$75 Smartwatch Provides the Basics, Not Much More: Armitron Quantum Review

When Armitron’s Quantum smartwatch arrived in my mailbox, I was stoked to start testing. This entry-level smartwatch seemed like a good fit for me. I have no previous experience using a watch to track my physical activity.

For the past few months, I’d been using AllTrails to record my outdoor life, from cycling to paddling and trail running. I liked the idea of collecting closer data with a smartwatch, but I knew I didn’t want anything too fancy.

I certainly got “not fancy” with the Armitron Quantum. This is the flagship product in the legacy brand’s new line of smartwatches. Unfortunately, the limited feature set of the Quantum amounted to a swing and a miss, failing to meet my needs.

To be fair, there’s a lot to like about the Armitron Quantum, including a sleek interface and a variety of cool watch face options. And it’s hard not to root for an American company founded by a Holocaust survivor in 1975. But currently, this watch still has some bugs that the developers need to work out.

In short: With prices ranging from $55 to $75, Armitron’s smartwatch line offers some of the lowest prices anywhere for devices meant to track your physical activity and gather data about your health. If you’re not too serious about those things, and just want to dip your wrist into the proverbial water of the smartwatch market, then it could offer a bit of fun in an approachable design. But those seeking accurate data should save up some extra bucks and look elsewhere.

Compare the Armitorn Quantum smartwatch to others on GearJunkie’s guide to the Best Smartwatches.

Armitron Quantum Review

Armitron has dropped five models in its new smartwatch line. It has the top-shelf Quantum and Matrix, which both offer AMOLED touchscreens and differ only in shape. Then there’s the middle-level Sync and the entry-level Apex and Eclipse. With its circular shape and wealth of functions, I decided to try out the Quantum.

The watch’s band, however, was the first indicator that it might not be quite ready to function as a reliable fitness tool. The Quantum currently comes with a metal band that I was unable to adjust. I tried on my own, but evidently, it requires specific tools to change the fit. I took it to a local watch and jewelry store in Atlanta, where a helpful repairman adjusted it for me for $10.

However, I didn’t end up using the metal band at all once I realized I could buy a black silicone one for $20 (pictured throughout this review). I bought it at the same store that fixed the metal band. Armitron doesn’t currently offer silicone bands for the Quantum, but a representative said more watch band options would be available in January.

With a band designed for active outdoor use, I could start testing in earnest.

Getting Started

Setting up the basic watch functions was pretty easy. Most of that is accomplished through the Armitron CONNECT App, which serves as the main controller.

I soon realized that the watch functions are highly dependent on the accompanying app. You can’t even change the watch’s time without your smartphone — the first of many gaps in usability.

Exercise & Fitness Tracking

Choosing from many customizable watch face options is probably one of the coolest things about having a digital watch. With the Armitron Quantum, it’s as easy as turning the watch’s knob. I quickly settled on an analog design, however, and started exploring the other features.

That’s when things got a bit frustrating. For starters, Armitron’s watches automatically track your daily steps — just like a FitBit. I did not find this to be an accurate function. Tracking happens through the watch’s sensor, which supposedly “adapts to individual behavior over time for improved accuracy,” according to the Armitron manual.

I didn’t experience that improvement, however. As I reviewed steps at the end of each day, the numbers often seemed inflated. During a 5-minute conversation with my girlfriend one morning, as we both sat getting ready, the watch counted 133 steps. And no, I wasn’t aggressively tapping my feet at 7 in the morning.

I had hoped to use the Armitron Quantum as a stand-in for my phone. I wanted to track a 5-mile run without bringing along my smartphone. But it didn’t quite work out that way. Beyond step-counting, the watch’s Exercise feature allows you to choose from many different activities, including running, walking, cycling, and more. The inaccuracy of the watch data became clearer as I started experimenting with these exercise modes.

Start a running exercise, for example, and you’ll get a 3-second countdown. Once active, the exercise trackers offer real-time info. It measures the time elapsed, number of steps, distance, calories expended, and heart rate. I soon realized I couldn’t rely on some of that data.

Most importantly, for my purposes, the watch doesn’t accurately track distances. When compared with the GPS from my phone, any given run was roughly a third of the actual distance. That raised questions about the accuracy of the rest of the data as well.

Even more surprising, it’s not possible to check the time while recording an exercise. Befuddled by what seemed like an obvious oversight, I asked Armitron about this. A representative said they’re “looking into enabling this feature for future updates.”

Other Health Functions

The Quantum does offer plenty of other options for tracking daily life. I’m just not sure how much I trust them.

If the Sleep feature is accurate, then I’m getting way less sleep than I should be. It’s hard to believe I only slept for 5 hours when I hit the sheets at 11 p.m. and woke up at 7 a.m.

Armitron’s Quantum and Matrix, unlike the brand’s cheaper smartwatch models, can also supposedly track blood oxygen levels. They even have a stress measurement, along with heart rate monitoring, calorie tracking, and other features available. Those are all available, even on Armitron’s $55 Eclipse model.

I fiddled around with these features as well, ultimately deciding they were either unreliable, or simply not pertinent to my personal fitness needs. Also, many of the health tracking features, including sleep and steps, are recorded automatically, with no way to turn them off.

“Since we do not ask for any personal information of the user (i.e., name/address/email, etc.), this information is only stored on the personal app and is not shared anywhere,” an Armitron representative said.

It’s possible to use the Quantum watch in conjunction with earbuds. That requires pairing both devices to your phone, and then fiddling with the watch settings to ensure the music goes to the earbuds, instead of the watch’s built-in microphone.

Armitron Quantum: Not All Bad

As an exercise/fitness watch, it’s probably safe to say that Armitron’s software needs some major retooling. But in all fairness, if you’re just looking for a smartwatch for daily life, this will likely work fine.

Any of Armitron’s new smartwatch models can make and receive phone calls and text messages, allowing you to stay on top of daily communications while on the move. Thankfully, those features can also be turned off for those who (like me) prefer more disconnection.

There are plenty of simpler, “harder-to-mess-up” tools that work just fine. Basic functions like the alarm, timer, stopwatch, calculator, calendar, and even the Find My Phone function worked well for me.

The touchscreen of the Quantum is also intuitive and satisfying. It swipes in various directions serving as the primary navigation tool, along with a knob and a button on the right side. It’s fun to play with. I like that I can turn off the screen so that it only lights up with the press of a button.

Armitron Quantum Smartwatch: Conclusion

If you’re just looking for a budget smartwatch to help you manage your hectic daily life, then the Armitron Quantum will get the job done. And if you opt for the metal band, the Quantum will look just as classy as watches that cost hundreds of dollars more.

Judging by Armitron’s website — where the Matrix and Sync models are currently sold out — many people clearly like the idea of Armitron’s uber-cheap smartwatches.

From my perspective, this isn’t a functional fitness watch — at least not yet. If that’s what you need, you’re probably better served by a FitBit, which has many more years of experience in the marketplace. That’ll cost about twice as much if you buy it without a discount. But at least you’ll know how many steps you actually took today.

To me, the Quantum currently feels like a video game released before developers worked out all the kinks. Like any modern device, however, it’s likely the brand’s software will improve with time and customer feedback.