Wickedleak's Alpha review: An elementary, affordable smartwatch for all
With numerous advancements in the field of connected devices and Internet of things (IoT), the demand for smart devices is incessantly on the rise. Over the past couple of years, numerous consumer-oriented and smartphone manufacturers are investing in a whole new realm: Smart watches.
Today, smartwatches are gradually gaining immense popularity, especially amongst the younger generation. Several tech giants such as Samsung, LG, Motorola, and even Apple have launched a number of smart watches/wearables in the market. However, there is one slight issue with all these devices: They are quite expensive and most of these watches are priced close to Rs 15,000 or more. Although the features offered are excellent, the devices still remain largely away from the youth’s reach.
Well, not any more, as Indian smartphone manufacturer Wickedleak introduced the Alpha Watch, which is now priced just under Rs 6,000. The watch was launched roughly two months ago at a reasonable price of Rs 6,990 and we had the chance to play around with this watch for a week. So let us find out if this "affordable beauty" can match up to the expectations of Indian smartwatch aficionados.
Design and Display: A smartwatch should preferably have a small body along with a sharp display, and a simple user interface. Contrary to the first requisite, we found the watch a tad over-sized in contrast to the standard 22 mm leather strap, however, it does not take anything away from its unsullied design.
The 1.54-inch capacitive touch screen curved display is enclosed inside a beautiful square-shaped stainless steel frame. The 3D curved glass display has a fixed resolution of 240x240pixels and is scratch-proof, so don’t worry about minor nicks and bumps.
The black leather straps that come along with the watch look good and you can also choose other offered straps like the other white one. On the right-hand side of the device, a lone button for switching the display on and off can be found.
Navigating on the device is decently smooth and straightforward, involving simple swiping of the touchscreen to access different apps and features. Also, the back side of the watch reveals an IP65 rating for its water resistance characteristic. Besides, four charging pins and two sensors also occupy the rear side of the Alpha watch. And, you also have to charge this like a smartphone via a charging dock and a micro-USB cable.
In terms of display and performance, we feel that the device has not managed to an ‘eye-borrow rising’ impact, but definitely a good one undeniably. If you are a fan of big, stylish smartwears, you can check this watch out.
Software, performance, and battery: Coming to the performance, the device might not be as potent as the higher- priced variants in the market, but the fact that this watch can pull off some identical features, while maintaining such a reasonable price is impressive. The device is compatible with both Android and iOS devices, which is a plus point.
However, the Alpha Connect app is not available on Google Play and you have to directly use a bar code scanner from you smartphone to install the app. In case of iOS, you have to install the Fundo Wear app. After you install the app, the Alpha Watch connects to your device via Bluetooth and you can receive all kinds of notification without taking out your handset every time. Under the hood, the watch is powered by a Mediatek MTK2502 chip, and a custom operating system. The device also comes along with Bluetooth 4.0 for better connectivity. The user interface is pretty simple and offers seamless navigation between a set of selected apps. Unfortunately, there is no way to install any kind of software on this watch.
After connecting the watch via Bluetooth, you can make calls; receive various notifications, and even record sound. There are several other integrated fitness apps such as the pedometer (requires you to trigger it on), heart rate monitor, sedentary monitor and sleep monitor. Coming to the built-in speakers, sound is quite good, and you will be able to receive calls in medium-crowded environments.
Coming to the battery, the Alpha Watch is equipped with a 280mAH Lithium Polymer (Li-Po) battery, which could have been a lot better, as battery gets drained rapidly. We found that the device gets discharged in less than a day’s time when gesture and Bluetooth are activated. In contrast, it lasts considerably longer when the motion and connectivity options are off.
Verdict: As we said earlier, the device is simple to use, affordable, and has quite a long list of integrated features, and all that at just Rs. 5,990. While using it, we also got accustomed to the sturdiness of the watch.
Although the Alpha Watch lags behind in comparison to other smartwatches available in the market, it is also one of the cheapest available in the market with such a high set of features. If you are looking forward to get your first smartwatch, you can definitely try out WickedLeak’s Alpha Watch. The device is available exclusively on Wikedlead’s website.
