Fastrack, the popular watch maker has made its foray into fitness tracker market with Reflex. The first fitness and activity tracker from Fastrack is priced at Rs. 1,995. We have got our hands on the Reflex, let’s see if this could be your go-to fitness tracker in the review.
Box Contents
- Fastrack Reflex
- Quick Guide and Manual
Design and Hardware
The Reflex has a core unit that fits into the silicon band which comes in dual colours. Our review unit was black from the outside and red inside. It comes in purple and blue variants as well. The band has a tough build however, it is bulky and has broad textured strap. It looks quite big when you wear it and will look a lot bulkier especially on people with smaller wrists. However, some users might prefer the rugged look.
The band measures 47.10 x 22.5x 12.5mm so it is big, but is lightweight. The holes in the band are perfect and two clasps made of aluminium alloy holds the band securely so it doesn’t come out unless you pull it.
There is metallic Fastrack branding on one of the sides of the band.
You might need some time to get use to the process of taking out the core unit and then putting it back in the silicon brand. The Reflex does not come with an external charger as one of the end of the core unit has a micro USB that can be plugged to any adapter. This is an innovating way to charge your fitness band and we would like to see it on more bands.
The core unit of the Reflex has a OLED display that is bright and clear enough. There is a capacitive touch control on the left side of the device that lets you navigate through the display. The sunlight visibility of the display is also good. You can customize the information you want to be displayed on the band. However, it is a bummer that you cannot wake the display by simply moving your wrist, a feature we have seen on Fitbit trackers and Xiaomi Mi Band 2. We will talk about the software part later in the review.
Sadly, the Reflex does’t have a heart rate monitor so there are no sensors on the back of the core unit. The device is water-resistant, which is a good addition.
Software, Features and Performance
The Reflex has a dedicated app for Android and iOS. The UI has a dark black and fluorescent green theme which is not very attractive and appealing. You can connect to the Reflex by switching on the Bluetooth on your device. The pairing process was seamless without any glitches. Once you add your basic information like name, age, gender, height and weight, you are good to go. The app is laggy and navigation is not very smooth which needs to be improved with updates and bug fixes.
The app shows steps, distance, calories burnt. You can control the information that you want to see on your Reflex via the app. The device comes equipped with a sedentary reminder, which notifies users if they have been stationary for long intervals. I like this feature as it motivates you to be more active daily.
It also lets you set vibrating reminders for various occasions such as Date Night, Gym, Party, Play and so on.
The app details distance, steps, calories and sleep measurement with a semi-circle ring that highlights as you progress towards your goal. The step tracking on Reflex was quite standard and correct most of the time.
The sleep monitoring is where the device needs to put more focus on. I wore the Reflex for a week and not once, it recorded the correct or almost correct sleep time. For example, check out the above screenshot. I had slept for 9-10 hours over the weekend and it showed 2 hours 30 minutes and just 55 minutes of sleep for Saturday and Sunday respectively, which is completely wrong. The device showed incorrect sleep tracking even when the auto sleep was turned off. Also, it is a bummer that the device does not come with automatic sleep tracking as you have to manually turn the auto sleep functionality every night.
The device offers usual incoming call and message alerts. Also, it must be noted that when you receive a call, it displays the whole number which is a nice little addition, but then again I don’t know how useful the feature is.
Battery Life
Fastrack claims 7 days of battery life for the Reflex and we got almost 7 days with continuous to normal use. Also, the device did not drain battery when it was not in use. The addition of micro USB to the core unit seems an intelligent move and saves you the hassle of carrying an external charger.
Conclusion
To sum it up, Fastrack Reflex is a standard fitness tracker that fails to impress in terms of design and lacks important features like automatic sleep tracking. Also, the device does not justify its Rs. 1,995 price tag as it does not come with a heart rate sensor and we have the Xiaomi Mi Band 2 which excels in almost all the areas for similar price. Fastrack also needs to focus a lot on the app, work on major additions and tweaks to make it more informative and intuitive. It is available from retail stores as well as Flipkart.
Pros
- OLED screen is good
- Water Resistant
- Decent battery life
Cons
- Unattractive Design and app UI
- No heart rate sensor
- Inaccurate sleep monitoring