COLMI M42 Smart Watch Review: Sleek Design, 100+ Sports Modes and AMOLED at £47
The COLMI V72 Smart Watch is a feature-rich AMOLED smartwatch aimed at buyers who want a premium display experience without paying premium prices. Available in three striking colour options — Black, Gold, and Rose Gold — and priced at under £33, it offers one of the best screen-to-price ratios in the budget smartwatch market. But beyond its good looks, how does the V72 actually perform day to day?
In this comprehensive review, we cover every aspect of the COLMI V72: its design and build, the quality of its AMOLED display, health tracking capabilities, battery life, companion app, and how it compares to rivals in the same price bracket. By the end, you'll have a clear picture of whether this watch deserves a place on your wrist.
First Impressions and Design
The COLMI V72 makes a strong first impression. The combination of a sleek rectangular case, vibrant AMOLED screen, and choice of fashionable colour variants gives it a visual appeal that punches well above its price point. The Rose Gold option in particular looks striking and is a popular choice for users who want something stylish rather than purely sporty.
The case is well-constructed with smooth edges and a secure button on the side for navigation. The silicone straps are comfortable and skin-friendly, and they're easy to swap out if you want to change the look. At 42mm, the case size is versatile enough to suit both larger and smaller wrists, though users with very petite wrists may find it slightly large.
The watch is rated IP68 water resistant, so you don't need to worry about sweaty workouts, rain, or accidental water splashes. It will handle the rigours of daily life without issue.
Display Quality: AMOLED at Under £33
The headline feature of the COLMI V72 is its AMOLED display, and it genuinely delivers. AMOLED panels produce significantly better picture quality than the IPS LCD screens found on most budget smartwatches — blacks are truly black (not dark grey), colours are vivid and punchy, and contrast ratios are exceptional. The result is watch faces and health data that look genuinely attractive on the wrist.
Brightness is sufficient for most indoor environments and reasonably good outdoors in normal daylight, though very bright direct sunlight can make the screen harder to read — a limitation shared by most smartwatch displays at this price. The touchscreen response is accurate and fluid, with no frustrating lag when navigating menus or swiping through your data.
The watch supports customisable watch faces, with a library of downloadable options available through the companion app. Whether you prefer a digital, analogue, or information-dense layout, there are plenty of choices to personalise your experience.
Health and Fitness Tracking
For a sub-£33 smartwatch, the COLMI V72's health monitoring suite is impressively comprehensive. Here's what it covers:
Continuous Heart Rate Monitoring
The V72 monitors your heart rate continuously throughout the day using optical sensors on the back of the watch. It provides real-time readings during exercise and can alert you if your heart rate goes above or below customisable thresholds. For everyday use and moderate exercise, the accuracy is good — readings typically fall within a few beats per minute of dedicated heart rate monitors.
Blood Oxygen (SpO2) Monitoring
On-demand SpO2 measurement is available from the watch face menu. The measurement takes around 30 seconds and gives you a percentage reading of your blood oxygen saturation. This is a useful wellness indicator, particularly for monitoring recovery after exercise or checking your stats during periods of illness or high altitude activity.
Sleep Tracking
Wear the V72 to bed and it will automatically detect when you fall asleep and wake up, analysing your sleep stages (light, deep, and REM) throughout the night. The morning summary in the companion app gives you a sleep score and a breakdown of how your night went. Over time, the data helps you understand your sleep patterns and make changes to improve rest quality.
Stress Monitoring
The watch uses heart rate variability (HRV) analysis to estimate your stress levels on a simple scale. You can check your stress score at any time from the watch face, and the app stores historical stress data so you can identify patterns — for example, noticing that your stress levels are consistently higher on certain days of the week.
100+ Sports Modes
The V72 supports over 100 sports modes, covering running, cycling, swimming, yoga, football, badminton, hiking, and many more. Each mode optimises the tracking parameters for the relevant activity, providing calorie burn estimates and activity duration data. While not every mode will be relevant to every user, having the breadth of options available is genuinely useful for people with varied fitness routines.
Menstrual Cycle Tracking
Female users can log and track their menstrual cycle through the companion app, with the watch's continuous health data providing additional context around how cycle phases affect sleep and heart rate patterns.
Technical Specifications
- Display: AMOLED
- Case diameter: 42mm
- Water resistance: IP68
- Bluetooth: 5.3
- Sports modes: 100+
- Health sensors: Heart rate, SpO2, sleep, stress, steps
- Compatibility: iOS and Android
- Strap: Silicone, interchangeable
Battery Life
The COLMI V72 delivers solid battery performance for everyday use. Most users report between 7 and 10 days of battery life under typical conditions — health monitoring on, notifications active, and no always-on display. For heavier users who enable AOD or track multiple daily workouts, expect closer to 4–5 days.
Charging is via a magnetic charging cable that attaches to the back of the watch. A full charge takes approximately 1.5 to 2 hours, which is entirely reasonable for a device that lasts over a week on a single charge.
Smart Features and Notifications
The V72 connects to your phone via Bluetooth 5.3 and supports a full suite of smart notification features:
- Call alerts and caller ID display
- Message notifications from SMS, WhatsApp, and other apps
- Music playback control from your wrist
- Weather forecast display pulled from your phone
- Find my phone function
- Sedentary reminders to encourage regular movement
- Alarm and countdown timer
Companion App
The V72 pairs with the Da Fit app, available for free on both iOS and Android. The app is intuitive and well-designed, presenting your daily health summary in an easily digestible format. You can drill down into detailed charts for any health metric, set personal goals, and manage your watch settings — including downloading new watch faces, adjusting notification preferences, and configuring exercise alerts.
Data can be shared with Apple Health or Google Fit if you prefer to consolidate your health data in one place. The app doesn't require a subscription and stores your historical data indefinitely, which is a significant advantage over some competitors that gate past data behind a paywall.
COLMI V72 vs V73: Should You Upgrade?
The COLMI V73 is the next model up in the V-series and shares many of the same core features as the V72. The V73 adds Pink and Gold feminine colour options, which makes it particularly popular with female buyers who want something more distinctly styled. The underlying health tracking and display technology is largely the same between the two models.
If colour variety is important to you — especially if you're drawn to the Pink option — the V73 is worth the small additional investment. If you're happy with Black, Gold, or Rose Gold and want the best value, the V72 is an excellent choice.
COLMI V72 vs Competitors
At under £33, the V72 competes with the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 and the Amazfit GTS Mini. Compared to the Xiaomi Band 9, the V72 offers a larger watch-style display and more sports modes, though the Band 9 has a stronger brand reputation and slightly more polished software. Against the Amazfit GTS Mini, the V72 wins on price while offering comparable display quality and health features.
Who Is the COLMI V72 Best For?
- Style-conscious buyers who want a premium-looking watch at a budget price
- First-time smartwatch buyers who want comprehensive features without complexity
- Users who prioritise display quality above all else
- People who want a gift that looks more expensive than it is
- Those on iOS or Android who want seamless notification support
Verdict
The COLMI V72 is an outstanding smartwatch at its price point. The AMOLED display is genuinely impressive, the health tracking suite is comprehensive, and the three colour options give it a versatility that rivals costing twice the price sometimes lack. If you're looking for a capable, stylish everyday smartwatch for under £33, the V72 is one of the best choices available in 2026.
Rating: 4.4 / 5 — Exceptional value with a premium AMOLED display. The best sub-£33 smartwatch on the market today.