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⌚Kospet Tank T2 : test / review

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Published on: 30-01-2024 / Modified: 30-01-2024
It's been a long time since I've tested a watch, and I have the impression that the connected watch craze has faded a little. 2 years ago, I was contacted by Chinese watch manufacturers almost every week, and today the vast majority of these brands have disappeared. Kospet has survived and even grown over time to establish itself in the Chinese connected watch segment. The first models had a certain innocence and immaturity about them, but Kospet has now entered adulthood with increasingly accomplished watches, and I'm now going to test the Kospet Tank T2

I've tested around ten Kospet watches, and I've gone through just about every variation of the "Tank" range. These watches were originally designed for shock resistance, with an assertive military design, but this new Kospet Tank T2 has nothing in common with the first Kospet Tank I tested. Looking more like a traditional watch, it reminds me of a Festina watch I had a few years ago, and an untrained eye could be fooled

Introductory offer

The Kospet Tank T2 is available on the official website for just over €100 and comes in 4 colors. I tested the "silver" version. I have a promo code to reduce the price by 15% (KOLNYT215)

If you don't want to have to enter the code yourself, first click on this link:

Activate promo code

You'll be redirected to the home page, but the promo code will automatically be added to your shopping cart as shown in the following image:



Then go directly to the Kospet Tank T2 page:

Kospet Tank T2 / kospet.com

Make the most of it, as I don't know how long this code will be valid.

Manufacturer web site:
https://s.zbanx.com/r/80tjhNqOHxmH

Price Kospet Tank T2

The list below shows the prices for the Kospet Tank T2 from more than 50 sites around the world. If you are not satisfied with any price, you can subscribe to a price alert to be the first to be notified when the price drops.

Timeline

January 30, 2024: I receive the watch, the test can begin. Although the watch test is fairly quick, I need time to exercise and test the battery in real-life conditions. I'll probably need at least 2 weeks to complete the test.

Waarom deze smartwatch?

I mainly test products that are useful in my everyday life and watches or smartphones are clearly part of this. Originally, the watch was only used to tell the time and while this remains an important element, watches are now useful for sports, sleep tracking and quick access to notifications. These are non-vital things, but I can't imagine going back to a traditional watch that only tells the time

I've tested around thirty watches over the last 3 years, both entry-level and top-of-the-range (e.g. Galaxy Watch). Kospet started out in the entry-level segment with watches featuring light finishes and fairly basic functions. Heart rate measurements, for example, were not very reliable, but this began to change about 1 year ago. The level of finish has gone up a notch, but so has reliability.

The Kospet Tank T2 is undoubtedly the watch with the brand's most accomplished level of finish, and I'm curious to see if they've also improved everything else to offer a complete watch and break out of the rugged watch segment with a great product.

Structure of my tests

I test products according to a pre-established structure (see below) to provide you with maximum information. Unfortunately, this takes a lot of time. Unlike some sites where products are tested on a single day, I use the products I test for a minimum of a few weeks and sometimes even a few months. If the test is not complete at the time of your visit, I invite you to come back later or ask your question in the comment section below.

Unpacking

Kospet watches are packaged in boxes of similar size and format. These boxes are beautifully illustrated to showcase the product while effectively protecting its contents. The Kospet Tank T2 box is packed with accessories and not that it's necessary but using a bracelet of this type does require a few accessories. With a silicone strap, you can simply tighten or loosen the strap to adapt it to your wrist but with a lamellar strap like this one, the strap is not flexible. To lengthen or shorten it, you need a few tools, and you'll find everything you need in the box

The box also contains protective stickers for the screen, a silicone strap if the basic strap doesn't suit you, a strap extension, plus the usual product presentations and manual

First configuration

When you start up the watch for the first time, you'll need to associate it with your smartphone, as use without a smartphone doesn't seem possible. Kospet has developed its own application for associating the watch with the phone, simply by launching the watch's detection and then associating it with the watch via Bluetooth. The application can only work with one watch at a time, which may seem obvious, but as I have several watches of this brand, I'm obliged to cut the association of one watch in order to associate another. I find this a bit of a pity, as other brands allow the use of several watches in the same application.

Once linked to your smartphone, you'll need to configure the authorizations and decide what can be shared with the watch, such as authorizations for notifications or the ability to make calls directly from the watch. There is, however, a limitation for contacts: the watch can only receive around 70 contacts. If you don't specify which ones, the watch will choose the first 70 in alphabetical order

For the rest, it's very similar to what I've seen on other Kospet watches. Configuration is easy, but don't forget to set the authorized applications, otherwise you won't receive anything on the watch.

Finish

The Kospet Tank T2 is the first Kospet watch that could be mistaken for a traditional watch. The format, bracelet and buttons are quite different from other Kospet models. The "silver" model I tested really gives the impression of being metallic, but this is not the case, or the proportion of metal is quite low. The watch is clearly heavier than the other models I tested, but it's still considerably lighter than my Swatch and Festina watches



The watch is equipped with a 1.43-inch Amoled screen. With this type of screen, contrast will be much better than with an LCD and as each pixel can be controlled separately without the intervention of peripheral lighting, this watch should have very good battery life. In any case, the screen is very clear and legible, with a resolution of 466x466 pixels; I have no information on the lighting level



The metal-effect bracelet is a new feature for Kospet, and gives a completely different impression of the watch. The dial uses the same material and color to ensure a certain homogeneity. I didn't have to adapt the strap size to my wrist, as I don't think I have an oversized wrist despite my height. So I suppose this basic configuration should suit a large number of users without having to change the size of the bracelet

Although I don't want to create controversy, this type of bracelet will certainly be more successful with a male audience.



On the back are the usual sensors, notably for heart rate, which emit a small green light when they are working.



On the sides are the usual two buttons, one for turning the watch on/off and the other for accessing the sport mode with a single click. The power button can also be used to go backwards, in addition to the return movement on the screen.

Here's what the first Kospet Tank I tested looked like:



I think the evolution is pretty clear and this Tank T2 marks a step towards greater maturity for the brand. Maybe in 5 years' time I'll find the Tank T2 lacking in maturity, but the difference between this first Kospet and the T2 is quite clear.

Connectivity

The watch connects to your phone via Bluetooth, but you can easily use the watch without this connection after synchronizing it at least once. Among other things, using Bluetooth will enable you to receive notifications or synchronize the watch's data more regularly. If you don't need to synchronize quickly, you can deactivate the watch's Bluetooth connection to save battery life.

Battery range

When I received the watch, the battery was at 70% capacity. A week later, I'm at 57% having done at least an hour's sport, but I deactivate the screen when I move my wrist. Autonomy is therefore quite promising. I'll update this paragraph after a few weeks' use.

Screen quality

With a resolution of 466x466 pixels and a size of 1.43 inches, the screen has a good pixel density - you really have to look very closely to start making out individual pixels. The screen is therefore capable of displaying small characters without loss of legibility, and as the dials are configurable, you'll always find something to suit you.

The screen is an amoled display, which means that contrast will be much better than with an LCD screen. So there's no peripheral glare from backlighting, and black is perfectly black.

Features

The Kospet Tank T2 watch has the same basic features as other Kospet watches in the same price range. This watch is very complete, as it has the basic functions found in many watches, but it also allows you to manage your calls. By call management, I'm not talking about a sim or esim card, but about synchronization with your phone, enabling you to make and receive calls directly on the watch. So you can dial a number from your watch

Here's an overview of the watch's functions:

- measurement of daily activity

- measurement of sleep

- measurement of heart rate

- measurement of blood oxygen level

- measurement of blood pressure

- weather

- telephony: access to last calls, access to contacts, access to dialing

- sport mode: many sports available

- receive notifications and messages (but no ability to reply to them)

- music player (control Spotify on your phone)

- alarm clock

- timer/stopwatch

- flashlight

- phone location

- phone camera release

- calculator

- breathing exercise

- voice assistant (linked to your phone's)

Contact synchronization is possible, but limited to 70 contacts in alphabetical order. It is therefore preferable to choose the most common contacts to avoid ending up with a list that is too limited

Measurements

Heart rate measurement

To compare the reliability of a watch's heart rate measurements, I use a Polar belt. I then do some sport with the belt and the watch at the same time to be able to compare the data

Session 1 - spinning bike - 30 minutes

Kospet: 104 (average rate) / 145 (maximum rate) / 248 calories

Polar: 117 (average rate) / 131 (maximum rate) / 332 calories

Sessions 2 - outdoor bike - 37 minutes

Kospet: 108 (average frequency) / 162 (maximum frequency) / 333 calories

Polar: 147 (average frequency) / 170 (maximum frequency) / 615 calories

I've done other cycling sessions that have resulted in the same result. So the watch isn't precise enough to track your sporting performance, and I think this is partly down to the type of strap. With a silicone strap, you can tighten the band quite a bit without being hindered in your movements. That's not the case with a metal strap, you'll always have to leave a small gap between the skin and the strap, which I think could explain the lack of reliability.

Sleep measurement

I can't compare sleep cycles with a medical device, but I can compare the duration and number of awakenings measured by the watch. As a general rule, sleep duration is fairly reliable, provided you're not in a resting position after 10pm, because if I'm watching a film and I'm calm, the watch will consider that I'm taking a nap. It's the same for all watches, the absence of movement after 10pm will be interpreted as sleep

Most of the watches I test show that I have a deep sleep deficiency, and this is also the case with this watch. The sleep phases alternate at regular intervals, but the watch doesn't seem to detect short awakenings. Over the last few days, I've woken up several times without getting out of bed, but the watch never detected these awakenings, it considered that I was in a light sleep phase.

With a little hindsight, I can see that the sleep phases seem to be fairly accurate, because depending on the number of phases, I can clearly feel a difference when I wake up. You need 4 cycles of deep sleep to get a good night's sleep; if I only have 3, my fatigue is more pronounced.

Measuring oxygen in the blood

I don't have a medical device to compare this type of measurement either, but as I always obtain a score between 97 and 99%, I imagine that these data are correct.

Measuring blood pressure

I compared the measurement between a medical device and the watch. With the medical device, I obtained a blood pressure of 132/77



With the watch, I measured a blood pressure of 131/81 at the same time



Although these values are quite close, you should always be cautious about using a watch to measure blood pressure. I think that if your blood pressure is too high or too low, the watch should be able to detect it, but probably with a deviation from reality

Measuring the number of steps

I did several tests on hard surfaces and with regular movement, I obtained a higher number of steps than reality, but with a fairly moderate deviation of around 5 to 10%. Step rate and the resulting vibrations often play a major role in the quality of watch measurements. So don't take these values literally, but rather as an indication of the difference between a day when you've walked a lot and a day when you've rested.

App

The Kospet Fit application has already been around for over a year, and is organized in a similar way to other similar applications. The home screen groups together the major indicators such as heart rate, number of steps, calories, sleep, etc. This screen is customizable, so you can define which information is important to you. This screen is customizable, so you can define what information is important to you

Then there's a screen for starting a sports session from the phone, which is especially useful if you're doing sport outdoors, as here you can combine the watch's data with the phone's GPS data. You can also start a sports session directly from the watch, but you'll still need the phone for GPS tracking. If you start a sports session from the watch, the data will be sent to the app the next time you synchronize, but I find that retrieving this data is not easy. You actually have to access the history in the sports section and then browse through all the sports until you find the sport you had chosen on the watch. I haven't found a place that consolidates all sports sessions without having to choose the type of sport. Fortunately, it's possible to remove sports that don't interest you, so you don't have to go through the list every time

You can then personalize your watch both in terms of its appearance and behavior. Numerous dials are available to adapt the watch's display to your needs. You can also set the watch's behavior, for example, defining the type of notification, the frequency of measurements, etc. Don't forget to enable notifications from the app, it's one of the most frequent questions I get about watches. To receive notifications on your watch, you need to agree to the watch receiving the notifications, but you also need to be sure that the application at the source of the notifications (e.g. YouTube, Whatsapp,...) is authorized to communicate with the watch

For the moment you can't manage more than one watch at a time in the application, but Kospet tells me that this feature will be available in a future update. This in itself isn't a big problem, as apart from profiles like mine where I need to test several watches, most buyers will only have one at a time

The last tab is only for managing your Kospet account and possibly contacting support

Compatibility

The Kospet Tank T2 watch can be used on all phones compatible with the Kospet Fit application.

Operating system

The Kospet Tank T2's operating system is proprietary, which means you can't install new applications - everything is integrated into a uniform system.
The home screen can be customized either by choosing one of the dials available on the watch or by using the Kospet Fit application. On the horizontal axis on the left, you can access the various widgets available. You can choose the ones that interest you from the following: daily activity, sleep, heart rate, blood oxygen, blood pressure, weather, media player, telephony and sport. The screens are beautifully illustrated, and the quality of the screen reinforces the sense of quality of each screen.

On the left of the horizontal axis, you have the option of accessing all the watch's functionalities, as well as choosing the type of interface. There are 3 or 4 models (list or graphic) to choose from in the watch configuration screen

On the vertical axis, the top screen features the usual shortcuts and access to settings, while the bottom screen displays notifications according to what you've configured in the application.

Encoutered bugs

Not yet available / tested

Compare Kospet Tank T2 with the others

Test / Review conclusion

The Kospet Tank T2 stands out from the other Kospet watches I've tested so far, mainly thanks to its metal-effect construction. The design of a watch obviously doesn't make it any more effective, but it's an important criterion for this kind of product, since all watches should tell the time correctly, so the outward appearance will play a big part in the subjective choice of a watch. On this criterion, I think Kospet has done a good job, because with this design Kospet can sow doubt and make you think you're wearing a traditional watch. If, during the test period, several people ask me if I've got a new watch, that's a good sign

Beyond the purely aesthetic part, this watch has a good, bright, high-contrast screen. The menus are well organized and the legibility of the small characters is really good. If you've already used a connected watch (even from another brand), you'll have no trouble finding your feet with this Kospet. All the functions you'd expect from a watch are present, though it may lack an autonomous GPS chip, but watches equipped with one are generally more expensive.

I analyzed the relevance of the data collected by the watch, and found some good things and some not-so-good things. On the good side, I was positively surprised by the sleep measurement, because even if it's not scientific, I find that sleep phases seem to be correctly detected. Waking phases, on the other hand, are not. The heart rate measurement is not precise enough to use this watch to measure your sporting performance. I was also positively surprised by the blood pressure measurements. Watches are not reliable tools for measuring blood pressure, but the results I got with this watch were pretty close to what I got with a real pressure-measuring device.

I think what's going to trigger the purchase of this watch is its outward appearance and then the few other features that might interest you. If you're looking for a watch to measure your sports performance, this may not be the right watch for you. On the other hand, if you want to track your notifications, make or receive calls, have a simplified follow-up of your daily activities, have a good battery life... in that case, this Kospet Tank T2 will certainly meet your needs!

Strengths

Design/Aesthetics

Autonomy

Screen quality

Ease of use

Ability to receive and make calls

Number of features

Number of sports available

Weaknesses

Measurement reliability for athletes

Awake phase detection

No built-in GPS