[Summary]
Since the beginning of 2020 I also test smartwatches because there are finally interesting products for a price lower than a traditional watch.

When I wanted to buy the Umidigi F2 for my smartphone tests, I saw that Umidigi had started selling connected watches. Umidigi is not a premium brand, their argument is the price and with this uWatch GT, they offer a smartwatch for sport enthusiasts below 40€.

The uWatch GT is therefore only slightly more expensive than a connected wristband while offering an experience equivalent to other smartwatches.



Manufacturer web site: http://www.umidigi.com

[device_intro device="smartwatch" lg="en"]

Price Umidigi uWatch GT

The list below shows the prices for the Umidigi uWatch GT from more than 50 sites around the world. If you are not satisfied with any price, you can subscribe to a price alert to be the first to be notified when the price drops. [pricelist keyword="168"]

Timeline

20/03/2020 order of the smartwatch Umidigi uWatch GT on the official website of Umidigi (in pre-order)
06/04/2020 uWatch GT received


Waarom deze smartwatch?

I discovered the Umidigi uWatch GT a bit by chance because I originally wanted to buy a smartphone (Umidigi F2) and when I ordered the smartphone, I saw that the uWatch GT was in pre-sale for less than 40€.

So price was the most important factor in my choice but I also wanted to see if Umidigi would offer a more open product than Huawei. The last smartwatch I tested (Huawei Gt Active) only worked on Huawei or Honor, this is for me a major flaw. Umidigi is a small manufacturer, they chose a watch that can work on other smartphones.


Structure of my tests

I test products according to a pre-established structure (see below) to provide you with maximum information. Unfortunately, this takes a lot of time. Unlike some sites where products are tested on a single day, I use the products I test for a minimum of a few weeks and sometimes even a few months. If the test is not complete at the time of your visit, I invite you to come back later or ask your question in the comment section below.

Unpacking

[specs product="umidigi-uwatch-gt" category="body"] The box containing the uWatch GT is quite large compared to the size of the product. I find the specific codes for the Umidigi brand with the choice of the packaging box and the presence of the brand. Umidigi may be a small manufacturer, but they are quite consistent in their packaging.

The box contains the watch, a big manual (really useless) and a cable to recharge the watch.

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First configuration

The Umidigi uWatch GT does not require any special configuration. In a few clicks, the watch is fully operational, all you have to do is connect it to a smartphone to use its features.

I didn't have to do a firmware update like with the Huawei Active GT which had to reboot 9 times before getting the right firmware.


Finish

The Umidigi uWatch GT is not a premium smartwatch, Umidigi has clearly targeted small budgets by offering a smartwatch at this price.

Small price often rhymes with poor finish, but this is far from being the case with this uWatch GT. The smartwatch is made of plastic but at no time did I have the impression to have a poor quality product around my wrist.

The uWatch GT is similar in size to the Huawei Active GT I tested earlier this year. The Huawei costs at least double the price of the uWatch GT, the difference in finish is clearly not as great.

The uWatch GT can be controlled from the touch screen in combination with the two large buttons on the right. You don't have to read the manual to master the uWatch GT, the menus are quite logical.

You can charge the watch with a cable provided with the watch, this cable is magnetized and is naturally placed on the connector of the watch. The placement is not really ideal but to charge the watch, you have to remove it anyway.

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Connectivity

The Umidigi uWatch GT connects in Bluetooth with the smartphone, it does not have a GPS chip. It is accessible on any bluetooth phone, so you don't need to buy an Umidigi phone to use it.


Battery range

[specs product="umidigi-uwatch-gt" category="battery"] The Umidigi uWatch GT has an autonomy of 2 to 3 weeks if you don't do any sport. If, on the other hand, you practice sport on a daily basis using the watch's tracking, I get an autonomy between 7 and 9 days.


Screen quality

The display of the Umidigi uWatch GT is surprisingly good for this price range. It offers good contrast, everything is perfectly readable even the smallest characters.

The display has a good brightness that will allow you to use the uWatch in almost all conditions. In bright conditions, you will probably have to tilt the watch a little to read some numbers.

The display does not have automatic brightness, which means that at constant brightness you may be woken up at night by the light from the watch.

The display can be customized directly from the watch, you can choose from 5 different types of display. The application used with the phone does not allow you to add other screens.


Features

The Umidigi uWatch GT uses closed proprietary software, so you cannot add applications or features.

You will find the following features:
- time
- monitoring of number of steps, calories and heart rate
- weather
- 12 sport modes
- reading incoming messages (SMS only)
- stopwatch

Heart rate monitoring is not continuous, which means that if you are exercising, you will get global indicators such as maximum/minimum heart rate but you will not see a second-by-second tracking.


Measurements

Heart rate monitoring
The Umidigi uWatch GT allows you to monitor your heart rate but does not offer continuous monitoring. You can see your heart rate in real time when you access the feature on the watch, you will also see the highest and lowest heart rate of the day. However, unlike many other watches, you will not see graphs showing the evolution of your heart rate throughout the day.

The VeryFitPro application also does not offer the possibility to see the evolution of the heart rate on a graph. I think it's a bit of a shame if you want to analyze your results after doing sports.

The heart rate values are quite close to what I get with a Mi Band 4, these values are quite close to reality with a maximum deviation of 5 to 10%.

Sleep data
The uWatch GT allows you to monitor your sleep by dividing the data into 3 categories: deep sleep, light sleep and wakefulness.

I don't know if these data are credible because each watch seems to make different calculations. So far, all the watches I've tested indicate that I have a deep sleep deficit, with the uWatch GT it's the opposite. Who is right? I don't know.

The watch is easily fooled if you're not active at night (e.g. watching TV), it considers that you're sleeping. It's the same problem on all the other watches I've tested.

Number of steps.
I haven't yet found a watch able to correctly measure the number of steps and the uWatch GT is not the best for this kind of measurement. When I count my steps manually, the uWatch estimates a higher number of steps and sometimes more (twice the actual number of steps). Sometimes I found that the steps were not measured at all (even when waving my arms well).

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App

The Umidigi uWatch GT must be used with the VeryFitPro application available for free on the Play Store. I had never heard of this application before.

I haven't been able to use the watch with another application like Runtastic, Strava, Mi Fit, Samsung Health or Huawei Health.

The VeryFitPro application will allow you to sync your smartphone with your watch and retrieve heart data, step count and sleep data.

These data are organized by day, so you can easily go back and compare everything the watch has recorded.

The app is quite basic compared to apps like Strava but it has the advantage of being completely free. It will certainly not be suitable for hardcore athletes but that's not the purpose of the watch anyway.

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Compatibility

The Umidigi uWatch GT can in principle be used with any bluetooth compatible smartphone that can use the VeryFitPro application.

I tested it with several phones (Xiaomi, Motorola, Realme, Umidigi) and it worked every time.


Operating system




The operating system of the Umidigi uWatch GT is easy to use and the whole thing is quite smooth even if sometimes the screen does not always respond with the expected response.

To the top:
Access to messages (SMS)

Down:
Settings and brightness

To the left/right:
Access to sport features
Access to the weather forecast
Access to heart rate
Access to the stopwatch

The top left button allows you to trigger one of the available sports, the button below allows you to go back in the menus.


Encoutered bugs

Not yet available / tested


Compare Umidigi uWatch GT with the others

[ranks type="smartwatch" device="Umidigi uWatch GT"]

Test / Review conclusion


The Umidigi uWatch GT is a watch for a non-demanding public looking for a low-cost smartwatch. It perfectly fulfils its mission of offering basic functionality at a very low price. This watch is not designed for sport enthusiasts looking for performance because the measurements are not reliable enough.


Strengths Display readability
Ease of use
Compatibility with many smartphones
Battery life


Weaknesses Measurements not always reliable
Only one application available
Accuracy of movements on the screen