Timex IQ+ Move review: A hybrid smartwatch for those who love the old times
Unlike Apple Watch, the IQ+ Move has an understated look, almost like a regular watch. Unlike Apple Watch, the IQ+ Move has an understated look, almost like a regular watch.
Each and every person sees a connected watch differently. There are some who believe that a smartwatch is a better buy as it delivers an immersive experience. There are others who are inclined towards a fitness tracker and, mostly need it to record their daily health and fitness activities. So you want a smartwatch or fitness tracker? Confusing, right? Well, companies like Timex prefer you settle for a hybrid watch, one that marries a smartwatch and fitness tracker. Which is why it has launched the IQ+ Move in India. I have been using Timex IQ+ Move for the past few days, and here’s what I think about this watch.
Price: Rs. 9995
Timex IQ+ Move review: Design
Timex settles for an analogue design which isn’t shocking – after all, the company has traditionally been a watchmaker. Unlike Apple Watch, the IQ+ Move has an understated look, almost like a regular watch. I tested the 41mm man’s edition with a silicon strap. But there are other styles as well, including the one with a leather strap.
The watch is fairly light, the case is thin and comfortable enough on the wrist. It doesn’t feel cheap, even with a silicon trap. The rubber is soft and absolutely comfortable to wear in this scorching heat and I didn’t have any irritation with the material or resultant rashes.
The IQ+ Move is a basic activity tracker with no frills attached. The IQ+ Move is a basic activity tracker with no frills attached.
The watch face has analogue hands and a sub-dial in the bottom right showing your progress towards the daily goal. The crown is mostly used as a button for checking the date or turning on the backlight. You can set the hands manually or using the app. The Indiglo backlight can be activated with a long push of the crown which lights up the entire dial.
Timex IQ+ Move review: Features
The IQ+ Move is a basic activity tracker with no frills attached. The watch only has basic tracking functions like steps taken, distance travelled and calories burned, and you can keep a track on the sleep pattern.
I put the tracker through its paces with various forms of activities. The IQ+ Move seemed quite accurate in counting steps. Though it wasn’t perfect, still the IQ+ Move impressed me. But distance tracking is not very accurate. As there is no GPS in the IQ+ Move, so you’ll want to use the app on your phone to record how much you have travelled and how long it took.
The IQ+ Move seemed quite accurate in counting steps. Though it wasn’t perfect, still the IQ+ Move impressed me. The IQ+ Move seemed quite accurate in counting steps. Though it wasn’t perfect, still the IQ+ Move impressed me.
The watch also has sleep tracking capabilities that automatically register when the wearer has fallen asleep. The sleep tracking was more accurate than I expected. Unfortunately, I couldn’t compare the watch’s sleeping tracking feature against my Xiaomi Mi Band 2 which recently got stolen.
The IQ+ Move can also act as an alarm with the watch gently vibrating on the wearer’s wrist to wake them up. As I said in the beginning, the watch does not feature advanced fitness level activity tracking features. For example, it doesn’t come with a heart rate scanner, something a professional runner might look for in a connected watch. Also, there’s no support for beaming of notifications such as calls and messages on a companion smartphone.
Timex IQ+ Move review: App
The app for the IQ+ Move is called Timex Connected (Android, iOS). Setting up the app takes just a few minutes: it asks you to enter in data like your height and weight and prompts you to enter your daily planned goals for steps, calories burned and hours slept. The interface of the app is simple but more importantly it’s easy to navigate. Tapping on each will open a bar graph your activity for your activity for the hour, day, week, month or year, giving you a comprehensive look at the statistics.
And now comes the the most frustrating part; syncing the watch isn’t simple as it should be. First, you need to fire up the app, then tap the sync icon on your device. The app then asks you to hold down the crown for five seconds until you hear three chimes. Gradually this tends to become really frustrating as you need to repeat the same steps every time you sync the data from your watch to the companion phone. Wasn’t this supposed to be a smart device?
The IQ+ Move, however, features a traditional watch battery. So there is no charging required for months. The IQ+ Move, however, features a traditional watch battery. So there is no charging required for months.
Timex IQ+ Move: Water resistance and battery
Timex claims the watch is water resistant up to 50 meters, meaning you can take the IQ+ Move into the shower or for a swim in the pool, in fact even a dive. Battery life on smartwatches run less than a day. Terrible, right? The IQ+ Move, however, features a traditional watch battery. So there is no charging required for months. This is a big advantage over current smartwatches or fitness trackers
Timex IQ+ Move: Verdict
The IQ+ Move is a great looking watch that’s comfortable to wear and offers excellent battery life. The company’s focus is clearly on the style and long battery life. Sure, it doesn’t offer the advanced fitness tracking features, but if you want something that will keep track of the basics (steps, calories, distance, sleep) the IQ+ Move seems to be a right option.
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