I’ve never been a big fan of smartwatches for the simple reason that I had never felt the need to buy one. A couple of months ago, a friend gave me an Apple Watch 8 to play with and I started to understand how they could be helpful, particularly for monitoring exercise or health. However, Apple Watches aren’t cheap so is there a way of getting the benefits of a smartwatch without paying a fortune to Cupertino?

The Tozo S6 is a smartwatch that has many of the functions that Apple’s watches offer but at a much lower price. The S6 costs just $50, which is a small sum for a watch with IP68 water resistance and an Ultra HD AMOLED screen and a rugged waterproof strap for exercising.

This advanced wearable is designed primarily as a health and fitness monitoring device for tracking fitness levels and helping anyone who wants to take steps to improve their health. With a comprehensive suite of health-tracking features, including real-time heart rate monitoring. The S6 continuously tracks your heart rate, giving insights into cardiovascular health and helping users tweak their gym and exercise routines.

Alongside exercise, getting adequate sleep is an important aspect of health. The S6 has a sleep analysis function that provides valuable insights into sleep patterns, producing detailed reports that could improve sleep quality and boost overall health.

Another health metric that the S6 can monitor is the wearer’s blood oxygen level. The watch can track blood oxygen levels by ensuring they are staying within a healthy range, especially during physical activity or when at high altitude levels.

Designed primarily for active lifestyles, the S6 offers more than 100 sports modes with specific settings for running, cycling, swimming and other sports. The S6 can accurately track these different activities, generating enough data to help the wearer reach their fitness goals.

Most importantly, the Tozo S6 has built-in GPS for tracking running, walking or cycling routes without the need to take a smartphone. And because the watch is so much lighter and smaller than a smartphone, it’s much more convenient for outdoor workouts and hiking. There are even built-in activity reminders that will nag the user to stay motivated with nudges when they need to move and start exercising again, providing the impetus to stay with health goals throughout the day.

While it’s fair to say the Tozo S6 smartwatch doesn’t quite feel quite as well built as an Apple Watch Ultra, it’s not far off the kind of quality you need for a watch that will see plenty of action. The sleek and contemporary design includes customizable watch faces that can be set up to suit any look or occasion. Users can switch between a classic watch face design and more contemporary looks to suit the mood.

One problem with fitness watches is their battery life. These small devices with their advanced computing power and high-resolution display drain a lot of power from the built-in rechargeable battery. However, the Tozo S6 can function for up to 15 days on a single charge, although real-world use will be less than that, it’s still longer than many watches and lets users to track their health and fitness metrics without having to replenish the battery every day or so.

Staying connected with the S6’s smart features lets users keep themselves informed throughout the day with notifications and alerts for things like calls, messages and apps. And for those who like to enjoy listening to music while they are working out, the S6 can control the music stored or streamed from a paired smartphone. There is also access to favorite smartphone apps with syncing options to other health and fitness platforms letting users track fitness progress over time with the S6.

The Tozo S6 is easy to use and the companion app offers an excellent way of using the watch with a paired iPhone or Android device. The interface is like Apple’s own WatchOS and navigating through apps and notifications is straightforward, although it’s easy to dive deeper into the stats by using the Tozo companion smartphone app. Users can also personalize settings, track progress and set defined fitness goals to ensure they stay motivated.

Verdict: If you are looking to dip a toe into the waters of the fitness watch market, there’s no better way of trying it out than the Tozo S6. For the money, this watch is hard to beat. It works well with iPhones and fitness platforms, plus it has cardiac monitoring and even built-in GPS so you can track a cycle route or running circuit. The battery life is good and the customization is excellent. If you fancy trying out a fitness watch or have a child who wants one but don’t want to shell out on an Apple Watch, the Tozo S6 is the next best thing.

Pricing & Availability: The Tozo S6 is available from the Tozo Store and costs $49.99 / £49.99 / €45,99.