Ambrane FitSHot Zest: what’s good?

The Ambrane Fitshot Zest has a metal dial unlike a lot of plastic watches in this price segment and that stands out. There’s also a crown on the side which isn’t just a circular button, but a proper rotating crown. On top of that, the watch straps are still made of replaceable TPU, but they feel much better on the skin after long hours of use unlike other cheaper straps. The well-built body also gets an IP67 certification, which means it’s safe against the elements.

One of my favorite parts of the watch is the software, both on the watch itself and the companion app. This is usually the only aspect where budget watches struggle, but that’s not the case here.

You get a smooth, simple and easy to use user interface on Ambrane FitShot Zest. For once, it doesn’t look like an Apple Watch scam on the inside. Menus, icons and the whole interface in general have their own design and navigating through it all is a breeze without any lag.

The smartwatch has a light panel, but it lacks the AMOLED colors that some competitors feature. (Image source: The Indian Express/ Chetan Nayak)

The rotating crown is also perfectly implemented in this UI, and you can use it in many places. For example, when the quick settings panel is lowered, you can change the brightness by turning the crown. You can also use it to scroll the app drawer.

The companion app (Ambrane FitShot) is one of the most polished we’ve seen and has all of its settings divided into three neat tabs. There are a lot of watch faces and a custom watch face creator which is actually pretty cool. It lets you choose your background, choice of number hands/fonts, dialing and even tiny fitness widgets, making your custom watch face truly yours and not just a simple clock face with your own background glued to the back.

The companion app for the smartwatch has a neat interface. (Image source: The Indian Express/ Chetan Nayak)

Bluetooth calls worked as expected on the watch and mic reception was pretty good. We also heard the sound with the built-in speaker of course, although the volume could have been a bit louder. Like many other budget watches with Bluetooth calling, you get an in-watch dialer and the ability to save a few frequent contacts.

The custom dial selector allows you to customize many elements. (Image source: The Indian Express/ Chetan Nayak)

The watch featured an average battery life of around 7-8 days with regular use. But with continuous heart rate monitoring and lots of Bluetooth calls, that number can also go down to 3-4 days, which isn’t too bad.

What’s also really nice is the proprietary charger you get here that doesn’t have your middle pill-shaped end with two gold magnetic pins that attach to the bottom of the watch. Instead, you get a proper circular like a charger end of the cable. It still charges via two magnetic pins, but the circular pad makes the experience less clunky as the watch has a flat enough surface to rest on when charging.

Ambrane FitShot Zest: What’s wrong?

You get the usual bells and whistles with a heart rate monitor, blood pressure sensor, and sleep cycle monitor. The accuracy of these sensors isn’t the best here and may require a software update before they can actually show usable data.

During the week I spent with the watch, the heart rate data was often displayed very high (90-100) even though my heart rate is usually around 70-80. The other sensors weren’t very accurate either, including the sleep monitor which, like many budget watches in the segment, also counts exposure time as sleep time.

The fitness tracking options on the Ambrane FitSHot Zest aren’t the most accurate. (Image source: The Indian Express/ Chetan Nayak)

The pedometer also picked up extra steps I never took and the data was often 10-20% higher than the actual number of steps I took. While doctors and even brands wouldn’t recommend that you take smartwatch fitness numbers too seriously for medical purposes, I still expected a bit more accuracy in what was otherwise a good package. Hopefully a firmware update can fix this issue.

Verdict: Should you get the Ambrane FitShot Zest?

The Ambrane FitShot Zest has a good design, great software and a neat companion app. It even packs Bluetooth calls at Rs 2,499. However, the vagueness of the fitness elements may make this watch a deal breaker for some. We recommend going with the Ambrane FitShot Zest if you’re looking for a nice watch at this price point with good software and plenty of customization. However, if tracking your daily workouts is a priority, you should consider other options.