NorthBeacon has built the most quietly handsome smartwatch on the market. The Lyra is the first one we'd happily wear with a suit. The fitness tracking won't dethrone a dedicated sports watch, but it does the daily basics confidently.
Ratings
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Fitness Tracking4.0 /5
Daily basics covered well, no advanced metrics.
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Display & Build5.0 /5
The benchmark for smartwatch design.
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Smart Features4.3 /5
NFC and notifications, no LTE or music.
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App Ecosystem3.9 /5
First-party-only - no third-party store.
NorthBeacon Lyra Pros & Cons
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The most attractive smartwatch we've tested
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Sapphire crystal and 20 mm standard lug system
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Slim 9 mm case wears like a traditional watch
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Surprisingly good HR and sleep tracking for a design-first watch
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Just 24 hours of real-world battery life
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Companion app feels undercooked
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No third-party app store
NorthBeacon Lyra Features
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Heart rate monitor
Continuous tracking with custom alerts.
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SpO2 sensor
On-demand only.
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GPS
Single-band L1 GPS.
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Sleep tracking
Sleep stages and consistency score.
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NFC payments
NorthBeacon Pay - 30+ banks supported.
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Voice assistant
Limited to dictation and timers.
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Water resistance
3 ATM - splash-proof only.
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ECG
Not supported.
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LTE/Cellular
Not available.
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Music storage
Music controls only - no onboard storage.
NorthBeacon Lyra Specifications
- Display
- 1.2" AMOLED, 1,200 nits
- Case material
- Polished stainless steel with sapphire crystal
- Battery life
- 24 hours typical use
- Charging
- Wireless, 0-100% in 60 minutes
- Connectivity
- Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
- Weight
- 36 g (case only)
- Compatibility
- iOS 16+ and Android 12+
- Storage
- 4 GB
- Sensors
- Optical HR, SpO2, accelerometer, ambient light
- Water rating
- 3 ATM
Fitness Editor
Felix reviews smartwatches the way other people use them - for weeks at a time, in the field, against real reference equipment. A former sports science researcher turned consumer-tech writer, he treats every review as a comparison study: GPS tracks logged against a dedicated Garmin, heart-rate readings cross-checked with a chest strap, sleep data sanity-checked against a polysomnography device borrowed from a sleep lab. He cares less about which watch has the longest spec sheet and more about which one survives an actual marathon training block. He's been on the same wrist size for 35 years.