Colmi P8 Smartwatch review: Not too shabby

When COLMI launched one of their latest generation of Smartwatches, the COLMI P8, they termed it as a versatile and approachable everyday smartwatch packed with key fitness & smart features, vibrant colors and an easy one-button design. Literally, that was not good enough to get you into a purchase decision, but, is it what they say?

The COLMI P8 sports a brand-new 1.4-inch color display with a complete touch screen that supports shocks and swipes. In terms of your health, this watch gives you with a 24/7 report for Heart Rate, Blood Pressure, Blood Oxygen, Sleep Tracking & Stages, Reminders to Move, and many other benefits, so this watch will meet your demands for about Sh 3,500, making it the ideal smartwatch for those on a budget.

Unfortunately, after months of wearing and testing the COLMI P8, I’ve come to the conclusion that the company tried to accomplish too much, resulting in a smartwatch that feels little unfinished.

In the box

• The COLMI P8 Smartwatch
• Smart Bracelet User Manual and Quick Guide
• A charging cable

Design

The attractive COLMI P8 wristwatch boasts an Apple Watch-like design, with a square watch face, a thinner and more colorful light metal casing, and good build quality. Although it is a budget smartwatch, the midframe is Alloy and the bottom half is ABS plastic, giving it a luxury appearance. It also features a single physical button on the right side.

The sporty silicone strap of the P8 smartwatch is lightweight and easy to wear on your wrist. However, I felt uncomfortable having it on for a full day. It includes a stainless steel buckle, and because the strap is replaceable, you may use any 20mm strap to customize your smartwatch. The COLMI P8 comes in five stunning colors: black, grey, blue, rose gold, and rose pink.

Display

The COLMI P8 smartwatch has a 1.4″ HD Curved Glass 2.5D IPS display with a resolution of 240 x 240 pixels. It’s a full-color fingerprint magnet touchscreen with a lightning-quick response time. It offers a bright and vibrant display with good contrast and brightness. You will definitely do your stuff on it under sunlight.

Waterproofing and software compatibility

The smartwatch is waterproof to IPX7 standards, making it safe to use while washing your hands, sweating, or pouring. The IPX7 international standard level of protection allows the equipment to be submerged for up to 30 minutes at a depth of 1m. However, saunas, hot tubs, ocean water and salty water can damage the band.

It has a g-sensor, HRS3300 heart rate sensor, blood pressure monitor, and blood oxygen monitor, and is driven by an NRF52832 microcontroller. Its optical heart rate sensor allows for real-time HR monitoring during a workout. The Da Fit support app connects it to a Bluetooth 4.0 device.

The smartwatch is compatible with devices  on iOS 9.0+ and Android 4.4 and above.

Setting it up

Before using, you will need to scan the QR code on the manual to download the app and link it to the watch via the app, or download “Da Fit” from the App Store to customize the watch’s background with 258 different watch faces. This is a fantastic feature that you won’t find on other smartwatches; you can change the language and access a variety of other cool features.

I really liked the designs of the different watch faces and the speed to swap each of them. You can also use your own photos and background designs.

Features included are multi-sport mode and the phone supports real-time message notifications, incoming calls, and SMS messages. It also supports social app notifications. It also has sleep monitoring, weather, sedentary reminder, drinking reminder, and more.

Battery

The smartwatch is powered by a 170 mAh lithium polymer battery that may last up to 6-7 days on a single charge, with a charging time of 2 hours and a standby time of 10-20 days. However, depending on the intended use, even the most costly smartwatches should not have Bluetooth turned on all of the time, only when it is required.

The battery life is superb, from my experience.

Bugs and Inaccuracies

The smartwatch was a little buggy though;

• The phone at times won’t just read the heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen levels
• Calculation of steps happened even while seated on a moving vehicle
• Despite turning on message notifications for various apps, I rarely receive them

Overall, the COLMI P8 is a decent smartwatch, but it doesn’t seem to come close to providing the most comprehensive picture of your daily health. At the same time, there is still a lot of kinks that need to be worked out.

Update on March 7th 2022: I left my smartwatch charging for over 24 hours and came back to a black screen. It just won’t light up. Can’t tell whether it is a battery issue or the system itself yet. So, don’t overcharge it.