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Kospet T3 Ultra test and review / smartwatch

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Published on: 02-04-2024 / Modified: 02-04-2024
Kospet markets rugged connected watches, which are designed to withstand all kinds of shocks. Whether you're sporty, clumsy or have a job that puts watches to the test, you're sure to find what you need at Kospet. I've just finished testing the Kospet Tank T2, and a new model is now available. This new Kospet Tank T3 Ultra has a slight resemblance to the previous model, but it's actually quite a different watch. The T3 Ultra takes up the round format with a metal-look case, but is equipped with an autonomous GPS chip that will open the door to a host of other functionalities.

The Kospet Tank T3 Ultra is on sale for just over €100 on the official website:

Kospet Tank T3 Ultra

Get a €14 discount by using the code KOLNPUT in your shopping basket

This watch is similar to the Amazfit T-Rex, which costs around a hundred euros more.

If you'd like to discover all the new Kospet models, please visit the page below:

Kospet Tank T3 Ultra

Manufacturer web site:
https://www.kospet.com

Price Kospet Tank T3 Ultra

The list below shows the prices for the Kospet Tank T3 Ultra 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

March 29, 2024: receipt of the Kospet Tank T3 Ultra, the test can begin. A watch test usually takes several weeks, as I don't just present the watch, I also test the various sports modes and battery life. Kospet watches generally have good autonomy, so I may need a few weeks to see if this new model also has good autonomy.

Waarom deze smartwatch?

I tested my first Kospet watch 3 or 4 years ago. At the time, nobody knew about this brand, and when I wore one on my wrist, I was often questioned as to whether it was a toy watch or a children's watch. Today, I'm still being questioned, but no longer with the same reaction: Kospet watches have grown in maturity and have nothing to do with the watches of 3 or 4 years ago.

The Kospet T2 I tested earlier this year managed to retain its rugged identity while approaching the aesthetics of a more traditional watch. The T3 Ultra picks up on the same basics, adding a few new features without blowing the price out of the water. And that's where Kospet's strength lies, in applying a strategy like Xiaomi's: the lowest price for quality equivalent to the competition.

I think I've tested a dozen watches from this brand, so I've got a lot of distance to evaluate each new model.

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 have come a long way in recent years, and the same goes for the packaging. The first watch I tested was packaged in a completely anonymous white cardboard box, akin to an everyday consumer product you'd find in any electronics store

The box contains the watch, a soft silicone strap, a recharging station (the same as the previous generation), a manual, a protective screen and a cleaning kit for the screen before placing the protective screen

First configuration

To use the watch, you need to link it to a smartphone via Bluetooth. To do this, you need to download the Kospet Fit application from the Play Store or Apple Store. The application detects the watch fairly quickly, and from then on it's just a few clicks away. The app will allow you to configure the watch to suit your tastes, such as choosing the dial, setting permissions for notifications and configuring the watch's behavior.

So Kospet has its own app, and that's a good thing, because until last year, you had to use other apps to control the watch, and compatibility wasn't always optimal.

Finish

Kospet watches are available in 2 formats: rectangular (M range) and round (T range). The Kospet T3 Ultra is therefore classified as a round watch. It features some of the same elements as the Kospet T2, with a metallic-effect bezel and large buttons on the sides.

The Kospet T2 was delivered with a metal strap with lamellae, which required a little adaptation before use (adding or removing elements), and meant that it was not recommended to tighten it too much. The Kospet T3 Ultra is not equipped with a metal bracelet, and I think this is a good thing if you're a sportsman. The metal bracelet is undoubtedly more aesthetic but less practical than a silicone strap that you can tighten to the maximum, and it also avoids having a gap between the sensor on the back of the watch and your wrist.



On the back we find the usual sensor for measuring heart rate or blood pressure, I think it's the same sensor as the Kospet T2 as the measurements I took are quite similar.



The watch has 4 buttons instead of 2 on the previous model. The buttons on the right allow you to turn the watch on/off or go back, while the buttons on the left allow you to navigate up and down without having to touch the screen. I hadn't seen this before with Kospet, but aside from the aesthetic aspect that makes the watch more massive, I didn't find it super practical. I'm right-handed and manipulating the buttons on the left means that part of my hand will cover the screen if I'm not careful, so I much prefer to use the screen to navigate through the watch's menus.



If I compare the latest models I've tested, you can clearly see the brand's evolution. From left to right, there's the Kospet Tank S1, the Kospet Tank M2, the Kospet T3 Ultra and the Kospet T2

Connectivity

The watch connects to your phone via Bluetooth, enabling it to interact with your phone to receive calls or notifications, for example.

Battery range

Performance evaluation will no doubt take a few weeks. After just over a week's use, the battery has gone from 75% to 56% with regular use, including 2h30 to 3h of sport. I do not allow the watch to be switched on automatically, as this considerably extends its autonomy.

Screen quality

The Kospet Tank T3 Ultra is equipped with a 1.43-inch Amoled screen with a resolution of 466x466 pixels. For a generation or two now, Kospet has been equipping its watches with a high-resolution Amoled screen, and this is clearly one of the brand's strengths. Xiaomi did the same with its smartphones, being the first to offer affordable amoled screens. The Kospet Tank T3 Ultra's screen is of good quality, offering excellent legibility and sufficient brightness for use on a clear day. In direct sunlight, readability will be a little less good, but you'll just have to orientate your wrist a little differently

Screen settings will also have a fairly significant impact on battery life. If you switch on the watch with wrist movements and set the brightness to maximum, battery life will easily be divided by 2. You can also set your usual sleep times to prevent the watch from switching on in the middle of the night. This has almost become a reflex when I test a watch, as this type of watch is bright enough to wake me up at night when I move my wrist

The screen is perfectly responsive if you don't affix the protective screen supplied in the box. If you want to protect your screen with this plastic film, it will lose some of its responsiveness.

Features

The Kospet Tank T3 Ultra offers a host of possibilities, taking the basics of other Kospet watches and adding a GPS chip to make it completely autonomous for your outdoor sporting activities

Features list:

- make and receive calls (in sync with phone)

- sports (many sports available)

- measure heart rate

- measure sleep quality

- measure oxygen in blood

- measure stress level

- music player (in sync with phone)

- voice assistant (in sync with phone)

- weather (data downloaded from phone)

- Compass

- Altimeter / Barometer

- Breathing exercises

- Notifications (to be configured in the app)

- Stopwatch

- Alarm

- Timer

- Calculator

- Phone camera control

- Flashlight

- Phone location

- Women's health

So this watch is pretty complete, but it uses a proprietary operating system, This means you can't install other applications, and to get the most out of it you need to synchronize it with your phone. For GPS, it's perfectly autonomous, but it must first download satellite updates before it can locate the GPS signal. This means you need to do this before using the watch outdoors without your phone.

Measurements

Heart rate

I performed several types of heart rate measurements, comparing the results with those of my Polar H10 belt. I walked, ran and cycled. The conclusion is the same for all the sports I've tried: heart rate measurement is unreliable. This was also the case with previous models.

Examples

Indoor cycling

1h04 session

Polar H10: 119 on average, 134 max

Kospet: 95 on average, 119 max

Outdoor cycling

46 min session

Polar H10: 144 on average, 158 max

Kospet: 89 on average, 106 max

Running

12-minute session

Polar: 131 on average, 151 max

Kospet: 103 on average, 119 max

The measurements are therefore unreliable even on longer runs and in situations where the wrist does not move very much

Sleep measurement

The watch detects waking periods better than the previous model. However, if you watch TV after 10pm, the watch will consider that you have started sleeping. This is the case for the vast majority of watches, but in the previous model, this waking time was not counted as part of the night's sleep.

Apart from these periods of wakefulness at the start of the evening/night, the watch measures total sleep time quite well. The length of the cycles is quite similar to what I've measured with other watches. It is possible to configure the watch so that sleep is only counted from the time of your choice, allowing you to correct the understanding of periods of wakefulness at the start of sleep

GPS accuracy

For GPS to work properly, you need to update the satellites from the Kospet Fit application. GPS tracking works really well, and I even found that on a wide enough road, the watch was able to tell me which side of the road I was on. So positioning is pretty good for a watch. The map on the Kospit Fit app is fairly accurate too, but I only tested the watch under clear skies, so I don't know if the accuracy will be as good in a forest.

The speed measurement is based on GPS data, and given the accuracy of the measurements, I thought the speed would also be good, but that's not the case. I got an average speed of 43km/h on my bike course and even if it's theoretically possible, I'm not good enough to ride at that speed over a distance of 20km. My measured top speed was 97km/h and obviously that's not possible either.



Barometer and altimeter

The atmospheric pressure displayed is quite close to the values of the nearest weather station to me (about 15km). At the time of writing I have an atmospheric pressure of 997 hPA while the weather station measures 1003 hPA, so it's pretty good

The altitude, on the other hand, is rather fanciful because where I live is between 50 and 75m above sea level, but the altitude displayed by the watch was over 100m, which is impossible

Blood oxygen

I've always obtained values between 98 and 100%, so I imagine these values are correct

App

I've already tested the Kospet Fit application on several occasions, and I haven't noticed any new features with this watch, but I do think that the sports activity tracking has improved a lot. In the previous version, it wasn't easy to find the history of sports sessions, nor was it easy to obtain details of measurements. This time around, all recorded sessions are in the same place, and as the watch collects more information (notably from the GPS), the screens are also much more detailed.

The downloadable screens are quite numerous, with something for every taste. You can also set permissions for notifications, synchronize your contacts, configure the watch's behavior

The Kospet Fit app is pretty complete and apart from a few translation errors, it works pretty well overall

Compatibility

The Kospet Fit app runs on Android and iOS.

Operating system

The operating system of the Kospet Tank M3 Ultra is similar to what I've seen on other watches from this brand, but there are a few notable differences.
The main screen is always configurable, which is the same on all the models I've tested. The screen on the left gives access to notifications; this screen is usually at the bottom of the home screen. You can read your notifications here, but not reply to them.

The screen below the home screen is a new type of screen, taking up the concept of widgets by bringing up the information available in each of the watch's functions. In this way, you can see your heart rate, sleep time or the latest information from the applications you've used. This screen is customizable: you can choose the display order and the presence of widgets.

On the right-hand screen, you can access all the applications, which can be displayed in several different ways. This list is not customizable; it simply contains all the available functions and settings for configuring the watch

On the top screen, you'll find the usual shortcuts for configuring the watch or connecting it to your phone. This screen is partially customizable

The few changes made by Kospet are quite positive, especially as customization allows you to bring up the most common functions without having to go through all the menus to get to them

Encoutered bugs

Not yet available / tested

Compare Kospet Tank T3 Ultra with the others

Test / Review conclusion

Not yet available / tested

Strengths

Battery life

Screen quality

Ease of use

GPS accuracy

Customization

Solidity

Numerous features

Weaknesses

Heart rate measurement

Travel speed measurement