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The Huawei Watch is perhaps the best example of what is currently the hottest trend in smartwatches: fashion.
Though still a piece of technology in its infancy, developers and manufacturers aren’t losing the most sleep over battery life, software integration or how to best tether (or not) the device to a smartphone. Instead, the focus is on how these modern takes on a classic wrist accessory look, and in Huawei’s case the view appears to be sticking to the familiar.
That’s why the Watch has a circular display and comes with traditional leather or metal link straps. The crown button on the side of the device looks and feels like something you’d see on a traditional, analogue wristwatch.
The steel casing is there for the same reason, and the Watch is impressively light to wear. A real problem for many early smartwatches was how heavy they felt, and the uncomfortable level of awareness you had to their presence. But there’s no sign of that here; Huawei’s first smartwatch is extremely comfortable.
This is despite quite a chunky design. Place the Watch alongside many other smartwatches and it looks a lot larger than most – the actual difference is minimal, but rather than bulge in certain areas (like the Apple Watch for example), the Watch packs everything into the main casing.
The leather straps on this version of the Watch – the Classic – can easily be removed thanks to small switches on the underside of each strap, so users can alter the style as they choose.
And that is the key point for the Huawei Watch – it’s supposed to look stylish, and in a line-up of smartwatches it stands out a mile.
The Watch is naturally powered by Android Wear, which continues to make very good strides as a user experience, not least by the news that it now supports iOS, so even iPhone users now have more choice when it comes to wearable tech.
Setting up with Android Wear is also fairly straightforward, with a quick pairing procedure to carry out via a phone app in order to link the two. Signing in with Google to sync your emails, calendars and other personal info creates the sort of basic notification base you expect from a smartwatch. But Watch owners who are more prominent users of Google Now will see a useful extra layer of information appear through Google Cards.
These are the snapshots of info that also appear on your smartphone if you use the service, and having quick-fire sports scores, weather and traffic reports, among other offerings, is a handy bonus – particularly as there is no apps homescreen to need to manage.
However, these Google Cards can be a little temperamental, and don’t always appear as a notification alert; instead suddenly appearing in your list of previous alerts as you swipe throughm. This might mean missing the odd football score, which is not a deal-breaker, but mildly inconvenient.
Notifications in general also still feel as though they need some work; the semi-visible cards they convert to after having been initially seen, looks ugly and obscures some of your watchface with a flash of white. For a Watch that looks so good as a piece of hardware this is an unsightly aspect to the software.
Beyond the initial looks, there are some other real high points to using the Watch. One of these is the inclusion of 4GB of internal storage. This means it’s possible to download music, store it on the Watch and then listen to it offline via Bluetooth headphones synced to the device. Of course that also means you don’t have to always take your phone with you.
Battery life is also solid – lasting around two full days with moderate use.
The voice recognition is also very good – with the “OK Google” prompts very handy at setting reminders, starting timers and carrying out searches.
At the top end of the scale, the Huawei Watch can cost £599, with the traditional model, like the one seen here complete with a leather band, will cost you £289. This is Apple Watch price territory, and also makes the Huawei Watch the priciest wearable on Android Wear.
This is a bold move, but is clearly driven by the high quality of the materials used in the hardware.
Huawei have ticked a lot of the boxes for a smartwatch, an impressive feat considering this is their first move into this market. The Watch is stylish yet subtle when on your wrist, and the internal storage breaks down the tethering barrier between a wearable and your phone.
The housing is great and on this measure the Watch is one of the best we’ve seen. The circular face, steel casing and leather strap creates something that looks high-end fashion.
The problem is the software, with the Android Wear failing to deliver what the visual expectations promise, and suffering further in comparison to the Apple Watch operating system.
This is a shame, but in the long run the Watch should be good for both Huawei and Google – both will get better, and that should mean some impressive stuff to come from this combination.
