BoAt Wave Sigma 3 : Now, to review budget smartwatches was seriously taking too much time on my hands, so things started feeling like déjà vu. A huge number of brands were all kind of bringing about pretty much the same features at pretty much the same prices. I got sort of jaded with it all, but something about the boAt Wave Sigma 3 rekindled my interest in reviewing budget smartwatches. Somehow, they managed to pack in an awful lot of fresh and unprecedented features without really taking a price hike. It also made me realize that a budget smartwatch market was still full of innovations to be done.
Of course, for ₹1,499, the boAt Wave Sigma 3 delivers quite brilliant value for money. But is it not much larger than its competitors and with features that are rivaled by some even more expensive watches? Whether it’s the large screen to the long battery life and special software features, boAt certainly came all guns blazing with this one. Let’s take a peep at what makes the Wave Sigma 3 tick and why you should consider it as your next smartwatch.
On a cursory glance, the boAt Wave Sigma 3 doesn’t really look like anything new to me. Design-wise, it is pretty generic “budget smartwatch.” It does not do much in terms of design innovation, and perhaps that’s not bad. The case is plastic, there is one button on the side to move about, and the usual sensors are located on the back for health tracking. One thing I instantly loved: soft silicone straps, comfortable on the wrist and easy to swap if you want a change of look.
This watch comes in quite light and thin, so it is quite comfortable to wear, either at the gym or going about your day. It is robust enough to be a perfect fit for daily wear since it has an IPX7 rating-thus splashes of water and profuse sweat cannot match. You can afford to just let it remain on as you wash your hands or get rain-soaked.
The display itself is one of the best features of the watch. BoAt Wave Sigma 3 features a 2.01-inch HD LCD panel-the display size is pretty large for a budget smartwatch. Anyway, the display is well-enough bright for outdoor use, and it’s pretty responsive. The bezels are thin – apart from the slightly thicker chin at the bottom, though, which really isn’t distracting.
One thing I wish it came with was an AMOLED display to really punch the colors and the blacks. It’s also sans auto-brightness so you will have to manually fiddle with the brightness based on your environment. Again, at ₹1,499, it’s hard to be too picky.
Key Features
The software features do bring out the real charm of the boAt Wave Sigma 3. What is packed into the boAt Wave Sigma 3 is hardly few standout functionalities which are to be found at this price point in a smartwatch.
Turn-by-Turn Navigation: This is pretty much an exclusive feature wherein it provides turn-by-turn navigation-the one thing, which would normally remain exclusive to the high-end smartwatches only. Not syncing directly to Google Maps, this does work with the Mappls system through the boAt Crest app. Navigation begins on your phone, but it displays directions on your watch. That could be really nice for walking or biking around without having to constantly pull out your phone. Alright, it’s not perfect, but for ₹1,499, it’s definitely a pretty handy feature.
Live sports scores. This is another feature that caught my eye, the ability to track live sports scores, especially cricket. As a sports fan, this comes in pretty handy. You can track scores for other sports as well, like football. It works through the companion app and keeps you updated without needing to check your phone constantly.
I’m an utter customization freak, and Watch Face Studio is amazing in that the Crest app lets users make their own watch faces. Add some widgets, change those icons, and even put up your own backgrounds. I made up a Fallout Pip-boy-inspired watch face; it was fun to play through that process. With this smartwatch, you won’t get this kind of feature at such an affordable price, and it personalizes your smartwatch.
Phone Notifications and Calls: It’s a pretty standard smartwatch feature, so you can see all of the phone notifications on the Wave Sigma 3, and it even lets you take calls. The speaker is pretty loud, but there isn’t as great of a quality of the microphone; if you’re taking a lot of calls, this won’t work for you, but it’s good enough for short conversations or when you are in a relatively quiet setting.
Health and Fitness Tracking
Something that the boAt Wave Sigma 3 does a pretty good job with is health monitoring, though it doesn’t really innovate much in that space. It’s tracking your heart rate, SpO2 (blood oxygen levels), and sleep patterns-standard features of many smartwatches-even budget smartwatches.
It also has a plethora of sport modes, so you can track quite literally any kind of exercise – be it running, cycling, or yoga. You see basic statistics on your wrist, but for all the details you’d need to launch the Crest app from your smartphone. If you’re really into serious fitness tracking, you can activate continuous heart rate monitoring through the app, but that will indeed eat more battery.
Setup with the boAt Crest app, the Wave Sigma 3 is easy to set up and relies on Bluetooth 5.2 for connectivity. This isn’t the latest version of Bluetooth, but it is plenty for the kind of money one is paying for a budget smartwatch. The connection is stable, and syncing data between your watch and phone is quick. The app, though functional, is not very appealing to everyone’s eyes. If, however, you are a sort of user who would rather have a more streamlined experience with apps, then you’ll find this too cluttered.
In addition to the above features, the Crest app also supports turn-by-turn navigation. As mentioned earlier though, the watch only works with Mappls and does not support Google Maps. It is still good for basic navigation.
Battery Life
BoAt Wave Sigma 3 is fueled by a 230mAh battery, and boAt promises it can run for up to 5 days on a single charge. I found the claim to be fairly accurate, though your mileage will vary with how you use the watch. When you’re running tons of Bluetooth calls or features like continuous heart rate monitoring, the battery will usually have a shorter life.
The charging is done by a magnetic charger and takes about an hour to fill the watch completely. I love how fast it charges. So even when you are running very low, your watch will not be gone long.
Pros and Cons
As with any product, there are pros and cons. Here’s a quick rundown:
Pros:
2.01 inch Large display
Lightweight and comfortable design
Unique features such as turn by turn navigation and live scores for sports
Face Studio for customization
Long battery life up to 5 days
Good price at ₹1,499
Cons
LCD Display doesn’t have auto-brightness adjustment
The microphone quality is not that great for Bluetooth calls
Battery drains faster when calling more
The standard of the Bluetooth isn’t latest that Bluetooth 5.2
Verdict:
Best bang for the buck The ₹1,499 boAt Wave Sigma 3 leaves most of its budget competitors in the dust with features that you would mostly not get from a smartwatch at this price-that includes turn-by-turn navigation, live scores of sports, and even watch faces that you can customize. Some limitations-the AMOLED isn’t on that list, neither is the microphone for calls being strong enough-but these small complaints slide easily over when considering the price.
If you are looking for an inexpensive smartwatch, but want something that’s a little more flashy than an average offering, the boAt Wave Sigma 3 is worth checking out. It’s great for someone looking for loads of smart features without breaking the bank.