Reflex Active Series 45
Reflex Active
A Sports Watch Built for People Who Actually Leave the House
Most smartwatches under £150 make you choose: you either get a screen worth looking at, or you get GPS accuracy worth trusting outdoors, but rarely both. The Reflex Active AMOLED GPS Calling Smart Watch is built around closing that gap. It pairs a genuinely sharp always-on display with satellite positioning, pre-loaded mapping, and a full altimeter-barometer-compass sensor suite — the kind of hardware normally reserved for watches costing two or three times as much. Add in phone calling from the wrist and onboard music storage, and this becomes a watch aimed squarely at people who run, hike, or cycle regularly and don't want to carry a phone to do it.
The question worth answering before you buy anything in this category isn't "does it have GPS" — plenty of budget watches claim that. It's whether the GPS is backed by proper mapping, whether the sensors are genuinely useful rather than decorative, and whether the battery survives a weekend away. Here's what actually holds up.
Design, Build Quality & How It Feels Day to Day
The case is compact and light rather than chunky — at roughly the size and heft of a small-to-mid-sized analogue watch, it sits closer to a fitness watch than the slab-like feel some GPS sports watches have. That lighter build matters more than it sounds: a watch you forget you're wearing is a watch you actually keep on through a run, a night's sleep, and the next morning's commute, which is exactly how continuous heart rate and sleep tracking are supposed to work.
The strap is silicone, removable, and swappable — a small detail that saves the watch when the original band eventually shows wear, since you're not locked into a proprietary connector. Reflex Active's own accessory range and third-party strap sellers support this model directly, so replacements aren't hard to find.
One point worth flagging for larger wrists: several owners with bigger builds have noted the stock strap runs on the shorter side, only just reaching a comfortable hole. If you're at the upper end of average wrist size, it's worth checking the strap's sizing range before you buy, or budgeting for a longer aftermarket band.
Build quality extends to the elements, too. The watch carries water and dust resistance suitable for daily wear, sweat, rain, and hand-washing — rated to survive a short dunk to a shallow depth rather than sustained swimming or diving. Treat it like a well-sealed daily watch, not a dive computer, and it will hold up fine.
Display: AMOLED Clarity Without the Usual Battery Tax
The screen is the watch's clearest party trick. At just over 36mm across with a 466 x 466 resolution, the pixel density here is genuinely high for the price point — text, maps, and heart rate graphs render crisply rather than looking like scaled-up icons, which is a common giveaway of cheaper smartwatch displays. AMOLED technology means true blacks and rich colour, and because each pixel lights independently, the watch can keep the screen on permanently without lighting the whole panel constantly.
That always-on capability is the practical win. You check the time by glancing down, not by performing the theatrical wrist-flick that budget watches with sleep displays demand. For anyone who's ever missed a subtle notification because the screen only wakes on a very specific wrist angle, this is the fix. The touchscreen interface layered on top keeps navigation intuitive — swipe through widgets, tap into apps, no fiddly button-only menus.
GPS, Navigation & Outdoor Sensors: The Real Differentiator
This is where the watch earns its price tag. Built-in GPS means the watch can track your route, pace, and distance using satellite positioning alone — no phone required nearby, no dragging a location signal off a paired handset. Layered on top is pre-loaded mapping for the UK and Ireland, so routes display against actual street-level detail rather than a blank line on a grid. If you travel or want to explore new mapping outside that region, additional maps can be downloaded, extending the same street-level tracking anywhere you take the watch.
Three additional sensors — an altimeter, a barometer, and a compass — round out what's often called ABC functionality in the watch world:
| Sensor | What It Actually Tells You |
|---|---|
| Altimeter | Elevation gained and lost on hikes, hilly runs, or stair-heavy days |
| Barometer | Atmospheric pressure changes, useful context for weather shifts on multi-hour outdoor sessions |
| Compass | Heading and direction, independent of GPS lock or phone signal |
Together, these turn the watch from a step counter into a genuine outdoor companion — you can gauge how much climbing a trail actually involved, get an early nudge that a pressure drop might mean incoming weather, and orient yourself even in patchy signal areas.
A few honest caveats worth knowing before you head off-grid. The pre-loaded maps here are street-level maps, not Ordnance Survey-grade topographic maps — so if you were hoping for contour-line hiking maps for remote terrain, this isn't that tool. It's also worth being clear-eyed that these outdoor sensors are consumer conveniences, not certified safety equipment; treat the watch as a helpful layer of information alongside proper route planning and local awareness, not a substitute for either. And if golf is your sport of choice, this watch doesn't include golf-specific GPS course mapping — it's built for running, hiking, and general route tracking rather than yardage-to-pin features.
Health & Fitness Tracking
Heart rate monitoring runs continuously through the day and during workouts, giving you a baseline for effort levels and recovery without needing a separate chest strap. Sleep tracking breaks your night down into distinct phases — light sleep, deep sleep, and total awake time — giving a genuinely useful picture of sleep quality rather than a single vague "hours slept" number. One accuracy note: this model tracks light and deep sleep stages plus wake time, but does not identify REM sleep separately, which is a distinction some higher-end sleep trackers do offer.
Worth a word on step counting too, since it's the most universal fitness metric. Like virtually all wrist-worn accelerometer-based trackers, step counts here are best read as a helpful daily guide rather than a lab-grade measurement — certain repetitive hand or wrist movements while sitting or standing can occasionally register as steps. This isn't unique to this watch; it's a physical limitation of wrist-based motion sensing generally, but it's worth setting expectations accordingly rather than treating the daily step total as gospel.
Calling, Notifications & Everyday Smart Features
Beyond fitness, this is a genuinely functional communication device on the wrist. You can make and take phone calls directly through the watch when it's paired to your phone — handy for a quick call mid-run without digging your phone out of an armband. Smartphone notifications and social alerts surface on the display too, though it's worth noting this watch handles messages and social notifications rather than full email access — if reading Gmail on your wrist is a priority, that's not what this device is built to do.
Music storage is built in, so you can load playlists directly onto the watch and listen via Bluetooth headphones without your phone anywhere nearby — genuinely useful for a run where you want to travel as light as possible. Weather updates keep you informed at a glance, and fall detection adds a layer of reassurance for solo runners, hikers, or older users, flagging a potential hard fall automatically.
Personalisation is also better catered for than the price suggests. The watch face isn't fixed — you can browse Reflex Active's dial library for a style that suits you, or upload your own photo as a custom face through the companion app.
Battery Life & Charging
Battery performance is genuinely one of the watch's strongest selling points. With typical mixed use — notifications, some GPS tracking, always-on display active — expect around four days between charges. Dial back to lighter use, with the always-on display and GPS used more sparingly, and that stretches to roughly ten days on a single charge. Either figure comfortably beats most smartwatches with comparable always-on AMOLED screens, many of which struggle past two days under similar conditions.
~4 Days
Typical usage
~10 Days
Low usage
~3 Hours
Full charge time
Charging itself is quick relative to the runtime on offer: a full charge takes around three hours, meaning even a short top-up before an early morning run or a long weekend away recovers a meaningful chunk of battery. For context, a watch you charge once or twice a week rather than nightly is a genuinely different ownership experience — it stops competing with your phone for the same charging cable and the same evening routine.
Software, App & Compatibility
The watch pairs over Bluetooth to a companion smartphone app, which is where notifications, call syncing, dial customisation, and data review happen. Compatibility spans both major mobile platforms — Android and iOS — so you're not locked into one ecosystem, which matters if you switch phone brands down the line or share a household with mixed devices. There's no SIM card slot and no independent mobile data connection here: every calling and notification feature routes through your paired phone's connection, which keeps the watch smaller and the battery efficient, but means it isn't a standalone communication device if you leave your phone at home entirely.
Who This Watch Is Genuinely Built For
A Strong Fit If You Are
- A regular runner, walker, or hiker who wants accurate GPS tracking without carrying a phone
- Someone who values an always-on, easy-to-read display over a screen that only lights on wrist-flick
- Budget-conscious but unwilling to compromise on battery life or display quality
- Interested in basic phone-free calling and music during workouts
- Looking for a smartwatch that works equally well with an iPhone or an Android handset
Look Elsewhere If You Are
- A golfer wanting dedicated course-mapping GPS
- Someone who needs OS-grade topographic maps for serious backcountry navigation
- Reliant on reading email directly from your wrist
- After a watch with mobile data independence via a SIM card
- Chasing lab-grade sleep staging that includes REM detection
How It Stacks Up Against the Competition
At this price point, the watch is competing against two very different types of rival, and it's worth knowing which fight it's actually winning.
| Comparison Point | This Watch | Entry-Level Fitness Trackers (no built-in maps) | Premium GPS Sports Watches (Garmin/Apple Watch tier) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price positioning | Budget-to-mid range | Budget | Premium, often 2-4x the cost |
| Built-in GPS + maps | Yes, with pre-loaded street maps | Rarely, or phone-dependent GPS only | Yes, often with topographic detail |
| Always-on AMOLED display | Yes | Uncommon at this tier | Yes, standard |
| Phone calling from wrist | Yes | No | Yes, on select models |
| Typical battery life | 4-10 days | Often 5-7+ days (no GPS/AMOLED strain) | 1-3 days on premium models with always-on display |
| Advanced navigation (ABC sensors) | Altimeter, barometer, compass | Rarely included | Standard, often more refined |
Against entry-level fitness trackers, this watch simply outclasses them on display quality and true standalone GPS with mapping — those trackers are usually built to be a companion to your phone's GPS, not a replacement for it. Against premium GPS sports watches, the honest comparison shifts: those watches often edge ahead on mapping detail, sensor refinement, and dedicated sport profiles, but they extract a real cost and battery-life penalty for it. This watch sits deliberately in the middle, offering most of what casual-to-serious fitness users actually use day to day, without the premium price or the aggressive charging schedule.
Honest Strengths and Weaknesses
The display and battery life are, without question, the watch's headline achievement. Getting a bright, always-on AMOLED screen that still stretches to multiple days of use is a combination many pricier watches fail to deliver, and it changes the daily experience of wearing the watch meaningfully — you check it like a real watch, not like a device you have to wake up first. The GPS and ABC sensor package is similarly punching above its price bracket; genuine altitude, pressure, and compass data alongside satellite tracking is not something you'd expect to find without spending considerably more.
Where the watch is more measured is in its navigation depth and a handful of accuracy caveats that are worth going in with clear eyes about. The pre-loaded mapping is street-level rather than topographic, so serious backcountry hikers wanting contour detail will find it falls short of dedicated outdoor GPS units. Step counting, like nearly all wrist-based trackers, benefits from being treated as a helpful estimate rather than an exact figure, and sleep tracking, while detailed, stops short of REM staging. None of these are dealbreakers for the audience this watch is built for — casual-to-serious runners, walkers, and everyday smartwatch users — but they matter if your use case leans toward specialist outdoor navigation or clinical-grade health metrics.
The Verdict
For anyone shopping in the sub-£150 smartwatch category who wants a genuinely readable always-on display, real standalone GPS with usable mapping, and battery life that doesn't demand nightly charging, this watch represents excellent value. It's built for the person who runs a regular route, wants to leave their phone at home occasionally, and still wants to look at a screen that doesn't feel like a compromise.
It is not the right choice for golfers needing course GPS, hikers who specifically need OS-grade topographic maps, or anyone who wants their smartwatch doubling as an independent mobile device via a SIM card. Within its intended lane — everyday fitness tracking with genuine outdoor navigation smarts — it's a confident, well-judged recommendation.
What People Say
17 commentsGreat watch for active and daily life
The Reflex Active AMOLED GPS Calling Smart Watch is an impressive wearable that combines style, functionality, and convenience. After testing it, I found the AMOLED display to be a standout feature, delivering vibrant colors and crisp visuals that remain clear even under direct sunlight. The touchscreen is responsive, which made navigation smooth and easy.
One of the main attractions is the GPS functionality, which, when paired with pre-loaded maps, proved accurate for tracking my routes during workouts or hikes. Having built-in GPS without needing my phone was incredibly freeing, especially for runs. The calling feature worked seamlessly, allowing me to take calls directly on my wrist, which was handy for quick chats without pulling out my phone.
Battery life met expectations, lasting about 3 days with regular usage. However, enabling GPS and calling features consistently does drain the battery more quickly, which is worth noting. The fitness tracking features—steps, heart rate, and sleep monitoring—were reliable and gave valuable insights.
After using the Reflex Active AMOLED GPS Calling Smart Watch for a few weeks, I’m genuinely impressed with how much it has added to my daily routine. The first thing that caught my attention was the AMOLED display. It’s vibrant and clear, and the touchscreen responds instantly—even in bright sunlight, it’s easy to read.
One of my favorite features has to be the built-in GPS with pre-loaded maps. I love to run, and it’s freeing to leave my phone behind and still have accurate route tracking. The GPS performed really well, mapping my trails perfectly, and I was able to glance at the map mid-run to stay on track. The calling feature is another major plus. I’ve been able to take calls directly from my wrist, which feels incredibly convenient, especially when my phone’s out of reach.
The battery life has been solid, typically lasting me about three days on a charge, though I do notice it drains faster when I’m using GPS and calls more heavily. I also found the fitness tracking features, like step count and sleep monitoring, helpful and accurate.
Overall, this watch has become a great companion. It blends tech and fitness features seamlessly, and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a smartwatch that keeps up with an active lifestyle.
Very good affordable all round watch
This is a very good affordable smart watch with a wide range of features, some of which are excellent and some which miss the mark.
The display is just gorgeous. Featuring a amoled screen, the reflex active watch has very bright and vivid colours with deep black tones to emphasise the watches excellent display.
The display has a bright display for viewing even in outdoor sunny conditions.
There are a wide range of watch faces which can be easily changed on the reflex app and you can even customise your own watch easily using the companion app. You can customise everything from the picture, dials, colours and even which details you want features such as heart rate or steps taken.
The watch does a great job or tracking your heart rate with decent accuracy and tracks other parameters including stress levels and blood oxygen levels.
The battery life is incredible. It states a four day battery life and I believe that is more than achievable through my usage of the device.
You can track a variety of exercises including running, skating, gym, yoga, cycling and boxing.
The watch allows you to easily read messages and notifies you when new ones come through to your phone.
The strap is extremely comfortable and the watch is very lightweight despite its large size. I often forget i am wearing it.
The strap is dual textured, with a sport type material on the wrist side, easy for cleaning and a more aesthetically pleasing rough side on the outer side.
My only caviats of the watch is that this material can get dirty quite quickly and could be tricky to clean. And the only feature of the watch I find misses the mark majorly is the watch calling feature.
You can make calls using the watches built in speaker and whilst you can hear the caller enough through the watch, the caller on the other end struggled to hear me when I was speaking using the watches microphone.
This is a small negative however as I would very rarely actually want to talk using the watch as opposed to the phone anyway.
Overall this is an excellent watch at an affordable price. It is very stylish and features some great features for those who live an active lifestyle.
I highly recommend it.
Dad and Grace honest review
Well received this item a week ago and I’m still finding new things on it daily hence it’s taken me a week to put it through its paces so I can write this review A stylish large faced black digital smart watch with rubber extendable strap hosting a number of different activities ranging from Maps , route planner , dial touchpad to make and receive calls and contacts list, compass , text message function, daily activity including calories , steps and distance covered , blood pressure, stress levels and blood oxygen sensor , altitude and atmospheric pressure , sleep check function to name a few of what I’ve discovered in this phone . All this comes in a box containing easy to use set up instructions and associated charging lead . To get the best out of this a APP needs to be downloaded which again is very user friendly and easy to set up . One of my favourite functions by far is that there are numerous watch faces you can select in the App or if you want like me can even transfer your own pic on the watch face like I have done in the pictures. attached . I highly recommend this item you seriously won’t be disappointed .
Bright and Clear Display
This watch is great value, the strap has a very soft feel and there's no abrasive feeling after wearing it for a long time. The screen is excellent, very bright and clear as you'd expect from an AMOLED so even in direct sunlight it's visible. The battery is good for the tracking you get, several days on a single charge so I didn't have to constantly worry about battery life. That meant I could observe my heart rate during my gym workouts to see where I was at and how long I should be resting for. The step counter is ideal for making sure I'm hitting my daily target and the sleep tracking made sure I'm aware of my patterns and how good the sleep I'm getting actually is. It's a great value choice for an excellent screen, it's a very good looking professional watch and allows me to track my health, win win.
Sleek sturdy and reliable
I purchased The Reflex Active Amoled watch due to the amount of walks I do across the South West. I have to say I have been extremely impressed with its sleek design, built-in maps and reliability and accuracy with everything from GPS location, heartrate monitor and Bluetooth connection to my phone. The images you see of the watch itself did have me slightly worried about how resilient it would be; but I have overall been very impressed with how solid yet light it feels on my wrist. The strap is comfortable, the screen sensitivity is also impressive and the intuity of the UI is as good as any other leading smart watch brand. I certainly recommend this watch to any keen walker or cyclist who enjoys the outdoors and wants a reliable smart watch to support tem on their adventures
Fantastic Smart watch for the price
This watch is an overall good quality smart watch which I use mainly for steps and sleep measurements. The strap is a good size to accommodate a larger wrist and is comfortable. The display is clear and decent in most lighting situations. You can download or set your own clock face using a personal photo. It works well with the iPhone's Health App through the Reflex app.
For the price, this is exactly what I needed; it has a great battery life and does everything I requested, including steps, heart rate, and messaging. incredibly impressed. GPS is a benefit, but I haven't really utilised it.
All things considered, it's a fashionable and functional watch that works well with both iOS and Android. Excellent value for the money!
Great value sturdy watch
This is an impressive watch, as is the Reflex app. It’s easy to set it all up and the watch has a lot of very useful features, you can also customise the watch face. The face is bright and clear and battery life is excellent, depending on exercise taken it can go a couple of days between charges. You can track a variety of exercises, count steps and it also measures heart rate and blood oxygen.
The only issue I’ve had is that the GPS didn’t pick up my run until a mile or so into it and this didn’t become apparent until I transferred the data to Strava so while the watch and Reflex app showed my activity, this didn’t transfer accurately to Strava.
Sleek black smart watch
Good looking watch at a lower end price range.
Slimline on wrist and lovely black sleek look.
The set up was easy , down load app and Bluetooth to connect.
The app is basic but does the job for light use
Lots of screen options in terms of back ground and screensavers
The fitness functions are typically what you would find on a smart watch, running , walking etc.
I used for steps and a run and a weights workout.
Battery held up brilliant, still charged 3 days later. Better than some other brands.
Build in GPS works well for calls. The screen display is a larger size so great for ease of reading.
Series 45
Nice looking watch with better screen brightness than other brands , the battery life is ok even when in always-on display mode, the gps is slow to connect and I recommend locking the touch screen a start on runs, the app connects with strava .
This is where is was a let down ,after runs the app active reflex blue would show an event had loaded ,but when trying to view details/stats would say app not responding or would show up days later ,also the data transferred to strava was not correct .(poor App)
Will use strava direct on phone from now on and use the watch in clock mode on runs LOL £2.99 Casio
Great features
What a great smart watch. love the large face and strap and comfortable to wear.
Wow this watch has so much to offer and found it very easy to set up initially.
Has great functionality and love the ease of use .
So easy to keep track of all the health functions from heart rate .to steps ect and loved that you can plot your own route as has built in maps and gps.
I’m so impressed with how well it performs at such an affordable price .
Could be better
Nice large display, gps fix take on mapping disappointing takes at least 5 minutes also when you receive a texts doesn’t display on watch face calls do but speaker on watch not load enough for conversations. Oxygen level and heart rate seem very accurate against my Apple Watch and medical devices. I am a experienced user of smart watches disappointed above the gps and mapping which I brought the watch for
Very impressive
Bought this watch after doing a lot of research. Was a bit hesitant as the price seemed too good compared to other brands. It was easy to set up (and it actually came with an instruction booklet), and I love it! I mainly use it for running, but there are so many features to it. I love being able to personalise the watch face with my own photos. Would I buy it again? Definitely!
Not for me
The watch was to big for my wrist and the dial kept catching on my clothing. I also noticed that it would over count my steps even though I hadn't walked so it was very sensitive to your wrist/arm motion. I returned it within 48 hours.
Excellent GPS watch
Excellent GPS watch. The screen is just the right size and responsiveness of the screen is excellent. The GPS is accurate and fully functional. For the price compared to other sport watches I think this is very competive.
Reflex Active Watch Amoled
Purchased 4 weeks ago looks great setup is easy to follow both online and included small booklet/QRCode. Good battery life and easy to charge via USB. Displays Very Clear, Excellent price point can recommend this watch
Poor quality strap
Purchased this watch due to built-in maps and being a decent price however the silicone strap broke within 10 minutes of use. The weak point is around the quick release pin where it attaches to the watch body.
Just in time?
Bought for my husband and I’m sure he will like it. He’s not a big watch person but he does like quality products.
