Affordable smart watches are also a popular item on the retail market. Today we will introduce a model with a label Haylou Solarwhich even offers a metal body, a sensor for monitoring heart rate or sleep, but also simple in-house software. We will reveal more in the just starting review.
Maybe you've heard of the brand Hayle especially in connection with the production of popular and affordable true-wireless headphones. It is a partner brand of the Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi, which also belongs to the common Xiaomi ecosystem.
Nevertheless, it still brings something of its own to its products and these products are characterized by a good price / performance ratio.
Haylou Solar: Where to buy?
Watch with marking Haylou Solar we bought it through the Cafago e-shop, which sends the goods from a Chinese warehouse. The delivery of the watch took approximately 3 weeks. Postage is completely free and you don't have to worry about any customs duties.
Buy Haylou Solar at a bargain price
Standard packaging
Product packaging of watches Haylou Solar it is traditionally very simple, following the example of other Haylou partner brand products. The top cover is a representation of the product itself with the name and basic technical specifications. Inside there is then a paper box of compact dimensions.
After unpacking it, on the very top there is a watch covered with a protective foil, which is placed in a soft lining. Below them is a specific magnetic charging cable that connects to the watch on the pins from the bottom. The package also includes a brief paper guide for connecting to the application and the use itself.
Metal construction
Haylou Solar watches are very affordable, but the price has not really been reflected in processing. The watch even offers a metal body, resp. edge around the display. The front wall is then glass and the bottom is plastic. The package contains a standard silicone strap, which can be replaced with another, universal with a width of 22 mm.
The dimensions of the watch without the strap attached are 45,3 x 11,4 mm, which are reasonable dimensions and the watch does not look too strong on a woman's hand or too fragile on a man's hand. The total length of the strap with the watch is 264 mm. The watch weighs 54 grams, which is a reasonable weight that does not overburden your wrist.
The front side contains a large display, which is a touch screen and contains the mentioned metal frame. The top and bottom edges include protrusions for standard strap mounting. On the right side there is a control button that is used to wake up or turn off the watch. The left side is completely empty.
However, the back side is quite interesting. It is plastic and contains mainly magnetic pins designed for charging by a specific USB charger, which is included in the package. There is also a heart rate sensor, which can be set in a certain algorithm or there is also a continuous recording for 24 hours.
The watch was very comfortable to wear and its design definitely makes a more expensive impression. The positive message is also increased resistance to water and dust. The manufacturer has equipped this model with IP 66 certification, so you don't have to worry about light rain or dusty environments outdoors.
Large HD display
The watch has a round display with a total diagonal 1,28 " and technology TFT In this case, it can be seen that a little savings were made, the watch would deserve an IPS or OLED panel.
The resolution of this panel has stopped 240 x 240 pixels. Displays true colors and is touch (capacitive). The display lacks automatic brightness control, which must be adjusted manually.
There was no problem with the control of the display, it reacted quickly and responsively, nor did we notice a problem in the interior with readability. Yes, it is not the finest display on the market, but it deserves a slightly higher brightness. In the exterior, the readability was worse and in direct sunlight we had to really focus on the display.
Mobile application: Haylou Fit
When it comes to connecting to a mobile application, the watch will greet you with a QR code the first time you turn it on, which will direct you to the Play Store. There are a pair of apps in this store Haylou Sports a Haylou Fit. The latter is the one you need to connect to the watch Haylou Solar.
Logging in to the application is very simple, just link to a Facebook account, for example. Bluetooth 5.0 www technology connects the watch to your smartphone very quickly and efficiently, and you will be greeted in an instant by the home screen.
On the home screen it is possible to see basic statistics from the watch. Not only is your location associated with the weather forecast, the number of steps, the distance or calories burned, but also data on monitoring sleep or heart rate.
In the side menus, it is possible to start one of the default sports activities, there is also the setting of watches, dials, notifications or the possibility to check for updates. The last offer is your profile with the possibility to change the goal in the number of completed steps.
The application is suitable for Android operating systems from version 4.4 and higher and for iOS from version 8.0 and higher. It is relatively simple, easy to use and fast, but you can't avoid the feeling that it is a kind of clone of the popular Mi Fit application with slightly chopped functionality.
No wonder, the Haylou brand belongs to the Xiaomi ecosystem, and the connection and operation of the watch is so similar to that of the Mi Band bracelets or the Amazfit watch.
Software and control
As for the software, it is from the Haylou workshop and also, like the mobile application, resembles a similar operating system in an Amazfit watch. The main screen displays a dial with date, time, and information about the weather or the number of steps taken.
Pulling from top to bottom opens the center of the shortcuts. On this screen you can see the percentage of the battery, there is no lack of brightness control, battery saving mode, access to settings and more.
When dragging to the sides, there is a graph of steps taken, heart rate monitoring, sleep monitoring, weather forecast or access to breathing exercises.
Additional features are available by swiping from the bottom up. There is also the possibility of watching notifications or music control, access to settings, but especially the launch and control of sports activities.
It is these functions that are the basis of this watch, which, with its focus, is presented more like a fitness tracker in the form of a standard smart watch, but with optimized and extremely simple software.
Fitness and monitoring functions: No GPS module
The software and the watch itself support 12 sports activities. Namely, it is running, fast walking, cycling, hiking, stationary bike, yoga, running indoors, strength training, gymnastics, basketball, football, but also rowing. Everyone can really choose.
The disadvantage of the low price of the watch is the absence of a GPS sensor. The position is thus recorded only via the connected smartphone. This can be a disadvantage for some sports activities, especially outdoors. Nevertheless, the speed of the GPS connection and the start of monitoring sports activities is relatively fast.
From this point of view, we did not notice any problems with affordable watches either. The deviation was also standard and the measured data did not differ significantly from the reality. The manufacturer does not lag behind the competition and brings 24-hour heart rate monitoring, which complements the basic sleep monitoring.
Battery: Up to 30 days on a single charge
The manufacturer has equipped the watch with a battery whose total capacity is 340 mAh. This is a very decent value for watch ratios, and this has also been reflected in endurance.
According to the manufacturer, the watch should last up to 30 days on a single charge in standard use. When using 24-hour heart rate monitoring, endurance is then reduced to 15 days.
Our testing showed that with heart rate monitoring turned on, we lost approximately 5-6% per day from our watches. We still had (and sometimes annoying) notifications turned on, including those about a successful watch.
The total endurance in our use is at the level of 18-20 days per charge. Charging is solved by a specific USB charger and the watch should be 100% charged within 120 minutes.
Price and availability
Haylou Solar are cheap and actually available watches that are not currently sold in official distribution on the Slovak or Czech market.
Haylou Solar European version
Nevertheless, they are offered in our market by several private e-shops in the amount of around 50 € / 58 USD. However, if you choose to import them from China, the price will drop significantly lower when using our discount coupon.
Upon delivery from the Czech, resp. European warehouse, the price is around 35 € / 41 USD and when importing from a Chinese warehouse, you even pay just over 27 € / 31 USD.
Final rating: Haylou Solar
Watch available Haylou Solar They are especially suitable for a less demanding user who does not require a GPS sensor and his priority is especially notifications or basic monitoring in the form of the number of steps, calories burned, sleep or heart rate.
It is practically a simple fitness tracker, which is, however, processed in a metal body and in the shape of a watch. So if you don't like a fitness bracelet, this is a very good alternative and we recommend a purchase.
However, if you require more, you often use the watch outdoors and appreciate the OLED display or GPS sensor, look for more expensive models, such as from the Amazfit workshop.
The worst smart watch I've ever had. The processing is good but the software has zero points. In the 3 weeks that I have them, the alarm clock didn't wake me even once. I vibrate 3 times and the end. Also miband managed to wake me without any problem, either 2,3 or miband4. Frequent switching on of the display totally turns me to speed. The other clocks I had would really turn on only when I wanted to. Overall, the software is 0,5 out of 10 points. Processing 9/10