The first time I saw the ZeBlaze Ares when it first launched a few weeks back, I immediately placed it in my wish list because it has that nostalgic retro look. I knew I had to get it. Having said that, I’m glad that I installed the Banggood shopping app on my phone because that is where I first saw the ZeBlaze Ares. Without hesitation, I got one for myself.
There are three colour options for the ZeBlaze Ares – black, red and green. I actually prefer the green one because it looked tactical especially with the overall retro design. And I have no regrets with the colour choice.
The ZeBlaze Ares came in a small box with simple design and straight forward key descriptions. No fuss when it comes to the box design, so I don’t mind the simplicity of it. No fuss here means that it only comes with a plastic mold to hold the smartwatch on the inside. a USB charging port and the instructions manual. I don’t actually read the manual here but I only scanned the QR code at the back to download the accompanied phone app for the watch called, Gloryfit. Fyi, this is the very same app for another smartwatch that I have reviewed recently, Blitzwolf BW-HL3 watch.
Switching on the watch is easy. Simply press and hold the top On/Off side button and you’re good to go. Pairing with the Gloryfit app is extremely easy and it took me less than 3 minutes to get everything going. Since I already have an account logged in to the app,. switching sync from the Blitzwolf to ZeBlaze Ares is fast.
Look and Design
Before I go into the software and function side of the ZeBlaze Ares, I will start with the overall look and design.
As I mentioned before, I love the retro look. This reminds me on my first Casio digital watch I had when I was about 7 years old. I was very proud to own the classic Casio watch back then and this ZeBlaze Ares brings back so much memories from my childhood. And also the memories of my late father because he was the one who bought my first watch.
The green colour really looks good on my wrist. It comes with a soft silicone strap which fixed permanently on the watch. Each of the strap holes for the latch are close to each other, giving you more adjustment options for a perfect fit. It has a black rim on top of the watch giving that extra sleek look. There are two textured black buttons on the side that reads On/Off and Mode. Press the On/Off button does the obvious which is waking up the watch from sleep. Pressing it again will turn it off to standby mode.
Around the back, you can see the large sensor which can monitor your heartbeat and also scan your blood pressure. It can also be used to keep track on your sleeping time and patterns. Keep in mind that the result from the sensor scanning are only to be used as approximate readings. You should use a proper medically certified devices in order to obtain a more accurate reading.
Below the rear sensor, you can see the charging pins which you can easily snap on the charging port. The charging pins are supported by a magnet to hold the charging port in place and it is done in such a way that it automatically align the positive and negative polarity by the magnet. You can’t snap the charging port when it is in the wrong direction. Safety first right?
Software and functions
Now let’s go into the software bits. Pressing the Mode button while the screen is on brings you to the quick fitness options. You can start your fitness exercises immediately by selecting your desired workout routine. The watch is functioned with a touch screen. You can easily navigate through the menu and make a selection by tapping the menu on screen.
The screen size is a 1.3″ HD colour display. The screen resolution is 240×240, which is not as big as most of the smartwatch out there but it looks very good on this ZeBlaze Ares. The colours are very bright and vibrant. I have no problem viewing the time and messages (if any) when under direct sunlight. There are 4 levels of brightness that you can choose from. I kept mine at level 1 which actually works well under any conditions.
Swiping the screen from the main watch face to the right brings you to the health statistics. You can view your current pedometer steps, calories count and walking distance on this screen. Swiping further right brings you to your heartrate readings and history. The third screen shows your sleep statistics, like your sleep time which includes light sleep and deep sleep times. Next screen shows the current weather and the final screen will display the music controller. Yes, you can control your music play/pause, next and previous songs from the watch.
Now, swiping left from the main screen you can see all options from the above plus a few additional options like stopwatch, timer, flashlight and find phone. Swiping up from the main screen will open up the message history. While swiping down, you can see the quick option to adjust the brightness, turn on silent or vibrate, find phone and settings.
As for watch faces, there are 3 default watch face saved on the watch plus one downloaded watch face with you can select from the Gloryfit app on your phone. You can also create your own watch face by selecting a photo from your photo library. If you’re up to it, you can create your own watch face using any graphic softwares.
I have been using the ZeBlaze Ares smartwatch for over a week now. In my overall experience, I find that the watch can last me about 5 days after a full charge with all the functions turned on at all times. Charging up the battery to 100% took less than 30 minutes. The battery capacity is around 170mAh, which is low but works really great on the Ares. With that battery size, the watch feels very light at only 33 grams. I hardly feel that I have a watch strapped on my wrist.
I wear the ZeBlaze Ares all the time even when I’m writing this review. I even wear it in the showers and during bedtime. The Ares is water resistant for up to 30m, so you can use it while in the showers or going out swimming. For swimming, you can turn on the swimming workout monitor function. As for sleeping, I managed to keep track on my sleeping pattern during the whole week I’m using it.
For notifications, you can easily view any notifications that comes in your phone like messages, WhatsApp chats and others. The only problem I have with the notifications is that the text is a little too small for me to read. I do need glasses to read small text so it’s not really the watch problem. But I do wish that it comes with an option to adjust the notification text size for people like me.
On the notification screen, when you scroll right to the bottom you will have an option to clear all messages. You can also clear/delete the messages individually. Sometimes, the notification comes in faster than the one on your phone. Weird but true. But it does come in handy.
Conclusion
My overall experience using the ZeBlaze Ares has been fun. I really love the retro look and being light, I can’t really feel it on my wrist. That is a good thing. I have not stop using it up to this day although I have two other smartwatches. I feel that this is one of my best investment on a wearable device.
The 5 day long battery on full use is more than enough to get through and the synchronization with the app work seamlessly. To see all of your health reading, you can have a look at the Gloryfit app. Every statistics and reading history are there at your fingertips. Who says you can’t get a great wearable for a cheap price?
Having said that, you can get your very own ZeBlaze Ares smartwatch on Banggood for US$59.99 but at the moment. it is going on sale for only US$24.99. That’s just over RM100 for a brilliant retro looking smartwatch. I have bought few items from Banggood.com and you can be sure that it is very reliable. But you may have to wait for a week or two to have your order arrive at your doorstep. That is pretty normal.
Don’t miss the sale opportunity. Get your very own ZeBlaze Ares smartwatch now.
