Lidl launches a connected watch inspired by the Apple Watch at...

Lidl persists and signs into discounted consumer electronics products. Two months after having marketed two pairs of wireless headphones at 20 and 25 euros, the German retail chain will launch on November 23 a connected watch with a design inspired by the Apple Watch at an unbeatable price.

Available at the price of 39,99 euros this Monday 23 November, the SFW220 is a new product marketed under the Silvercrest label, Lidl’s brand specializing in electronics at a discounted price which offers both headphones at 20 euros and a multifunctional food processor at 350 euros.

The SFW220 offers most of the functionality of a basic activity tracker. It can measure heart rate, physical activity (running, walking, cycling), number of steps, calories burned, sleep cycles, display the time and weather. She is certified IP68 and resists immersion in water or in the shower.

A not very intuitive interface

Connected to the smartphone in Bluetooth, it also promises to display the notifications calls, messages and social networks. This aspect turned out impossible to use in practice and our use has almost exclusively focused on fitness functions.

Pairing with the smartphone is quite fast. It is necessary Download l’application Silvercrest Smart Watch then fill in a certain amount of information to define the user profile, such as name, age, height and weight. You must then activate Bluetooth and select the watch from the list of products offered and confirm the association on the dial. The operation takes only a few minutes.

The application requests permission to collect a number of data such as sex, date of birth, height, weight, stages, sleep duration, heart rate. On first use, it also asks for permission to use geolocation to provide meteorological data.

Getting started requires some adaptation time. The SFW220 hasless responsive touchscreen than most smartwatches. The interface is controlled by means ofa single button to activate the screen then it is a question of scrolling through the different panels by touching it with varying degrees of success.

Inaccurate measurements, some non-functional uses

The SFW220 supports five physical activities : running, cycling, indoor running, hiking and mountain walking. If the range of activities offered is more limited than the specialized activity trackers, the information collected is also less precise and less complete. Lidl’s watch is clearly not aimed at the statistics freak but those who just wish they could time their joggers every now and then and list them in their phone.

The measure of frequency cardiac is carried out using an optical sensor that detects pulsations on the wrist. The result may vary depending on blood circulation, outside temperature, the presence of tattooing or even the color of the skin, warns Lidl.

Our tests did not note a very significant difference with the measurement of an Apple Watch at rest. But the variations in heart rate are much less marked between each beat and the measurement is shown less precise during exercise. Lidl’s watch also cannot estimate heart rate variability, a datum that suggests whether a person is in good or bad health.

The watch also offers the possibility of programming reminders and setting goals. But like the features related to notifications smartphone or measured of sleep, these uses have turned out laborious or even non-functional in practice.

Perhaps the strong point of the SFW220 is its autonomy. Lidl promises five days of use with Bluetooth enabled and up to a month if it is off. Both points were fully respected during our test. Allow about two hours to recharge the battery once it is depleted.

Difficult to recommend

In view of its particularly aggressive price, the SFW220 can be interesting for people wishing to equip themselves with a discreet and sporty connected watch, able to measure their physical activity in an elementary way without having to worry too much about its autonomy. But that’s about all. His features particularly limited, the often hazardous navigation within its interface and certain uses quite simply non-functional make it less recommendable than a product in the same price range as the Xiaomi Mi Band 4.

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