FitPro Smart Watch Review: Is It Good for Steps, Sleep and Swimming?

Some models filter on purpose. The TRAUSI TG08, DIVOAZBVO TK29 and Jacoosa TG38 only start recording after 20 steps, so fidgeting at a desk does not pad the total. The flip side is that a wrist held still hides real steps:

• pushing a stroller or a shopping cart;
• holding treadmill rails;
• walking with the watch hand in a pocket.

Distance comes from your stride unless the phone lends its GPS. Most of these watches list GPS via the smartphone, which maps a route only when the phone comes along. The RUXINGX C32 Pro and KIPTUMTEK Y8 are the exceptions that list GPS in the watch itself, handy for runners who leave the phone at home.

For the watches that count best for each routine, see the model-by-model match-up.

Sleep tracking splits the night into stages. Most of these watches report deep sleep, light sleep and awake time, and several add REM:

• REM listed: IDW25, TOOBUR IDW16, S5 slim band, Fitpolo Round AMOLED, Trendia TG09L, FOSMET ET587.
• Deep, light and awake: Bestinn H32, Choiknbo 1.69-inch, PJYUBVOR, Csasan T70, Matast T60 and most slim bands.

The makers are candid about limits. The Bakoor band calls its sleep data reference only, the SWGOTA records sleep only between 9:30 p.m. and noon, and the TOOBUR IDW16 needs more than 3 hours before it logs a night at all.

Heart rate works best on a snug strap, about one finger above the wrist bone. Resting heart rate and its trend across weeks are the most useful numbers; they drift down as fitness builds. Peaks during sprints can lag behind a chest strap, so treat the watch as a trend line, not a race monitor.

1. Wear it every night for a week before judging the sleep score.
2. Check resting heart rate each morning in the app.
3. Change one habit at a time, such as bedtime, and watch the trend.

• KIPTUMTEK T7, IP67: sweat, rain and hand-washing; not for swimming or hot showers.
• Choiknbo and PJYUBVOR, IP68: not recommended for hot water, seawater, swimming, diving or bathing.
• Trendia TG09L, IP68: not suitable for prolonged immersion.
• Popglory 1.85-inch, IP68: no bathing, sauna or diving.

An IP rating is tested in still fresh water, while a swim adds movement, chlorine and pressure from each stroke. That is why the ATM scale fits swimmers better. The Zeacool 5ATM band and the Runlio T115 are rated 5ATM and name swimming outright.

A few IP68 watches do claim swim tracking. The jevesen round calling watch says it records time, distance and strokes in the water, and the Fitpolo 1.8-inch calling watch allows pool swimming. Follow each maker's own limit, rinse off chlorine after the session and keep every watch out of the sauna.

Water also confuses the touchscreen, because wet glass reads a splash as a tap. Start the workout before getting in, lock the screen where the watch offers it, and dry the watch before charging, since water left on the pins corrodes them.

The makers say so themselves. MorePro calls its Air2 not a medical device, FITVII labels its bands for a healthy lifestyle rather than medical use, and the S5 slim band's blood-pressure feature has to be downloaded and switched on in the Runmefit app before it appears.

• Blood pressure: use it as a nudge at most. Check real readings with a validated cuff.
• SpO2: spot checks at rest give the steadiest numbers; movement and cold fingers skew them.
• Stress: a score usually built from heart-rate variation, handy for spotting busy weeks.
• Temperature: the S5 and Zeacool bands list it; skin temperature is not body temperature.

None of that makes the sensors useless. A resting heart rate that climbs for several mornings in a row is worth noticing, and a sleep score that rises after an earlier bedtime is real motivation.

What the watches cannot do is replace a doctor. Anyone managing blood pressure or oxygen levels should use the equipment a clinician recommends and let the watch handle steps, sleep and reminders to move.

So, can you text on a FitPro smart watch? You can read texts and app alerts on the wrist, but replies are missing on most models. The ID208 Plus, IDW26, TOOBUR IDW16 and Trendia TG09L say so outright. The JeeJTek 1.83-inch watch is an exception, with preset quick replies for Android users only.

• Calls: calling models answer and dial through the phone's Bluetooth link.
• Voice: Alexa watches such as the IDW25 and ID208 Plus set timers or alarms and control music by voice.
• Apps: nothing to install; the tools come built in.

Is a FitPro smart watch good, then? For a first fitness habit, yes. Its feature set, from faces to music control, is laid out in custom faces, music and volume.