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Specs, features and performance
- Running the Snapdragon Wear 2100 chipset, like most watches of this type
- Originally launched with Android Wear 2, now Wear OS
Most Wear OS watches come with the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 chipset inside, and the Hugo Boss Touch is no exception.
This is the best smartwatch chipset on the market right now, but it’s still older tech that has been around for over two years. That means it’s not as slick as you may hope for from a smartwatch, and you may find the power on this watch will be dated pretty quickly if we see further tech announced soon.
All of that said, paired with 512MB of RAM we’ve actually quite liked what the Hugo Boss Touch can achieve. We didn’t find it slow at any point and it’s got more than enough power to scoot through the menus or load up your favorite apps to your wrist.
The watch originally came running Android Wear 2.0 software, but it has now been rebranded as Wear OS.
Wear OS is one of the best pieces of smartwatch software, and it means you'll have access to all of Google's own features that are designed specifically for your wrist.
That means you'll get notifications and you'll be able to run Wear OS apps directly on your wrist too. Hugo Boss hasn't done much to the design here, and instead of changing the whole look of the software has just opted to include its own watch faces that you can customize.
Whether the Hugo Boss Touch has NFC is a bit of a mystery. Some listings for the watch claim it comes with the tech onboard, but looking at the watch we haven't been able to run Google Pay on the watch and that means you won't be able to use this watch to make contactless payments.
In terms of connectivity, there's both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi here to connect the watch up to your phone or home internet, but you won't get an LTE option here so functionality will be very limited if you take this watch outside without your phone.
Fitness
- Very limited fitness features as there's no heart rate tracker or GPS
- This watch is just designed to monitor your step count when it comes to health
Let’s get it out of the way – this isn’t the watch to buy if you’re looking for a device to get you fit. Hugo Boss isn’t trying to compete with the Garmin range or even a Fitbit, and instead has opted for the fashion angle with this smartwatch.
That’s fine, but it means you’re without a lot of top-end fitness features you may expect to have on your wrist if you’ve been looking at options such as the Samsung Gear Sport or Apple Watch 3.
For example, there’s no heart rate monitor on the back of the watch. Instead you get premium metal on the rear of the device. There’s no GPS or other top-end fitness features here either.
There is step tracking though, so your watch will monitor your daily results that way. We wouldn’t recommend taking this on a run – especially with the leather strap – but it’s useful to see how close you are to your 10,000 step goal each day directly from your wrist.
There is a silicone strap if you do want to wear this running, but the benefits would be negligible and it looks better when paired with a leather strap.
Battery life
- Only lasts for around a day with average usage
- Magnetic charger that means the watch won't slip off
Here’s one of the downsides to the Hugo Boss Touch - we’re not enamored with the battery life. With intensive usage, we found the Touch would last for around a day from a single charge and that’ll be about it.
Some smartwatches will last into two days from a single charge, but if you have the always-on display feature turned on and keep this connected to your smartphone we think you'll struggle to have it last over a full day.
Even with a day of testing where we tried to just use the watch for telling the time and reading notifications when they came through to our wrist, we found it would only last for around 18 hours before needing a recharge.
That’s not such a problem if you’re happy to charge your watch every night though. Just don't buy this if you're looking for a device that will last for days.
When away on a work trip, it did mean the watch died during our flight and we were forced to take it off before we got to the other side. That was frustrating, and it would have been useful if the manufacturer had included a low battery feature where it would automatically switch to just telling the time rather than dying immediately.
The Hugo Boss Touch is charged with a cable included in the box, but unlike some other Wear OS watches this isn’t a wireless charging pad. Instead it’s magnetic and clicks into a small sensor on the back of the watch.
This locks in, so you won’t need to balance the watch on top of a pad. Often with wireless charging pads we've placed down the smartwatch on a bedside table, but knocked it during the night so it hasn't charged up. With this charger locking in, you'll know for sure that won't happen here.
