The Fire Boltt Talk Bluetooth Calling Smartwatch is a affordable smartwatch. Affordable smartwatches have been getting better over time, and it’s now possible to buy a feature-packed device for less than $40. As popular brands like Xiaomi, Realme, OnePlus and Amazfit popularize the idea of ​​affordable smartwatches and fitness trackers, many buyers are looking for a stylish and easy way to track health and fitness parameters, quickly track notifications and more. A key new trend in affordable smartwatches is also the ability to receive calls directly on the watch, similar to how premium options such as the Apple Watch work.

The Fire Boltt Talk Bluetooth Calling Smartwatch does just that, but it costs a fraction of what smartwatches from brands like Apple and Samsung cost. Priced under $40 worldwide, this smartwatch has a round color touchscreen, SpO2 and heart rate monitoring, and the ability to act as a hands-free device on your wrist for calls and audio. How does this interesting new smart watch work?. Find out in my Fire Boltt Talk Bleutooth Calling Smartwatch review.

Fire Boltt Talk Bluetooth Calling Smartwatch Design Interface, Software, App

The Fire Boltt Talk Bluetooth Calling Smartwatch has a round, 1.28-inch color touchscreen display and a watch face that resembles what you see on a traditional mechanical watch. The only button that resembles a watch crown is on the right side; although the button physically rotates, it has no scrolling function like the Fire-Boltt Beast smartwatch. Instead, it wakes or turns off the screen and takes you to the home screen of the watch interface deeper in the UI.

It’s worth noting here that the screen wasn’t perfectly aligned with the dial on my control unit and was rotated just a few degrees counter-clockwise. This appears to be a manufacturing defect limited to my review unit and it didn’t affect the operation of the device at all, so I proceeded with the review assuming retail Fire-Boltt Talk units would have the screens mounted correctly. Of course, users are advised to contact customer support in case their retail units experience similar faults or issues.

The included straps are made of rubber and I found them quite comfortable and easy to adjust. These are removable and interchangeable with any standard 46mm watch band, so you have some room for customization here. The Fire Boltt Talk Bluetooth Calling Smartwatch case is metal, while the bottom is plastic. In the lower part there are contact points for the charger and an optical sensor for measuring heart rate and SpO2.

Available in three colors – black, gray and teal – the Fire Boltt Talk Bluetooth Calling Smartwatch  weighs around 60g and has an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance. The device uses Bluetooth 5 for connectivity, using both a basic low-energy connection for smartwatch functions, as well as a “Phone” mode that turns the watch into a connected wireless speaker and microphone. There’s heart rate and SpO2 monitoring, sleep and step tracking, and various other tools like a stopwatch, alarm clock, and timer. The watch can vibrate to alert the wearer to calls and notifications, and you can choose to answer calls directly on Fire Boltt Talk Bluetooth Calling Smartwatch  when it’s working as a wireless hands-free device.

Fire Boltt Talk Bluetooth Calling Smartwatch Performance

The Fire Boltt Talk Bluetooth Calling Smartwatch runs a custom UI that’s very similar to the Fire-Boltt Beast UI I recently reviewed, but with minor differences to adapt it to a round screen. It’s heavily inspired by Apple WatchOS, although the smartwatch itself doesn’t look like an Apple Watch at all. This includes a bubble-style app drawer and quick settings icons. All features are accessible by swiping and tapping. The button can be used to wake up the screen, but the watch will also wake up when you raise your hand to look at it.

The home screen has a prominent display of the time and other details, and you can of course use the companion app to customize the watch face to your liking – more on that later. Swipe left to view the app drawer, swipe down to view unread messages and notifications, swipe from top to bottom to view the quick settings shade and battery level, and swipe right to cycle through built-in tools and health monitors.

Other useful apps include a camera shutter app, a music remote to control playback on a paired smartphone, a stopwatch, and an alarm clock. There is a pressure gauge on the device, but in my experience the readings have been quite unreliable and I do not recommend counting on this data at all.

The main feature of the Fire Boltt Talk Bluetooth Calling Smartwatch is the ‘Phone’ mode, which allows you to use it as a hands-free device for your smartphone. This needs to be turned on via the watch app or the settings menu, then the watch will be visible as a Bluetooth audio device that you can pair and connect to from your smartphone. This also activates the phone settings in the app on the watch itself, allowing you to view the call log, access the dialer and call directly from the phone, or select one of the eight pre-configured contacts (these can be selected via the app) to make a quick call.

The overall experience was a bit awkward – swiping and tapping sometimes didn’t register and it often took too long to get around the watch, but the experience was a little less clunky than the Fire-Boltt Beast. Of course, you can access most of the watch’s data and settings via a smartphone app called Da Fit.

Fire Boltt Talk Bluetooth Calling Smartwatch Performance

The Fire Boltt Talk Bluetooth Calling Smartwatch is device agnostic and works with most smartphones on both Android and iOS platforms. You can use many of their features without being connected to a smartphone, but a key feature of the smartwatch is its ability to be used as a hands-free device, and this will require a Bluetooth source device to work. Most fitness and health tracking features, as well as tools, are available directly on the watch itself.

That said, the point of a smartwatch is to act as a second screen to your smartphone worn on your wrist, showing you notifications, caller ID and health parameters without having to pick up your smartphone or take it out of your pocket. Throughout, The Fire Boltt Talk Bluetooth Calling Smartwatch does this well enough, scrolling through notifications and allowing me to take calls on the watch itself effectively enough.

The pairing process is easy enough, even if it’s your first time using the smartwatch, and it’s quick to complete. The pre-installed watch faces are basic but look clean. In addition to the time, the various faces also display other information such as the date, steps, battery level and smartphone connection status.

The heart rate and SpO2 monitors on the Fire Boltt Talk Bluetooth Calling Smartwatch offered accurate readings compared to the Apple Watch Series 5 and a standard fingertip pulse oximeter. It took a few seconds to register the data, but it was usually accurate without me having to wait too long. The Fire-Boltt Beast recorded around 1,020-1,030 steps when manually counting 1,000 steps, with the margin of error increasing to around four percent over the larger number of steps measured against the Apple Watch.

The blood pressure monitor on the Fire Boltt Talk Bluetooth Calling Smartwatch uses an optical sensor on the underside of the watch. I saw very varied and inconsistent data that varied significantly, even if only a few seconds apart. Naturally, it is best not to rely on this, as the readings do not seem to be accurate at all, and it is best to purchase appropriate blood pressure measurement equipment.

Other tools in the app drawer include a flashlight, stopwatch, timer, alarm clock, and music player, all of which work well enough. There’s also a ‘Theater’ mode that dims the screen and turns off vibration alerts. Through the Da Fit app, you can set which apps on your phone you want to receive notifications from, with popular options like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, in addition to the basics that include the Phone and SMS apps.

The feature that gives Fire Boltt Talk Bleutooth Calling Smartwatch its name works exactly as you’d expect, with the watch serving as a Bluetooth hands-free device with a speaker and microphone. This means you need the watch to be within Bluetooth range of your smartphone, but you don’t actually need to pull out your phone to receive calls. The speaker is clear and loud enough for calls and the microphone correctly picks up voices for a functional and enjoyable experience. You can also use the watch to play audio from your smartphone, such as music, if you want.

Our Thought

Although the Fire Boltt Talk Bluetooth Calling Smartwatch is quite similar in design and features to most options in the budget smartwatch segment, it stands out for one key reason: its ability to function as a hands-free device, allowing you to make and receive phone calls on your wrist. It’s a simple but effective way to make quick calls on the go, and with additional health and fitness features like step tracking, SpO2 and heart rate monitoring, it’s a budget-friendly option.

The experience with the app was pretty good, but I found the user interface of the software on the device a bit clunky and uncomfortable, and the blood pressure monitor is definitely not accurate enough to rely on. However, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of Fire Boltt Talk Bluetooth Calling Smartwatch. It’s definitely worth considering if you’re looking for a smartwatch under $40, especially since it’s more feature-packed than the bigger brand options at this price point.