华硕^(ASUS)最近发布了其最新的面向健康和健身的智能手表VivoWatch 5。这是一款功能丰富的设备，具有出色的电池寿命^{(battery life)}和美观的不锈钢机身^{(steel body)}。我很幸运成为第一个测试它的人，在使用两周后，我准备好展示我的发现了。它是一个物有所值的设备^{(value device)}吗？华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}对您有好处吗？如果您阅读此独家评论，您的决定可能会变得更容易：

华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}：它对谁有好处？

华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}是以下设备的绝佳选择：

• 想要密切关注自己健康的人
• 喜欢经典重型运动手表外观和感觉的用户^{(look and feel)}
• 想要精确监控其活动的健身爱好者

优点和缺点

在测试过程中，我注意到了很多品质：

• 大量的健康和健身监测功能^{(health and fitness monitoring features)}
• 在所有天气条件下都具有出色的屏幕可视性^{(screen visibility)}
• 智能手表戴在手腕上感觉很好，而且很好看
• 它也非常坚固，带有金属底盘
• 电池寿命很好

但是，有一些可以改进的地方：

• 它的厚度使睡觉时穿着不舒服
• 一些测量不准确，即高度计和温度（但公平地说，后者仍在开发中）
• 由于使用的技术，显示器的色彩还原^{(display isn)}不是^{(color reproduction)}很好

判决

华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}是一款非常不同的智能手表。LCD 屏幕^{(LCD screen)}逆向AMOLED 趋势^{(AMOLED trend)}，设备的尺寸和设计对用户产生了两极分化的影响，但大量的健康和健身功能^{(health and fitness features)}以及良好的电池寿命^{(battery life)}使其成为监测生命体征的可靠伴侣。日。它在智能手表功能方面做到了最低限度^{(bare minimum)}，所以我强烈推荐华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}给想要密切监测血压^{(blood pressure)}、血氧等参数的^{(blood oxygen)}健康和健身爱好者^{(health and fitness enthusiasts)}水平和心率^{(heart rate)}。

华硕 VivoWatch 5 拆箱

华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}采用相当大的白色盒子（5.39 x 5.63 x 3.23 英寸或 13.7 x 14.3 x 8.2 厘米），与华硕 VivoWatch SP^{(ASUS VivoWatch SP)}非常相似。事实上，智能手表与其兄弟有很多共同之处，但我们将在下一节中讨论。盒子的正面为我们展示了手表的风格化图纸和产品的全名。

^{(Front view)}华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}盒子的前视图

盒子的背面包含各种条形码，以及一小段关于充电的信息。

华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}盒子的背面

华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}包装完好，配件在单独的隔间中。它的配件比你想象的要多。包装内包含手表、充电线、保修信息^{(warranty info)}、清洁刷^{(cleaning brush)}、三个用于手表充电端口的塑料盖，以及第二条较短的表带，适合手腕较小的人使用。

华硕 VivoWatch 5 的表带

考虑到表带上的孔数量（希望您没有密集恐惧症^{(Trypophobia)}！） ，非常欢迎包含清洁刷。^{(cleaning brush)}盖子旨在保护充电端口免受灰尘和沙砾^{(dust and grit)}的影响，我很高兴华硕^(ASUS)包括其中三个，因为它们非常小且容易放错地方。

华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}：包装内有什么

华硕 VivoWatch 5 的拆箱体验非常愉快。高品质的包装增加了体验，我欢迎包含额外的配件，尤其是较短的表带。^{(The unboxing experience of the ASUS VivoWatch 5 was pleasant. The high-quality packaging adds to the experience, and I welcome the inclusion of additional accessories, especially the shorter strap.)}

设计和硬件规格

首先，让我们谈谈设计^{(talk design)}。华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}的机身由不锈钢制成，而表带（0.87 英寸或 22 毫米宽）则由弹性硅胶制成。智能手表的防水深度可达 165 英尺（50 米），可承受高达 5 ATM的压力。打开包装后，我立即注意到设计的坚固性和“酷因素”。智能手表看起来像老式的运动手表，感觉也和旧的一样重。没有表带的华硕 VivoWatch 5重达 1.83 盎司（52 克），几乎是类似尺寸的^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}小米手表^{(Xiaomi Mi Watch)}的两倍。

华硕 VivoWatch 5 正面

说到尺寸，手表的机身直径为 1.81 英寸（46 毫米）（如果算上单个按钮，则为 1.89 英寸），厚度为 0.51 英寸（13 毫米）。这听起来像是一种不舒服的睡眠监测可穿戴设备，但在下一节中会详细介绍。

华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}相当厚实

虽然官方网站没有包含太多关于触摸屏的信息，但我怀疑华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}的显示屏与^{(s display)}VivoWatch SP上使用的1.34 英寸（3.4 厘米）直径、368 x 448像素LCD 面板^{(LCD panel)}相同。与正在成为可穿戴设备标准的现代AMOLED^(AMOLEDs)相比，这绝对是一款不寻常的智能手表显示器。对于初学者来说，与传统屏幕相比，色彩再现^{(color reproduction)}令人震惊，但这是该显示器唯一的缺点。

色彩还原一般

可视角度和整体易读性非常出色，而且它的工作方式非常巧妙：显示器的背景具有高度反射性，因此环境越亮，对比度就越好。对于夜间，还有只能手动调节的背光。并不是说您要经常调整它，因为它对于大多数情况来说已经足够了。

那么，如果色彩还原^{(color reproduction)}不好，为什么要使用这种技术呢？一大原因是功耗^{(power consumption)}。华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}的显示屏始终亮着，就像您的旧卡西欧^(Casio)一样，就像卡西欧^(Casio)一样，显示屏消耗的能量非常少。即使是最先进的AMOLED显示器，这也只是其耗电量的一小部分，而这意味着电池续航时间超过一周。300 mAh 电池^{(mAh battery)}的典型使用时间为 10 天，省电模式下为 14 天。

屏幕在强光下非常清晰

然后，我们有传感器。这其实是华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}的强项之一。它有：

• 2 个 ECG（心电图）传感器
• 2 个PPG（光电容积脉搏波）传感器 - 用于心率^{(heart rate)}测量
• 2个红外传感器
• 温度传感器
• 重力传感器
• 高度计/气压计
• 陀螺仪

当然，它也有带GLONASS/Galileo/BeiDou的 GPS ，但没有Wi-Fi 或 NFC^{(Wi-Fi or NFC)}（尽管华硕^(ASUS)计划发布带LTE的型号）。华硕 VivoWatch 5通过^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}蓝牙 4.2^{(Bluetooth 4.2)}连接到您的手机，但它也可以用作独立设备^{(standalone device)}，这与它的一些竞争对手不同。不幸的是，它不能用来接听电话，因为它没有扬声器。

华硕 VivoWatch 5 的背面

更多技术参数，请访问产品官方页面：ASUS VivoWatch 5 (HC-B05)｜ASUS Global .

华硕 VivoWatch 5 是一款非常坚固且制作精良的设备。它有许多与健康相关的传感器和良好的电池寿命（至少在纸面上）。不过，它又重又厚。屏幕与竞争对手有很大不同，使用具有高反射背景的 LCD。技术规格表明华硕 VivoWatch 5 是一款健康和健身追踪器，而不是智能手表。^{(The ASUS VivoWatch 5 is a really solid and well-built device. It has lots of health-related sensors and good battery life (on paper at least). It’s quite heavy and thick, though. The screen is very different from the competition, using an LCD with a highly reflective background. The technical specs point towards ASUS VivoWatch 5 being a health and fitness tracker, rather than a smartwatch.)}

ASUS VivoWatch 5的初始设置和软件功能^{(setup and software features)}

设置华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}很简单：打开智能手表，选择语言，提供一些关于您的详细信息（身高、体重、年龄），然后智能手表就可以使用了。初始配置后，智能手表会显示一个二维码^{(QR code)}，用于下载ASUS HealthConnect（适用于 Android^{(for Android)}和iPhone^{(for iPhones)}）。您无需将智能手表连接到智能手机即可正常使用，但其配置选项有些有限。

您必须先下载ASUS HealthConnect 应用程序^{(ASUS HealthConnect app)}

下载并安装应用程序后，您可以继续将ASUS VivoWatch 5连接到您的智能手机，这样您就可以在设备上设置和修改更多设置。与华硕 VivoWatch SP^{(ASUS VivoWatch SP)}一样，华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}并不是真正的智能手表，而是health/fitness tracker。因此，它会自动收集许多健康参数，例如心率^{(heart rate)}、血液中的氧气含量和体温^{(body temperature)}。您可以随时在ASUS HealthConnect仪表板中查看数据。

HealthConnect 应用程序^{(HealthConnect app)}易于使用

^{(Health and fitness features)}华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}的健康和健身功能

华硕VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}不支持安装应用程序，但华硕^(ASUS)不断改进现有功能并添加新功能。以下是华硕 VivoWatch 5 的健康和^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}健身功能^{(health and fitness features)}：

• 心率^{(Heart Rate)}- 每几分钟或手动测量一次
• 脉搏传输时间 (PTT) 指数^{(Pulse Transit Time (PTT) Index)}- 动脉僵硬度的指标。它也用于近似血压^{(blood pressure)}(BP)。该指标还可用于评估个人的情绪状态（压力、焦虑、恐惧、快乐或放松）。
• 脉搏 O2 水平^{(Pulse O2 Level)}- 估计血液中的氧气量。
• 减压水平^{(De-stress Level)}- 根据收集的数据估计您的压力程度。
• 步骤^(Steps)- 它计算您移动了多少并测量高度差^{(altitude difference)}。
• 锻炼^(Exercise)- 一个简单的小部件，用于跟踪您的锻炼。支持的活动包括：游泳、步行、骑自行车（在审查时仍处于Beta 测试阶段^{(beta testing)}）、慢跑和跑步机。它在智能手表上实时提供有关心率^{(heart rate)}、配速、距离和速度的数据。
• 睡眠^(Sleep)- 它分析您的睡眠方式、您的活动量以及睡眠期间您的心率和血氧水平如何变化^{(heart rate and blood oxygen level varies)}。对于每一天，您都可以直接在智能手表上获得一份报告，但在与ASUS HealthConnect^{(ASUS HealthConnect)}应用程序同步后可以获得更详细的信息。在智能手机上，您可以获得有关您在轻度睡眠、舒适睡眠^{(comfort sleep)}（或深度睡眠）中花费了多少时间、您移动了多少以及您清醒多少的数据。它还根据所有这些参数给出睡眠评分。^{(sleep score)}
• 温度^{(Temperature )}（在审查时仍处于Beta 测试阶段）- 手表会定期读取^{(beta testing)}体温^{(body temperature)}读数
• 高度和大气压测量^{(Altitude and atmospheric pressure measurement)}

该应用程序以清晰易懂的方式显示大量与健康相关的测量结果

如果您不活动，智能手表还会每小时通知您一次，并让您知道您何时达到了健身目标。ASUS HealthConnect允许用户手动添加特定数据以完整跟踪其健康状况：女性的血糖^{(blood glucose)}水平、血压^{(blood pressure)}、药物、体重和经期跟踪数据。该应用程序可以连接到Google Fit以及Strava。

如果您的目标是监控健康和健身数据，那么您会对华硕 VivoWatch 5 感到满意，至少基于记录的参数数量^{(If your objective is the monitoring of health and fitness data, you are going to be happy with the ASUS VivoWatch 5, at least based on the number of parameters recorded)}。

^(Smartwatch)华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}的智能手表功能

华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}上的智能手表功能很少。如果您在应用程序中启用设置，智能手表将：

• 通知^(Notify)您来电并允许您拒绝它们
• 显示短信
• 显示^(Display)应用通知（每个应用都可以单独配置）
• ^(Notify)蓝牙^(Bluetooth)连接/断开时通知您

您还可以使用 16 个预定义的表盘之一或创建自己的表盘来更改表盘。上传您创建的面孔非常缓慢，而且在我测试的单元上，它大部分时间都会失败，但这可能只是预生产单元^{(pre-production unit)}的一个错误。当然，您可以配置闹钟，智能手表允许您设置计时器或将其用作秒表。

您可以使用ASUS HealthConnect 应用程序^{(ASUS HealthConnect app)}配置通知

华硕 VivoWatch 5 的智能手表功能还有改进的空间。它们涵盖了基础知识，但就价格而言，还有其他可穿戴设备提供更多功能。^{(The smartwatch features on the ASUS VivoWatch 5 have room for improvement. They cover the basics, but for the price, there are other wearables that offer a lot more.)}

使用华硕 VivoWatch 5

现在我们进入有趣的部分。与华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}一起生活是什么感觉？根据我的经验，它非常漂亮。我喜欢的一件事是，当涉及到健康监测^{(health monitoring)}时，你会得到所有的花里胡哨。除少数例外情况外，读数都是准确的（前提是您正确佩戴手表）。

在华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}上测量PTT 指数^{(PTT index)}

例外情况是温度（在审查时明确表示处于 beta 测试中）和海拔高度（在不锻炼时，它只依赖于气压计，这会给你提供极其不可靠的数据，因为气压^{(air pressure)}也可能由天气条件引起）。智能手表允许您手动设置高度，但在几个小时内不进行调整，您会发现，在办公桌前工作时，您会悬浮约 10-100 米。这是一个技术限制^{(technology limitation)}，比什么都重要。

温度和高度测量^{(Temperature and altitude measurements)}无处不在

睡眠监测非常好，即使白天短时间睡觉（1-2 小时）也是如此（不是说我会在工作时间小睡，老板）。然而，智能手表的厚度让我在床上佩戴起来很不舒服，我发现自己有时想把它取下来。表带可以充分调节，并且包含第二条较小的表带对我来说很重要，因为我的手腕最小。并不是说标准表带^{(strap wasn)}不能根据我的手腕尺寸^{(wrist size)}进行调节，而是因为它的长度，它会过多地缠绕在手腕上并从另一侧伸出。

华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}的表带有弹性且高度可调

戴上手表很容易，但固定松散的表带很痛苦，因为有两个环将它固定到位。但是，一旦固定好，表带就会很舒适，而且由于它有很多孔，它不会积水^{(trap sweat)}。手表戴得太紧时确实会留下标记，但在手腕上滑动或上下移动它可以解决这个问题。

如果戴得太紧，手表会感到不舒服

手表感觉（并且）很重。这对某些用户来说可能会带来不便，但在正常使用过程中，我个人还是很喜欢的。这就是我佩戴全金属天梭^(Tissot)表时佩戴坚固耐用手表的感觉。拥有金属机身^{(metal body)}意味着更多的热传递^{(heat transfer)}，因此智能手表可能会感觉太冷或太热，具体取决于外部温度。

屏幕需要一点时间来适应：如前所述，它的色彩还原^{(color reproduction)}不是很好。在将实际显示与营销材料进行比较时，这种限制更加明显。话虽如此，华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}毕竟是一款健身追踪器^{(fitness tracker)}，所以一旦你习惯了它，它没有色彩丰富的屏幕这一事实在任何方面都不是问题。智能手表的屏幕^{(smartwatch screen)}在白天非常好用（其实环境越亮，对比度就越好），虽然没有花哨的“抬起唤醒”功能，但在晚上或黑暗的环境中，推单个按钮可激活足以满足此目的的蓝色背光。

背光非常适合黑暗环境

说到按钮，它的主要功能是唤醒设备并打开^{(device and turn)}背光。不按它，触摸屏就不会注册输入。它还可以用作后退^(Back)按钮，在锻炼时，它可以暂停或恢复训练。长按可让您访问关机命令。智能手表上的导航^(Navigation)很简单：在可用的小部件中左右滑动循环，向下滑动显示通知，向上滑动可以更改表盘。

我在慢跑期间使用它没有任何问题，但必须注意的是，与所有GPS设备一样，手表在恶劣的多云天气下^{(cloudy weather)}获取您的位置的速度明显较慢。

智能手表没有扬声器，因此只能通过振动传递反馈。图案和强度^{(pattern and intensity)}不可调，但振动明显。设备在未佩戴时仍会振动，这可能会令人烦恼，例如，当您在洗澡时、智能手表在柜台上以及您的另一半在Messenger上给您写小说时（是的，它会为每个人和每条消息）。

蓝牙连接^{(Bluetooth connection)}总体良好，在智能手表上接收电话和消息通知时偶尔会出现延迟。^{(call and message notifications)}华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}的一个大问题是，我一辈子都无法更新固件。它会开始将新软件下载到智能手表上，然后每次都失败。尝试上传新表盘时也会发生这种情况。我收到的手表是预生产单元，所以我不会因为这个错误而责备它，但我真的希望它不会出现在零售单元上。由于华硕^(ASUS)不断提高华硕 VivoWatch 5的^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}精度和^{(precision and number)}功能数量，无法更新固件将极大地限制智能手表的长期价值。如果你拥有一个，如果你有同样的问题，请在评论部分告诉我。

^(Update)尝试在VivoWatch 5上下载新固件时^{(VivoWatch 5)}更新失败

ASUS HealthConnect应用程序非常易于使用，并提供大量有关健身功能的信息、图表和日志。界面干净人性化，设置数量充足。

最后，虽然比宣传的短（平均使用 10 天），但电池寿命^{(battery life)}仍然很出色。我连续使用它，只在淋浴时取下它，电池持续了一周。当然，您可以通过禁用某些功能来延长电池寿命，但实际上，^{(battery life)}电池寿命^{(battery life)}为 7 天，您为什么要这样做？

使用华硕 VivoWatch 5 是一次很好的令人耳目一新的体验。凭借其古怪的显示屏、重量和无数的健康追踪功能，智能手表具有鲜明的个性，使用它让我对自己的健康有了宝贵的见解。如果您了解设备的用途，那么缺少智能手表功能不是问题。它不是智能手表，而是健康伴侣和非常有用的健身活动工具。^{(Using the ASUS VivoWatch 5 was a good and refreshing experience. With its quirky display, its weight, and the myriad of health tracking features, the smartwatch has a distinct personality, and using it gave me valuable insights into my health. The lack of smartwatch features is not a problem if you understand the purpose of the device. It’s not a smartwatch, but a health companion and a very useful tool for fitness activities.)}

你觉得华硕 VivoWatch 5^{(ASUS VivoWatch 5)}怎么样？

既然您对华硕 VivoWatch 5 有了^{( ASUS VivoWatch 5)}更多了解，您会考虑购买它吗？LCD 屏幕^{(LCD screen)}和设备的重量对您来说是优势还是威慑？关于这款智能手表，您还有什么想了解的吗？请在评论中告诉我们，如果您已经拥有它，请告诉我们您喜欢它的哪些方面。

ASUS VivoWatch 5 review: a health tracker with personality -

ASUS has recently released its latest health-and fitness-oriented smartwatch, the VivoWatch 5. It’s a feature-rich device, with excellent battery life and a good-looking, stainless steel body. I was lucky enough to be one of the first to test it, and after two weeks of use, I am ready to present my findings. Is it a good value device? Is the ASUS VivoWatch 5 good for you? Your decision might become easier if you read this exclusive review:

ASUS VivoWatch 5: Who is it good for?

The ASUS VivoWatch 5 is a great choice for:

• People who want to keep a close eye on their health
• Users who enjoy the look and feel of classic, heavy sports watches
• Fitness enthusiasts who want precise monitoring of their activities

Pros and cons

During testing, I noticed lots of qualities:

• The large number of health and fitness monitoring features
• The excellent screen visibility in all weather conditions
• The smartwatch feels good on the wrist and is good looking
• It’s also very sturdy, with a metallic chassis
• The battery life is good

However, there are some things that could be improved:

• Its thickness makes it uncomfortable to wear while sleeping
• Some measurements are inaccurate, namely the altimeter and the temperature (but to be fair, the latter is still under development)
• Due to the technology used, the color reproduction of the display isn’t great

Verdict

The ASUS VivoWatch 5 is a very different kind of smartwatch in a good way. The LCD screen goes against the AMOLED trend, the size and the design of the device have a polarizing effect on users, but the large number of health and fitness features and the good battery life make it a trusty companion for monitoring your vital signs throughout your day. It does the bare minimum when it comes to smartwatch functions, so I would highly recommend the ASUS VivoWatch 5 for health and fitness enthusiasts who want to closely monitor parameters such as blood pressure, blood oxygen levels, and heart rate.

Unboxing the ASUS VivoWatch 5

The ASUS VivoWatch 5 comes in a rather large white box (5.39 x 5.63 x 3.23 inches or 13.7 x 14.3 x 8.2 cm), very similar to the one of the ASUS VivoWatch SP. In fact, the smartwatch has a lot in common with its sibling, but we’ll get to that in the next sections. The front of the box presents us with a stylized drawing of the watch and the product's full name.

Front view of the ASUS VivoWatch 5 box

The back of the box contains various barcodes, as well as a short piece of information regarding charging.

The back of the ASUS VivoWatch 5 box

The ASUS VivoWatch 5 is well packaged, with the accessories in separate compartments. And it’s got more accessories than you’d expect. The package contains the watch, a charging cable, the warranty info, but also a cleaning brush, three plastic caps for the charging port on the watch, and a second, shorter strap for people with smaller wrists.

The strap of the ASUS VivoWatch 5

The inclusion of a cleaning brush is very welcome, considering the number of holes in the strap (hope you don’t have Trypophobia!). The cap is designed to protect the charging port from dust and grit, and I’m glad that ASUS included three of them, as they are really small and easy to misplace.

ASUS VivoWatch 5: What's inside the package

The unboxing experience of the ASUS VivoWatch 5 was pleasant. The high-quality packaging adds to the experience, and I welcome the inclusion of additional accessories, especially the shorter strap.

Design and hardware specifications

First, let’s talk design. The body of the ASUS VivoWatch 5 is made of stainless steel, while the strap (0.87 inches or 22 mm wide) is made of elastic silicone. The smartwatch is waterproof at a depth of up to 165 feet (50 meters) and can withstand pressures of up to 5 ATM. After unpacking it, I immediately noticed the sturdiness and the “cool factor” of the design. The smartwatch looks like an old-school sports watch, and it feels as heavy as the old ones, too. The ASUS VivoWatch 5 weighs a whopping 1.83 ounces (52 grams) without the strap, that’s almost double that of a similarly-sized Xiaomi Mi Watch.

The front of the ASUS VivoWatch 5

Speaking of size, the body of the watch is 1.81 inches (46mm) in diameter (1.89 inches if you count the single button) and 0.51 inches (13 mm) thick. That sounds like an uncomfortable wearable for sleep monitoring, but more on that in the next sections.

The ASUS VivoWatch 5 is pretty thick

Although the official website doesn’t contain too much info on the touchscreen, I suspect that ASUS VivoWatch 5’s display is the same 1.34 inch (3.4 cm) diameter, 368 x 448 pixels LCD panel used on the VivoWatch SP. It’s definitely an unusual display for a smartwatch, compared to the modern AMOLEDs that are becoming standard for wearables. For starters, color reproduction is appalling compared to traditional screens, but that’s about the only downside of this display.

Color reproduction is mediocre

The viewing angles and the overall legibility are excellent, and the way it works is very clever: the background of the display is highly reflective, so the brighter the environment, the better contrast you get. For nighttime, there is also a backlight that can only be adjusted manually. Not that you’d want to adjust it too often, as it’s sufficient for most scenarios.

Why use this technology, then, if the color reproduction is bad? One big reason is power consumption. The display of the ASUS VivoWatch 5 is always on, just like your old Casio, and just like the Casio, the display uses very little energy. It’s a fraction of the power used by even the most advanced AMOLED displays, and that translates into a battery life of over a week. The 300 mAh battery has an advertised runtime of 10 days for typical usage and 14 days in power saving mode.

The screen is very legible under bright light

Then, we have the sensors. This is actually one of the strong points of the ASUS VivoWatch 5. It has:

• 2 ECG (electrocardiography) sensors
• 2 PPG (photoplethysmography) sensors - for heart rate measurements
• 2 infrared sensors
• A temperature sensor
• A gravity sensor
• An altimeter/barometer
• A gyroscope

Of course, it also has GPS with GLONASS/Galileo/BeiDou, but no Wi-Fi or NFC (although ASUS is planning on releasing a model with LTE). The ASUS VivoWatch 5 connects to your phone via Bluetooth 4.2, but it can also be used as a standalone device, unlike some of its competitors. Unfortunately, it can’t be used to answer calls, as it has no speaker.

The back of the ASUS VivoWatch 5

For more technical specs, visit the official page of the product: ASUS VivoWatch 5 (HC-B05)｜ASUS Global.

The ASUS VivoWatch 5 is a really solid and well-built device. It has lots of health-related sensors and good battery life (on paper at least). It’s quite heavy and thick, though. The screen is very different from the competition, using an LCD with a highly reflective background. The technical specs point towards ASUS VivoWatch 5 being a health and fitness tracker, rather than a smartwatch.

Initial setup and software features of the ASUS VivoWatch 5

Setting up the ASUS VivoWatch 5 is easy: you turn the smartwatch on, select the language, provide a few details about you (height, weight, age) and the smartwatch is good to go. After the initial configuration, the smartwatch displays a QR code for downloading ASUS HealthConnect (available both for Android and for iPhones). You can use the smartwatch just fine without connecting it to the smartphone, but its configuration options are somewhat limited.

You must first download the ASUS HealthConnect app

After downloading and installing the app, you can proceed to connect the ASUS VivoWatch 5 to your smartphone, which allows you to set up and modify more settings on the device. Like the ASUS VivoWatch SP, the ASUS VivoWatch 5 is not really a smartwatch but a health/fitness tracker. Thus, it automatically collects many health parameters, like heart rate, oxygen levels in the blood, and body temperature. You can view the data at any time in the ASUS HealthConnect dashboard.

The HealthConnect app is user-friendly

Health and fitness features of the ASUS VivoWatch 5

The ASUS VivoWatch 5 doesn't support installing apps, but ASUS constantly improves existing features and adds new ones. Here are the health and fitness features of the ASUS VivoWatch 5:

• Heart Rate - measured once every couple of minutes or manually
• Pulse Transit Time (PTT) Index - an indicator of arterial stiffness. It is also used to approximate blood pressure (BP). This indicator can also be used to evaluate an individual's emotional states (stress, anxiety, fear, happiness, or relaxation).
• Pulse O2 Level - estimates the amount of oxygen in your blood.
• De-stress Level - estimates how stressed you are, based on the data collected.
• Steps - it calculates how much you move and measures the altitude difference.
• Exercise - a simple widget that tracks your workout. The supported activities are: swimming, walking, cycling (still in beta testing at the time of the review), jogging, and treadmill. It provides data in real-time, on the smartwatch, about heart rate, pace, distance, and speed.
• Sleep - it analyzes how you sleep, how much you move, and how your heart rate and blood oxygen level varies during sleep. For each day, you get a report directly on the smartwatch, but more detailed information is available after syncing with the ASUS HealthConnect app. On the smartphone, you get data on how much time you spent in light sleep, comfort sleep (or deep sleep), how much you moved, and how much you were awake. It also gives a sleep score based on all these parameters.
• Temperature (still in beta testing at the time of the review) - the watch periodically takes body temperature readings
• Altitude and atmospheric pressure measurement

The application displays lots of health-related measurements in a clear and easy to understand way

The smartwatch also notifies you hourly if you are inactive and also lets you know when you have reached your fitness goals. ASUS HealthConnect allows users to manually add specific data for complete tracking of their health: blood glucose levels, blood pressure, medication, weight, and period tracking data for women. The app can connect to Google Fit, as well as Strava.

If your objective is the monitoring of health and fitness data, you are going to be happy with the ASUS VivoWatch 5, at least based on the number of parameters recorded.

Smartwatch features of the ASUS VivoWatch 5

There are very few smartwatch features on the ASUS VivoWatch 5. If you enable the settings in the app, the smartwatch will:

• Notify you of incoming calls and allow you to reject them
• Display SMS messages
• Display app notifications (each app can be configured individually)
• Notify you when Bluetooth is connected/disconnected

You can also change the watch faces by either using one of the 16 predefined ones or by creating your own. Uploading the faces you create is painfully slow, and on the unit I tested, it would fail most of the times, but this might be just a bug for the pre-production unit. Of course, you can configure alarms, and the smartwatch allows you to set a timer or use it as a stopwatch.

You can configure the notifications using the ASUS HealthConnect app

The smartwatch features on the ASUS VivoWatch 5 have room for improvement. They cover the basics, but for the price, there are other wearables that offer a lot more.

Using the ASUS VivoWatch 5

Now we get to the interesting part. What’s it like to live with the ASUS VivoWatch 5? From my experience, it’s pretty nice. One thing I liked is that you get all the bells and whistles when it comes to health monitoring. With small exceptions, the readings are accurate (provided you wear the watch correctly).

Measuring the PTT index on the ASUS VivoWatch 5

The exceptions are the temperature (which is clearly stated to be in beta testing at the time of the review) and the altitude (which, when not exercising, only relies on the barometer, and that gives you extremely unreliable data, since the changes in air pressure can also be caused by weather conditions). The smartwatch allows you to manually set the altitude, but leave it unadjusted for a few hours and you’ll find that, while working at your desk, you levitated about 10-100 meters. It’s a technology limitation, more than anything else.

Temperature and altitude measurements are all over the place

Sleep monitoring is very good, even when sleeping for short periods of time (1-2h) during the day (not that I’d take naps during work hours, boss). However, the thickness of the smartwatch makes it uncomfortable to wear in bed, and I found myself wanting to take it off at times. The strap is sufficiently adjustable, and the inclusion of a second, smaller strap made a difference to me, as I have the tiniest wrists. It’s not like the standard strap wasn’t adjustable to my wrist size, but because of its length, it would wrap too much around the wrist and stick out on the other side.

The strap of the ASUS VivoWatch 5 is elastic and highly adjustable

Putting on the watch is easy, but securing the loose strap is a pain, because of the two loops that hold it in place. Once secured, though, the strap is comfortable and, because of the number of holes that it has, it won’t trap sweat. The watch does leave markings when worn too tightly, but sliding it around or moving it lower or higher on the wrists fixes this issue.

The watch can get uncomfortable if worn tightly

The watch feels (and is) heavy. That may be an inconvenience for some users, but during normal use, I personally liked it. It’s that feeling of wearing a solid, rugged watch that I would get when wearing my all-metal Tissot. Having a metal body means more heat transfer, so the smartwatch can feel too cold or too hot, depending on the outside temperature.

The screen takes a bit of getting used to: as stated before, its color reproduction is not great. This limitation is made more obvious when comparing the actual display with the marketing materials. That being said, the ASUS VivoWatch 5 is, after all, a fitness tracker more than anything else, so the fact that it doesn’t have a screen with rich colors is not a problem in any way once you get used to it. The smartwatch screen is extremely usable during the day (in fact, the brighter the environment, the better the contrast), and while it doesn’t have the fancy “raise to wake” function, during the evenings or in dark environments, pushing the single button activates a blue backlight that’s sufficient for the purpose.

The backlight is perfect for dark environments

Speaking of the button, its primary function is to wake the device and turn on the backlight. Without pushing it, the touchscreen does not register inputs. It also functions as a Back button and, while exercising, it pauses or resumes the training. A long press lets you access the power off command. Navigation on the smartwatch is simple: swiping left and right cycles through the available widgets, swiping down shows the notifications and swiping up lets you change the watch faces.

I used it during my jogging sessions without any issues, although it must be noted that, as with all GPS devices, the watch acquires your location significantly slower in bad, cloudy weather.

The smartwatch lacks a speaker, so the feedback is transmitted only through vibration. The pattern and intensity are not adjustable, but the vibration is clearly noticeable. The device still vibrates when not worn, which might be annoying when, for example, you’re in the shower, the smartwatch is on the counter, and your significant other is writing you a novel on Messenger (yes, it vibrates for each and every message).

The Bluetooth connection is generally good, with the occasional delays in receiving call and message notifications on the smartwatch. The one big issue that I had with the ASUS VivoWatch 5 is that I couldn't, for the life of me, update the firmware. It would start downloading the new software to the smartwatch, then fail each and every time. This also happened when trying to upload new watch faces. The watch I received was a pre-production unit, so I’m not going to fault it for this bug, but I really hope it doesn’t appear on retail units. Since ASUS is constantly improving the precision and number of features on the ASUS VivoWatch 5, being unable to update the firmware would drastically limit the long-term value of the smartwatch. If you own one, let me know in the comments section if you had the same issue.

Update fails when trying to download new firmware on the VivoWatch 5

The ASUS HealthConnect app is very easy to use and provides a lot of information, graphs, and logs regarding the fitness features. The interface is clean and user-friendly, and the number of settings is sufficient.

Lastly, although shorter than advertised (10 days of average use), the battery life is still excellent. I used it continuously, only taking it off during showers, and the battery lasted a week. Of course, you can extend the battery life by disabling some features, but really, with a seven-day battery life, why would you?

Using the ASUS VivoWatch 5 was a good and refreshing experience. With its quirky display, its weight, and the myriad of health tracking features, the smartwatch has a distinct personality, and using it gave me valuable insights into my health. The lack of smartwatch features is not a problem if you understand the purpose of the device. It’s not a smartwatch, but a health companion and a very useful tool for fitness activities.

What do you think of the ASUS VivoWatch 5?

Now that you know more about the ASUS VivoWatch 5, do you consider buying it? Are the LCD screen and the weight of the device strong points or a deterrent for you? Is there anything else that you’d like to know about this smartwatch? Let us know in the comments and, if you already own it, tell us what you enjoy about it.

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