SpO2. We never knew something like that existed till Covid-19 hit us last year. Pulse oximeters for measuring SpO2 levels flew off store shelves within days.

But then, is it always possible to have a pulse oximeter near us when it is needed? Or when we are outside? What if your watch itself can track and inform you about your oxygen levels?

The Fire-Boltt BSW001 smartwatch does just that. It is a health band that can also read SpO2. Boltt claims it is the first band with this feature.

Fire-Boltt prefers to call it a smartwatch, but it is more of a fitness band than a smartwatch. Though it may not have all the features of a smartwatch like Samsung’s, it does more than an ordinary fitness band.

Other features

Apart from monitoring SpO2, the Fire-Boltt watch can monitor heart rate, blood pressure, and sleep. It also shows notifications from the phone like calls and messages. For this, you have to install the Da Fit app on the phone. The phone call notification only notifies you about the incoming call. You cannot use it to answer calls.

The watch has a 1.4 inch HD display which is relatively smooth, clear, and bright. There is just one button on the right that is used to power on and off. While on, the button takes you to the home screen from wherever you are.

The main screen displays the time, steps, heart rate, and weather.

There is no lag while swiping across screens. The main watch face itself does not do much except for displaying time, steps calories, and heart rate - and none of them are clickable. You have to scroll left or right to check the steps you have taken or go to the heart rate screen to measure or check the heart rate. A double-tap on the heart rate screen starts the heart rate measurement. There is also an option (in the Settings) for continuous monitoring of the heart rate, which could be pretty helpful .

Swiping up takes us to the other parts of the menu like Messages, Sleep, and Health, which includes SpO2, heart rate, and blood pressure monitors. The next screen - Training - has three modes - Walking, Running, Cycling, Skipping, Badminton, Basketball, and Football. It is also possible to take pictures through the camera app, though only through the back camera.

There are just three default watchfaces on the phone, but the Da Fit app that has to be installed on the phone has hundreds of nice-looking watch faces. Unfortunately, only a few of them display battery information. You have to either go to the battery info on the watch to see the battery level or use the Da Fit app to check the battery level, which means you really run the risk of running out of battery.

The Da Fit app itself is great - well designed with all the info - Steps, Sleep, Heart Rate, BP, Blood Oxygen, and Outdoor Running - laid out neatly on a page. The settings screen, apart from the usual settings, also allows you to track your watch if you have misplaced it, though it could be useless as it only vibrates.

The steps measurement is fairly accurate (I compared it with a Samsung smartwatch and Google Fit data). So are the heart rate and SpO2 readings.

The best part of the watch is the battery. While even the high-end smartwatches and most bands from the well-known brands struggle to last even a few days, the Boltt lasted over a week. I had around 20 per cent battery left after a week’s usage, which is really good.

As with all smartwatches and health bands, the Boltt smartwatch comes with a proprietary charger. The watch has to be docked with the charger.

Price: Rs 2,999

Pros: Good screen, accurate tracking, battery life, SpO2 measurement

Cons: Battery info in only a few watch faces; Find Device in Da Fit only makes the watch vibrate; cannot answer calls by clicking on notification.

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