Huawei Watch review: the most customizable smartwatch yet [hands-on]
Kris Carlon 2015-03-13T00:00:00Z1 month ago
Kris Carlon Kris Carlon comes to the AndroidPIT Editorial Team via a lengthy period spent traveling and relying on technology to keep him in touch with the outside world. He joined the Android community while resurfacing in civilization back in 2010 and has never looked back, using technology to replace his actual presence in other people's lives ever since. He can usually be found juggling three phones at once and poring over G+ posts, Reddit and RSS feeds. The Huawei Watch was a bit of a surprise at MWC 2015. Sure, we knew it was coming, but we didn't expect it to look so darn good or cause such a huge splash. We spent a little time with Huawei's stylish new timepiece and bring you everything you need to know in our hands-on Huawei Watch review.
c ANDROIDPIT The Huawei Watch release date will be sometime mid-2015. No exact timeline was given but Huawei did tell us it would be ''in the middle of the year.'' The Huawei Watch price is unconfirmed but online retailer leaks out it in?the vicinity of 349 – 399 USD, depending on the color you choose (silver and black are cheaper, gold is more expensive).
The Huawei Watch is classically styled and the same size as standard watches. c ANDROIDPIT Huawei has gone down the classic styling route perhaps more so than any other manufacturer with a smartwatch out right now. The Huawei Watch comes as close as possible to a traditional watch design, with a thin profile, elevated bezels in a diver's watch style and round format with a button on the right towards the top.
Along with the LG G Watch R, the Huawei Watch is the only smartwatch out right now that has a fully circular face. The Huawei Watch features a diameter of 42 mm, which matches the current standard for a classic timepiece, as opposed to bulkier watches like the G Watch R that comes in at 46 mm. The Huawei Watch is also very light, although we don't yet know its exact weight.
The Huawei Watch is made of hypoallergenic 316L surgical steel, so the back of it shouldn't suffer the cracking problems that have plagued the Moto 360's plastic back. All told, the Huawei Watch has six sensors including a heart rate monitor along with a barometer for measuring altitude and air pressure. The physical button functions like any other Android Wear device: a long press to access settings or turn the screen on or off with a quick press.
The Huawei Watch is all about customization though, with three different metal bands available and two leather ones. The strap pin is 18 mm so it can be switched out for any other watch strap you prefer.
The Huawei Watch is apparently water-resistant but no specific certification was listed. All in all, it feels great, is a perfect size for anyone put off by the large dimensions of most smartwatches available right now and stylistically is a mix between the Moto 360 and LG G Watch R, albeit a much more lean version of the latter.
The Huawei Watch display is the best in class, and only about 80 percent the size of the Moto 360 (right). / c Huawei, Motorola, ANDROIDPIT The Huawei Watch features a 1.4-inch AMOLED display covered in sapphire crystal (like the Apple Watch). It has a 400 x 400 pixels resolution, bringing a class-leading pixel density of 286 ppi. In terms of face size, though, it's about 80 percent the screen size of the Moto 360.
The Huawei Watch display is bright and sharp and looks good, although it did seem to be pushing reflections an awful lot under the bright glare of the MWC 2015 spotlights. We'll bring you more on viewing angles, outdoor visibility, brightness and reflections when we get a final version of the Huawei Watch in our hands mid-year.
The elevated bezels on the side are reminiscent of the G Watch R. Those of you that like the edge-to-edge display of the Moto 360 may not be a fan of the raised frame, and it may interfere with your finger swipes at first, but it is easy enough to get used to and avoids that unsightly chromatic aberration at the edges of the Moto 360 where the screen is beveled into the chassis.
The Huawei Watch looks great and has plenty of functionality too. / c Droid-Life The Huawei Watch we tested runs a completely stock version of Android Wear v5.0.2 and was stuck in the standard demo loop, so we couldn't look for any additional functions or even check the available watch faces. We'll bring you more on the specifics of Android Wear running on the Huawei Watch when it is finalized and shipped out for review. Huawei tells us that there are more than 40 available watch faces out of the box.
As mentioned, the Huawei Watch was running a demo loop of Android Wear so it was impossible to get much of an idea about performance in real-world conditions. Nevertheless, there were no glitches, hiccups or stutters during our time with the device and the Huawei Watch specs include pretty standard smartwatch fare: a Snapdragon 400 clocked at 1.23 GHz, 512 MB of RAM and 4 GB of internal storage.
The Huawei Watch's six-axis sensor means you will be able to differentiate between runs, climbs, walks, biking and more, and it also features a built-in microphone and barometer for calculating altitude and air pressure. Of course, we were unable to see how well the Huawei Watch worked when paired with a smartphone for the reasons listed above.
# The back of the Huawei Watch is stainless steel and uses a pogo pin dock charger. ?c ANDROIDPIT This is perhaps the most disappointing part of the Huawei Watch. While it comes with pretty standard specs for a smartwatch and sits right up there in terms of look and feel, it is let down by a very small battery. It's 300 mAh?to be precise.
While it is possible that Huawei has worked some battery magic no one else has yet managed, don’t hold your breath. Of course, the stainless steel back means you won't be wirelessly charging the Huawei Watch either and will require a charging dock like most other smartwatches (except the Moto 360).
The Huawei Watch comes in a wide variety of looks and feels. / c Huawei Model:Sorry, not yet available! Dimensions:Sorry, not yet available!Weight:Sorry, not yet available!Screen:400 x 400 pixels (404 ppi)Front camera:Sorry, not yet available!Rear camera:Sorry, not yet available!Flashlight:Sorry, not yet available!Removable storage:Sorry, not yet available!Chipset:Sorry, not yet available!Connectivity:Sorry, not yet available!Even if you put aside the more subjective criteria like design and material preferences, the Huawei Watch is one of the better-looking smartwatches around right, if for no other reason than it looks the most like the classic watches we already know with styling that has been refined over decades. The many options for watch bands and watch faces make the Huawei Watch the most customizable we've yet seen on Android Wear, even if the OS itself can't be tweaked.
Huawei got the look right, they got the form factor right, they got the display right, they got the customizations right and?they got the size right. But the biggest thing Huawei slipped up on just so happens to be the biggest issue facing all smartwatches right now: battery life. Even with the best design and the best features, no watch will take off until it has class-leading battery life.
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