Montblanc was one of the first luxury brands to jump into the smartwatch market, launching its e-strap accessory in 2015 and its Summit smartwatch in 2017. Last year’s upgrade, the Summit 2+, brought direct cellular connectivity so you could stay connected even when you’re away from your phone. This year’s successor is the Summit Lite, which has an eco-friendly aluminum case, a fresh, casual design, and a better price. It’s actually better than the steel Summit 2+. It also comes with some new fitness-focused apps exclusive to Montblanc.
The “Lite” in the name refers to the case, which is made from aluminum (recycled aluminum, in fact) making it lighter than steel and comes in a matte black or silver-grey finish. The box is made from 100% recycled paper, which is also environmentally friendly.
The case is 43mm, which theoretically makes it a men’s watch, but I wore the Summit Lite for a week and it didn’t feel any bigger on my wrist than the 40mm watches I usually wear. That’s at least partially due to the flexible rubber strap that allows the watch to fit snugly on the wrist. The larger case also allows for a larger screen, a key requirement for a smartwatch: it needs to be readable at a glance. Readability is further enhanced by the fact that the apps are arranged in an arc-shaped, scrolling menu, rather than on a grid that crammes everything onto one screen at a time, as on many smartwatches. You can scroll by turning the central crown or by touching the screen. Using the crown is a better choice, as doing it manually can cause your thumb to obscure the screen.
Pressing the middle button brings up the app list, while the top and bottom pushers can be customised to launch features or apps. The screen is bright enough, but it has a light sensor so the brightness automatically adjusts depending on the situation. It’s covered in scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass, a mainstay of smartphone and tablet screens. It has a crisp 1.19-inch AMOLED display, and scrolling within Daily Style mode reveals several options from Montblanc’s collection of distinctive watch face styles to dress up the screen. Montblanc says there are thousands of possible watch face configurations.
The Summit Lite’s software is powered by Wear OS by Google, which also includes a full ecosystem of apps and services, which itself can call upon a number of fitness apps. But beyond that, there are four apps unique to Montblanc: Cardio Coach, which offers workout recommendations and live coaching advice based on your personal fitness level (letting you know what to aim for in terms of heart rate intensity and duration in your next activity); Sleep Tracker, which measures sleep stages like REM sleep, sleep quality and efficiency; Stress app, based on heart rate monitoring (can suggest you do breathing exercises or prescribe workout strategies); and Body Energy app, which tells you your energy levels based on the other three factors (sleep, activity and stress levels). That’s plenty of information, and very useful for anyone tracking fitness goals. The app tells you how much energy you’re using, how much energy you need, and when to push yourself.
The battery lasts for a day or a day and a half. When the battery gets low, it goes into battery saver mode and just displays the time. When battery saver mode kicks in (it kicks in automatically when the battery gets low), it automatically disables smartwatch features to make the battery last even longer. In both cases, the tracking is solid. Since I’ve been riding my stationary bike rather than running lately, I was comparing the Summit Lite readings to those on the bike panel. The heart rate and calorie count stats were slightly higher on the watch, but more stable, so I decided to go with the watch.
The Summit Lite is water resistant to 50 meters and can be used as a sports watch, meaning you can use its features while swimming. It comes with both rubber and textile straps. The beveled lugs soften the design a bit, adding a nice luxury feel to this functional and modern sports watch. The Summit Lite is priced at $860, making it a bargain compared to other smartwatches, such as the steel Summit 2+ at $1,170. In short, for anyone who wants detailed tracking of their workouts, this is a must-have addition to any luxury watch collection. Find out more at montblanc.com.
