What do you actually need in a smartwatch, and how much should you spend?
Here are the essential features and budget-friendly options for smartwatches, including the Kospet Tank M4 and Huawei Watch Fit 4 GPS, to find the perfect fit for your needs without overspending. Picture: Huawei
Image: Huawei
As probably one of the most saturated segments of the tech market, finding a smartwatch which is right for you can be like finding a needle in a haystack.
You might feel compelled to stick to the ecosystem of your other devices, but this is not always necessary.
For example, I’m currently testing the Kospet Tank M4 (retailing at around R3,500 excluding import costs) - and it syncs perfectly with the Apple Health app and other fitness apps like Strava.
This isn’t the case for Huawei smartwatches and Apple, but they are competitors so it’s not really surprising.
Key Features to Consider in a Smartwatch
What then really matters in a smartwatch? For starters, a wrist-based heart-rate monitor is non-negotiable. But this is hardly an issue in 2025 and even from next year as even the most budget devices have this feature.
Something that is a bit more premium, but not really essential is blood oxygen measuring. While this is a handy feature to have, unless you have respiratory problems or illness this is something of a meaningless feature for healthy people. To demonstrate this, I used the blood oxygen measuring feature on myself, my wife, and my healthy 78-year-old mother. All our readings were within the healthy 96% and above range.
I then decided to use it on my father who is 82 years old, frail, and bedridden. I expected his reading to be something under 95% but instead it was also perfectly healthy at 97%. Therefore, if you’re looking for a fitness watch that does all the basics, tracks your workouts, and has good battery life - brands like Huawei and Garmin are probably the best way to go.
Apple Smartwatches vs. Huawei Watch Fit 4 GPS: Battery Life and Value Comparison
The Apple smartwatches start at R3999 with the Apple Watch SE, but the watches from this premium brand don’t offer the best battery life throughout their range. For comparison, the watch I’m currently using (mentioned above) came out of the box with a 98% charged battery on December 24 and still has 40% remaining six days later. That includes two 8km runs in that period, which normally drains the battery heavily through the GPS tracking.
That’s why something like the Huawei Watch Fit 4 GPS for around R2600 is an excellent choice, as it offers up to 10 days on a single charge.
Ultimately, picking the right smartwatch is quite a subjective exercise, but it’s important to know exactly what you want out of the device and don’t simply go for a bigger brand because it costs more.