Some people may need to frequently measure their blood pressure because of their health condition, but it’s often a cumbersome experience, so they may get lazy, and not do it as often as needed. TW68 smart bracelet should make this easy, as it’s your typical fitness tracker with an heart rate monitor, but adding the capability to also measure blood pressure. It’s also very cheap, and I first found it on DealExtreme where it sells for just $24.
TW68 specifications:
- MCU – Nordic Semi NRF51822 ARM Cortex M0 micro-controller with 2.4 GHz radio
- Data Storage – 7 days detailed data, 23 days total data
- Connectivity – Bluetooth 4.0 LE
- Display – 0.49″ OLED display
- Sensors – PixArt-PAH8001EI blood pressure sensor; 6-axis Invensense-MPU6500 accelerometer and gyroscope
- Function Health tracker: Blood pressure measurement, Heart rate monitor, Pedometer, Sleep tracker
- Other functions: Call/Message notification, Fall reminder, Social sharing, Time, Alarm clock
- Misc – Vibrator, touch button
- Battery – 60 mAh LiPo battery good for 7 to 15 days; charge time: around 1h30; magnetic charging
- Dimensions – Watch face: 41.1 x 18.5 x 11.9mm; silicon strap: 240 x 20.8 x 11.9mm
- Weight – 25 grams
- IP Rating – IP65 (waterproof while washing hands)
The smartband is sold with its custom USB charging cable, and a user’s manual. The provided app is compatible with Android 4.4+ and iOS 7.1+ smartphones. I’ve been told that the blood pressure data is not shown directly on the watch, so you’ll need to initiate and read the measurement with your Android smartphone or iPhone, which is not as convenient as it could be.
This all still looks pretty good, but based on my disappointing experiences with optical heart rate monitors on most Chinese smartwatches and trackers, except possibly with Energympro EP-SH09 (not perfect but usable), I have serious doubts about the heart rate monitor accuracy, let alone the blood pressure claims. If you look at the product description on DX, the manufacturer claims the measurements are very close to professional equipments… But the embedded Pixart “blood pressure sensor” is actually an heart rate monitor, and the sensor manufacturer only claims heart rate capabilities, nothing about blood pressure.
Finally, if you look at the upcoming and FDA approved Omron BP6000 professional blood pressure watch it is designed with a small motor that will gently squeeze your wrist while taking measurements, something that TW68 won’t do. So it’s most likely a toy than anything else. The demo from Tinydeal below shows the accessories and some of the capabilities of the bracelet, except of course HRM and BP…
If you’d still like to play with it, beside DX, you can also buy it on GeekBuying, Aliexpress, Amazon US and Tinydeal for $22 to $30 shipped.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
Support CNX Software! Donate via cryptocurrencies, become a Patron on Patreon, or purchase goods on Amazon or Aliexpress
another device that’ll be unreadable in bright sunlight and only shows the time after i push some button.
So I’ll better stay with my Sony SWR30 and wait for Sony to produce some successor with pulse frequency sensor.
Looks like a cheeky Fitbit Hharge HR clone. Wonder whether they don’t get sued for it.
@Infinity85
They’ve launched TW64 module last year that looks exactly the same. Maybe they haven’t sold enough to get sued, or simply suing a Chinese company is not really feasible/practical for them.
This device is actually dangerous as vulnerable people may come to believe the BS claims and trust the results.
Unfortunately, most Chinese products come like this. When you take it up with the manufacturer/seller, they go incommunicado, or falsely assure that they “will get back with the answers”.
The internet is rife with experiences of people buying factories and businesses in China after getting impressed with their first visit (which is almost always an eye-wash) and get screwed over when they revisit China, only to see factories empty (in some instances even the window frames removed!), with the Chinese government implicating “foreigners” instead, for not paying taxes and employee wages. The managers/local owners escape to different cities and villages.
Local people have the option for retribution by hiring local muscle, but it’s out of the question for people outside the country with these retribution gangs themselves duping outsiders.
It’s unfortunate, but has now been happening for at least more than a decade.
It’s not difficult to see why trust level is rock bottom.
Wrist blood pressure monitors are not very accurate if they are not held at heart level.
Anyway to get an accurate bp picture measurements should be taken automatically over 24 hours.
You can get these monitors on aliexpress for $180 and they seem to be quite accurate.
Also you have to be motionless while the reading is taken otherwise the bp will vary so much that
the device will reject the result and try and get another reading in a few minutes time.