Choiknbo 1.69-inch Calling Smart Watch

The calling set goes a step beyond a speaker and a green button:

• Emergency contacts. Store the people you would ring first, reachable from the wrist.
• Call history. See who called while you were mid-workout and ring back from the watch.
• Notifications. SMS, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Twitter alerts show on the screen.

Messages are read-only, so replies still happen on the phone. For a walk, a gym session or a school run, being able to take the important call without digging for the phone is the real gain.

The watch pairs with the free Da Fit app, one of the long-running apps for this style of budget watch. Da Fit holds more than 100 watch faces, and you can upload a photo, such as your kids or a holiday snap, as the background.

A daily toolkit fills out the menu: timer, stopwatch, alarm, find phone, weather, music control, camera shutter, do-not-disturb and female cycle tracking. Brightness is adjustable, and you can set the screen to stay lit for 5, 10, 15 or 20 seconds to balance readability against battery.

That mix makes it an easy first calling watch for someone who wants a lighter, less chunky feel on the wrist.

Heart rate, blood oxygen and blood pressure are monitored through the day. Sleep is split into deep, light and wake phases, logged automatically from bedtime to alarm.

A simple way to use the heart rate alert:

1. Find your easy pace. Walk or jog for a week and note the heart rate you hold while still able to talk.
2. Set the limit a little above that number in Da Fit.
3. Train by feel, and ease off whenever the watch buzzes.
4. Raise the limit gradually as the same pace starts to feel easier.

The sports modes cover the everyday list: running, walking, hiking, cycling, skipping, basketball, football, yoga and more. Each session records heart rate, steps and calories, with the details stored in the app.

• A sedentary reminder vibrates after a long sit.
• The alarm wakes you with vibration, not a sound.
• Female cycle tracking logs dates and predicts the next period.

Over a few weeks the alert doubles as a progress marker. If the watch buzzes less often at the same walking or jogging pace, your heart is doing the same work with less effort, which is exactly what a steady routine is meant to deliver.

Readings are for wellness and reference only. The watch is not a medical device, so any worrying number should go to a doctor.

For the accuracy question behind wrist heart rate and SpO2, turn to the FitPro smart watch review.

1. Charge the watch fully for about 2 hours before first use.
2. Turn on the phone's Bluetooth and install Da Fit.
3. In Da Fit, add a device and choose T45S to bind it.
4. In the phone's Bluetooth settings, connect to the audio device named T45S so calls come through the watch speaker.
5. Grant notification access and tick the apps worth a buzz.

To set a photo face, open Da Fit, go to the watch face section, choose the editable face and pick your picture. The wallpaper guide walks through custom faces in more detail.

Water and charging rules

The watch is IP68 rated, which handles sweat, rain and hand washing. Choiknbo still advises against swimming, bathing, hot water, sea water, saunas and hot springs, where heat, steam and salt damage the seals.

• Charge from a computer port or an adapter no higher than 5V/2A.
• Expect 5 to 7 days of normal use from the 290mAh battery and up to 30 days on standby.
• Shorten the screen-on time to 5 seconds if the week runs short.

Once bound, the watch takes its time and date from the phone at every sync, so there is no clock to set by hand.

If the watch will not appear in Da Fit, the connection guide covers the usual culprits, from location permission to a watch still bound to an old phone.

The Choiknbo 1.83-inch trades calls for a larger screen and a zinc case aimed at simple step counting. The Trendia TG09L keeps Da Fit and calls on a bigger face. The Jacoosa TG38 offers 140 sports modes and IP68, useful if you train in many sports.

Before picking the Choiknbo 1.69-inch, check:

• Water: no swimming or bathing with it on.
• Replies: messages are read-only.
• GPS: none built in, so routes need the phone.
• Band: 20mm, narrower than the common 22mm straps.

A smaller face also means a lighter feel under a shirt cuff, which is why many people who wear a watch to bed prefer this size over a 1.83-inch slab.

For calls, emergency contacts and a heart rate alert on a compact screen, it covers the essentials well. A spare 20mm strap and a band size check keep it fresh for years.