No.1 G12 Review: Fit and Inexpensive Smart Watch and Rich in Functionality

No. 1 is a less-known Chinese company that, until recently, is making smartphones very affordable. As the competition on this market segment has become more and more fierce, the Chinese have been forced to reorient, so in the last year, they have made entry-level smartwatches for all tastes and needs. the NO.1 brand is known for producing durable and bulky sports smartwatches. However, quite recently, the company announced a new model NO.1 G12, which is very different from everything that happened before.

According to the manufacturer, No. 1 G12 is a “sports business” smartwatch, which means good at all. It brings a pretty metallic construction and offers a wealth of features: pedometer, heart rate sensor, sleep monitoring, various exercise modes and, of course, real-time notifications on the smartphone. It does not have a touchscreen, navigating through a physical button and a capacitive one, but it has a more than a decent color display for this price range. It costs only $32.10 at Gearbest, with only a few dollars more than a Xiaomi fitness bracelet. Whether or not your money is worthwhile you will find yourself in the next few lines.

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Packaging and Unboxing

The pack of No. 1 G12 is quite good, and we find the specifications and QR download timings for the Android and iOS sync app. Inside, the watch is protected only by a thin plastic blister. In terms of accessories, we only receive a USB charging cable and an instruction manual. Unfortunately, the power adapter is missing, but you can use any USB charger without problems.

Design

Going to design, I have to admit that I was impressed with the quality of the construction. I can not say that it is at the level of a smartwatch from an established producer, not far, but for $30 does not hurt at all. The device weighs only 5.8 grams, it is 11 mm thick and is made of a highly finished zinc alloy. The tested version comes with a 22 mm Milanese loop, elegant, wide and with a stable magnetic grip.

The clock tries to mimic the Apple Watch design, and to some extent, it even succeeds but is blunted by the thick edges around the screen. It should also be noted that the smartwatch is IP67-certified, so at least in theory, it should withstand liquid and dust contact. I mentioned above that the body of steel gives the gadget a premium style. I advise you to choose a model with a bracelet of Italian weaving since the nylon strap looks cheap. As a result, No.1 G12, I can call it stylish budget watches that look like expensive analogs. I note that the metal strap with magnetic mount allows you to easily put on and remove the device, while it will lie tightly on any wrist.

The build quality of the G12, where everything is at a very high level: the screen is responsive, the side button has pleasant tactile feedback, and the frame around the display is very polished. As for the strap, I got a watch with silver metal braiding – it is pleasant to the touch, and the clasp is reliable.

The display is TFT, measures 1.3 inches diagonally and runs at a resolution of 240 x 240 pixels. Maybe it does not have the liveliest colors and the highest density of pixels, but it is perfectly readable in the sunlight. Besides, there is also a capacitive button on the bottom, which responded very well to the commands without any noticeable delay.

On the right side, we have a physical button to start the display and return to the main menu. I have nothing to reproach here either – the button provides very tactile feedback and does not tend to trigger accidentally.

On the back, we find the charging port and the heart rate sensor.

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Features

No. 1 The G12 is paired with your smartphone through the dedicated app you find on Google Play and the Apple App Store. In terms of endowments, the smartwatch is powered by the Nordic NRF52832QFFA platform, supports Bluetooth 4.2 and has a 110 mAh battery. They are modest endowments, but I can not say I was expecting something better from a device so cheap.

The interface is simple and almost instantly responds to commands. The screen is not always-on, it lights up only when you lift your wrist or press the side button. Implementation of No. 1 works pretty well and rarely happened to watch the watch without the display being turned on. In terms of customization, there are only three watch faces available, of which an analog, without details of the physical activity. I can not tell you much about the exercise monitoring modes because I have not been able to test them freely. What I can tell you is that the pedometer works well, being a Samsung Galaxy Watch smartwatch on the other hand. I did not notice strange results from this point of view, only small errors of maximum 5%.

About the heart rate sensor, I can not say I have a good opinion. The measurement process lasts a lot, about 10-15 seconds, and the results are always erroneous. For example, between two measurements taken at rest, at a 30-second interval, there was a difference of 17 BPM. That said, I would not base my results on this sensor. Sleep monitoring, on the other hand, works decent and reports usable information. So is the vibration alarm. The Android app is surprisingly tight and keeps all statistics (physical activity, sleep, and heart rate) in an organized, easy-to-follow structure. The clock can retrieve all notifications from the smartphone and there are no delays in this, but unfortunately, no messages can be answered directly from the clock. However, a remote camera’s remote camera option is available. I think it’s useful for group shots where you do not have direct access to the phone.

Application

As for applications, HPlus is used here as well as on other No.1. Data synchronization between G12 from No.1 and the smartphone may take several minutes, and if there is a lot of data, even hours. It is strange that the synchronization of some parameters takes a lot of time here. In my opinion, the manufacturer has work to do to make the application more intuitive.

On the other hand, the application allows you to process a significant amount of your activity data. There are many options for setting all the parameters of the clock. However, HPlus is what I can call the weak point of this smartwatch.

Battery

The clock does not discharge the battery as fast as the wearOS or Tizen smartwatch, but on my Mi Mix 3, there was also a reduction in the autonomy of about 10-15%. Regarding the clock’s autonomy, the manufacturer says it can withstand up to 15 days in standby mode (probably without being connected to the phone). In fact, in an average-to-intensive use, the clock battery lasts only 2-3 days. However, it is appreciated that it loads very quickly – one hour at the computer’s USB port.

Conclusion

No.1 was able to make an inexpensive and at the same time nice looking device, but not without jambs and software dampness. By and large, the G12 cannot be called a smartwatch – it is rather a smart bracelet with a large screen in the design of the watch. After all, the functionality is limited by the capabilities of Mi Band 3 in fact, so you need to compare the gadget with the bracelets. I liked the magnetic strap very much, which can be quickly fixed on the hand as you like. Of the advantages, it is much easier to read messages, but it is not clear from which application it came, we could at least add some icon. In the previous models from No.1, there was a periodic “falling off” of the devices from the smartphone … Here, by the way, there is no such thing. Of the obvious flaws incorrectly working heart rate sensor.

There are problems with readability in the sun, but after all, the Mi Band 3 cannot help in this regard. You can get used to magnetic charging, although I don’t really like such solutions. Hitting the cable with your hand, you can then discover that the clock is not really charging. But the autonomy of the work is clearly pleased – 7-8 days in my mode of use is very good.

If you do not need a top smartwatch and look for a more affordable physical and sleep monitoring solution with many additional features, then No. 1 G12 can be a very good choice. However, you should not forget that it also has some shortcomings. However, at $32.10, as it is now at Gearbest, we can not issue too much claim. It’s a well-equipped smartwatch for the price range it’s framed. For full details about Product No. 1, visit the manufacturer’s website.

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