Never have I been so confused about a product than the Kenxinda S-watch 2.0. I mean, from a first glance, you’re probably assuming that it is a smartwatch. It has a wrist band, a clock face when not in use, what other proof do you need that this thing is a smartwatch? But then, you start using it, and the longer you mess with it, a dawning realisation comes to you slowly but surely: this thing isn’t a watch, it’s a mobile phone disguised as a watch.
Design
Before we get more in depth into this deceptive device, let’s talk about the entire look of the Kenxinda S-watch 2.0. Now, a rich, metrosexual friend once told me that watches are as much tools as they are accessories. If what he says were true, then the S-watch 2.0 is a fashion faux pas. I’m not going to mince words here, the ‘watch’ itself is not exactly visually appealing. It is stupidly huge and the rectangular screen makes the S-watch 2.0 to be as elegant as a toothpick.
Despite its gargantuan size though, the S-watch 2.0 is light. Usually, being light is a good thing, but for the S-watch 2.0’s case, it is actually a negative. The lack of weight on the S-watch 2.0 makes the device feel cheap and brittle. In fact, I’m almost certain that if you have some amount of muscles on your arms, you could very likely crush this device if you grip it tight enough.
Features
Remember how I said that the S-watch 2.0 is more mobile phone than watch? I wasn’t kidding. The only feature that the S-watch 2.0 has that can be considered a ‘smart watch’ feature is the pedometer, which is of dubious quality I should say. Everything else apart from that though reminds me of the coloured screen Nokia phones of the early 2000s.
First off, the S-watch 2.0 doesn’t run on Android. I don’t really know what this watch operates on, but if the UI is anything to go with, it looks like something that was spun out of Symbian. Seeing as the OS of the S-watch 2.0 is custom made (as far as I know), this means that the phone does not contain an app store, and therefore, all the apps that came preinstalled with the watch is all you’re ever going to get.
Secondly, the S-watch 2.0 comes with slots that you can insert a nano-SIM and a microSD card. A smart watch that can double as a phone isn’t exactly a new thing. In fact, Samsung’s original Gear S came with such a feature, so it really isn’t all that surprising.
Apart from that, everything else is fairly standard as the watch comes with a contacts list, a music player, gallery viewer, and even a camera which we’ll talk about later.
Usage
Using the Kenxinda S-watch 2.0 is like stepping through a time portal. I know I’ve made numerous comparisons to old mobile phones throughout the entire review for this thing, but really, there is no other way to describe the S-watch 2.0.
It’s easier to list down what the S-watch 2.0 can’t do when compared to other proper smartphones. For one, it is unable to connect to Wi-Fi networks. I’ve tried looking through the settings to figure out if there’s a way to enable it, but all I found in the connectivity settings is GPRS, and WAP, both of which are terms that I haven’t seen since my secondary school days.
Secondly, it cannot display notifications when connected to a smartphone. While the device does come with Bluetooth which allows you to connect your smartphone to the watch, you’re only able to sync contacts or notes with each other.
Battery life is also unimpressive for this rudimentary ‘watch’, lasting for roughly two days before needing a recharge.
As for what the S-watch 2.0 can do…well…it can make phone calls as well as send SMS-es to other phones thanks to its SIM card slot. That said though, trying to type out an SMS using the phone itself is a pain thanks to the cramped up keyboard. If you’re serious about using this as a phone, a Bluetooth headset is necessary since talking through the watch itself makes you look stupid, and the audio quality is pretty bad as well.
Camera
Another bizarre addition that the S-Watch 2.0 has is a camera. This is the first time I’ve seen a camera on smartwatch and so I was curious as to how it works. Turns out, it really isn’t anything to talk about because, much like everything else about the watch, the camera is very, and I mean very, basic.
My first gripe about it is its placement. I initially thought that the camera was meant to take selfies thanks to its positioning. It is only when I started using it that I realise that this isn’t the case. If you attempt to take a selfie with it, your image on the screen will be upside-down.
Using the camera properly is also awkward. Thanks to the positioning of the camera, aiming at something you want to shoot is a chore because accurately gauging where the camera is pointing is frustrating.
But if you can put up with the frustration of using the damn thing, you’ll find out that the quality of the images taken are poor.
