When I was in high school, all I wanted was a Casio Baby-G watch, partly because it came in fun colors, partly because all the popular kids had one. When I finally convinced my mom to buy me one, I loved it to bits until the battery died long afterward. It's been over 20 years since then, but as the Y2K craze invades my TikTok algorithm, I think a lot about how my watches used to just be watches that I look Sometimes I feel like I want to go back to those days… then I remember that the main reason I got into smartwatches was for step tracking.
And then I heard about the Casio WS-B1000, which is only $55.95 and syncs with your phone to tell the time. and follow the steps. What?!
It's not unimaginable that today's Casio watches could be more than the analog watches of my youth. And yet, it hadn't occurred to me to check it out. Never mind that I've reviewed a Casio Wear OS most durable watch A few years ago, it was a rugged multisport watch in an era when the Wear OS bus had a perpetual flat tire. But after doing some digging, it turns out Casio has modernized some of his clocks to have a little more fitness tracking functionality while maintaining that classic Casio design.
The WS-B1000 is one such watch, though it keeps things very simple. It doesn’t have an optical heart rate monitor, OLED display, fancy health sensors, contactless payments, or LTE connectivity. This device has Bluetooth to connect with your phone, an accelerometer to track steps, the classic stopwatch and timer functions, alarms, reminders to move, and an LCD screen with a backlight button. In other words, enough smarts to be considered a fitness tracker, but just barely.
A few years ago, that feature set probably wouldn't have appealed to me. But today, I'm at a point in my fitness journey where I'm recovering from the mental and physical exhaustion caused by prolonged overtraining. It's a frustratingly long process, and to my surprise, what's kept me going are devices and apps that prioritize rest and simplicity over “hard effort.” Many smartwatches today force active minutes, standing goals, calorie burn goals, and other goals on you—so many goals to hit on a daily basis that it can be overwhelming. So the fact that the WS-B1000 can only Track steps or function as a stopwatch? That's a plus.
And you know what? The three weeks I tested the WS-B1000 were a delight. I’d forgotten how great it is to set a simple step goal and try to meet it. With this watch, I could just look down and say, “Uh-oh! It’s 4 p.m. and I’m at 2,000 steps. Time to go for a walk.” If I wanted to check my history, I could go into the Casio app and see a rough log. There was nothing fancy, and that’s the way I wanted it. As for accuracy, I was generally within 500-1,000 steps of my Apple Watch Ultra, which is a considerable margin of error given that I wore them on different arms and I talk with my hands. But if you’re going for something like this, the overall goal is to just move more, and this is fine for that.
There were other little things I appreciated, too. Because the watch doesn't need the sensors, chips, and giant battery of a smartwatch, it's remarkably light to wear. It weighs just 36 grams, and for once, it didn't feel like I had a giant hockey puck strapped to my wrist. I never had to worry about charging the damn thing, either: it runs on a CR2016 button cell battery that lasts about 1 hour. two years.
The great thing about the Casio app is that it automatically syncs the time, so you don't have to sit there fiddling with buttons to reset the time or set alarms. awful For older watches, I can never remember how to do it or which drawer I put the user manual in.) You can program those things from your phone.
$56
The Casio WS-B1000 combines retro chic styling with step tracking, Bluetooth connectivity to your phone, and classic wristwatch features like stopwatch, alarms, and timers.
Obviously, this isn’t going to be the watch for those who want to get the most out of their smartwatch. But if, like me, you like to take an occasional break from the fitness tech grind or are drawn to the ideal of relaxed, low-tech fitness, this is a great option. And may I remind you that it costs just $56! Most of the basic trackers in this range tend to be fitness bands, whereas this is a nice, retro-chic Casio watch.
Unfortunately, I only have two wrists, and as a wearables reviewer, I have to alternate between the Casio and the next smartwatch on my test list. But I have a feeling that between one product and another, this is the watch I'll choose.
