Ambrane FitShot Zest review: Budget watch yes, but not for fitness freaks

The sub-Rs 3000 budget smartwatch market is packed with a lot of good watches lately and one of the newer ones is the Ambrane FitShot Zest. Priced at Rs 2,499, the watch looks  similar to other competitors in this segment and packs similar features as well.  So,should you pick the Fitshot Zest over those? Read our full review to find out.
Ambrane FitSHot Zest: What’s good?
The Ambrane Fitshot Zest has a metallic dial unlike a lot of plastic watches in this price segment and that does stand out. There is also a crown on the side that is not just a circular button, but a proper rotatable crown. Besides this, the straps on the watch are still replaceable TPU ones, but they feel a lot better on the skin after long hours of usage unlike other cheaper straps. The well-constructed body also gets an IP67 certification, which means it is safe against the elements.
One of my favourite parts of the watch is the software, on both the watch itself as well as the companion app. This is usually the one aspect where budget watches struggle, but that isn’t the case here.
You get a smooth, simple and easy-to-use user interface on the Ambrane FitShot Zest. For once, it doesn’t feel like an Apple Watch rip-off on the inside. The menus, icons, and the whole interface in general have their own design and navigating through it all is a breeze with no lagging.
The smartwatch has a bright panel, but it misses out on the AMOLED colours that some competitors feature. (Image Source: The Indian Express/ Chetan Nayak)
The rotatable crown is also neatly implemented into this user interface, and you can use it in a lot of places. For instance, when the quick settings panel is pulled down, you can change the brightness rotating the crown. You can also use it to scroll in the app drawer.
The companion app (Ambrane FitShot) is one of the more polished ones we have seen and has all its settings divided into three neat tabs. There are plenty of watchfaces and a custom watchface maker that is actually pretty cool. It allows you to actually choose your background, choice of hands/number fonts, numbering and even tiny fitness widgets, making your custom watchface truly your own and not just a simple clock face with your own wallpaper plastered in the back.
The companion app for the smartwatch has a neat interface. (Image Source: The Indian Express/ Chetan Nayak)
Bluetooth calling worked as expected on the watch and the mic reception was pretty good. We also heard audio well with the built-in speaker although the volume could have been a little louder. Like many other budget watches with Bluetooth calling, you get a dialer in the watch and the ability to save a few frequent contacts.
The custom watchface picker lets you customise many elements. (Image Source: The Indian Express/ Chetan Nayak)
The watch featured an average battery life of about 7-8 days on regular usage. But with continuous heart rate monitoring and a lot of Bluetooth calls, that number can also come down to 3-4 days, which is still not too bad.
What’s also really nice is the proprietary charger you get here that doesn’t have your average pill-shaped end with two golden magnetic pins that attach to the bottom of the watch. Instead you get a proper circular charging pad-like end to the cable. It still charges via two magnetic pins, but the circular pad just makes the experience less clumsy as the watch has a large-enough, flat surface to lay on when charging.

Ambrane FitShot Zest: What’s not good?
You get the usual bells and whles with a heart-rate monitor, blood pressure sensor, and sleep cycle monitor. The accuracy of these sensors isn’t the best here, and perhaps will need a software update before it can actually show usable data.
In the week that I spent with the watch, heart-rate data was often displayed very high (90-100) even though my heart rate usually sits around the 70-80 mark. The other sensors weren’t very great at accuracy either, including the sleep monitor which like many budget watches in the segment, also counted laying time as sleep time.
The fitness tracking options on the Ambrane FitSHot Zest aren’t the most accurate. (Image Source: The Indian Express/ Chetan Nayak)
The pedometer also detected extra steps that I never took and data was often 10%-20% more than the actual number of steps I took. While doctors and even brands don’t recommend you take smartwatch fitness numbers too seriously for medical purposes, I still expected a little more accuracy in what was otherwise a good package. Hopefully a firmware update can fix this.
Verdict: Should you get the Ambrane FitShot Zest?
The Ambrane FitShot Zest has a good design, great software and a neat companion app. It even packs Bluetooth calling at Rs 2,499. However, the inaccuracy of the fitness elements may make this watch a deal-breaker for some. We recommend you to go for the Ambrane FitShot Zest if you’re looking for a good looking watch in this price with nice software and a lot of customisability. However, if tracking your daily workouts is a priority, you should look at other options.