Haylou Watch R8 Review: A Budget Smartwatch at $35 with AMOLED Display And High-end feature

As the smartwatch market continues to evolve, finding a device that strikes a balance between functionality and affordability can be a challenge. In 2023 smartwatches releases, Haylou has been a consistent player, captivating consumers with a series of innovative gadgets. The HAYLOU Watch R8, positioned as the 16th smartwatch in Haylou ‘s expansive portfolio, has surfaced as a noteworthy contender with a high-quality AMOLED display boasting a 60Hz screen refresh rate, Bluetooth call capabilities, and a remarkable 7-day battery life, aims to redefine the standards for affordable wearables as an enticing prospect within the sub-$35 category.

Despite its wallet-friendly tag, the R8 boasts an impressive repertoire of technologies and features, making it a compelling option for many users. In this comprehensive review, we’ll delve into the Watch R8 and explore its design, display, exercise and health tracking capabilities, functionality, battery life, overall value proposition, and more. By the end, you’ll have a thorough understanding of whether the Haylou Watch R8 is the right choice for you.

Unboxing the Haylou Watch R8

Our journey begins with the unboxing experience, where the HAYLOU Watch R8 is presented in a sophisticated white-red cardboard package. As is customary with smartwatches, the exterior features brief descriptions, model images, and the HAYLOU branding. Within the confines of the box, users can anticipate the smartwatch itself, accompanied by a silicone strap, a quick guide adorned with a QR code, and an innovative charger without pins. While smartwatch accessories are generally minimal, the R8’s packaging elevates the presentation.

Design And Build Quality

The Haylou Watch R8 boasts a rugged and masculine design with a fascinating blend of military inspiration that defies its budget-friendly price tag and even rivals more expensive smartwatches. Its rounded shape gives it a contemporary look, while the lightweight construction ensures comfort during extended wear. The watch front is protected by a durable glass cover, offering resistance against scratches and daily wear because it was designed with outdoor enthusiasts in mind, the watch embraces a robust aesthetic with a 1.43-inch high-definition AMOLED display, featuring a 49.7mm diameter With a weight of 85g, the Watch R8 strikes a good balance between comfort and robustness.

The watch case is constructed entirely from high-quality metal, ensuring durability and a premium feel. Also, it’s available in a sleek silver and black color option, which looks stylish and contemporary. So, The initial impressions of the build quality are positive. Drawing comparisons with previous models like the Haylou Solar Plus, it becomes evident that the Haylou Watch R8 is a culmination of refined craftsmanship and an unwavering commitment to quality. The materials used in the build contribute to an overall feeling of luxury.

On the right side of the watch, you’ll find two buttons for easy navigation. The upper button functions as a rotary head, allowing you to access the watch menu and home screen. The lower button is responsible for initiating training sessions and returning to the home screen. The left button controls the screen’s power and serves as the home button.

The back of the watch, with its smooth surface, showcases a minimalist design, emphasizing the commitment to wireless charging technology and health monitoring sensors. Additionally, it features a microphone and speaker, enabling voice communication.

The strap is one of the important things to complete the overall look of the watch, which is why it is made of silicone, it is lightweight and comfortable on your wrist for long-term use and does not feel on the wrist in the least. And because it’s removable with a quick-release band mechanism, you can use any 22mm strap in metal or leather.

Waterproof

Haylou Watch R8 has an impressive water resistance rating of 3ATM. But what does this rating mean, and why is it significant? The “ATM” rating is a measure of a device’s water resistance, with each ATM representing 10 meters of water pressure. In the case of the Watch R8, the 3ATM rating implies that it can withstand water pressures equivalent to a depth of 50 meters. To put this in perspective, this level of water resistance is more than sufficient for most water-related activities that individuals engage in.

So, there’s no need to worry about taking off your smart band before getting wet. Its 3ATM water resistance ensures that it can handle the rigors of swimming with ease. Beyond swimming, the Band water resistance extends to everyday scenarios where your smart band might encounter splashes, rain, or accidental spills.

But, given that the watch features a speaker and a microphone, it’s advisable to err on the side of caution and avoid exposing it to water whenever possible. While the Watch R8 is designed to be water-resistant, it’s essential to remember that water resistance does have limitations. The device is not intended for use in high-pressure environments such as scuba diving or in saltwater, as salt can be corrosive. Additionally, exposure to hot water or steam may compromise the device’s water resistance over time. To maintain the longevity of your smart band’s water resistance, it’s advisable to rinse it with fresh water and dry it thoroughly after exposure to seawater or chlorinated pool water.

Display Quality

On the other hand, Haylou has invested heavily in the most important aspect of the smartwatch which is the amazing display quality, I am happy to say that I was completely impressed with its display on the Haylou Watch R8. When I first turned on the watch, I was immediately greeted with vividly saturated colors and deep shades of black. I was really shocked because this is a display offered on an under $35 smartwatch.

The Haylou Watch R8 Smartwatch boasts an impressive 1.43-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 466*466 pixels and a 60Hz refresh rate, resulting in a smoother and more responsive user experience. The 60Hz display sets it apart from many other budget smartwatches that often feature lower refresh rates. This display occupies a large part of the watch’s front surface, which is notably larger than most competitors in its category. It offers a level of screen real estate that’s not often seen in smartwatches of its class.

Moreover, the display quality is top-notch. Thanks to its high resolution and AMOLED technology, the colors are vibrant, the text is crisp, and everything appears exceptionally smooth, with the ability to produce deep blacks and high contrast. Also, The screen not only showcases vibrant colors but also offers exceptional brightness and clarity, ensuring that information is readily accessible even in bright outdoor conditions. This results in vibrant and eye-catching colors on the available watch faces. But, the absence of automatic brightness adjustment is worth noting. Users, however, have the flexibility to manually adjust settings to suit their preferences.

Multi Watch Faces

Watch faces are more than just a way to tell time. They’re a window into personal style and functionality. The Haylou Watch R8 comes with a stunning AMOLED screen, which serves as a canvas for a wide array of watch faces. With over 150+ watch faces to choose from on the App and some are built into the watch, there’s something for everyone.

These encompass a wide spectrum of designs, including various colors, retro styles, analog, 3D, and digital faces. Moreover, if you seek a truly personalized touch, you can use your photos as a watch face background or select any wallpaper of your choice, allowing for endless customization possibilities. With such a wealth of options, you’ll undoubtedly find the perfect watch face to match your mood and outfit.

Always-On Display

The Watch R8 doesn’t just stop at its remarkable display quality; it also introduces the convenience of an Always-On Display (AOD) with two dials which is a feature that keeps a portion of the screen active even when the watch is on standby mode to quick access to information without having to raise your wrist or tap the screen. With AOD enabled, a part of the watch face remains visible at all times, which means that even in standby mode, you can still check the time, date, and other essential details at a single glance. One might wonder if keeping a part of the display active all the time would significantly impact battery life. However, the Watch R8 AOD is smartly designed to minimize battery consumption. It uses minimal power by dimming the display and ensuring that only the most crucial information is visible.

Performance & User Interface

The Haylou Watch R8 stands out as an affordable and feature-packed option. While its price tag may suggest it’s a budget-friendly choice, its user interface and operation are anything but basic. So, we will take an in-depth look at the hardware, user interface, controls, and overall operation to help you make the most of this impressive wearable.

Navigating through the watch’s features and functions is a breeze, thanks to its well-designed UI 2in1 Dual-core chip, and Bluetooth 5.3 chip, This advanced chipset ensures faster response times and efficient data processing without lag, providing a user experience that is exceptionally fast and efficient, also, offers Low power consumption dual-core architecture improves the performance of the processor by 70%. So, The touch responsiveness is notably smooth, making interactions with the smartwatch effortless. Moving between menus and applications is seamless, and there is no noticeable lag in response time. This smoothness in navigation enhances the overall user experience, allowing users to access various features with ease.

The Haylou Watch R8 offers a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate. By swiping from right to left on the watch screen, you can access various widgets, including heart rate monitoring, daily activity tracking, stress monitoring, and SpO2 monitoring. These widgets can be customized according to your preferences, allowing you to prioritize the information you find most important.

Swiping from bottom to top reveals notifications, although it’s important to note that you cannot reply to messages directly from the watch. By swiping from top to bottom, you can access the quick settings panel, which displays smartphone connectivity status, battery level, date, weather information, media playback controls, screen timeout settings, display brightness adjustment, QR code for the companion app, and Do Not Disturb mode.

The top button on the watch provides access to the menu, where you can make phone calls. Within the menu, you can find options such as call history, contacts, and a wide range of training modes. Other functionalities include notifications for alarms, music control on your smartphone, weather updates for the current and upcoming days, and detailed camera shutter control from the watch itself. However, it’s worth mentioning that the stopwatch and timer functions do not work in the background. Additionally, it includes a calculator, activity tracking, calendar, and other system functions. While these features may not be as comprehensive as those found in high-end smartwatches, they cover the essentials for day-to-day use.

AI Voice Assistant

The Watch R8 integrates seamlessly with popular voice assistants like Google Voice Assistant and Siri. This means you can issue voice commands directly from your wrist, streamlining tasks and getting quick answers to your questions. This feature adds a new dimension of convenience to the smartwatch experience. Moreover, the watch boasts an integrated speaker, facilitating two-way voice communication with the AI assistant.

Sensor Performance and Accuracy

The Haylou Watch R8 offers several sensors to enhance its functionality. The heart rate sensor performs reasonably well during day-to-day activities, providing accurate readings. However, during intense workouts, it may struggle to keep up with rapid fluctuations in heart rate. It’s worth noting that the Haylou Watch R8 does not have a built-in GPS, relying on connected GPS from your smartphone for accurate distance and location tracking during outdoor activities.

Exercise and Health Tracking

One of the standout features of the Haylou Watch R8 is its comprehensive fitness and sports tracking capabilities. The Watch R8 comes equipped with a reliable pedometer that accurately tracks your steps throughout the day. It provides valuable insights into your daily activity levels, making it an excellent companion for those aiming to achieve their fitness goals. Additionally, the built-in sleep monitor helps you understand the quality of your rest. By analyzing your sleep patterns, it offers suggestions for improving your sleep quality, ensuring you wake up refreshed and ready to tackle the day.

Health-conscious individuals will appreciate the blood oxygen monitoring feature on the Watch R8. This function allows you to measure your blood oxygen saturation levels, providing insights into your overall well-being. Monitoring your blood oxygen levels can be particularly valuable during workouts or high-altitude activities, helping you stay safe and optimize your performance.

The sensors are designed to provide users with comprehensive health tracking. These sensors monitor heart rate, oxygen levels, sleep patterns, and even stress levels. One notable feature is the sedentary reminder, which prompts wearers to stand up and move around, making it an essential feature for individuals leading predominantly sedentary lifestyles. However, it’s essential to keep in mind that, while convenient, relying solely on a budget device for health tracking may not be as accurate as dedicated medical devices or more expensive smartwatches.

Sports Modes

What truly sets the Haylou Watch R8 apart is its vast selection of sports modes. With over 100 different options to choose from, you’ll find a mode tailored to virtually any physical activity you enjoy. Whether you’re into running, cycling, swimming, or yoga, this smartwatch has you covered. The watch’s workout and running modes are especially noteworthy, offering specialized features for tracking outdoor activities with precision. The Watch R8 takes your fitness regimen to the next level by providing real-time data on your workouts. From monitoring your heart rate during high-intensity intervals to tracking your pace during a long run, this smartwatch ensures you stay on top of your fitness game.

Step counting, on the other hand, appears to be slightly underestimated when compared to dedicated step counters. The watch is generally consistent, but it might not keep up with the exact number of steps taken. Nevertheless, it provides a reasonable estimate for daily activity tracking. In addition to standard fitness tracking, the Watch R8 doubles as a personal trainer. While the accuracy of some metrics, particularly in activities like running, might be questioned, the R8 offers trend analysis rather than pinpoint precision. For its price range, the wealth of health-related data provided by the R8 surpasses expectations.

Haylou Fun App & Pairing

On the phone side, the work Haylou has done on the Haylou Fun app has been painstaking, though it reminds us of other Chinese companies and how they designed their fitness apps. If you have used an Amazfit or Huawei watch, this app will look very similar.
This can be easily found on the Apple Store and Play Store and is absolutely free. It is therefore simply necessary to open it, add the smartwatch, and wait for the entire configuration phase.

How To Pair The Haylou Solar Plus

Connecting the smartwatch to your phone is very simple:

• Turn on the Bluetooth of the watch and mobile phone.
• Click Add Device in the APP to connect the watch to the APP or scan a QR code on the watch.
• While the permissions might seem extensive, they contribute to unlocking the full potential of the smartwatch.

How Haylou Fun App Works

Once all operations are completed, the various information detected by the wearable device will also be quickly reported on the APP. As in previous models, the user interface is easy to navigate, which at least from a graphic point of view is coherent and intuitive. In fact, from the main screen, we can instantly get an overview of our activities, as well as take a look at our heart rate, sleep monitoring, pressure, and body weight.

Set various heart rate monitoring options, enable notifications from different apps, set a reminder, and much more. Not only that but in addition to all the various information on the smartwatch itself, it is possible to display more data within each individual area on the main page of the application. By clicking on the heart rate square, for example, we immediately see the full graph for the day, with all the different measurements, as well as data on the average frequency, and maximum and minimum beats.

Notifications & Messages

Notifications on the Haylou Watch R8 arrive quickly and are clear and easily readable. And you won’t miss important messages or notifications. However, you cannot reply to messages. The watch syncs with your smartphone to display incoming calls, messages, social media (Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter), and other app notifications, allowing you to stay connected even when you’re on the move.

Making and Receiving Calls

The Haylou Watch R8 stands out from the crowd by offering a seamless calling experience. While many smartwatches merely notify you of incoming calls, this watch takes it a step further – it allows you to answer your smartphone calls directly from your wrist. All you need to do is sync your smartphone with the watch via Bluetooth 5.3 and when a call comes in, a button will appear on the watch’s screen. Simply tap it to answer the call. What sets the Watch R8 apart is its integrated microphone and speaker. The microphone delivers remarkably clear sound, even in noisy environments like on the road, ensuring that your calls are audible and clear.

To enhance efficiency further, the smartwatch lets you save your important and frequently-called contacts, eliminating the need to sift through a lengthy contact list when you’re in a hurry. Additionally, it features a dial pad that enables you to make calls quickly and conveniently. With these calling capabilities, the Watch R8 offers a practical solution for staying connected while on the go.

Battery Life and Charging

The battery performance of the Haylou Watch R8 varies depending on how you use it and what you use it for, as some features will drain the battery more. And because it has a capacity of 300 mAh battery allows a standby time of up to 20 days. For continuous use, the brand advertises 7 days with 24/7 heart monitor use. The watch charges in about two hours with wireless charging, a feature not commonly found in budget-friendly options, adding a layer of convenience to the device.

However, this is on paper but in reality, it may differ slightly since when fully charged, the watch barely managed to reach the end of the third day. This difference in endurance is mostly due to the always-on feature, which may have affected performance. It’s possible to increase battery life by 15 days by turning off Bluetooth connectivity and features like heart rate monitoring, leaving you with basics like steps and time. Despite all this, I can say that the battery of the Watch R8 is impressive.

Final verdict

Haylou Watch R8 is one of the most popular smartwatches on the market right now. It is a high-performance smartwatch that is available at a very affordable price. It comes with features that you would find in relatively expensive smartwatches. The smartwatch comes with a 1.43″ AMOLED screen with the ability to make calls and many useful features that you will need every day.

It also comes with amazingly accurate health and sports sensors. In addition, it has a 3ATM water resistance capability with over 100 sports modes, which will track your exercises and help you achieve your fitness goals. The battery life of the smartwatch is amazingly long. The battery life is 5 days longer than many of its competitors in the market.

I really like wearing the Haylou Watch R8 on my wrist even though it only provides the basic functions, it knows how to do it! It is also light in weight and looks much more expensive than it costs. I can wear this watch comfortably on my wrist for an entire day without feeling any fatigue at all. While it may not match the performance and accuracy of more expensive competitors, the Watch R8 provides a compelling option for those seeking a feature-packed smartwatch on a budget. Consider your priorities and requirements, and if the Haylou Watch R8 meets your needs, it could be an excellent choice for your wrist.

So, It will undoubtedly be difficult to exclude it from our list of the best affordable smartwatches in this category. Making it stand out from the rest of the smartwatches on the market and deviating from the usual in terms of screen, hardware, and even the new software was more than wonderful. Even the rest of the features were more than satisfactory including the overall performance and smooth system navigation as well as the battery which was good. Therefore, it is among the most accurate watches we’ve seen.

In the market competitive landscape of smartwatches, the HAYLOU Watch R8 emerges as a budget-friendly marvel. Priced at around $30 to $35 USD, If you’re interested in purchasing the Watch R8 after reading this review, you can find it in the official Haylou store on AliExpress. However, keep in mind that there might be occasional discounts or special offers available. To make it easier for you, we’ve included a direct purchase link to the Watch R8 in the below article. Happy shopping!