The new Spin-R R2 app controlled watchwinder

Some time ago we wrote a review about the Spin-R single watchwinder. In general this watchwinder was a good product for a fair price. But time passed and we may expect that brands improve their products with new technique and better materials. The question is, did Spin-R improve these points in their recently launched app-controlled watchwinder?

First a short introduction about Spin-R. Spin-R watchwinders from Hong Kong started in 2010 producing watchwinders with a modern design. The Spin-R watchwinders are developed with energy saving Japanese motors and a rechargable lithium battery inside. The models before this app-controlled watchwinder are already for multiple years on the market. It was waiting for news from Spin-R about new models and after a long silence Spin-R now introduces the Spin-R R2 app-controlled watchwinder. It took a while, so our expectations are high….

Design

The Spin-R R2 app-controlled watchwinder has a compact and modern design! It’s only 12.5 (L) x 16.0 (W) x 14.0 (H) cm. The front has a diameter of 12.5 cm and that’s very compact. This watchwinder is available in 3 colours; black, white and grey. The case has some curves which makes it more nice. On top is a big “R” related to Spin-R. This “R” is not just for design purposes, it’s also a system which allows you to place another Spin-R watchwinder on top of it. You can connect up to five Spin-R watchwinders with one single adapter (main). This idea is well thought and totally in line with the good design.

The Spin-R R2 app-controlled watchwinder is made of plastic. But better plastic than the Spin-R single we reviewed last time. It feels more solid and stabile. The door opens from left to right and feels solid, maybe a bit too solid.

Currently more and more watchwinder brands produce small and compact watchwinders with all kinds of functions. Brands as Swiss Kubik, Rapport, Underwood and Wolf are experienced in this field already. Now there are also new players as Chronovision. Spin-R is one of the first watchwinder brands which produced a compact and modern watchwinder with all functions you need.

As we already said in our first review the Spin-R watchwinders have the advantage to be small and compact. You can put them everywhere, they won’t be annoying. It’s not a big watchwinder where you have to make room for.

This Spin-R R2 watchwinder has a good design which is compact and therefore easy to use. Nevertheless it would be interesting to see other colours than just black, white and grey. Maybe colours as blue, red and green will do well.

Originality

This Spin-R R2 app-controlled watchwinder is totally different than the traditional watchwinder. It only has one button (on/off) and is totally controlled by app. This means that when you pruchase this watchwinder you can download a special Spin-R app to control your watchwinder. We downloaded this app for Android and IOS (Apple). The IOS app was introduced first and works perfect. No complaints about that. Nevertheless the Android app doesn’t work that great. There are bugs in it, which makes it hard to use. We visited Spin-R at Baselworld (Switzerland) and mentioned this and they told us they are working on it. Based on their professional attitude we expect these problems with the Spin-R Android app are history soon.

As said the IOS app does work fine and it allows you to set all functions (TPD, rotation direction, LED light and battery level). A nice feature is that the Spin-R app offers a database with many (not all) automatic watches and their specs. This makes it very easy to choose the exact settings for your automatic watch.

At every day use the app is a step forwards, but we think that when a app is launched it should all work perfectly, for IOS and Android…and it doesn’t. Unfortunately we see it more often at other products (mobile phones, cars, tv’s etc etc), it looks like the brand launched it and then solves all the problems. In our eyes problems which should have been solved before, in the testing phase.

The combination of the app-controlled watchwinder and the eco-friendly battery (which was also used in the previous models) makes it a modern watchwinder. But the fact that the technique is not perfect is a big disadvantage for all who would like to buy one now. We hope Spin-R keeps it promise to solve all problems soon.

Quality

We tested the Spin-R R2 app-controlled watchwinder for more than 4 weeks. Except the Android app problems we are pleased by the quality and functionality of this new Spin-R watchwinder. The motor does run very smooth and almost without any sound. When the door is closed you hear nothing.

The material is hard plastic and suitable for the job. It’s nothing fancy or exclusive but very practical in use and has a good shape. The materials used are good certainly considering the retail price.

We also want to mention the packaging. We must say that Spin-R did a great job regarding packaging and presentation. When we opened the package we had the feeling we were opening a package of a much more expensive watchwinder. The packaging is well made and gives it a luxury touch. Nevertheless we prefer a manual on paper….but maybe we are old school;)

Finishing

The finishing of the watchwinder is very good. The materials are solid and we can see it took special attention to combine the app control system, connection system and special adapter (which can be used in different angles). This Spin-R app controlled watchwinder is certainly value for money, considering the promise of Spin-R to solve the Android app problems soon.

Conclusion

Spin-R is very good at offering a good quality watchwinder for a very reasonable price. There are not many watchwinders in the same price range offering all these functions and an app-controlled system. We think this new technique will be more attractive for younger watch adepts as it’s modern technique and not everyone want to set it’s watchwinder by mobile phone with an app. Because everytime you want to set your watchwinder you have to take your mobile, start the app and adjust the settings….But of course we should consider that normally you will set the watchwinder once and then it will work for a longer period withhout the need making adjustments to the settings.

Our conclusion is that the new Spin-R app controlled watchwinder is a very good watchwinder with attractive technique, a modern design and for a great price. This watchwinder is available for 159.00 USD which is a bargain….