Honor Band 6 review: Cool design, but it has one major flaw

Brief conclusion: excellent companion for runners

GPS! The lacking characteristic is GPS assist. Apologies for this clickbait introduction, however I’d have favored to interact your consideration till now. First issues first, I wish to immediately tackle the key shortcoming of the Honor Band 6, which is the dearth of GPS assist.

Personally, this doesn’t trouble me in any respect as I at all times run with my smartphone in tow. Aside from that, the Honor Band 6 completely had me enamored all through the overview length. The model I obtained sported a lightweight grey band that appears nice, with an easy-to-read show with a particularly intuitive consumer interface. I additionally didn’t discover any inaccuracies within the coronary heart charge measurement.

Nonetheless, I couldn’t advocate you to choose this up with a transparent conscience, as a result of you will get a tool outfitted with an built-in GPS chip for some extra bucks.

Design and show: type follows perform

In comparison with the Honor Band 5, the show within the Band 6 has grown by a whopping 148%.
The now 1.49-inch AMOLED show carries a decision of 194 x 368 pixels, the place it responds to your contact enter speedily. Aside from that, there may be additionally a button on the correct facet whereas the HONOR model title is etched on the left at a font measurement that’s tough to overlook.

What I favored:

• Bigger show that could be very simple to learn.
• Responsive button.
• Wristband with a basic watch clasp.

What I did not like:

• Button generally prompts when bending the wrist.
• Decision not excessive sufficient that pixels might be seen.

Nonetheless, the upgraded show has completed the tracker loads of good for my part. Anyway, I am extra into wider health trackers versus slimmer ones like the superb Xiaomi Mi Band 5, which resembles a wristband greater than a watch. The colour mixture of black with a grey wristband additionally brings out a very nice distinction.

Underneath brilliant daylight, the luminosity of the 1.49-inch AMOLED show is enough to learn the whole lot effectively at a look. On the similar time, the show is sort of too brilliant for me when nightfall falls. For the reason that brightness degree doesn’t modify itself mechanically, likelihood is you may blind your self quickly, particularly within the evenings or at evening.

Honor has managed to combine the show into a reasonably compact case which inserts fairly effectively on my not-so-large wrist. With out the wristband, the Honor Band 6 measures 42 x 25 x 10 millimeters precisely.

The design and show are completely spot-on within the Honor Band 6. The health tracker is modern-looking sufficient with its virtually bezel-less show, powered by a high-quality AMOLED panel. If solely it had the next decision depend. Since you can not watch Netflix on the health tracker within the first place, who cares?

Operation and Companion App: The most effective

Honor depends on a proprietary working system for the Honor Band 6, which works nice for my part. You navigate by way of this health tracker by way of
swipe gestures in addition to the big button that’s situated on the correct facet. Huawei Well being serves because the companion app, which proves itself but once more to ship a superb connection between the smartphone and tracker.

What I favored:

• Intuitive and good working system.
• Huawei Well being as a companion app.

What I did not favored:

• English language assist solely.

I don’t wish to dive too lengthy into the working system, as a result of there may be nothing however optimistic issues to report. Through the overview, I may uncover all of the features by way of guesswork alone, which is sort of spectacular when working a tiny show with just one button. The button features just like the Residence button, whereas the remainder of the controls depend on faucets and swipes.

Linking to the smartphone would require you to take action by way of the Huawei Well being app, and doing so is a surprisingly seamless affair. Notifications will pop up immediately on the health tracker as effectively, and if you activate a health exercise in your smartphone, the Honor Band 6 will vibrate. I’ve seen considerably greater latencies on different fashions, such because the pricier Oppo Watch.

Huawei’s Well being app can also be intuitive and feature-rich. You’ll be able to entry all monitoring features by way of a dashboard, which I want to dive into. What’s cool is which you could additionally conveniently change the tracker’s most necessary settings by way of the dashboard. Watch faces, for instance, might be modified in a extra handy method that features previews, with the choice to set your alarms as effectively.

Solely the voice output on the tracker that helps solely English (for now) may trigger issues in my fictional favourite situation - specifically, gifting this to my mother.

Honor has completed a improbable job with the user-friendliness on the Honor Band 6. The whole lot is simple and intuitive sufficient to make use of, the place the connection between tracker and smartphone stays a superb expertise courtesy of the Huawei Well being app. Solely the English voice output may postpone some German customers.

Options & Monitoring: Pulse, SpO2 - however the place is the GPS?

Honor built-in a coronary heart charge sensor into the Band 6 that may additionally measure your blood oxygen degree.
Amongst different issues, this lets you monitor your stress degree and naturally, monitor your pulse throughout sporting actions. Nevertheless, the Honor Band 6 doesn’t include an built-in GPS module, and you might be unable to answer notifications.

What I favored:

• Coronary heart charge monitor contains SpO2 sensor.
• 24-hour monitoring is feasible.
• Stress monitoring.
• Sleep monitoring.

What I did not favored:

• Pulse measurement shouldn’t be very correct.
• No GPS (however do learn the next sections).
• No direct response to notifications.

On this overview, I used the Honor Band 6 with the 24-hour coronary heart charge measurement enabled, permitting me to see after I broke a sweat throughout the day and when have been the occasions after I was sedentary. Nevertheless, when cross-checking with a blood stress monitor, I observed that the Honor Band 6 recorded my pulse charge to be just a few beats greater per minute. One other examine utilizing handbook checking delivered a extra correct outcome. Do you know which you could additionally measure your pulse along with your smartphone?

Along with pulse measurement, Honor additionally affords features comparable to sleep monitoring, stress degree measurement, and blood oxygen degree monitoring. For this, the heart beat sensor additionally helps SpO2 measurement, which is called pulse oximetry. Nevertheless, as I wrote in my Fitbit Cost 4 overview, these values should not too necessary in case you do not endure from coronary heart illness or carry out sports activities at excessive altitudes.

Nevertheless, these supported sports activities modes assist Honor to make observations in regards to the high quality of your sleep and your stress ranges. Subsequently, the mixing has confirmed itself to be reasonably helpful, even when I exploit the related features sparingly.

A significant disadvantage right here is the dearth of built-in GPS, which is already out there in different fashions inside the $60 value bracket. This health tracker will rely in your smartphone to file operating distances, for instance. Since I’ve had reasonably poor experiences with GPS modules in health trackers, I do not discover this exclusion to be too large of a dealbreaker.

Within the first place, I at all times run with my smartphone in my pocket anyway, as a result of I additionally wish to monitor the route utilizing Adidas Working whereas listening to podcasts. When you want to train with extra independence, then maybe you may wish to take a look at different smartbands for the identical value as a substitute with built-in GPS.

In abstract, the Honor Band 6 has virtually the whole lot that belongs in a health tracker for just below $60 Stress degree monitoring and sleep monitoring are good options to have, however most customers would most likely swap them for built-in GPS. Subsequently, that is my greatest criticism of the Honor Band 6.

Battery life: 14 days are potential, 10 minutes of charging ship three days of use

Honor advertises its Band 6 to hold a battery lifetime of 14 days.
On the similar time, the producer affords a Fast Charging characteristic that ought to get you to a few days’ value of battery life with simply 10 minutes of charging utilizing the included proprietary energy cable.

What I favored:

• Mi Band-level battery life.
• Fast-charging may turn out to be useful.
• Magnetic charging port.

What I did not favored:

• Proprietary charging port (however this isn’t a rarity).

Because of the lengthy battery life and me being a sucker for making an attempt out the quick-charging characteristic, I did not get the Honor Band 6 to empty itself fully throughout the overview. You’ll have to await 10 to 14 extra days to seek out out! On the danger of sounding like a damaged file, I wish to reiterate that my nonnegotiable for a health tracker can be this: I wish to file my important indicators with none trouble and, most significantly, with none gaps in between. It’s due to this fact good to know that having a battery lifetime of as much as two weeks is turning into commonplace amongst most producers.

With 24-hour monitoring enabled, sleep monitoring and stress monitoring turned on, mixed with a prolonged 1-hour run, I diminished the battery degree by 15 p.c after simply lower than 2 days. Easy arithmetic would level to the battery lasting lower than 13 days with the identical utilization sample. Appears to be on monitor with the claimed figures, would not it?

Charging works by way of a magnetic charging port, which might require you to take away the band. As physics dictates (keep in mind, magic is physics by design), magnets will at all times discover the correct polarity. As soon as once more, the issue with this proprietary answer is that you just at all times must take the correct cable with you. USB-C or micro-USB on health trackers, nonetheless, have their share of drawbacks.

The 14-day battery life that Honor marketed for the Band 6 shouldn’t be a particular characteristic. Nevertheless, it doesn’t must be so, as a result of the runtime is superb! With a 10-minute Fast Cost, you can even simply get hold of one other three days of use out of it in case you are in a rush. Whereas I’d replace the battery life outcomes later, take into account me bought on the battery life claims to date!

What extra it’s best to know earlier than shopping for

As soon as once more, listed below are just a few notes and particulars in regards to the overview unit in short.
These don’t essentially have an effect on the ultimate ranking, however are nonetheless “good to know” for some potential patrons.

• The heartbeat monitoring relies on Huawei’s TruSeen 4.0 know-how.
• Music management is on the market.
• Photos might be configured as watch faces utilizing Android, one thing that’s not potential with iOS.
• The menstruation monitoring requires the set up of the HMS Core 4.0.0.
• IP67 charges for water and dirt safety.
• Wristbands can be found in Meteorite Black, Seagull Gray and Coral Pink colours.

Conclusion: Really helpful - in case you do not want GPS

Total, Honor impressed me with its new health tracker, particularly its design with the marginally wider show and the ease-of-use that personally appealed to me. On the similar time, the ten supported sports activities modes, in addition to the extra features for each stress and sleep monitoring, are fully enough for my on a regular basis use. The whole lot is relative, as they are saying.

Nevertheless, I nonetheless must moan in regards to the lack of an built-in GPS chipset. When evaluate to different smartbands on the similar class, the worth distinction is minimal, so why not fork out that more money simply in case you want that characteristic sooner or later?

Additionally, the truth that biking monitoring solely works with the HMS core, which limits it to solely with Huawei smartphones or operating awkwardly on Android stays a thorn in my facet. If you do not have a bicycle or take pleasure in biking, you will not care anyway.

To finish on a optimistic observe: Contrasted towards the Oppo Watch, battery life is superb. The marketed 14 days of battery life is real looking, as I proceed to check this health tracker. Nevertheless, we can have the precise ends in two weeks’ time of which I’ll replace this text accordingly. Keep tuned!