Nokia Steel

Nokia Steel overview

Technically, Nokia Steel is really a smart watch equipped with an analog dial, a step counter, sleep monitoring and even vibration for an alarm clock. In fact, it's more a watch than a fitness tracker. It only has the most basic functions, there is no already usual heart rate monitor and GPS here. On the other hand, it looks like a typical classic watch, it matches even a business suit. What’s more, it works for 8 months!
Another thing is that since the Withings announcement of its model Activite in 2015 nothing has changed. Nokia absorbed the brand, updated the application, and that's it all. During the same 3 years its competitors came up with several new features and gadgets.

Nokia Steel watch will suit fans of classic. If you like ordinary watches, but want to make them a bit smarter, then this is a good option. If you need an advanced fitness tracking, then it is better not even to think of buying it.

Nokia Steel design and construction

The main advantage of the model is that it is a real watch, it does not even have a display — only the dial. Around the circumference there are marks without numbers, but of different length — short marks for 15 minutes together with long ones for an hour. The lower right part is occupied by the steps counter. It looks like a speedometer, only the scale is filled constantly, until it reaches 100% of your daily rate. Then it resets and is filled again starting from 0%.
The watch is comfortable. It is fixed on the arm firmly, the assembly is of a high quality, although in this respect each model is different. The case, according to the name, is made of steel and covered with chrome. The strap also has a classic buckle, without any newfangled clips and pins. There is a connector for a special key, which opens the stainless steel cover, on the reverse side. Below it is the CR2025 battery, which is replaceable. Nokia advises that you should not change it by yourself, but you should contact a watchmaker or a jeweler, so as not to destroy the waterproofness.

Now Nokia offers Steel watch in several options. They differ only in design, the functions are the same everywhere:

• White dial with black silicone strap;
• Black dial with black silicone strap;
• White dial with golden case and gray silicone strap;
• Completely black watch: a dial, a case, a strap. Silicone can be replaced with brown leather with stitched seams.

What’s more, you can order additional straps for the first two versions: black or brown leather, blue or yellow fabric, blue, gray, blue, green or orange silicone.

Nokia Steel functions

• Activity tracking. The watch can recognize different types of activities: walking, running, cycling, swimming. Nokia Steel switches between modes by itself. All the statistics are transferred to the Health Mate application with beautiful charts and summaries for a day, week, month. The recognition accuracy is quite high, but the sensor of sleep works the worst of all;
• Sleep monitoring. The fact is that the watch is equipped only with an accelerometer, so immobility is often regarded as sleep. But in general, the declared features work. The gadget tracks the total time of sleep and falling asleep, different phases, the rate of sleep;
• Clever alarm clock. Unlike Withings Go, Nokia Steel added vibration. Therefore, the device can wake up. If you configure the window in the application — the allowable time for waking up — the watch will try to work in the fast phase. The vibration itself is rather weak. Due to errors of a sleep tracker the alarm can also fail.

Pros of Nokia Steel

The battery lives up to 8 months. Like Withings Go, Nokia Steel is equipped with a powerful battery of CR2025 type. The charge lasts 8 months. If you constantly wear the watch on your arm and turn on sleep monitoring, then the charge will last for a shorter period of time. It is better to change the battery at the watchmaker, it does not cost a lot. You can do it yourself, but there is a risk of breaking a ring that protects the watch against water;
Water resistance — up to 50 meters. The watch is protected in accordance with the IP68 technology — you can dive to a depth of 50 meters and swim calmly in the pool. You can also wash hands and take a shower without any problems. This feature in many respects differs Nokia Steel from its counterparts, and even with a minimum number of sensors the watch will become a good option for lovers of swimming;
Stylish minimalist design. It is the reason why it is generally worth buying the gadget. A strict classical design, a chrome case, a stainless steel material, a stylish dial — in general, it is difficult to distinguish the smart Nokia watch from a usual one. It matches a business suit well, as well as a shirt and a T-shirt. To have a more informal look, you can buy a leather or fabric strap;
Automatic time. The watch does not need to be set in the traditional sense. After synchronization, it will show the time of the smartphone. So, any changes of time zones will be automatically reflected on the dial. It is very convenient!

Cons of Nokia Steel

There is no GPS and a heart rate monitor;
There are errors of sleep tracking;
There is no display;
Few updates of a three years.

Nokia Steel errors and bugs

Basically, complaints about the gadget are related to the set of functions of the application. But Nokia constantly updates Health Mate, so errors are regularly corrected. The main tip is to upgrade to the latest version, if the data does not synchronize, the application does not connect to third-party counterparts, some information is not displayed correctly or is not available.
The official site of Nokia offers several variants of problems and their solutions:

1. An error occurred during the first synchronization. For the correct connection you need to keep the gadgets no further than 10 meters from each other. You can try to turn off and turn on Bluetooth. If the problem still remains, try to restart Nokia Steel by pressing the reset button five times at a stretch;
2. Connection errors with the application. Check that the watch appears in the available devices, and if it is not there — check the previous point. Select the gadget from the list and click Alarm to establish a connection. The restart of the application or Bluetooth, reauthorization can be helpful;
3. The watch shows the wrong time. The device shows the time of the connected smartphone, so first of all — synchronize the watch with the application. If it did not help, then go to the Health Mate settings, select the time setting and put all the hands on 12. You have to do it with every hand, including the step counter! After that the watch should set the correct time.

Reviews about Nokia Steel

To understand reviews, it is important to understand one thing — someone knows why it is worth buying Nokia Steel, and some people do not. This fact is well illustrated by the review "All the declared functions are performed at 5". Many users complain about the lack of charger, but it is one of the killer-features of the watch! Users do not have enough notifications and synchronization with calls on the smartphone. There are some complaints about the set of functions. The pedometer can be up to 30% wrong, and sleep monitoring simply does not understand when a person falls asleep or wakes up.
As for another advantages, after several months of usage, users note its good quality: the watch does not get scratches, and it is convenient to wear the strap all the time. The design matches any style, which is also important.
It is more a watch than a fitness tracker, so the gadget is perfect for everyone who is satisfied with a pedometer, smart time synchronization and basic activity statistics. But for an acceptable tracking the watch is clearly not enough.

Nokia Steel HR — a new generation

Nokia has implemented almost all required functions in the improved version — Nokia Steel HR. The design is almost the same, but the dial has a small display, which shows information about the pulse and notifications. What’s more, HR has a heart rate monitor! The gadget also can show messages and calls from the smartphone. The battery here is rechargeable, and with a constant pulse measurement it works up to 4 days, without it — 25 days. The watch is compatible with the same Health Mate application for Android and iOS, but it costs 50 USD more than Nokia Steel. Still all the problems with tracking accuracy remain.

Health Mate application

All portable gadgets from Nokia work with one application — Health Mate. It's a reworked program from Withings. Compared with the original, the design has become simpler and more understandable, but there are more bugs. Health Mate works on Android and iOS smartphones, it synchronizes with third-party applications. In the program you can:

1. Check the statistics. It shows all collected data because the gadget does not have its own screen. There are steps, activity time, calories, distance covered or distance in the pool, the number of calories burned, a summary of the sleep;
2. Enter your data. Health Mate works with nutrition and diets programmes. You can fill in physical parameters, eating diary, set goals and your training modes here manually;
3. Enable reminders. They also need to be set manually. Reminders about warm-up, nutrition, the rate of steps, events appear in the application, at this moment the watch vibrates;
4. Compare statistics. The app contains summaries of world leaders and friends who also use devices from Nokia or Withings;
5. Configure the gadget and application. For example, you can choose the daily rate of steps or add data for those days when you did not wear the watch.

There is a pleasant bonus — interesting facts and motivation. The application will tell you about the marathon distance after 42 kilometers covered per day, show pretty badges for achievements, for example, 6000 or 12000 steps. You can also participate in competitions with friends.

Health Mate works well with other programs, for example, universal Google Fit and Apple Health. You can expand the set of functions with MyFitnessPal, RunKeeper, Nike+, Nest, Better Body, Sleep Smarter, Healthier Heart, Pregnancy Tracker.

Nokia Steel - Comparison

Add