Retro digital watch revival: fitness tracking without the smartwatch fuss
Casio’s latest wearables show how a classic digital watch and a ring-shaped timepiece can be turned into practical fitness trackers that offer step counting, health monitoring, smartphone connectivity, and long battery life while preserving retro styling and avoiding the charging hassles and higher costs associated with many modern smartwatches. Casio’s bet is clear: a Casio fitness tracker should feel like a familiar, affordable digital watch or ring, not a tiny phone on your wrist. That makes the new F‑B100W and CRW‑H001M‑8 more than nostalgia pieces; they challenge the idea that health tracking must come in a glass-and-OLED slab. For budget smartwatch alternative shoppers who value battery endurance and simple interfaces, these devices are a deliberate rejection of the premium smartwatch trend.
F-B100W: the F-91W grows up and starts counting your steps
The F‑B100W is a retro digital watch revival built around the iconic F‑91W design, but with a fitness-tracker makeover. At a glance, it keeps the angular resin case, four pushers, integrated strap, and colorful faceplate that made the original a cult classic. Underneath that nostalgia, though, sit modern internals: an accelerometer that counts up to 999,999 steps with a seven‑hour bar graph on the dial, daily goals between 1,000 and 50,000 steps, and an inactivity reminder that nudges you when you’ve been still for too long. Bluetooth links to the CASIO WATCHES app for automatic time setting, activity logging, world time for roughly 300 cities, and a phone‑finder function. It supports lap and split timing with up to 200 records, a countdown timer, and five alarms, all powered by a replaceable battery rated for about two years rather than days. This is affordable health monitoring in a familiar, low-friction package.
| Spec | F-B100W | CRW-H001M-8 |
|---|---|---|
| Form factor | Rectangular wristwatch, resin case and strap | Ring-shaped finger watch in silver |
| Key health features | Step tracking with goals and inactivity alerts | Heart rate, blood oxygen, body temperature, sleep, steps, calories for walking, running, cycling |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth to CASIO WATCHES app (time sync, activity log, world time, phone finder) | App link for iOS, Android, selected Huawei HarmonyOS devices |
| Alerts | On‑watch step reminder; app‑based phone finder | Vibration alerts for calls, messages, alarms, health notifications |
| Battery | Replaceable CR2016, approx. 2‑year life | Rechargeable battery, average 4–6 days per charge |
| Size / weight | 41.9 x 38.1 x 8.8mm, 26g | Ring sizes 9–11 only |
| Water resistance / durability | Everyday "water resistant" with no depth rating | Not specified beyond general wearable use |
CRW-H001M-8: Casio’s ring watch turns into a health tracker
The CRW‑H001M‑8 takes Casio’s quirky ring watch format and turns it into a full health tracker wrapped around your finger. Earlier ring models were timekeepers only; this version records heart rate, blood oxygen, body temperature, sleep, steps, and calories burned during walking, running, and cycling, with data piped into Casio’s phone app for iOS, Android, and selected HarmonyOS devices. Through that link, the ring delivers vibration alerts for calls, messages, alarms, and certain health notifications, behaving more like a minimalist smart ring than a watch. Its single‑charge battery life of four to six days sits between classic watches and mainstream smartwatches – frequent but not nightly charging. The trade‑off is a narrower audience: for now, it’s a silver‑only model available in sizes 9, 10, and 11, which makes it “pretty much exclusive to those with larger hands.” As a Casio fitness tracker, it is far more discreet than a wrist device but less universal in fit and style.
Where Casio’s retro trackers fall short
These devices are not flawless, and their weaknesses highlight why they are budget smartwatch alternatives rather than direct rivals to premium wearables. The F‑B100W loses one of the F‑91W’s proudest stats: battery life drops from about seven years to roughly two, a major difference if you loved forgetting about power entirely. It is also rated only as "water resistant" with no depth figure, so it should be treated as splash‑proof instead of a swim companion. The ring watch cuts a different corner: size and style inclusivity. Being silver‑only and restricted to sizes 9, 10, and 11, it excludes people with smaller hands and many who want more color options. Neither product offers GPS, advanced training metrics, or expansive apps. If your expectations match a flagship smartwatch, you will find gaps – but that’s the point. Casio is betting that many people don’t want or need that level of complexity.
Can an affordable Casio fitness tracker beat a smartwatch?
Whether Casio’s approach “beats” modern smartwatches depends on what you value. For hardcore runners and data-obsessed athletes, the lack of GPS and advanced sensors on the F‑B100W makes it more of a friendly step counter than a training tool. Likewise, the CRW‑H001M‑8’s limited sizing and shorter battery window will deter some buyers even though it tracks far more metrics. But if you care about affordable health monitoring, retro charm, and escaping the charge‑every‑few‑days treadmill, this is where Casio wins. The F‑B100W sits "somewhere between a traditional digital watch and a basic fitness tracker", and its first allocation sold out quickly after launch, with the entire stock disappearing through Casio’s own channel within hours. That response suggests a clear appetite for straightforward, low‑maintenance wearables. My verdict: for cost‑conscious buyers who want movement tracking without a glowing glass rectangle, Casio’s retro revival is not only competitive – it is refreshingly sensible.
