Nokia Steel HR is the latest addition to the Nokia Health line dedicated to personal care, a new market branch of the Finnish house that we had already dealt with here at Cyber Layman to the review of the Nokia Steel.
Steel HR Nokia continues the legacy received by Whitings, the brand acquired a few years ago that started this series of wearable items shown here under the Nokia brand, with a probable internal revision, given that many months have passed since the acquisition of the brand and the (re) proposal of this Steel HR.
But let’s get back to us: it is useless to underline the close relationship between the two Steel and Steel HR models, although in this second there are two very important aspects such as the monochrome display and the heartbeat sensor, which substantially change the point of view of the object by placing it in a very different market segment.
Steel HR is in fact a smartw hybrid atch, with beat sensor: this means that it has a dual nature, analog (due to the hands) and digital (for the display), trying to please those who want a smart model that controls daily motor activity (normal and extraordinary ) but also at the same time offers an analogue reading that still many are fond of.
Nokia Steel HR, here in version with white dial
Steel HR, winter is coming
At first glance you can immediately see that the design of the Steel is guided by a sober but careful hand: the metal case presents a single side button, which allows the management of activities and the consultation of the display, while just above the dial presents the hands (also controlled by the watch software), a second smaller dial that shows the amount of daily steps (with respect to the target) and the display, which lights up on command.
Consists of a pixel cage and alternately shows the date, time, current heart rate, steps, distance, calorie consumption and alarm clock: the display is activated with a small click on the side button , while a long click activates the sports session, with different detection parameters.
The construction is waterproof, which means that you can play sports, wash your hands and basically not pay much attention to it during the daily work , but it is not a diving watch, so the resistance up to 50 meters (5 ATM) means that you can swim in the sea or in the pool but it is not suitable for diving.
The strap is of standard type, in our case the size was right to surround the wrist (a problem we had with several manufacturers): the standard strap is in soft rubber, suitable for both indoor sports and everyday life. We also happily tried a second strap, orange in color (which you see in the photos), which can also be changed by the end-user in total autonomy with a five-minute operation.
For the rest we can say that the watch is very light, it fits well on the wrist even if, for a male wrist, perhaps the 40 mm model would have been better.
Excellent battery life: Nokia promises 25 days of autonomy, but in our tests the smartwatch lasted even longer, with an excellent ability to maintain a charge even during full days of non-activity (in which we were in bed affected), even reaching more than a month without recharging, continuing to work.
An induction system via USB-A is provided for charging, which allows complete recharging in a few hours.
Nokia Health, the App improves
One of the biggest defects we had found in the use of the Nok model to Steel was due to the App, whose completely original approach, in particular in the interface, had left us a bit perplexed.
A few months later we noticed important improvements: the nature of the App continues to remain original, with a continuous scrolling completely different from the others tested, whose consultation is tabbed, but many small improvements are felt and continues to remain an App that will make those who approach the world of smartwatches happier. first time that how many arrive from other models.
The multi-user operation still does not convince us, because the use base , a smartphone, is always very intimate and today we do not see the need to create more than one profile, while we really liked the web form, which can be consulted from Mac or PC with greater comfort than is possible through a smartphone so, leaving open the App that communicates with the smartwatch in total autonomy from time to time n so much, for us it was enough once a day to look at the graphs via the web to understand how we were doing in terms of physical activity.
Health life on the wrist
Apart from the capabilities of the App, Nokia Steel HR has proved to be an excellent companion in arms even in total autonomy : the presence of the display greatly increases the capabilities compared to the Steel brother being able to show the ID of a call, the presence of a message, a calendar event and the name of the alarm.
These events are highlighted by a slight vibration on the wrist which offers the warning in a discreet way, since the watch (as far as we know) is not provided with an alarm.
The same method is used for the alarm clock, which however operates in an even more intelligent way, acting in the appropriate way in case the user is sleeping: in this case the alarm goes off a few minutes earlier, giving the user time to wake up and be present (more or less) to the time of the actual alarm clock. In our tests the question was quite varied, but it is true that there were no moments in which the alarm clock acted in a real sleep phase.
Yes, sleep, another characteristic which takes advantage of the heart rate sensor, because in this way the sleep reading is much more precise: the sleep module manages two levels plus one (awake, light sleep and heavy sleep), less than other more advanced models in the market but still much more precise than the Steel model and enough for an analysis of any nocturnal disturbances (and consequent morning fatigue).
We close the review with a hint of precision: we compared the Nokia Steel HR with another model in the market to measure accuracy in both sleep and steps, with results broadly in line. During the course of the day in some readings the differences were very marked, but in the evening everything was substantially within a margin of difference of less than 10%, which we consider affordable: this fact promotes the thesis that although the methods of analysis are different, the estimates that these devices are led to make between one communication and another with the smartphone and the portal are even more so, while at the end of the day, with real data, the difference is less marked than expected ( however we are talking about very advanced and not cheap sensors).
Considerations
We liked the Steel HR very much, certainly represents a nice step forward compared to Steel especially for the display, and secondly for the beat sensor. It remains a device that makes sport a secondary activity (there is no tracking of coordinates via GPS) and aims more, also for the shape, to accompany the normal activities of the day, but it remains a nice object to keep on the wrist, even if for boys we strongly recommend opting for the 40 mm model.
The App is good, the original look leaves a little perplexing at first but the data, looking for them, are all there: highly recommended for those who have never tried a smartwatch, we also suggest it as an upgrade to those who have tried the Steel model but after a few months want something more, which this model offers in a marked way.
website of the manufacturer it is possible to buy Steel HR in the two versions with 36 and 40 mm dial, with White or Black dial and in various color options for the strap: those who wish can also find Nokia Steel HR directly from Amazon.it (with fewer customization options), and remember that it remains available and also the Steel model, without heartbeat and display but at a cheaper price.
Pro :
- Elegant and discreet
- One refill lasts 25 days
Against:
- A little limited in functions
Price: 189.95 Euro
