codoons hey 3s gps sports watch review
More efficient exercise, more comfortable to wear, WeLoop Hey 3S GPS sports watch
In 2016, WeLoop launched the flagship product, Xiaohei 3. In 2017, WeLoop introduced Hey 3S through crowdfunding. Although it did not carry the Xiaohei name, it appears to be an upgraded version of Xiaohei 3, adding GPS functionality and optimizing OS software, making it more suitable for sports tracking.
As for whether the Xiaohei name will be abandoned in the future, or if they will skip Xiaohei 4 and directly launch Xiaohei 5, or add a new Hey product line, we do not know.
Currently, Hey 3S is available in three strap colors: Dynamic Black, Youth Green, and Vibrant Red.
Next, let's experience the Vibrant Red version of the WeLoop Hey 3S GPS sports watch.
1. Unboxing Video
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjg2NzYwMTA2NA==.html
It's the first time I've seen such packaging; a plastic film solves the problem of shaking during transport, but its compression resistance is lacking.
There is no thick manual, only a one-page quick start guide; there is also a WeLoop logo sticker, which I initially thought was a screen protector.
Hey 3S Basic Parameters
Screen size: 1.28 inches, 176x176 pixels
Display: Memory LCD touchscreen
Bluetooth connection: BT4.2 (BLE)
Exercise tracking: GPS+GLONASS
Sensors: Nine-axis motion sensor (3-axis accelerometer, electronic compass, gyroscope), heart rate sensor, linear motor
Product dimensions: 46mm*35mm*12mm
Weight: 38g
Charging interface: Magnetic charger (stainless steel charging pins)
Glass lens: Corning G3 glass
2. Watch Details
Corning G3 glass surface, no scratches were found after a week of daily use. The GPS icon on the upper right corner of the surface is probably used to distinguish it from Xiaohei 3. Below the surface is a color touchscreen, 1.28 inches, 176x176 pixels.
The back of the watch has a slightly raised optical heart rate monitor and charging contacts. The charging contacts and the magnetic USB charger can be used with any USB charging device.
The magnetic charging base is not tight and can easily become loose.
From the side, the watch consists of two parts: the main body is a one-piece design made of metal; the upper layer is covered with a glass surface. The watch has a slight curvature, just enough to level with the raised heart rate monitor.
There are two buttons on the sides of the watch. The left button functions as a back button, while the right button is for confirming the next step. The gap between the button caps and the internal buttons is quite large, often giving the feeling that the button has been pressed when it hasn't, requiring further pressing to hear the mechanical feedback of the internal button.
Quick-release strap.
The long strap of the watch is 11.5cm, the short strap is 7.5cm, width is 24mm, thickness is 2mm, and the strap material is German Bayer TPU, which is quick-drying, antibacterial, and hypoallergenic. It feels harder than silicone straps, with breathable holes covering 30% of the surface area, accelerating sweat evaporation and breathability. The two-layer color design enhances its appearance.
There is no WeLoop logo on the metal buckle, perhaps to save costs?
The strap retaining ring has a small protrusion that fits perfectly with the breathable holes on the strap, securing the strap in place. In actual use, it becomes a hassle, making it particularly difficult to put on and take off the strap.
This is the first time I've seen such a design; I hope it can be improved.
Appearance after wearing for a week.
3. Watch Operation Experience
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjg3MDkyMzQwNA==.html
I recorded a video to demonstrate the watch's operation and its connection with the app.
When using the watch for the first time, follow the quick start guide and long-press the 'right button' to wake up the watch.
Swiping up, down, left, or right on the touchscreen switches between different interfaces and menus. Both buttons can light up the screen and unlock it. The right button functions as a function key and confirmation button, allowing access to detailed function interfaces; the left button displays status, showing battery status, Bluetooth connection status, and daily exercise status.
(The video was recorded with version V1.94, which has now been upgraded to V2.04, adding a swimming function.)
The left button shows battery status, today's exercise status (steps, calories), today's weather (air quality and AQI of the bound city, needs to sync with the app, which fetches weather data for the bound city), and QR code business cards (need to add business cards in the mobile app).
As an advantage of domestic hardware manufacturers, exercise steps can be synced to QQ or WeChat, which some people need.
The right button accesses the function interface, including message notifications, heart rate monitoring, running training, cycling training, swimming training, stopwatch, countdown timer, music control, watch face change, find phone, and basic settings.
The message notification section saves recently synced messages, including WeChat, QQ, SMS, and calls.
Heart rate monitoring is divided into static and dynamic heart rate monitoring. The difference is that dynamic heart rate monitoring includes an exercise zone display interface, which can determine the current heart rate exercise zone, suitable for indoor fitness use.
Running training is divided into outdoor and indoor running. The difference is that the former requires GPS connection, while the latter is equivalent to running on a treadmill, with Hey 3S estimating the running distance based on algorithms.
Cycling training has only one mode, requiring GPS connection and is only for outdoor exercise.
Swimming training has only one mode, not requiring GPS connection. The pool length is set manually, and the watch automatically recognizes the swimming style based on algorithms.
Stopwatch, countdown timer, music control, and find phone are like small tools.
In basic settings, you can set the watch to shut down, making it a smartwatch that can be turned off.
For outdoor running, the star search took 4 seconds, which was the shortest time, and the longest time was half a minute. The star search speed of Hey 3S is quite good.
In outdoor running mode, the main interface of the watch face displays exercise duration, dynamic heart rate (the color of the value changes with different exercise zones), and running distance. Every kilometer, the watch beeps and vibrates, displaying the total elapsed time and the time taken for the current kilometer. Pressing the right button shows exercise duration and calories burned, pressing again shows current pace and cadence, and pressing again returns to the main interface.
Pressing the left button pauses the exercise, allowing you to choose to end or cancel. However, if not canceled, Hey 3S resumes recording the run after a few seconds, meaning you can't stop the watch.
Additionally, after ending the run, the detailed running page remains until you manually return to the main interface.
You can't view historical records on the watch; you have to check them in the app.
4. Performance Testing
The official description states that Hey 3S is water-resistant up to 50 meters, supporting swimming records and automatic recognition of swimming styles. I didn't test swimming as I'm not a swimmer, but I haven't noticed any water ingress during daily showers.
The official description states that it takes about 3 hours to charge from empty to full, and it's not recommended to use a power bank.
The Hey 3S I received had 98% battery at startup. After charging it to full on June 30 at 18:00, it still had 26% battery on July 7 at 22:00, with a standby time of 7 days. During this period, I ran 6 times, covering 58.8km, with an average pace of 6 minutes, equivalent to 5.88 hours of exercise. I recorded a 2-hour half marathon, which consumed 17% battery. From July 6 to July 7, I didn't run and only wore the watch normally, consuming only 1% battery. Compared to my Suunto Spartan optical heart rate watch, Hey 3S's battery life is truly impressive.
5. APP (WeLoop Android Version)
Before using Hey 3S for the first time, you must pair it with the mobile app via Bluetooth. It seems the watch can't autonomously connect to GPS for time calibration. Of course, a WeLoop account is also required, but I won't go into that here.
The WeLoop app has four main navigation menus at the bottom: Daily, Exercise, Device, and Personal.
Daily exercise status records include sleep monitoring and 24-hour heart rate monitoring, which are the main functions of current fitness bands. WeLoop also has its own fitness band products, and the Hey 3S smartwatch inherits these functions, but its performance in this area is not perfect.
The data in the picture is from July 5, when I ran a half marathon from 5 PM to 7 PM. The red arrow in picture 2 records my running status, but the highest heart rate recorded was only 129. Checking the heart rate curve for that day in picture 4, the heart rate recorded during the running period was abnormal, even lower than at other times during the day. Picture 3 shows that sleep monitoring was also inaccurate, recording a sedentary state at 1 AM, and shallow sleep states at 2 AM, 3 AM, and 4 AM, with a total sleep time of only 4 hours, which doesn't match my actual sleep state.
Additionally, the daily records are too detailed (displayed too detailed), giving a sense of chaos and disorder.
In the device menu, you can set alarms, business cards, schedule reminders, watch faces, call recognition, and small tools like remote camera control for the WeLoop Hey 3S.
The Hey 3S watch face interface comes with 30 designs and also allows custom watch faces. The pixelated style of the watch faces is quite charming, and the 8-bit pixel style has been popular online.
The remote camera function allows you to control the phone's camera from the watch after clicking the remote camera icon, with the app opening the phone's camera interface.
The personal interface is aesthetically pleasing, and the device management section's message notifications are comprehensive, allowing you to read all app notifications on your phone, though this feature seems to be rarely used. There is a backlight display setting with three options: all day, night, and off. Setting it to off means the screen won't light up when raising the wrist or receiving messages, which could save a lot of battery.
6. Data Analysis
The Hey 3S watch can't record historical running data, but the app can record all running data.
As mentioned earlier, the daily exercise status records in the WeLoop app are somewhat chaotic, especially the heart rate data. The daily exercise status can read GPS-recorded running data, but the heart rate data recorded during GPS running is not included in the daily heart rate data, causing confusion and inaccuracy. The algorithms might be different, and WeLoop needs to optimize its algorithms.
The dynamic heart rate zones in the running data do not indicate the heart rate range values, making it less intuitive. I hope WeLoop can improve this.
The GPS accuracy test was compared with the Codoon app. From picture 1, we can see that the GPS track of Hey 3S is not as magnified as that of the Codoon app, but overall it is within the range, with no significant deviation or drift.
How about the heart rate monitoring data of Hey 3S? Let's compare it with the Suunto heart rate belt/Suunto Spartan optical heart rate watch data.
This is a set of stair climbing heart rate data, with 5 round trips. The black background shows the heart rate belt data, and the red shows the Hey 3S heart rate data. Both recorded the same maximum heart rate of 169, but the heart rate belt's monitoring curve is more stable, while the Hey 3S shows significant differences in the third set of data, with the fourth set being the most stable.
This is a set of 10km running data. Overall, the data from Hey 3S and the heart rate belt are not much different.
This is a set of half marathon data with a relatively fast pace (personal ability). You can see fluctuations in the Hey 3S heart rate data, which was caused by the watch becoming loose. After tightening the watch, the data aligned with the heart rate belt again.
This is a set of 10km data with a relatively fast pace (personal ability), comparing the heart rate data between the Suunto Spartan heart rate watch and Hey 3S. When compressing the scale, the data from both are not much different.
Considering that the watch is worn on the wrist, arm movements during running can cause the watch to shake, possibly leading to inaccurate heart rate data. Therefore, adjusting the strap's tightness during running to prevent shaking can record more accurate data, making lighter watches more advantageous.
7. Summary
The 38g weight makes the WeLoop Hey 3S more comfortable to wear. Compared to the Suunto Spartan heart rate watch, which weighs about twice as much, the Hey 3S is less noticeable during exercise. However, this doesn't mean the Spartan should be undervalued. Different goals and uses apply; if it's just for recording runs and observing pace and heart rate changes, the Hey 3S is sufficient.
Hey 3S also has several shortcomings, such as the protrusion on the strap retaining ring making it difficult to put on and take off the strap, and the magnetic charging base not being tight. These may not be important, but the instability and inaccuracy of daily activity data (heart rate and sleep data) recorded by Hey 3S are surprising. Additionally, the inability to stop the watch during GPS-recorded runs, with only a pause option that resumes after a few seconds, is an issue. Hopefully, WeLoop can address these problems in future firmware updates.
Finally, the most critical question arises: the Hey 3S, priced at 588, was launched not long ago, and now the 399 Huami Youth Edition watch has been released, also with a square design. Which one to choose?