In light of recent events, more and more consumers are outfitting themselves with a fitness wearable or a smartwatch to stay on top of their health. Unsurprisingly, the rampant demand for fitness trackers has allowed new players to foray into the wearables segment. Case in point, Just Corseca, which recently unveiled a sporty smartwatch for the masses. Dubbed the Ray Kanabis, the wearable offers a slew of features including a week-long battery backup and a sporty design, among other things. I managed to get my hands on the device and here’s what I make of it.
The lowdown
- Right off the bat, you’ll notice that the Ray Kanabis looks quite sporty and the wearable resembles an old-school Casio G-shock. In fact, I am willing to bet that part of the reason why you stumbled on this review is that you were entranced by the unit’s aesthetics. On that note, the watch ships with a ginormous screen which is bordered by a ruggedised bezel. While the bezel alone lends the unit a robust appearance, the company has gone the extra mile and has etched the frame with red accents, along with some text, thereby making the watch stand out that much more. Now, truth be told, the design elements look quite tasteful and they impart a sense of sturdiness the minute you unbox the watch. That said, I wish the markings for the physical toggles were a bit more minimalistic. As things stand, the ‘Open’ and ‘Down’ engraving take something away from Ray Kanabis’ otherwise delightful appearance.
- I’d like to point out that the wearable’s sporty looks aren’t just for show. In fact, the watch is IP68 certified, making it impervious to damage from sweat, moisture, or even splashes of water. As such, the unit can take a beating and on several occasions, I dinged the wearable against a table/doorknob. Despite that, the unit is void of any major scuffs or scratches. Now, the device is a tad heavy and you will notice the unit’s heft whilst working out. That said, the bundled silicon straps offer ample cushioning and don’t itch the wrist either, which is great.
- I was more than satisfied with the unit’s display too. The watch ships with a 1.28-inch panel of the LCD variety. The display packs in a resolution of 240 x 240 pixels, making it plenty sharp to read texts on the fly. What’s more, the screen felt quite responsive too and the display picked up on all my swipes and taps seamlessly. With that said, the wearable’s peak brightness levels leave something to be desired. From what I could gather from the brand, the Kanabis’ screen maxes out at 220 nits and correspondingly, the display isn’t all that legible in well-lit environments. Much to my dismay, the watch doesn’t ship with an always-on display mode either. However, the device does get a “raise to wake” feature, which worked fairly well and allowed me to check the time and notifications with the flick of a wrist.
- On the bright side, the wearable supports a ton of watch faces, allowing users to customise the watch to their heart’s content. That’s not all, as the unit’s companion app offers a user-friendly interface too and allocates the wearer’s fitness stats front and centre. You can even customise the prompts you get on your wrist via the app. For instance, with the onset of summer, I tweaked the wearable’s settings to get hourly reminders to drink a glass of water. Furthermore, you can disable notifications from select services via the companion app as well.
- With that said, while you can receive notifications on the watch from your favourite social media apps, the wearable doesn’t allow users to revert to the same. That’s quite a bummer, as some competing devices at least offer buyers the ability to customise quick reverts to send directly from the watch’s interface. On the bright side, the watch supports Bluetooth calling and the unit has been outfitted with a built-in speaker and microphone. Correspondingly, you can choose to make or answer calls from the watch on the fly. A word of advice, though – the watch requires additional Bluetooth pairing in order to make a phone call. So, once you’ve connected the device to your phone by means of the companion app, you will have to enable the smartwatch’s calling feature by going into your phone’s Bluetooth settings and pairing your phone to the watch – think of it like connecting a speaker with a mic to your phone.
- Once done, you should be able to make calls directly through the watch itself. Much to my surprise, the Kanabis’ speaker output and mic quality were fantastic, so no complaints here. Funnily enough, with Bluetooth calling enabled, I noticed that my phone’s audio output was also being routed through the wearable’s speaker. Should that happen, all you need to do is head on over to your phone’s Bluetooth settings and revoke the wearable’s permission to relay device audio and only transmit call audio. And lest I forget, the device also ships with a built-in flappy bird clone that you can play when you have some time to kill (pun intended).
- The wearable’s fitness tracking chops leave something to be desired. For one,I noticed that at times, the device wouldn’t add some steps to my overall tally. Furthermore, the wearable doesn’t ship with built-in GPS, however, you can map your runs with your phone. Disappointingly enough, starting an activity from the app’s interface only gives users the map data. So, you can either get a number on your fitness stats by starting an exercise from the wearable’s interface, or insights on your running route via the phone – but not both.
- Thankfully, the device can track a user’s blood saturation level, heart rate, and blood pressure levels as well. I did run the readings for the heart rate tracking as well as SpO2 monitoring against a pulse oximeter I had lying around and the watch outputted reasonably accurate results. Rest assured, the Kanabis is a decent activity tracker that can give you useful insights on your health. The icing on the cake is that the unit can last almost five days off a single charge, and that’s with continuous heart rate tracking and notifications enabled.
Verdict
The Just Corseca Ray Kanabis retails for Rs 5,999 in India and for the price, the device gets a few things right. The wearable offers a gorgeous sporty design that is sufficiently weatherproof as well. The unit’s display is plenty accommodating too and I was quite happy with the wearable’s Bluetooth calling functionality. That said, the device’s fitness tracking capabilities aren’t the best and while it can shed accurate insights on your heart rate as well as your SpO2 readings, the wearable isn’t particularly adept at tracking exercises. Correspondingly, I’d recommend you opt for some other device if you take your workouts seriously. However, if you want a stylish smartwatch that can take calls and monitor your fitness, including heart rate and blood oxygen saturation tracking, the Kanabis will not disappoint you.
Editor’s rating: 3 / 5
Pros:
- Stylish, rugged design
- Bluetooth calling works well
- Good SpO2 and HR tracking
- Accommodating screen
Cons:
- Exercise tracking not the best
- Display could’ve been brighter
