Durcal, we tested the watch for the elderly with GPS and notifications of falls

There are many watches and bracelets designed for the elderly, as well as health applications that can be managed remotely so that the family can see the different variables remotely.

These devices often share many features. They measure blood oxygen and heart rate, and if they are linked to a mobile, they can indicate the position, but only if the mobile is carried.

That is the main difference of the Durcal watch, a new device that has a health-related variable meter, as well as an independent GPS to be able to indicate the position at all times to the rest of the family. Its business model is based on subscription to the services it offers, from 16 euros per month (in fact, the watch is free, what is contracted is the service).

I have been testing it for a few weeks, and here I leave you my opinion about it.

Advantages of the Durcal watch

Among the advantages that I have found, we have the following:

• The person who carries it does not need to also carry the mobile. The watch is independent, it has an internal sim that allows you to locate it at all times.
• We can configure the app to notify us if the user of the watch has left a certain area, if he has arrived home or if he moves away from a specific radius.
• It has a sensor that detects possible falls, so that if there is any sudden vertical movement, it sends a notification to the mobile app (which the relatives of the Durcal watch user must have).
• It has a heart-shaped button that, when pressed and held, automatically calls the emergency service (Movistar Prosegur Alarmas, to be exact).
• It is comfortable to wear, and can always be used as a watch to show the time, even if the service subscription is not paid.
• The technical service, which I had to use, attends by Whatsapp, thus making the process quite agile (mainly when it comes to sharing screenshots and photos).

Disadvantages of the Durcal watch

Not everything has been good things, nothing is perfect, so here are the points that I did not like so much.

• There is some lag on the map. From when the user moves until the map is updated, it can take a while. In my case sometimes it was more than an hour, but after contacting the technical support, the time was reduced to a few minutes.
• The drop sensor is very sensitive. It detects several falls a day, although I have not fallen at any time. They tell me from Durcal that it is designed for the use of older people, so that a sudden movement of someone 47 years old (me) can be considered a fall in someone 30 years older.
• The battery runs out every day, you have to charge it every night, so it’s not very useful for remotely monitoring someone’s variables while they sleep. Another option would be to charge it during the day, but in any case, there are certain times of the day that the watch must be charging. This is so when we activate all available sensors, including GPS and falls.