This $56 Casio watch is a retro step tracking dream

When I was successful precocious school, each I wanted was a Baby-G Casio ticker — partially due to the fact that it came successful amusive colors, partially due to the fact that each the chill kids had one. When I yet convinced my ma to get maine one, I loved it to pieces until its artillery died ages later. It’s been implicit 20 years since then, but arsenic Y2K manner invades my TikTok algorithm, I deliberation a batch astir however my watches utilized to conscionable beryllium watches that looked nice. Sometimes I consciousness similar I privation to spell backmost to those days... past I retrieve that the main crushed I got into smarter watches was for measurement tracking.

And past I recovered retired astir the Casio WS-B1000, which costs a specified $55.95, syncs with your telephone for the time, and tracks steps. What!?

It’s not unfathomable that today’s Casio watches could beryllium much than the analog watches of my youth. And yet it hadn’t occurred to maine to check. Never caput that I reviewed a more rugged Casio Wear OS watch a fewer years agone — that was a chunky multisport ticker astatine a clip erstwhile the Wear OS conflict autobus had a perpetual level tire. But aft a spot of digging, it turns retired that Casio has modernized a fewer of its watches to person a spot much fittingness tracking functionality portion keeping that classical Casio design.

The WS-B1000 is 1 specified watch, though it keeps things precise simple. There’s nary optical bosom complaint monitor, OLED display, fancy wellness sensors, contactless payments, oregon LTE connectivity. This instrumentality has Bluetooth to link with your phone, an accelerometer to way steps, your classical stopwatch and timer functions, alarms, determination reminders, and an LCD surface with a backlight button. In different words, conscionable capable smarts to number arsenic a fittingness tracker — but barely.

A fewer years ago, that diagnostic acceptable astir apt wouldn’t person appealed to me. But these days, I’m astatine a constituent successful my fittingness travel wherever I’m recovering from intelligence and carnal burnout from prolonged overtraining. It is simply a frustratingly agelong process, and to my surprise, the happening that’s kept maine going are devices and apps that prioritize remainder and simplicity implicit “going hard.” Many existent smartwatches hurl progressive minutes, lasting goals, calorie pain goals, and different targets astatine you — truthful galore goals for you to deed regular that it tin beryllium overwhelming. So the information that the WS-B1000 tin only way steps oregon enactment arsenic a stopwatch? That’s a plus.

And you cognize what? The 3 weeks I tested the WS-B1000 were delightful. I’d forgotten however bully it is to acceptable a elemental measurement extremity and effort to conscionable it. With this watch, I could conscionable look down and say, “Uh-oh! It’s 4PM and I’m astatine 2,000 steps. Time to spell for a walk.” If I wanted to cheque my history, I could spell to the Casio app and presumption a unsmooth log. There was thing fancy, and that’s conscionable however I wanted it. Accuracy-wise, I was mostly wrong 500–1,000 steps of my Apple Watch Ultra — which is simply a just borderline of mistake fixed they were worn connected antithetic arms and I speech with my hands. But if you’re opting for thing similar this, the wide extremity is to simply determination more, and this is conscionable good for that.

There were different small things I appreciated, too. Because the ticker doesn’t request the sensors, chips, and elephantine artillery of a smartwatch, it’s remarkably airy to wear. It lone weighs 36 grams, and for once, I didn’t look similar I had a elephantine hockey puck strapped to my wrist. I besides ne'er had to interest astir charging the dang thing, either — it runs connected a CR2016 coin compartment artillery that lasts approximately 2 years.

The neat portion astir the Casio app is that it automatically syncs the clip truthful you don’t person to beryllium determination fiddling with buttons to reset the clip oregon acceptable alarms. (I’m terrible astatine that connected older watches; I tin ne'er retrieve however to bash it oregon into which drawer I stuffed the idiosyncratic manual.) That worldly you tin programme from your phone.

Obviously, this isn’t going to beryllium the ticker for folks who privation the astir retired of their smartwatch. But if, similar me, you would similar an occasional interruption from the fittingness tech grind oregon the perfect of chill, low-tech fittingness appeals to you, this is an fantabulous option. And mightiness I punctual you that it’s conscionable $56?! Most basal trackers successful this scope thin to beryllium fittingness bands, whereas this is simply a cute, retro-chic Casio watch.

Alas, I lone person 2 wrists, and arsenic a wearables reviewer, I person to rotate retired the Casio for the adjacent smartwatch successful my investigating queue. But I person a beauteous bully feeling that, successful betwixt products, this is the ticker I’ll beryllium reaching for.