The line between smartwatches and fitness trackers has blurred considerably in recent times, leading to a rise in budget-friendly devices that offer a blend of both functionalities. The NoiseFit Active, priced at Rs. 3,999 in India, is one such device that aims to stand out from the competition with its comprehensive fitness and health tracking features, including heart rate and blood oxygen monitoring, exercise and sleep monitoring, and even the ability to display smartphone notifications on your wrist. But is it truly the best affordable smartwatch you can buy right now? This in-depth review delves into the NoiseFit Active’s design, software, performance, and battery life to help you decide.
NoiseFit Active Design: A Familiar Yet Functional Approach
The NoiseFit Active boasts a classic round dial with a 1.28-inch TFT-LCD touch screen. Its sleek matte finish and simple black border minimize distractions, focusing attention on the vibrant display. Two buttons on the right side of the watch control power, app menu navigation, and workout mode activation. The rest of the navigation relies on intuitive touch gestures, allowing you to effortlessly move between screens and select options with swipes and taps.
The watch’s underside houses the charging points and the optical sensor for measuring heart rate and SpO2 levels. Constructed from lightweight plastic, the NoiseFit Active provides a comfortable fit despite weighing only 45g. Its 5ATM water resistance rating ensures you can wear it worry-free during most water-based activities.
While the rose gold review unit had a decent appearance, the grey, black, and blue color options seem to be more appealing aesthetically. The included 22mm rubber watch strap offers comfort and complete waterproof protection, and can be easily replaced with any standard 22mm strap for a personalized flair.
The 240×240 pixel resolution display can be activated by a wrist-lift gesture or by pressing a button. Surprisingly, tapping the screen does not trigger wake-up. The smartwatch leverages Bluetooth 5 for connectivity and supports smartphones running iOS 9 and above or Android 4.4 and above.
The magnetic charging cable connects securely to the charging points on the watch, but its hold can be somewhat fragile. Even a slight movement can dislodge the charger, requiring careful handling during charging. The other end of the cable plugs into a standard USB Type-A port, compatible with most existing chargers and computers.
NoiseFit Active Software, Interface, and App
Like many budget smartwatches, the NoiseFit Active operates on a custom operating system optimized for its round screen and controls. Its user-friendly interface makes it easy to access all apps and screens within a few button presses or swipes from the home screen. The UI features a notification drawer, quick settings shade, fitness parameter charts, and an exercise tracking menu.
The app drawer houses preinstalled apps for the device’s various tracking functions, including a ‘Breathe’ app for guided breathing exercises and essential tools like a stopwatch, timer, alarm clock, music remote, weather report, phone finder, and the smartwatch’s settings menu. Although you cannot install additional apps, the NoiseFit Active can display notifications from popular apps on your smartphone, such as WhatsApp, Gmail, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Despite requiring some initial familiarization, the interface became intuitive enough for navigating effortlessly and quickly accessing necessary functions. The default watch face stood out as a clear favorite for its display of essential information such as time, date, battery level, heart rate, steps taken, calories burned, and distance covered. You can also pick from the 50+ watch faces available in the NoiseFit app or cycle through a selection on the watch itself to discover the perfect aesthetic.
The NoiseFit Active pairs seamlessly with the dedicated NoiseFit app available for Android and iOS. Using a OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition for this review, the pairing process was effortless and completed quickly. Once connected, the app allows users to adjust settings, change watch faces, view fitness and exercise tracking charts, and update the smartwatch’s firmware.
The NoiseFit app is designed exceptionally well. It regularly synchronizes data and reliably pushes relevant notifications to the smartwatch. Although some tracking charts can be viewed directly on the watch, the smartphone app presents them with much greater detail and ease of viewing.
NoiseFit Active Performance and Battery Life: A Focus on Fitness and Health
Most budget smartwatches excel in one specific area, and the NoiseFit Active prioritizes fitness and health tracking. While this smartwatch delivers solid performance, it lacks the hands-free functionality found in devices like the Fire-Boltt Talk and only displays notifications from supported apps along with caller identification.
The interface is meticulously designed to place the health and fitness features within easy reach, making the NoiseFit Active an ideal choice for active individuals. As previously mentioned, the default watch face stands out as a modern and clear display of crucial data, including heart rate, steps, battery level, and more.
The NoiseFit Active accurately measures two key health parameters: heart rate and blood oxygen levels (SpO2). When compared to a standard fingertip pulse oximeter and an Apple Watch Series 5, the device consistently provided accurate readings during regular usage.
However, while working out, heart rate readings took a noticeable amount of time to register initially, sometimes displaying inaccurate readings before eventually stabilizing and becoming accurate.
When manually counting 1,000 steps, the NoiseFit Active recorded approximately 1,040 steps, resulting in an error margin of about four percent. This is not excessively high but does surpass the performance of competitors such as the Fire-Boltt Talk and Fire-Boltt Beast, which both boast lower error margins of around 2-3 percent.
Over longer distances, this error margin increased to around seven percent when comparing its measurements to those taken by the Apple Watch Series 5. The NoiseFit Active recorded about 7,600 steps, while the Apple Watch Series 5 measured 7,100 steps, with both devices worn concurrently on the same wrist. This higher error margin is notable even for a budget smartwatch or fitness tracker.
Sleep tracking capabilities are satisfactory, but the calorie and distance figures are calculated estimations based on the recorded steps. The stopwatch, alarm, and timer apps functioned as expected.
The NoiseFit Active offers specialized exercise tracking modes for walking, running, cycling, elliptical exercise, swimming, mixed workouts, and even yoga and cricket. I tested the walking, running, and elliptical modes, and the generated readings appeared slightly overestimated, similar to the pedometer’s step count.
The NoiseFit Active shines in its exceptional battery life, especially for a budget smartwatch. The device’s 320mAh battery comfortably supports seven days of regular use before requiring a recharge. It remained constantly connected to the paired smartphone during this period.
Charging the NoiseFit Active to full capacity using the USB port of my laptop took approximately three hours. Noise recommends using a standard charger and avoiding fast charging adapters to prevent potential battery damage.
Verdict: A Worthwhile Option for Budget-Conscious Fitness Enthusiasts
While fitness trackers like the Mi Band 6 may seem like the obvious choice for fitness-focused individuals, the NoiseFit Active provides a compelling alternative. It surpasses the Mi Band 6 in terms of appearance, boasting a larger screen and offering a more complete smartwatch experience for a slightly higher price.
Heart rate and SpO2 monitoring delivers decent accuracy, but the pedometer’s error margin in recording steps falls behind competing products in this price range.
However, the NoiseFit Active compensates for these shortcomings with its commendable features: an appealing and comfortable design, user-friendly software, stable connectivity, and outstanding battery life. Considering its price point, the NoiseFit Active stands as a worthwhile option for those seeking a budget-friendly smartwatch with a comprehensive set of fitness and health tracking features.
