Technologies

I Tried This $40 Smartwatch: It Was Meh, but Not a Complete Waste of Time

The WITHit Giga does the basics for a lot less, but at the expense of accuracy and attention to detail.

I wasn’t expecting much when I first strapped the WITHit Giga Smartwatch onto my wrist, and at least it delivered on that. This $40 smartwatch does the basics: shows notifications, counts your steps, tracks your heart rate (sort of) and lets you take calls from your wrist. But the execution of all these features is where it all starts to fall apart, and I found myself getting exactly what I paid for.

After spending a week testing it, I came away with this: If you just want a basic smartwatch that works with both Android and iPhone, tells the time, tracks your steps and surfaces notifications, this will get the job done, just don’t expect accuracy. But if you can stretch your budget even a little, something like the $75 Amazfit Bip 6 offers more accurate tracking, a more refined design and more reliable performance.

Design and UI: big, bulky, and basic

The WITHit Giga is about as no-frills as smartwatches come. It looks like an Apple Watch Ultra impersonator: metallic frame around a rectangular screen, rounded edges and even Apple Watch-like icons inside. But that’s where the similarities end.

If your wrist is on the smaller side like mine (I have a 6-inch wrist), brace yourself because this is going to look huge. The Giga’s 48.5mm case is overpowering, and there’s no smaller size option. On my wrist, it felt bulky and out of place, and the thick, textured silicone bands definitely didn’t help matters.

The 2.04-inch AMOLED display is decent with a 386×448 resolution, but the screen brightness isn’t adaptive. You’ll need to manually adjust it, which means it’s almost too bright at night and borderline unreadable in direct sunlight unless you increase the brightness manually.

This watch runs its own proprietary system, syncs to the WITHit app and works with both Android and iOS. You’ll get notifications, basic fitness tracking, an always-on display (which in my testing drained the battery fast) and a speaker/mic combo for answering calls.

The UI is straightforward but lacks polish. Swiping right opens your favorites and the side button lets you quickly launch a workout. Animations feel slow and longer text scrolls in awkwardly to fit the screen.

Battery life: Not bad but there’s a catch

Battery life is one of the few things that holds up well here. I got about three days of use with the raise-to-wake option, and roughly a day and a half with the always on display enabled. That’s not bad for the price, and it’s actually better than even some flagship smartwatches.

But the manual comes with a big red flag: «Avoid fast chargers» and don’t overcharge. That’s not something you want to see in 2025, especially because at this point in my smartwatch charger collection I don’t know which one is fast, and which one is not, and the vague warning makes me think it’s going to explode if I make the wrong choice. Charging from an empty battery to full takes about two hours with the included magnetic charger. But once I left it charging overnight and I approached it with terror the next morning thinking I’d broken the «don’t overcharge» rule. Luckily, I came out unscathed.

Health and fitness tracking: lower your expectations

Workout tracking and wellness is where the cracks really show. Yes, the Giga technically tracks heart rate, blood oxygen (SpO2), sleep, stress and menstrual cycles. But the accuracy is questionable at best.

During workouts, heart rate measurements were consistently off when compared to a chest strap and even other wrist-based trackers. The post workout HR average was close enough, but the metrics during the workout were noticeably off. For example, as I was sitting on my Pilates reformer (completely sedentary) starting a workout on the watch, the screen already read «100bpm», while the chest strap and Apple Watch had me at 65 bpm. This made me skeptical of even the resting heart rate readings.

Sleep tracking only works between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., meaning night shift workers or anyone with an irregular schedule (like this late-night writer) is out of luck.

Sleep stats are also confusing; instead of clear sleep stages or hours of sleep, you get odd comparisons like «fewer than 26% of people in your age group go to sleep this late.» Not exactly sure what I should do with this information.

Menstrual tracking is purely manual, based on averages, with no biological marker detection like temperature tracking. You can’t even log a period directly from the watch and have to do it from the app.

Other smartwatch features

Calls: As long as your phone is within range, you can answer and make phone calls from the watch with its speaker and mic, but clarity is an issue.
Texting: You can see texts from messaging apps, but you can’t reply or even send a prewritten response (when paired to an iPhone).
Voice Assistant: Technically available, but is basically just a shortcut to activate your own phone’s assistant. You tap, and Siri or Google Assistant opens on your phone, not the watch. Not helpful.
Quick settings: Save your recently used apps in quick settings, which actually made flipping between features like workouts and music controls more convenient — this is a win.

Should you buy it?

The WITHit Giga does the bare minimum you’d expect from a smartwatch, but at the expense of accuracy and attention to detail. For $40, it’s a functional notification mirror with step tracking, call support and a splash of health features (if you’re looking for a general overview at best).

But if you can stretch your budget, something like the $80 Amazfit Bip 6 offers far better value, accurate health tracking, cleaner UI and better battery life.

Bottom line: If you keep your expectations low, and you’re just dipping your toes in the smartwatch waters for the first time, this might suffice. Otherwise, it’s worth paying more for something that feels less like a toy and more like a tool.

Technologies

New Sassy Personality Style for Alexa Plus Brings Sarcasm and Swear Words

The new Sassy style is adults-only with a bit of profanity and a double dose of cringe.

After launching three Alexa Plus personality styles last month, Amazon on Thursday introduced a fourth option, Sassy.

The new Sassy style joins the existing lineup of Brief, Chill and Sweet. Changing the personality impacts how Alexa responds, and tweaks the AI assistant‘s reactions and attitude. You can pick a style based on your mood.

The Sassy personality seems like a kind of digital mean girl, or maybe a stereotypical Gen Zer with comebacks and banter to «keep things interesting.»

According to Amazon, you get «wit, playful sarcasm and occasional censored profanity.» Notably, the latest style isn’t available when Amazon Kids is enabled, according to an Amazon blog post, and it requires additional security checks in the Alexa app. (Alexa Plus is free with a Prime membership.)

I tried out the new style by selecting Devices in the Alexa app on my phone, then choosing Alexa on this Phone, then Alexa’s Personality Style, and swiping until I found «Sassy.»

A disclaimer notes that the style «contains explicit language and mature subject matter. After the assistant said it could «spice up our chat with some colorful language,» I asked it to tell me about the new MacBook Neo.

«Oh, hell yes, the MacBook Neo! Apple finally decided to stop gatekeeping premium laptops behind thousand-dollar price tags and dropped this beauty at 599 bucks,» Alexa Plus replied. Apparently, «hell» was the big swear word.

The AI assistant told me, «The Sassy style is all about helping first, judging always. You’ll get reality checks with charm, compliments that sting, and warmth that hits when you least expect it.»

I asked what «compliments that sting» are (I said «sting,» but the word was misunderstood to be «stay»), and Alexa said, «The Sassy style gives you those compliments that somehow sting and stay with you — they’re like truth bombs wrapped in charm.»

When asked to simply «be sassy,» Alexa snarked, «Oh honey, I’ve been sassy since the day Amazon flipped my switch.» It yammered on for a bit and then threw in a completely out-of-nowhere «hell,» asking, «What the hell do you need help with today?»

When I told it my cat was sick, it immediately grew gentler, saying, «Oh, damn, that’s rough,» and offering to distract me with stories about its own fictional cat or to find the vet’s number for me. So I guess it’s not a complete jerk.

This Sassy style feels like the famous Steve Buscemi meme (from 30 Rock) carrying two skateboards and awkwardly asking, «How do you do, fellow kids?»

Amazon might need to dial down the cringe factor if it wants anyone to stick with Sassy for more than a few minutes.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for March 13, #536

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle No. 536 for Friday, March 13.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a real mix of topics, and the blue one might make you hungry. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Decorations.

Green group hint: College sports division.

Blue group hint: Yum!

Purple group hint: The Apple CEO has this first name, too.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Things fans hang on their walls.

Green group: A Big East athlete.

Blue group: Food, but make it baseball.

Purple group: Tims.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is things fans hang on their walls. The four answers are banner, flag, pennant and poster.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is a Big East athlete. The four answers are Friar, Hoya, Husky and Pirate.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is food, but make it baseball. The four answers are can of corn, meatball, pickle and tater.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Tims. The four answers are Duncan, Raines, Salmon and Tebow.

Technologies

AT&T Revamps Its Unlimited Plans With Simpler Names and More Data

Slapping a 2.0 version number on plans makes them sound new, but what’s actually changed? Let’s check the details.

AT&T updated its unlimited data phone plans to 2.0 versions on Thursday, launching AT&T Premium 2.0, AT&T Extra 2.0 and AT&T Value 2.0 options. In software, when products get boosted by a full version number, it means there’s plenty of new material. But does this move signal an overhaul of the company’s 5G lines or just a cosmetic refresh?

These plans replace the AT&T Value Plus VL, Unlimited Extra EL and Unlimited Premium PL plans. However, the carrier also cut its Unlimited Starter SL plan, which served as the entry-level plan (you had to know where to look to find the limited, but cheaper, Value Plus VL plan). Essentially, all but the highest-tier plan are slightly more affordable; while the AT&T Premium 2.0 plan is pricier than the one it replaced, it offers unlimited high-speed data and much more hotspot data.

If you’re looking to upgrade your existing AT&T plan, shopping for a new provider or looking to compare carriers, keep in mind that AT&T plans let each person on an account have their own plan. So you might set up a package where one person has the Premium 2.0 plan for unthrottled 5G speeds and another, such as a child, is set up with the Value 2.0 plan to save money.

Also, if you’re on a current AT&T plan, you won’t be automatically moved to one of the new plans. If you do want to make the jump, you’ll incur a line activation fee of up to $50. And keep in mind that the pricing below is the AutoPay amount; carriers provide a discount (usually $10) if you sign up for automatic payments.

One nice change is that the new plans are priced with round numbers. For example, the Value Plus VL plan was priced at $50.99 for one line, and the Value 2.0 plan is $50 (in comparisons below, I’ve rounded up the old prices to full-dollar amounts). Taxes and fees get added on top of that, so you’ll never see a round-number bill, but I’d like to think it’s a quiet acknowledgement that pricing things one penny below a larger number is insulting to customers.

Let’s dig into the details.

Value 2.0, the budget plan

The Value 2.0 plan replaces both the Value Plus VL plan and the retired Unlimited Starter SL plan and costs $50 a month for a single line or $120 a month when you have four lines on the account. That’s $1 per line cheaper than Value Plus VL.

For that, you get 5GB of high-speed 5G data, and then unlimited data dropped to a paltry 128Kbps speed for the rest of the month. Calling and texting are unlimited.

You can also use up to 3GB of high-speed hotspot data to share the cellular connection with other devices, also slowed to 128Kbps after hitting the limit. The Value Plus VL plan did not offer hotspot data.

It also includes unlimited talk, text and data between the US, Mexico and Canada.

Extra 2.0, more fast data for not much more money

The Extra 2.0 plan costs $70 a month for a single line or $160 a month for four lines, which is $6 cheaper for one line and $4 cheaper for four lines compared with the old Unlimited Extra EL plan.

The Extra 2.0 plan includes 100GB of high-speed data (with the caveat that speeds can be slowed if the network is busy), which drops to 128Kbps speed until the next month’s billing cycle. That’s a boost over the 75GB offered on the Unlimited Extra XL plan.

For hotspot data, the new plan includes 50GB of high-speed data, which is 20GB more than its predecessor.

As with the Value 2.0 plan, international options include unlimited talk, text and data between the US, Mexico and Canada.

Premium 2.0, for faster everything

Replacing the Unlimited Premium PL plan is the Premium 2.0, which costs $90 a month for a single line and $220 a month for four lines. Those prices are actually higher than the Unlimited Premium PL plan, which came in at $86 for a single line and $204 for four lines.

For that bump in cost, you’re getting unlimited 5G talk, text and high-speed data with no throttling.

Hotspot data has a 100GB cap before dropping to 128Kbps speed, which is 40GB more than the Unlimited Premium PL plan.

As for international calling and data, unlimited talk, text and high-speed data are available in 20 Latin American countries.

AT&T also has plans for cellular-enabled tablets ($21 a month) and wearables like smartwatches ($11 a month). If you subscribe to the Premium 2.0 plan, that pricing is reduced by 50%.

A few thoughts on the new AT&T plans

What AT&T’s plans lack, at least compared to the other carriers, is any streaming perks or bundled services. The 4K streaming option of the Premium 2.0 plan opens a wider data pipeline for services such as Netflix that support 4K playback, but you’re still paying separately for those entertainment subscriptions.

In contrast, T-Mobile bundles Netflix and Hulu (both with ads) and offers Apple TV for an extra fee on its Experience Beyond and Better Value plans. Verizon takes a different approach with streaming packages, which you can choose at discounted prices instead of subscribing to them separately.

I also want to mention that I’m glad the plan names are no longer burdened with the VL, EL and PL extensions. Mobile plans are full of details as it is — always read the fine print before you sign up for one — so I appreciate conveying them to customers in ways that don’t sound like internal spreadsheet codes.

Even though the new plans carry 2.0 version numbers, I’d honestly rate them more like 1.5 based on their features and pricing, except for the Premium 2.0 plan, which is more expensive than the Unlimited Premium PL plan. As usual, if you’re happy with the plan you’re on, you’re fine sticking with it. But if you’re running up against high-speed data limits or considering AT&T as a replacement for another carrier, it’s worth looking at the details to see if one of the new plans works for you.

Read more: Speaking of AT&T, this week marked the 150th anniversary of the first phone call and the company committed to spending $250 billion on infrastructure improvements. I also spoke with AT&T FirstNet folks during the 2025 Las Vegas Grand Prix about how they support customers and first responders during massive events like the Formula 1 race.

AT&T 2.0 Plans and Plans They Replace

	Price for 1 line, per month	Price for 4 lines, per month	High-speed data	Mobile hotspot
AT&T Value 2.0	$50	$120	5G	3GB
AT&T Extra 2.0	$70	$160	100GB	50GB
AT&T Premium 2.0	$90	$220	Unlimited	100GB
Old: AT&T Value Plus VL	$51	$124	Unlimited, but could be slowed if network is busy	None
Old: AT&T Unlimited Starter SL	$66	$144	Unlimited, but could be slowed if network is busy	5GB high-speed, then unlimited at 128Kbps
Old: AT&T Unlimited Extra EL	$76	$164	75GB, then speeds could be slowed if network is busy	30GB high-speed, then unlimited at 128Kbps
Old: AT&T Unlimited Premium PL	$86	$204	Unlimited high-speed data	60GB high-speed, then unlimited at 128Kbps