Smartwatches have become more popular than ever in India, with brands scrambling to get their products out across all budget ranges. And it is not just a general observation. Research studies done on the smartwatch market in India have, time and again, proven that the country is a hotbed for selling smartwatches. The price-conscious Indian consumers are always on the lookout for the best worth for their money, demanding that watchmakers include more and more features in their digital timepieces for as low a price as possible. Premium smartwatch manufacturers and the ones offering budget alternatives have their work cut out. Hence, the competition in this space is stronger than we have ever seen.
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If there were any doubts about it, then all of them were cleared out when we tested the smartwatches this year for our Digit Zero1 and Best Buy awards. The performance differential between the first and the second placeholder, considering the massive price difference, was not a lot. And that is a great sign for the consumers. They are getting more worth for their money! With that said, let’s dive in and see which watch clinched the top spot in our awards for performance and which one made the cut for being the best buy in the world of smartwatches.
Price: ₹54,900
The Apple Watch Series 9 blew the competition out of the water this year and took the crown for being the winner of the Digit Zero1 Award 2023 in the Best Performing Smartwatch Category. We tested the watch for its accuracy in tracking our walks, exercise sessions, steps, heart rate, SpO2, and multiple other metrics, and the watch comprehensively outperformed every other contender in the category. Apple had made tall claims during their announcement of the Apple Watch Series 9 in September this year, and all those claims stood true when we tested the watch.
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Not only the tracking in terms of the display brightness, but the watch also peaked at 779 nits of brightness during our tests, which was about 1.5 times higher than any other watch that came into the Test Centre this year for the awards. Powering the watch is the S9 SiP, which ensured that the Watch Series 9 outperformed the competition. In our tests, we found that the Apple Watch Series 9 was 100 per cent accurate in testing heart rate and SpO2 and had some of the best haptics of the lot. The Apple Watch Series 9 passed with flying colours in all the tests we put it through and tracked the metrics with utmost precision in almost every single test. It performed better than the competition, winning the Digit Zero1 Award for being the Best Performing Smartwatch of 2023.
Price: ₹2,999
Rising above segment favourites like the Boult Crown R Pro and the relatively newer cmf Watch Pro, the Hammer Conquer stands out in terms of both, performance as well as value for money. With a 2.02-inch AMOLED display and an IP67 rating, the Conquer comes with a pretty good build quality and a bunch of great features for people who like a rugged styled to match their fitness regime. That said, the watch doesn’t have its own dedicated app (it uses the ‘Da Fit’ app) and does take a tad longer than other watches to set up. While the cmf is marginally better in terms of build, design and overall features, the Conquer’s performance, in some categories, comes quite close to matching higher-end smartwatches like the Apple Watch Series 9.
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Sure, it doesn’t have the slick design language and falls short in things like tested brightness – 126-ish Nits, a whopping 300 Nits dimmer than its competitors – and distance tracking. However, its step tracking, calorie count and heart-rate monitor leave most of its competitors in the dust. With a ₹2,999 price tag, the Hammer Conquer snags the Digit Best Buy Award 2023 in the Best Performing Smartwatch category. Though, if you plan to use the watch in very bright sunlight regularly, you may have some trouble.
For more information on Digit Zero1 Award winners across various categories of products, please visit: https://www.digit.in/zero1-awards
