I wanted to like the MyMonX Original Smart Wearable. But the best I can manage is lukewarm “it’s okay” type sentiments.
The smartwatch promised some good stuff, from ECGs and activity monitoring to blood-oxygen levels and blood-pressure monitoring. But it was the ability to monitor blood glucose in a non-invasive way that caught my eye. That is something that none of the main wearables makers have introduced yet, and it would be an interesting one to add to the already substantial data that you can get from watches to help build a better picture of your health.
That is, of course, assuming it is accurate. The MyMonX watch uses light to measure your blood sugar, and although it is clear that it is not a medical device, you are aiming to get a general idea of trends for your body.
But there is a reason why blood glucose monitors are attached to your body; that is the most accurate way of monitoring it. And unfortunately, the MyMonX watch does not really live up to the promises.
HMD Fusion review: A decent and expandable Android phone at a good price from a Nokia-linked brand
Twinkly Tree Topper review: Choose a different look atop your Christmas tree for every day of the season
Samsung Galaxy Ring review: Subtle health tracking that actually works
Ezviz RE4 Plus review: Efficient budget robot cleaner but can suffer from wanderlust under the wrong conditions
[ Budget-friendly ear buds best-suited to Galaxy usersOpens in new window ]
The watch itself is fairly standard design: a black metal watch, with a 1.3-inch colour display that is touch sensitive. The technology isn’t quite what you would get from some of the rival smartwatches, such as last year’s Samsung Galaxy Watch 5; you get a 240 x 240 IPS TFT display, which is more muted, but it works.
You get a single button to control the functions, and a flat metal sensor that is used to take the ECG readings.
Swipe though the screens and you can see the various health functions, ending with the blood glucose monitoring. You get periodic readings on the watch that are synced with the app, so you can see your blood glucose on your phone without having to constantly swipe at the watch.
Unfortunately, the execution just isn’t that good. To see how accurate the blood glucose monitoring was, I tested the watch while wearing a continuous glucose monitor, namely the Abbott Libre. While I wasn’t expecting the two to match up exactly, I did expect that the general trends would look similar – a spike after eating a sweet food, or a lower reading overnight.
The watch measured some fairly bland, similar readings, and rarely recorded more than a blip, on either the watch or the data sent to the app. The Libre sensor, on the other hand, showed some significant spikes on its own app. One of these two is clearly less accurate, and it isn’t hard to figure out which one.
That is when it works at all. Eventually, the watch stopped registering anything on the blood glucose monitor at times, and despite resetting the watch on multiple occasions, it was a toss-up as to whether the blood glucose monitor would show anything at all when I checked in. I didn’t expect this to be as accurate as a medical device; I did however think it would be easier to use than it was, and more reliable.
There aren’t enough options for different sports – ping pong is one mystifyingly detailed option, while more common sports are absent
But there are other annoyances. The software isn’t the most user friendly either, either on the watch or on the app. There isn’t too much to swipe through on the screen, so you can get a quick glance at health metrics. But right at the very end there is a giant QR code to direct you to further information and the app, and it is a constant feature even after you have installed the app and synced with the watch. It is a mild annoyance but an unnecessary, jarring presence.
But there were other annoyances. The software isn’t the most user friendly, either on the watch or on the app. There isn’t too much to swipe through on the screen, so you can get a quick glance at health metrics. But right at the very end there is a giant QR code to direct you to further information and the app, and it is a constant feature even after you have installed the app and synced with the watch. It is a mild annoyance but an unnecessary, jarring presence.
Sport tracking is also limited, especially compared with other smartwatches on the market at a similar price. There aren’t enough options for different sports – ping pong is one mystifyingly detailed option, while more common sports are absent.
Good
Battery life is decent, at up to a week, depending on what it is that you are using it for. It is sturdy too, surviving a few knocks.
The watch monitors all the usual health metrics – blood oxygen, activity, heart rate – and holds out the promise of more.
Bad
As previously highlighted, the most unusual of the health monitoring options doesn’t work consistently, and when it does, it isn’t the most accurate. MyMonX doesn’t claim to be a medical device, but if you were thinking of buying this watch to monitor blood glucose for any reason, you probably should wait until the kinks are worked out.
Sports tracking is also more limited – unless you are a cyclist, jogger or ping-pong fanatic.
The rest
You can sign up for the premium subscription to get additional health insights. However, most people would just prefer the promised ones they paid for actually worked consistently.
Verdict
For this price, there are better smartwatches out there.
