Huawei Watch review: Excellent battery life, but the system still needs to be improved

Tencent Digital News (Wang Yang) As early as the beginning of the year at MWC2015, Huawei released its own smart watch HUAWEI WATCH. After 8 months of waiting, Huawei finally brought this smart watch equipped with Android Wear system to domestic users. Traditional round dial design, sapphire mirror, multiple strap adaptation and other high-value designs can be found on this watch, and users can also choose the color, dial and strap that suits them according to their preferences.

Traditional round dial, comfortable to wear

Foreign media have already given high praise to the appearance design of HUAWEI WATCH. It is another smartwatch with traditional design after MOTO, with a diameter of 42mm and a stainless steel body, which is very common in traditional quartz watches and mechanical watches, and Huawei has added some brushed processing to enhance the business sense. We are reviewing the Galaxy Silver version, and there are also Amber Gold and Obsidian Black to choose from.

In fact, the biggest rival in the Google camp is the Apple Watch. Although the working principles are similar, the Apple Watch uses an unconventional square screen design, while both the representative products MOTO 360 and HUAWEI WATCH use round dials, which are obviously more beautiful.

Similar to current smart watches, the crown of HUAWEI WATCH is also designed at the two o'clock position on the right side of the body, which is highly recognizable. Operations are currently limited to lighting up the screen, double-clicking to lock the screen, or long pressing to enter the settings interface, and the buttons feel very good.

The 42mm diameter HUAWEI WATCH is suitable for men, but women will feel that the sides are thick. The dial uses a synthetic sapphire mirror, which has good light transmittance and wear resistance. The front is a 1.4-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 400×400 pixels and 286ppi. The border of the watch is narrow enough, only 0.6mm. What satisfies me is that this small screen does not have a grainy feeling. Since it supports brightness adjustment, it can be seen clearly when worn outdoors under light.

Built-in more than 40 watch face themes

Huawei has equipped this watch with more than 40 dials by default, and it also supports online download. It would be very comfortable to change the dial every day. In addition, the black non-display area that cannot be removed when evaluating MOTO 360 is really a headache. Although HUAWEI WATCH has solved this problem, the regret is that the light sensor on the front of the dial is erased, which will affect the screen brightness adjustment when you switch between different scenes.

HUAWEI WATCH is divided into three models, namely classic, dynamic and premium edition, and comes with straps including stainless steel braid, genuine leather, stainless steel three-bead, etc. I have only tried the leather strap so far, and it fits the wrist very well and is not easily deformed. In addition, the strap can be disassembled in terms of expandability, which means that all straps with 18mm interfaces on the market can be used with this watch.

Finally, HUAWEI WATCH is said to support IP67 waterproof level, but I did not conduct a violent waterproof test. However, it is certain that it is not difficult to operate in rainy and snowy conditions with water splashing.

Easy to use, limited third-party app adaptation

The first time you use HUAWEI WATCH, you need to pair it with Bluetooth. Although it uses the Android Wear system, it actually supports both Android phones and iPhones with iOS systems. In this respect, Google is much more generous than Apple. But I still recommend that you use Bluetooth connection with Android devices for better results, because iOS currently does not support Chinese, and there are no software applications available for download.

Behind the open source system, the operating logic of the mobile phone system and the watch system is actually quite different. Basically, if you have used an Android Wear product, you can immediately use other products without learning. The operation method of HUAWEI WATCH is mainly based on sliding and clicking. You can call out applications or return operations by sliding up, down, left, and right.

The system of my watch has been upgraded to the latest Android Wear 1.3 version. Compared with the old version, except for the occasional sluggishness when opening the map, the operation fluency has been greatly improved and is not behind its rival Watch OS at all. The default HUAWEI WATCH does not have many functions. Due to the "castration" of the entire set of Google services, the Chinese version uniformly uses the Ticwear system customized based on Android Wear.

Let me tell you about my daily life with HUAWEI WATCH. I habitually wear it before going to work every day. In addition to checking the time, the operations on your phone can also be projected onto this watch, such as checking text messages, call reminders, etc. Using voice services, you can perform simple tasks, such as searching for nearby food information or setting alarms and calendars.

What benefits sports enthusiasts is that the watch itself supports measuring heart rate. The results of multiple tests of the photosensor on the back of the watch are still very stable, which is basically consistent with the test data of Apple Watch. Moreover, it can automatically record the number of steps I take every day. Whether it is the watch or the App, you can check the number of steps and calorie consumption. You can also set a target value to remind you to stand regularly, etc. If you need such a device that can record your walking information at all times, HUAWEI WATCH can really help a lot.

With the help of Android Wear App on the phone, in addition to downloading more watch faces, you can also obtain third-party adaptation software provided by Huawei Watch App Market, which now supports WeChat, Alipay, Flight Manager, QQ Light Chat, Tencent News, Ctrip Travel, Qingting FM, etc., but you must know that these applications cannot run independently, and more detailed content needs to be viewed on the phone. In comparison, Android Wear platform products have a large gap in domestic application adaptation compared with Apple Watch OS, and are currently only regarded as message push devices.

Battery life exceeds expectations

The outstanding battery life of HUAWEI WATCH also exceeded my expectations. It is equipped with a 300mAh capacity battery. I wear this watch to go out at around 8 o'clock every morning. The installed applications are limited to the apps provided by Huawei Mall, including Tencent News, WeChat, QQ, and Ctrip Travel. During the period of normal time checking and application message push, the battery life of this watch can last for 24 hours in the past week of use, which means that if you forget to charge the watch at night, it will not fail immediately. If it is switched to standby, the battery life will reach 3 days. In addition, each charging time is about 1.5 hours.

In comparison, this battery life is better than the new MOTO 360 and Apple Watch we have reviewed before. The battery optimization of the new MOTO 360 is not ideal. The battery will run out after about 8 hours of continuous wearing. The reason should be that HUAWEI WATCH uses AMOLED screen material, while the new Moto 360 uses a more power-consuming LCD screen. My Apple Watch has a large number of applications installed, but the commonly used ones are limited to WeChat or news client push, and the continuous battery life is about 15 hours. In addition, unlike the dock-type charging form of the new MOTO 360, HUAWEI WATCH and Apple Watch also use a magnetic charging interface, but you must always pay attention to align the contacts.

According to Huawei's official introduction, HUAWEI WATCH uses Broadcom BCM4343S chip, and the collaborative processing working mode can choose to start the low-power processor by identifying the scene.

Price may become a limiting factor

In summary, as a representative work of domestic smart watches, HUAWEI WATCH has made great progress in design craftsmanship that is closer to traditional watches, sapphire mirror, smooth operation and battery life. The only shortcoming can only be attributed to the constraints of the software system, which makes it inevitable that Google's family of smart watches will become "message notifiers" in China.

In terms of price, HUAWEI WATCH has three price options, including the black leather strap model at 2,388 yuan, the stainless steel strap model at 2,588 yuan, and the brown crocodile leather strap model at 3,288 yuan. Currently, HUAWEI WATCH has opened reservations and will be officially sold on Huawei Mall, JD.com, retail stores and other platforms on December 9. As for the price, it is a matter of opinion. Compared with the second generation of MOTO 360, which starts at 1,999 yuan, HUAWEI WATCH does not have a price advantage.

In addition to Huawei, Motorola, Samsung, Sony, LG, Asus, and ZTE have all launched smart watches equipped with the Android Wear system, but without exception, they are all homogeneous and cannot adapt to the local conditions in China, which restricts consumers' choices. So what Huawei needs to do next is to adapt as many watch applications as possible to the customized Android Wear system to create differentiation, which is the localized upgrade that consumers like most.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.