Hammer Conquer smartwatch review

Budget smartwatches are one of the most interesting products in consumer technology right now. You get plenty of health monitoring features in a device that tells the time and syncs with your phone to show you notifications and so much more. However, most budget smartwatches are quite similar in terms of features and specifications. What actually sets them apart is the design. That is one of the best aspects of the new Hammer Conquer. But is that enough for you to spend Rs 2,999 over this watch? Let’s find out in our full review.

Hammer Conquer: A quick look

The Hammer Conquer is a smartwatch priced under Rs 3,000, making it a proper budget accessory. It features a 2.02-inch 320 x 385 pixels AMOLED display, Bluetooth calling support, sports mode tracking, and other features like SpO2 tracking and voice assistant support. Interestingly, the watch also comes with an IP67 certification.

You also get Bluetooth 5.2, a metallic build, many watchfaces to choose from and even two band styles in the box. Now that the specs are out of the way, let’s get to the experience of using the Hammer Conquer.

Set up and customisation

Unboxing and setting up the Hammer Conquer was fairly easy. There is no initial setup screen and you can start using the basics of the watch right away once you power it on. To pair it with your phone, you’ll need the same DaFit app (available on both the Play Store and the App Store) that a lot of other budget smartwatch brands use as their companion app.

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Once the phone is paired, you can use the app to set up some features, and customise the watchfaces. You can also use the app to check all your fitness data and exercise records in one place. We weren’t new to DaFit, so our experience was smooth, but we assume even those new to the app would find their way around quickly.

The Hammer Conquer comes with multiple watchfaces to choose from, some of which can be edited to an extent, allowing you to set the wallpaper and play around with the font colours. We preferred the simpler watchfaces, as the more advanced analogue ones seemed too tacky for our taste, and the unmissable ‘Hammer’ logo on all of them didn’t really help either.

Design

The Hammer Conquer has a rectangular dial and one of the best parts of the watch is its design, which turned quite a few heads in the office in the past week. This was largely because the watch somewhat resembles the Apple Watch Ultra. The fact that more people notice a Rs 3,000 smartwatch with an inspired design, over a premium analogue watch also says a lot about wearable design perception in the past few years.

But yes, if the point is to have a good-looking accessory on your wrist without emptying your wallet, the Hammer Conquer certainly gets the job done. The dial design, large screen and band choices certainly help. However, the watch will also quickly remind you that you do get what you pay for.

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The crown on the right side, for instance, is not a rotating one, and is just a regular back button dressed up like a crown. It’s also quite wobbly to the touch. The singular ‘button’ on the left side of the watch, isn’t even a real one. Also note that while this funky somewhat-futuristic design looks great with casual threads, pairing this with formal outfits might be quite a workout.

Performance and health features

Speaking of workouts, we put the watch to the test with walking and some cycling, and weren’t surprised by the results. While the numbers were generally alright when it came to walking, more complex activities like cycling may not always yield the correct numbers. This is the case for most budget smartwatches, and the Hammer Conquer is no different. While elements like heart rate and SpO2 readings felt accurate, we wouldn’t rely on them for actual medical readings or for early detection of health issues, and neither should you.

The general performance of the smartwatch was quite good. The UI was snappy and responsive across menus and modes, and we didn’t face any kind of lagging or other hiccups throughout my usage. The display is bright enough for general outdoor use, and the watch even packs a couple of games to help you out of boredom when your phone is dead.

However, one issue we did face was audio output randomly transferring over from our iPhone 15 Pro Max to the watch, which was really annoying during music playback or calls. The only way we could prevent this was by disabling audio routing for phone calls and media on the watch, but then that completely cancels out the Bluetooth calling ability of the phone. This may or may not be an issue on Android phones, but hopefully Hammer can release a firmware update to fix this.

Battery life and charging

The battery life of the Hammer Conquer was quite good, and we managed to squeeze about a week of battery life in a single charge with some moderate usage, and that was without even touching the low power mode. However, with the always-on display turned on, that number was reduced significantly, and the watch was dead within 48 hours of a full charge.

What we didn’t like, however, was the proprietary magnetic charger, which is a single USB-A cable with a two-point magnetic head on the other end. In our experience of reviewing smartwatches, these cables have never been easy to work with. This is because they can easily come off and require some slight gymnastics to keep in the right spot. A slight nudge when the watch is charging, and you will only realise the charger had come off hours later when you pick up the watch. Also, if you ever break or lose this cable, you might as well kiss your watch goodbye too!

Verdict: Who should get the Hammer Conquer?

If you have used budget smartwatches before, the Hammer Conquer will feel like home. You will appreciate the new design, and the familiar UI. If you’re new to the whole segment, the learning curve here is as flat as it can be.

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We’d recommend the Hammer Conquer to someone looking to flaunt a good-looking accessory on their wrist. The large screen and looks will give you a tech-savvy look and feel. You can read notifications, take calls, and that’s about all the ‘smart’ in this smartwatch.

If you’re looking for more advanced wearable, a smartwatch like the Galaxy Watch 6 or the Apple Watch series will require you to up your budget significantly. However, if you don’t need app support, a more versatile operating system, or more reliable health metrics, the Hammer Conquer is a decent buy at Rs 2,999.