Noise Origin review

Hold the thing in your hand and it feels more expensive than what’s said on the bill. The stainless steel body is very well structured and the block feels like it's made by a traditional watchmaker and not a tech company. Stick your nose to it and you’ll see a functional rotating crown that lets you navigate menus like a digital captain steering your wrist ship. It's accompanied by a customizable button that can be programmed for various functions, from launching workouts to checking your stress levels.

The watch comes in multiple colour options and a silicone strap. We had the Silver Grey colour variant and we quite like it. It’s comfortable for everyday use and you can go to bed with it as well. It only comes in one size though and that 1.46in might be too big for smaller wrists. 

Worried about the rain? Well, it’s got a 3 ATM water resistance rating means sweat and rain won't faze it, but keep dust in mind – there's no resistance for that.

The 1.46-inch AMOLED display is a true star of the show. It's bright, and crisp and delivers vivid colours that make navigating the UI a pleasure. A bigger dial means the content is more legible on it and the whole thing is also very smooth. The rotating crown works inside menus and settings and while it may not have the tactile feel of the Apple Watch, it never makes a case to complain. 

Auto brightness is a bit questionable but it works most of the time. Under harsh sunlight, you can see each digit on the display without touching your eyelids on the screen.

There’s an EN1 processor that keeps things running smoothly with fluid UI transitions and basic but intuitive navigation around the OS. The haptic feedback powered by linear motor technology adds a subtle touch of sophistication, like a tiny masseuse giving your wrist a relaxing rub after a long day. Are the sensors any good? It’s questionable. Don’t expect accurate tracking because it’s missing some important sensors. GPS and an accelerometer are missing here which makes running and other activities a bit unreliable.

Oddly, it doesn’t track as well while sleeping either. The sleep tracking is not as accurate as we’d like it to be and it may skew valuable data if you’re looking for a healthy lifestyle based on metrics.

While originality might not be its strongest suit, the UI is functional and easy to navigate.  Accessing health data like heart rate, sleep data, and SpO2 (blood oxygen) is a breeze with dedicated sections that are colour-coded and laid out.

Call and connectivity are decent. The speakers are loud for indoor use but there’s no background noise cancellation. Albeit, WhatsApp calls also come through but the watch doesn’t show the names of the person calling. Contact sync is either not available or doesn’t work on iOS at least. There’s also the issue of the watch not being able to reconnect to the smartphone automatically if you leave the BT range of your device. You will have to manually connect the watch again to the smartphone if it disconnects.

The NoiseFit Origin brings a dapper design to what we’d call a boring-looking segment in tech wearables. It’s a pretty-looking watch for sure and the UI is hella smooth as well but if tracking workouts is your main agenda then you’d be better off rocking something else.

Battery life can last you about 4 to 6 days with judicial use but it’s not a tracking monster so expect the battery life to be better than most in this range. While there are plenty of workouts to select from, you can only have 10 at a time on the watch. It’s not a problem but you will have to make the list of our top 10 workouts from the app because you can’t access all of them from the watch.