Noise Loop Lite gives budget smartwatch thrills

● It is powered by a MediaTek MTK2502 SoC with 64MB of onboard storage. ● It is fuelled by a 380mAh battery.

Smartwatches haven’t really caught on — the two major reasons being monumental price tags and lack of absolute necessity. Cheap Chinese smartwatches look tempting with an array of features but barely manage to deliver on the ‘ smart’ side. However, the Noise Loop Lite smartwatch — sold by an Indian startup for ` 4,999, aims to change the thought. Like any wristwatch, it adds to your attire with a premium metal body holding its round dial. The watch tries to resemble the likes of the Samsung and ASUS counterparts. Noise also provides a tasteful leather belt that adds to the sense of premium- ness.

The watch is powered by a MediaTek MTK2502 chipset clubbed with 128MB of RAM and 64MB storage. There’s a 1.28- inch IPS LCD circular touchscreen display as the dial. The display has a notable legibility even under bright while being pretty responsive in taking inputs. Noise has gone for their own firmware ( OS) tweaked for a watch’s interface, which manages to put on a decent show — you can choose between four watch faces, navigate through gestures and check out notifications from the smartphone. It can also initiate Siri or Google Assistant on your smartphone using a dedicated app. However, the software ecosystem isn’t refined and is certainly not there with the best in the industry. Most of the basic smartwatch functions such as reading as well as replying to messages and interactions with notifications need a lot of polishing.

The Loop Lite is fuelled by a 380mAh power reservoir, which easily lasts for up to two days when constantly kept connected to the smartphone, with vibrations turned ON, display brightness turned up max, make/ receive short calls and keep motion gestures enabled. Dial down one of these a little and you can move towards Noise’s claimed standby life of three days.

On the whole, if you are constrained by a meagre budget but crave for a luxurious-looking wearable, then the Loop Lite is a recommended choice, albeit with a few compromises. However, a cheaper fitness band will be a better option as a practical wearable.