dual star position attractive appearance junto iron wrist 5 smartwatch
When it comes to outdoor smartwatches, people might think of big international brands like Garmin and Suunto. Today, I bring you a smartwatch from a domestic brand—JunTu Iron Wrist 5 Outdoor Smartwatch.
JunTu watches are produced by Shenzhen Longtengfei Communication Equipment Technology Co., Ltd., a high-tech enterprise specializing in the design, research and development, and production of wireless communication products. The company holds national military-related qualifications such as GJB9001 National Military Standard Quality Management System Certification, ISO9001 International Standard Quality Management System Certification, and National High-Tech Enterprise Qualification. Founded in 2012, the company has a research institute in Beijing. Its core business revolves around communication system solutions, offering specialized system equipment for the military sector and terminal smart products for both military and civilian use.
1. Appearance and Packaging
The packaging of the Iron Wrist 5 is simple and clear. A transparent hard plastic cover fits snugly over a black hard paper box. The plastic shell can be repeatedly used and features an image and text of the Iron Wrist 5 watch. The black hard paper box feels heavy and has a texture similar to a wooden box. The top of the box has a golden JunTu logo, and the bottom displays information about the watch's functions and two QR codes, giving a sense of simplicity and stability.
Opening the top cover reveals a watch, a clip-on charger, an 80-page user manual, and two tempered glass screen protectors. These are all the accessories that come with the watch. The watch is secured in a leather mold, and the accessories are neatly placed in storage compartments, ensuring both aesthetics and sturdiness, which guarantees the watch's safety during transportation. As they say, details determine success or failure. The meticulous and rigorous packaging details from the manufacturer have raised my expectations for this watch.
2. Watch Appearance
The first impression of the Iron Wrist 5 is that it is simple and grand. It has a 47mm dial and a 14mm dial thickness. The minimalist stainless steel bezel outlines a delicate dial, with a mineral-reinforced glass surface and a 1.2-inch round display screen with a resolution of 240*240 pixels, making it one of the best among most smartwatches.
The Iron Wrist 5 has five physical buttons: three on the left and two on the right. The top left button is for backlight, short press to toggle backlight, long press to unlock button operations. The middle left button is for menu/confirmation, short press to confirm, long press to bring up the system menu. The bottom left button is for return, short press to return, long press for 3 seconds to power on/off. The top right button is for scrolling up, short press to scroll up, long press to bring up running, trail running, cycling, mountaineering, hiking, swimming, and triathlon modes. The bottom right button is for scrolling down, short press to scroll down, long press to bring up location, compass, calendar weather, environmental monitoring, stopwatch, and find phone. In standby mode, short pressing the up and down buttons allows you to view steps, heart rate, training plans, exercise records, calories, and notifications.
Each button's function is engraved in English on the stainless steel bezel. The feedback from the stainless steel physical buttons is clear and crisp, and they can be used in conjunction with beeps and vibrations, making it easy to master in a short time. With five physical buttons, there is no need for touch control, which suits me just fine as a 1.2-inch screen would be difficult to operate via touch.
The back of the watch features a Philips ECG sensor in the center, secured by four hex screws. The four copper contacts on the left are for charging. The small flat opening at the top of the back is the sensor area for measuring air pressure and temperature. The back also has engravings indicating the watch's 50-meter water resistance, GPS/Beidou positioning, and some certification information.
The Iron Wrist 5 comes in four colors, and I received the white version. The watch strap is made of 26mm high-elastic silicone, which is moderately soft. The entire watch weighs 65g and feels secure and comfortable on the wrist. The downside is that it gets dirty easily.
3. Daily Use
The Iron Wrist 5 uses Beidou satellite nanosecond timing for time adjustment. Simply select satellite timing on the watch, and the time will be adjusted within seconds, with an error of less than 1 second over 15 days. This is my favorite time adjustment method as it is very simplified and highly praised. Another highlight of the watch is its screen display, which uses MIP low-power display technology. The screen content is clearly visible in sunlight without needing to turn on the backlight, and the effect is even clearer than a phone screen. The backlight time can be set to 10 seconds, 30 seconds, or 60 seconds, which is very user-friendly.
After receiving the product, I went for two runs, two bike rides, and one hike, each lasting about an hour. I also wore it daily to count steps, check the time, and occasionally measure my heart rate. Over four days, the watch was initially off when I received it. After turning it on, the battery was at 87%. After half an hour of fiddling with the watch and familiarizing myself with its functions, the battery remained at 87% after 24 hours, indicating very low power consumption in clock mode. A standby time of 60 days is not an exaggeration.
During exercise, the watch's positioning and heart rate monitoring are always on, consuming about 10% of the battery per hour. Currently, the battery is at 36%. The watch uses dual GPS and Beidou positioning, which is very fast. In open areas with clear weather, it can locate within 10 seconds, and in urban areas, it takes less than 60 seconds. This is impressive, considering my phone sometimes takes five minutes to locate!
Regarding exercise tracking, the watch can display the exercise route after the activity, and the route is quite accurate without any drifting. However, it cannot display maps, meaning the exercise location cannot be shown, which is an area the manufacturer needs to improve. The watch occasionally freezes; I experienced this once during a 14-kilometer night ride. The watch froze at 7 kilometers, and none of the buttons responded. After returning home, I checked the app user manual and resolved it by holding the return button for 12 seconds to force a shutdown. After restarting, the exercise record was gone, and the time had to be reset using satellite timing, which was quite inconvenient. Even more inconvenient is the Bluetooth connection with the app. I tried three Android phones—Meizu, Xiaomi, and Oppo—but none could connect to the app. The phone showed it was connected to the watch, but the watch's Bluetooth connection was intermittent, making it impossible to sync exercise records. I hope the manufacturer speeds up the optimization of Bluetooth compatibility.
Another point is that JunTu watches are not yet connected to Codoon. A good smart product needs both solid hardware and software. It's like walking on two legs; if one is long and the other is short, you can't walk fast or steadily. I also suggest removing the calendar weather feature from the watch, as I can check the weather on my phone. If the watch cannot install maps, route navigation loses its meaning, so I suggest the manufacturer improve this.
4. Summary
The Iron Wrist 5 has a simple and grand design, with a round dial, stainless steel buttons, and bezel that balance aesthetics and durability. The dial is very bright in sunlight, and the screen display is clearer than a phone screen. If used only as an electronic watch, the battery can last 60 days! The 50-meter water resistance makes the Iron Wrist 5 suitable for more occasions. With the launch of China's Beidou navigation system on May 1st, the dual-star positioning of the JunTu Iron Wrist 5 will be even faster. These are the advantages and strengths of JunTu watches. However, the watch face cannot be changed, the Bluetooth connection with the phone is intermittent, the watch and app cannot sync, and the watch occasionally freezes. These issues do exist and need to be addressed by the manufacturer promptly.
Overall, the JunTu Iron Wrist 5 smartwatch is highly functional, has a long battery life, and looks great. If you enjoy sports and smartwatches, this is a good choice.
