Noise ColorFit Pro 4 Max review: Good, but not great

Here's our full review of the Noise's latest smartwatch - the ColorFit Pro 4 Max

• By Ashish Kumar -
Published On: August 1, 2022

Noise needs no introduction in the wearable segment. The brand is the leading smartwatch maker in India, with a 23 percent market share as of Q1 2022. This can be attributed, at least in part, to the company's strong presence in the under Rs 5,000 price bracket, which garners a ton of eyeballs. And, to capitalise on the growing momentum, the company recently announced the ColorFit Pro 4 Max in the country. The budget-centric smartwatch comes with some interesting features such as Bluetooth calling, which is generally found in a mid-range wearable. I have been using the Noise ColorFit Pro 4 Max for well over a week now and here is what I make of it:

The lowdown

• Much like most competing products in its segment, the ColorFit Pro 4 Max also takes its design cues from the Apple Watch series. To wit, the device sports a rectangular dial, with a crown positioned on its right edge. On the upside, Noise hasn't blatantly aped Apple's wearable, and instead, the company has thrown its own spin on the aesthetics too. The edges, for instance, are chamfered instead of rounded and the frame touts a golden shade, which accentuates the overall look of the watch too. Do note that the shade around the edges and on the crown varies amongst different colourways. I was sent the Navy Gold variant for review, which comes with blue straps, but you can get the ColorFit Pro 4 Max in Jet Black, Vintage Brown, Silver Grey, and Rose Gold colour options as well.
  

• With that being said, the Noise ColorFit Pro 4 Max offers a great in-hand feel - all thanks to its lightweight design, aluminium alloy frame, and 22mm silicone straps. The watch weighs just 42 grams, making it comfortable to wear for long hours, while the aluminium frame adds a premium touch. The silicon straps are nice and soft and consequently, don't bite or itch either. The straps also ship with detachable quick-release pins, giving buyers the option to change the look of the watch on the go. However, the straps aren't adept at keeping sweat at bay. In fact, the straps accumulate sweat underneath the band, which if not wiped off timely, may leave rashes on the wearer's wrist. On the bright side, the wearable is IP68 rated, which means it can withstand dirt, dust, and sand, along with submersion in water (up to1.5m) for thirty minutes. So, you can wear the watch in the shower, or go for a swim in the pool with the wearable strapped to your wrist, which is great.

• The Noise ColorFit Pro 4 Max sports a 1.8-inch TFT display with 240x285p resolution. The screen is bordered by sleek bezels too, which enhances a user's viewing experience. The LCD panel gets plenty bright for outdoor usage as well and has a good response rate. In fact, the display was quick to register all my inputs while navigating around the watch's UI. Speaking of which, the wearable's UI is quite user-friendly and intuitive. A simple swipe to the right or left will give you stats on your activities, heart rate, stress level, and more, along with workout options, a music control menu, weather update, and Alexa. The notification panel can be accessed with a swipe down atop the home screen, while a swipe up offers quick controls for brightness, wake-up gesture, flashlight, do not disturb mode, and more. The crown on the right edge can be used as a back/home button as well as to access Noise Health, Noise Buzz, and the watch's settings, among other things. 

• The ColorFit Pro 4 Max supports Bluetooth-based voice calling, which can be used to answer or reject voice calls directly from the smartwatch. What's more, the unit even allows users to dial a number directly from the watch's interface, so long as the device is connected to the phone over Bluetooth. Be that as it may, the wearable's built-in speaker is nothing to write home about. Even with maximum volume, I had to pin the watch to my ear to listen to what the caller was trying to say. In addition to voice calls, the Noise Pro 4 Max can display text notifications from your phone. There is a quick reply option for SMSes, but it is only limited to Android mobile phones. 

• The ColorFit Pro 4 Max can be paired to smartphones running Android 6 and above or iOS 9 and later through the NoiseFit Assist app. The pairing process is quite seamless - all you have to do is fire up the app (login, if you haven't) and scan the QR code on the watch's screen using your smartphone. The app offers a detailed look at your activities as well as heart rate, sleep cycle, SpO2, and Ambient Sound Level, among other things. However, it takes its time to sync data despite an active Bluetooth connection, which is a bummer.
• The app can also be used to configure the watch's settings and download and install watch faces. There is a healthy assortment of watch faces, including customisable ones which will undoubtedly help you customise your Noise ColorFit 4 Pro Max to your liking. The downloaded watch face will be added to your watch and can be accessed with a long press on the home screen. I should also add that the wearable has room to store as many as eight watch faces at once, which is great.

• On the fitness front, the Noise ColorFit 4 Pro Max packs over 100 sports modes and a suite of Noise health features. The latter comprises a respiratory rate tracker, noise detection, 24/7 heart rate tracker, menstruation cycle, sleep monitor, and SpO2 monitor. The wearable also ships with a step tracker and accelerometer. And, after spending some time with the wearable, I can confirm that the aforementioned features worked just fine. However, I have a bone to pick with the watch's step tracker, which added steps to my overall tally even when I was typing on the laptop. On the bright side, while the smartwatch doesn't have a built-in GPS, it latches on to your smartphone's connection pretty quickly and offers satisfactory results. Additionally, the ColorFit 4 Pro Max has intelligent exercise recognition, which identifies your walking or running state and notifies you to enable workout mode in case you haven't. Much to my dismay, I didn't get any such pop-ups during my time with the watch. In the end, I had to turn the feature off as it did eat into the wearable's battery backup.

• Coming to battery life, the ColorFit 4 Pro Max packs a 300mAh cell, which lasted me four days off a single charge and that's with all the features enabled and at least an hour's worth of fitness tracking every day. Otherwise, the watch is rated to last up to seven days between charges. The ColorFit 4 Pro Max uses a proprietary charger, which latches on to the back of the watch and takes around 2 hours to juice it up from zero to 100 percent. Last but not the least, the ColorFit 4 Pro Max has Alexa onboard for hands-free control. It can be used to take down notes, set an alarm, a stopwatch or a timer, and control smart devices such as lights around your home, which is neat.

Verdict

Everything said and done, at Rs 4,499, the Noise ColorFit 4 Pro Max is among the most feature-packed smartwatches in the market. That's not to say that the watch is perfect and I wish it offered better step tracking and a louder speaker. Thankfully, the watch somewhat makes up for its shortcomings by offering a stylish design, an array of sports modes, a large screen, and Bluetooth voice calling. So, if you're in the market for a good-looking and affordable timepiece with smart features, the ColorFit 4 Pro Max is a sound option to consider.

Editor's rating: 3.5/ 5

Pro

• Great design
• Bluetooth calling feature
• Lightweight and comfortable
• Array of fitness features

Cons

• Not the most accurate tracker
• Battery life could have been better
• Speaker needs improvement