pTron Force X11 review: A no-nonsense sub-Rs 3,000 smartwatch

I tried the watch out for over a week and here’s my full review of the smartwatch.

pTron Force X11: What’s good?

The pTron Force X11 sports a relatively simple design with the same rectangular dial and standard silicone straps that are now all too common in this segment. The design is functional and also comfortable on the wrist for long hours. But there’s no premium touch or stand-out element here.

The watch features a nice 1.7-inch TFT display. It’s not an AMOLED at this price, but it gets the job done. The bezels on the side aren’t too big to take away from the experience, but the chin is a little larger.

The pTron Force X11 display may struggle under direct sunlight, especially with darker watchfaces. (Image Source: The Indian Express/ Chetan Nayak)

The watch’s UI is surprisingly smooth to navigate through with a completely stutter-free experience. You have a side-to-side layout of the widgets and two styles of the main menu, including the Apple Watch-like honeycomb style.

The sensors on the watch are usually accurate, but to get readings as accurate as possible, you may have to tighten the strap by a notch, especially during heart-rate and blood oxygen tracking. The step counter was not very accurate and readings were often off by 10-20 steps per 100-150 steps.

Fitness tracking features are somewhat basic and while you do have modes for walking, running, skipping, cycling, badminton, football, basketball and swimming, there are other watches that offer a lot more dedicated sports modes. There are also some other features on the Force X11 that are commonly found elsewhere, like music control and camera shutter and they work well.

The pTron Force X11 is packed with features. (Image Source: The Indian Express/ Chetan Nayak)

The Bluetooth calling feature works really well. You can hear the other party clearly on the microphone. People I spoke to using the smartwatch also pointed out good microphone reception. The calling app on the watch offers a built-in dialler, while allowing you to save a few frequent contacts whom you can dial up directly from the watch. This is handy and eliminates the need to pull out your phone to quickly contact someone when your hands aren’t free, or when your phone is, say, in a bag.

The watch connects to the DaFit app, which features a neat user interface and easy navigation. The app offers you all the watch’s features in a neat manner without feeling too overwhelming and the selection of watchfaces is also nice.

The watch connects to the DaFit app, which features a neat user interface and easy navigation. (Express Photo)

Battery life on the watch is as advertised and depending on your usage you will can anywhere between three to seven days in a single charge. Note that a large factor of how long your battery lasts will be determined by how much you use the Bluetooth calling feature.

pTron Force X11: What’s not good?

The watch doesn’t have deal-breaking cons at this price, offering the budget experience that you pay for. The tracking and sensors could be more accurate for fitness enthusiasts and the overall design language could have had a little more flair given that the simple ‘rectangular dial with crown’ formula has now been copied by many brands.

Thankfully though, the straps are replaceable and you should be able to easily add your own straps to this dial.

Verdict: Should you get the pTron Force X11?

The pTron Force X11 features the complete package for its asking price of Rs 2,799. Even though it doesn’t get any medals for accuracy or its looks, it gets the job done and is a reliable budget smartwatch with good battery life and an easy-to-use companion app. This is a worthy option to look at if you’re looking for an affordable rectangular smartwatch with Bluetooth calling under Rs 3,000.