Our Verdict
While the health and fitness features may be hit and miss, the Oukitel BT30 is one of the best budget smartwatches out there. It rivals even Apple and Samsung in battery life and health-based offerings. For the price, this is a great bit of kit that’s sure to meet your everyday needs.
- Cost effective
- Plenty of Health and fitness features
- Decent battery life
- Comes with the wrong pair of spare straps
- Finicky step counter
While smartphones remain the most prominent piece of technology for many people, I can’t deny that I’m one of those whose fondness for smartwatches is starting to make them just as important as my phone. However, they aren’t cheap. Many of the best smartwatches come with a hefty price tag, especially if it’s the Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy line that you’re after. But as we’re in a cost of living crisis, I don’t have a spare few hundred pounds to splash on a watch.
Luckily for me, the Oukitel BT30 is a cost-effective option that offers many of the same features as the aforementioned smartwatch giants. It’s also targeted at women or a more feminine audience, which means it’s not a clunky mess, as can be the case with other watches. Plus, it boasts an impressive battery life that saw me get full use of the device for five days at a time before charging it became a necessity. Of course, I have much more to say about the BT30, so keep reading to find out if it can stand tall against the likes of Samsung and Apple.
Price
The price is definitely one of the more appealing factors when it comes to the Oukitel BT30, not even clocking in at $100/ £100. Instead, this piece of kit only sets you back anywhere between $50 and $99.99, and given what you can get out of this watch, I’d say that’s a decent price. It’s certainly worth it in my eyes if you want to own a smartwatch with premium capabilities at a cost-effective price.
For the price, you get the watch, a charging cable, and a second set of straps, though I’ve admittedly not been able to connect the spare straps to my watch. For what you get in the box and the features that the BT30 includes, the price feels really amicable. Be you in the US or the UK, purchasing the Oukitel BT30 isn’t an issue, for not only can you go directly through Oukitel’s website, but you can also buy the device on Amazon.
Specs
| Battery | 160mAh battery |
| Display | 1.04-inch AMOLED (340 x 340) |
| Storage | 128Mb (16MB) |
| Chipset | Cortex-M3 |
| Color | rose gold, black |
Features
For those who want a watch that tracks their health and fitness, the BT30 is a fine choice. It can inform you about your heart rate, steps, blood oxygen, and blood pressure, to name a few, and offer specific modes for different types of exercise. I especially use the walking and weight lifting options, though running and cycling are also available. It can even keep track of your REM cycle, something that those who struggle with sleeping may well appreciate.
These various features are great for me, someone who is trying to get her health and fitness back on track, though I have to admit to the steps tracker being unreliable at times. I can spend half an hour on the treadmill and have the watch tell me that I’ve not even done 1,000 steps, but If I take a twenty-minute walk to the shop and back, I’ve seemingly done a lot more. While I’m a fan of this sort of feature, the inconsistency makes it hard to truly track my progress.
Like other smartwatches, you can receive messages and phone calls through the watch, though this is one of the less impressive features for me when it comes to any smartwatch. Still, if it’s something that you look for when looking for the perfect wrist device, the BT30 handles it just fine. However, it can be hit-and-miss when receiving general notifications. For instance, in the accompanying app, I opted to receive notifications every two hours to remind me to drink water, yet this never happens. It’s a small complaint, but as someone with ADHD who frequently forgets to do things such as have a drink, that can make a difference.
Design and display
The watch itself is simplistic in its design with a slick rose gold finish, matched nicely by the thin yet sturdy straps that come in a clean white, with the complimenting spare straps being pink. You can also opt for a black watch, featuring black straps and a spare khaki set. The Oukitel BT30 is a comfortable bit of kit that fits nicely on my wrist. Even in the gym, it sits snugly as I lift weights and run on the treadmill. However, the straps that the watch comes with begin to rub after some exercise. The second pair of straps would surely combat that issue, but it turns out that they aren’t compatible with the device, which is quite disappointing.
As for the display, the 1.04-inch AMOLED screen ensures a vibrant experience that’s easy on the eyes. At no point do I feel as though I’m straining to see what’s on the screen. The touchscreen is highly receptive, and the layout of the widgets works perfectly. Even when outside, there’s no glare on the screen, and that’s usually a pet peeve of mine. I even returned a Steam Deck due to the horrid glare when outdoors, so the fact that a smartwatch on the cheaper end impresses me in that regard is quite surprising.
Battery
The battery life on the BT30 is actually pretty impressive, and it surpasses the competition, given that a lot of smartwatches only manage a day and a half to two days. The 160mAh battery ensures that you get some good use out of your watch before it needs a charge. On average, I manage to get five to six days of usage before the watch needs charging, and that’s with extensive use, considering it practically lives on my wrist. However, while Oukitel says the BT30 has 15 days of juice, even with minimal use, I never reached 15 days before the device needed charging.
That’s not to diminish the battery life of the watch, as you do get a lot of use out of it before the cable calls to you, but it’s not quite as much as Oukitel promise. Other watches also fall short in this regard, with the Oukitel BT30 outlasting even the Apple Watch 9, though that device does boast more features and capabilities.
When the time does come for a charge, the time it takes the device to return to full capacity borders on the hour mark, which is admittedly longer than the superfast charging you can get with an Apple or Samsung watch. At the half-hour mark, the watch regains roughly 45% of its battery, so a quick charge does offer enough juice to see you through for a couple of days. Truthfully, even when not fulfilling the promise of 15 days, I can’t complain about the battery, given how long it lasts, even when I constantly use the health and fitness features.
Performance
The performance of the BT30 is where I have to take slight issue, for while I do receive notifications regarding messages seamlessly, the not receiving notifications on water intake, despite opting to do so in the app, can be a little disappointing. Evidently, the seamlessness of receiving phone calls and messages supports the fact that the watch features a solid Cortex-M3 processor, working in the background to keep the watch in sync with my mobile phone (an iPhone 13).
Furthermore, as I mentioned when discussing the features, while many of the health and fitness functions work well, the discrepancy in the step count can be counterproductive. The calorie count works well, as do the various sports modes, such as weight lifting, but I can’t claim the performance to be perfect. Still, the device functions well day-to-day; it shifts seamlessly between screens and tasks, and there’s no stutter or lag here. I’ve even gone through all of the available screens at speed to test this.
Verdict
All in all, the Oukitel BT30 is a fine smartwatch on a modest budget, though this comes at the expense of other premium features that you can find in the more expensive watches on the market. However, it sits comfortably on your wrist, and while the step count can be unreliable, its overall health and fitness capabilities make it a fine choice for someone who wants to keep better track of their fitness journey.
Plus, as this watch isn’t part of an ecosystem (like the Apple Watch), it doesn’t matter whether or not you use iOS or Android. The watch works with both systems, making it a solid choice regardless of which smartphone you use. For its price point, I can honestly say that I’m happy with the Oukitel BT30.
Alternatives
Apple Watch 9
Okay, if budget isn’t an issue for you and you want to experience one of the best smartwatches out there, I recommend the Apple Watch 9 as an alternative to the Oukitel BT30 (even if I myself am quite happy to forgo it). It goes above and beyond when tracking health and fitness, features, and ergonomic design, and it is the perfect choice if you use other Apple devices due to its synchronicity with the iOS ecosystem. Plus, its performance is at the next level. Just take a look at our Apple Watch 9 review to see why it’s a king among smartwatches.
CMF Watch Pro
If it’s the cheaper price tag that entices you to the Oukitel BT30, I think the CMF Watch Pro by Nothing might interest you. You can grab this watch for less than $70, and it gives all the basics you could want from a smartwatch, though that does mean that it doesn’t boast the same screen quality as other alternatives. Still, it offers some good health and fitness tracking at a very modest price.