rugged. Once I tried it on, I was pleased with how comfortable it was. Given how big the watch looked, it was relatively light. I would imagine that it wouldn’t suit everyone.
The strap is made out of silicon, and the manufacturers comment that it is nearly indestructible. I did get a rash after wearing the watch for a couple of days. Fortunately, after washing the strap, the rash went, and I was able to wear the watch comfortably again.
You can also customise the watch with different straps as they connect with a standard clip. However, the watch only comes with the black silicone rubber variety.
Notifications
The PowerWatch X will connect to your smartphone and sync your exercise data. This includes sleep, calories burnt, distance travelled and steps. You can also set alarms on the app. The notifications are very simple, and a little disappointing. Your watch will vibrate when you have an incoming call, a message, an alarm of if you’ve reached your goal (which you can edit in the app). This is as far as the watch goes regarding notifications. You can’t interact with the information in any manner. I was a little disappointed with this aspect of the watch.
Battery
The PowerWatch uses a thermoelectric generator (TEG) that senses body heat and converts it into energy. TEGs need to have a hot side and a cold side to operate. The hot side is the circular black aluminum plate on the back of the watch. The cold side is the entire metal bezel and body of the watch. The hot and cold sides are separated from each other by a layer of insulating thermoplastic. The TEGs harvest the heat flowing from the hot side to the cold side and turn it into electricity.
https://www.powerwatch.com/pages/faqs#usage12
Speak to most smartwatch users and their biggest complaint will be the fact that you’ve got to take the watch off to charge it. With the PowerWatch X, this is never an issue. I’m not going to pretend to understand how the technology works, all I will say is that the watch uses your body heat to keep the battery charged. I’ve been wearing the watch for almost two weeks and have never had to even think about the battery.
Real Time Display
The display of the PowerWatch X is bright enough, and even in direct sunlight, I was able to read the information on the watch face (talking of which, you can change between different watch faces in the app). There’s also a backlight you can use.
The smartest feature of the display is what Matrix Industries refer to as the ‘Real Time Display’. The bars around the screen fill up, depending on how much power your body heat is providing. It also serves as a reminder to get up and move around if the bars go too low.
Smartwatch or smart tech?
With the bar set so high by other smartwatches that have notification interaction, apps, GPS, ability to answer calls and reply to messages, I was quite disappointed by the Smartwatch aspect of the PowerWatch X. Ultimately, the technology inside this watch is what makes it very smart.
Conclusion
To summarise, the PowerWatch X has the convenience of an everlasting battery with some basic features of a smartwatch. Whilst the design of the watch won’t be to everyone’s taste, the best feature of this watch is the fact that it is self-charging, and this for some, might be the only feature that matters.
Rapid Reviews UK Rating
You can learn more about the PowerWatch X at the Matrix Industries website on the following link, https://www.powerwatch.com/products/powerwatch-x
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