DIZO Watch D Plus review: an all-encompassing budget wearable

Wearables are becoming a significantly important category in the Indian consumer tech segment, especially the ones being offered in the budget space. With brands like Noise and Boat dominating the market, Realme sub-brand DIZO is also trying to make a name for itself. To wit, I have with me the DIZO Watch D Plus, a smartwatch that is priced just shy of Rs 2,000 for a limited time.

Users looking to track their health and fitness without shelling out a premium might be interested in what DIZO has to offer. Here’s a full review of the wearable to see where it stands in the market and if it can be your default choice in the segment.

The lowdown

From the outside, the DIZO Watch D Plus appears quite svelte, and features a sizeable 1.85-inch panel on the front with bezels that are not quite as thick as you might expect. Also, the edges curve on the sides, and the rails get a polished matte finish, all of which lend an air of premiumness to the device.

There is only one physical button on the side which can be used to turn off the screen or go back to the home screen. At just 43g, the Watch D Plus rests comfortably on my wrist to the point I mostly forget it’s there. You get a silicone strap inside the box with three colours on offer, and I do like the Deep Blue variant sent to me. 

Talking about the display itself, the rectangular screen has a 240 x 280 resolution and is of the LCD variety. I was happy with its reasonable 550nits of peak brightness but even so, under harsh sunlight, the screen is not very legible. There are about 150+ watch faces to choose from in the DIZO app, although the smartwatch itself can store only five. The colour profile of the interface understandably has some corners cut for the sake of the price and is passable for normal usage. 

Let’s talk about some of the other salient features of the DIZO Watch D Plus that are not just concerned with fitness and health tracking. The DIZO app, which can be found on both Android and iOS, is needed for the rather straightforward pairing process. Once inside the app, the home screen displays various metrics like step count, calories burnt, sleep duration, heart rate monitoring, and more.

The watch itself can be used for things like music control, alarms, find my phone, and controlling the smartphone camera. Apart from all this, the Watch D Plus is also resistant to water up to 30 meters deep, which means you can take it out for a swim. There’s also blood oxygen monitoring, although in my experience, it hasn’t been very reliable, to say the least. The sleep tracking on the device is also a bit iffy but it is still a useful feature to have.

The Watch D Plus has 110+ workout routines you can choose from, and I used the running metric to track my vitals while out on a jog. The experience was quite decent with the device having a reasonably accurate ability to measure distance covered with its connected GPS. I also got regular updates when a specific amount of calories were burnt or when my heart rate was exceeding the normal amount. The full breakdown of the workout can be checked in the Exercise tab on the DIZO app. 

The performance on the smartwatch is average which is understandable given its sub Rs 2,000 price tag. There are a few pre-installed apps you can play around with but nothing much is offered in terms of customisability. The touch response can become a bit iffy at times although I rarely used the watch for anything more than checking time and tracking workouts. You can receive notifications from several of your phone apps on the watch and incoming calls can either be muted or rejected.

The battery life on the Watch D Plus is as good as it gets. The 300mAh cell, combined with rather low power usage requirements, allows the smartwatch to operate for upwards of nearly two weeks on a single charge. I used the device for about three days which included two fitness runs, with the battery dropping only by 11 percent. The Watch D Plus also is rated for 60 hours of standby time although I have not been able to test this claim. 

Verdict

The DIZO Watch D Plus is more than a satisfactory wearable at the current introductory price of Rs 1,999. It offers a host of fitness and health-measuring goodies packed inside a slender yet rigid body. It is also quite durable, water resistant, and has the benefit of a great battery backup. There are some issues pertaining to SpO2 and sleep tracking, but overall I think DIZO has done a remarkable job of blending looks and utility in a budget package with the Watch D Plus.

Editor’s rating: 4 / 5

Pros

• Good design
• Large screen
• Impressive battery life
• Competitive price tag

Cons

• SpO2 monitoring can be iffy