ARM planning the Mali-470 GPU for smartwatches and wearables
One of the next big markets for tech companies is the wearable space, which you probably already knew. If you’ve had a smartwatch in the past few years, you also probably know how battery life typically isn’t great and the actual graphics processing is, well, not so great, either. Kind of like our smartphones several years ago.
Fortunately for all of us, ARM is planning on tackling the problem with a new GPU designed specifically for smartwatches and wearables. The reported Mali-470 GPU will be a major step up from what’s currently in use and supports OpenGL ES 2.0 for better graphical effects. The most important thing to focus on, however, is battery life.
Battery life on smartwatches right now isn’t great, unless you want an extra device to charge every night, which not many of us do. The Mali-470 is designed to sip power instead of drain it like current hardware, which should drastically extend battery life on your futuristic wrist-computers. That’s good news for everyone.
ARM isn’t expecting any of these GPUs to hit market until 2016, and it’ll take awhile for manufacturers to design things to take advantage of the lower power consumption, but things are looking bright for the future of smartwatches.
source: ARM
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Nuance and Pebble partner to bring voice recognition to many of Pebble’s smartwatches
Nuance Communications and Pebble Technologies have announced that, together, they’re bringing Nuance’s voice recognition technology to the Pebble Time, Pebble Time Steel, and Pebble Time Round smartwatches.
This added voice recognition technology will allow Android users to reply to emails and text messages by using their voice with a simple touch of a button.
It’s available for the Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel straight away, but Pebble Time Round owners in the US will have to wait until November 8 to take advantage of the built-in voice recognition technology.
Pebble also in conjunction with Nuance has created a Dictation API, which is open to developers to build voice-enabled applications. Developers who are interested in taking advantage of Pebble’s API can check out the all the documentation on Pebble’s developer website.
Was it really worth the time and money of integrating voice technology into the Pebble devices, though? Only a very small group of people will take advantage of the feature, as smartwatches still aren’t widely adopted. And given the chance, most people would rather type an email or text message than yell at their smartphone or smartwatch.
There’s also the frustrations of voice recognition that isn’t just limited to Pebble. When using speech-to-text technology, more often than not the user has to go back in his or her email or text message and edit the parts that the smartphone or smartwatch didn’t hear correctly.
While it’s a nice feature to have on hand, it’d difficult to see how it enhances the Pebble experience for the large majority of its users. Voice recognition technology just isn’t in its prime, but hopefully that will change sooner than later.
Android Users Can Reply to Texts and Emails Using Their Voice with Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel; API Now Available for Pebble Developer Community
Burlington, MA. – October 15, 2015 – Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) and Pebble Technology Corp. today announced that Nuance’s voice recognition technology enables Android users with Pebble Time and Pebble Time Steel smartwatches to reply to email and text messages using their voice at a touch of a button. This feature will also be available on Pebble Time Round starting on November 8 in the US. In conjunction with the voice recognition capabilities, Pebble created a Dictation API leveraging Nuance’s voice technology for the Pebble developer community to build unique and engaging voice-enabled applications that will work seamlessly with Pebble smartwatches on both Android and iOS.
“The value of a smartwatch is directly connected to its overall aesthetics, fit, and intuitive functionality. Pebble is committed to offering not only a variety of smartwatches that blend into individual lifestyles, but also to expanding the usability of Pebble smartwatches world-wide through frequent software upgrades,” said Kean Wong, Vice President of Software Engineering at Pebble. “Making voice capabilities accessible to developers will help grow the Pebble app ecosystem exponentially, providing Pebble users access to more apps that are fun, intuitive, and easy to use.”
“Voice opens up a world of possibility for wearable devices – in seconds, messages dictated by voice are sent right from the wrist with just a touch of a button. By opening the Dictation API to Pebble developers, more experiences will be delivered and consumers will be able to connect without having to look down at their device,” said Scott Taylor, senior vice president of devices, Nuance Mobile.
Nuance provides a voice for everything through a portfolio of innovations that is defining a new generation of virtual assistant experiences. As a result, people experience a more human conversation with the world’s best phones, tablets, computers, cars, TVs, apps and services from leading manufacturers and operators.
Click here to learn more about Pebble’s voice API.
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Huawei Watch review: Does function match design?
Huawei has been making quite the statement in 2015. Other than being one of Google’s partners for the Nexus 6P, Huawei has been releasing a slew of high-quality products that have been turning heads everywhere. Slowly, but surely they have been making a name for themselves, and it’s obviously caught the attention of the big boys in California.
In addition to the various phones that Huawei has introduced, they also entered the Android Wear smartwatch race. The Huawei Watch was introduced at Mobile World Congress in February of 2015, and then officially released just last month. When Huawei showed off their Android Wear smartwatch, there were lots of ooh’s and ah’s due to the beautiful design.
Design
Sporting a stainless steel casing, the Huawei Watch features a traditional round-face, with a simple button on the upper right-hand side of the watch. As someone who’s owned a Moto 360, I was interested in seeing a smartwatch take advantage of ALL the screen real-estate, without worrying about having a flat tire, that cuts off parts of the watch faces. Luckily, the Huawei Watch does not have this chin, but there’s also a glaring hole that the Huawei Watch fails to fill.
Part of why the Moto 360 has that hideous flat tire on the face, is to house all the sensors, including the ambient light sensor. Well, the Huawei Watch is without this light sensor, meaning that this smartwatch stays at the same brightness all the time. This can be frustrating, and you would think that the lack of an ambient light sensor would take a toll on the battery life, but you might be surprised.
The somewhat larger size of the Huawei Watch helps to protect your new smartwatch from getting scratched or anything, and the glass covering the watch face does the same. Made out of sapphire crystal, the Huaweai Watch provides another first for Android Wear devices, making it the first of its kind with this type of protection for your watch face. What makes sapphire crystal different from the rest, is that it’s harder than Corning’s Gorilla Glass. This will allow for you accidentally bump into something and have a little more peace of mind about whether you just cracked the face of your favorite smartwatch.
Specs
Below the hood, the Huawei Watch has a 1.4-inch display with, 400×400 resolution at a rate of 286 pixels per inch. This is the highest resolution of any Android Wear device today. Powering that beautiful, high resolution display is a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 4GB of storage, 512MB of RAM and a 300mAh battery. Additionally, the Huawei Watch has a few other features that help it stand apart from the crowd.
The built-in Wi-Fi will come in handy if you’re using the Huawei Watch and your Bluetooth paired device isn’t near you. That way you will still be able to get your notifications even if you’re outside of the range of the Bluetooth. With an IP67 rating, your watch will be able to withstand you taking a shower with it on, and the occasional rain-drops, but don’t play on taking this on a swim with you. The Huawei Watch also has a heart-rate monitor on the bottom of the watch, and while it doesn’t continuously monitor your heart-rate, the added functionality is definitely a plus.
Huawei didn’t really design their watch to be a “sporty” device, instead focusing more on fashion with this one. In that regard, there isn’t GPS built-in, so you won’t be able to track exactly where you go. However, you will be able to keep track of your steps, distance, and calories burned with the Huawei Watch.
These are some pretty impressive specs, compared to other Android Wear devices that have been released in 2015. The Huawei Watch isn’t without it’s flaws, unfortunately. The casing, while beautiful and professional looking, is a bit thick and heavy. For someone with large wrists like myself, and one who usually wears a G-Shock, this isn’t really a problem at all. But we can imagine those with normal-sized wrists, running into some issues with the heft of the Huawei Watch.
Where’s the Qi?
Another downside to the design of the Huawei Watch would have to be the charging capabilities. As stated above, I am coming from the first-gen Moto 360 with its wireless Qi-charging. When the Huawei Watch was first announced, I was a little more than disappointed with the announcement regarding the lack of Qi-charging. Huawei opted for the pogo-pin style charging, which automatically limits the ways you will be able to charge the Watch. Maybe this has something to do with the already thick casing of the watch, but it’s an interesting omission nonetheless.
In the packaging, you’ll receive a charging cable with the pogo-plug pad for the Huawei Watch to be charged. I must admit, this was the most frustrating part of the review. There were multiple times, where I laid the Huawei Watch on the charging pad, thinking that it was charging because of the magnet in the charger, only to find out that the Watch was dead the next morning. In order to make sure I had a good contact between the Watch and the charging pad, I would pick up both the charger and the watch, and made sure that the pins were lined up correctly.
This is an area that could see some improvement from the folks at Huawei, but it’s not the end of the world either. Hopefully, since more of the world is moving towards wireless charging, Huawei will follow suit if they end up releasing an updated version in the future.
Battery Life
As for the battery life, I’ve taken a look at a few of the other Huawei Watch reviews, just to get a feel for what other folks have been getting and I must say that I must have the golden egg. Other reviews state that they can’t get through an entire day, let alone two, without having to recharge. This was not the case in my experience with the Huawei Watch.
After the first week, when the updates were installed, and the internal dust settled, I was getting great battery life. My work day starts at 6AM but I have to leave my apartment at about 5AM or so. I was able to get through the entire day, with heavy usage, and still have about 40% or so left over when I got back to my apartment around 4 or 5PM. With that battery life, there were times that I would be able to use the Huawei Watch up until I got home the next day.
Swap those bands
Being able to change out the various bands is always a fun experiment, regardless of whatever watch you get. The Huawei Watch supports both 18mm and 21mm straps that can be easily swapped out at your discretion. There is a quick release tab on the ends of the band that allow for replacing the bands without any tools. No longer do you have to worry about fumbling around with swapping the bands out.
The final “gripe” I have with the design, isn’t necessarily for me, but I can see it being problematic for others. Huawei decided to not add an NFC chip within the Huawei Watch. While the casing is already thick, I can imagine there would be room somewhere to add this feature. With contactless payments, like Android Pay and Samsung Pay, becoming more and more popular, the lack of NFC is a bit of a head-scratcher. We’ll have to see if Huawei hits the mark on the next rendition.
Usage and Software
Throughout my testing of the Huawei Watch, I paired the Watch with three different devices; OnePlus 2, Samsung Galaxy Note5, and the iPhone 6s. At the core, the software is the same that can be found on every other Android Wear device. However, the Huawei Watch comes preloaded with a boatload of watch faces, 40 to be exact. And while the face itself is fairly large, the Google Now cards that would pop up, took up too much of th screen.
There were times of frustration, where I would get annoyed with the size of the cards, and going on a swiping frenzy to get rid of the notifications. If there was a different way to view the notifications or a way to change the size of the Google Now cards, that would be pretty awesome. But that’s not the fault of the Huawei Watch, or any other Android Wear device for that matter.
Something worth taking note of, is related to the charging notification you get when plugging in your new Huawei Watch. The icon is extremely tiny, and there are times where you can’t even see whether it’s charging or not. That should be something that can be changed on Huawei’s side, and make it easier for us to tell whether your Watch is charging or not.
Empty those wallets
If you want to get this bad boy, be prepared to empty your wallets out. There are six different options you can get from either Huawei or Amazon, and the pricing ranges from $349 to $449. Here are the listed options below:
- Huawei Watch with Black Suture Leather Strap – $349.99
- Huawei Watch with Stainless Steel Mesh Band – $399.99
- Huawei Watch with Stainless Steel Link Band – $399.99
- Huawei Watch Black with Black Stainless Steel Link Band – $449.99
- Huawei Watch Rose Gold with Alligator Brown Leather Strap – $699.99
- Huawei Watch Rose Gold with Rose Gold Stainless Steel Link Band – $799.99
As I stated, you can head over to either Huawei or Amazon and grab the Huawei Watch. Currently, all the options are in stock, except for the option with the Stainless Steel Link Band. But if you already have an 18mm or 21mm band, you’ll be good with grabbing one of the other options and using your own. Plus, you’ll be able to save a few bucks that way.
Regardless of its flaws, the Huawei Watch is an absolutely gorgeous device. We recognize where the Huawei Watch can be troublesome for some (i.e. small wrists), but overall, the Huawei Watch is one of the best Android Wear devices you can get today.
Have you used the Huawei Watch already? What were your impressions on it, and where it stands amongst the ranks of other Android Wear devices? Drop us a line below and let us know.
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Speaker found in ZenWatch 2, fuels speculations of audio support in new Android Wear update
Recently there was a lot of buzz about the discovery of an uncredited speaker inside the Huawei Watch, fueling speculation that Google may provide a speaker support in the new Android Wear update. Now, even the ASUS ZenWatch 2 has been found to feature an unused speaker, indicating that the speculations may not be far fetched.
A Google+ user, David Sears, laid bare his ZenWatch 2 and found that his wearable discreetly housed a speaker just like the Huawei Watch. He, along with a number of smartwatch owners, is now hoping that the new software update will make his ZenWatch capable of making phone calls.
“Asus ZenWatch 2 has a speaker like the Huawei Watch so I think Google is going to include speaker support in a future update. There is talk that Android 6.0 Marshmallow will support phone calls from the watch,” David said in his Google+ post.
Google has a history of surprising Android Wear smartwatch users with its frequent updates. A software update, earlier this year, enabled Wi-Fi for a number of already available wearables. So far, it has been a matter of pushing software support for devices that feature compatible hardware. In fact, there are many smartwatches available in the market with hardware features which are yet to get Android Wear support.
If Google decides to support speakers in the next Android Wear update, it is likely to bring audio notifications, telephony and even playing music on board.
Source: David Sears (Google+)
Via: 9To5Google
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You can get the Huawei Watch’s wireless charging cradle from the Google Store
Like most smartwatches, the Huawei Watch utilizes wireless charging through little pogo pin connectors. So you’ll need a proprietary charger in order to get Huawei’s first Android Wear device ready for use; therefore, if you lose the one that comes with a new Huawei Watch, you’re going to need to purchase a replacement. Although Huawei is not selling its own device’s accessory just yet, the Google Store today started selling the wireless charging cradle.
The Google Store has the Huawei Watch’s wireless charging cradle priced at $39.
Come comment on this article: You can get the Huawei Watch’s wireless charging cradle from the Google Store
Moto 360 (2nd Gen.) review
With Motorola kicking off the round Android Wear smartwatch trend last year with the original Moto 360, there was a palpable anticipation as to what its follow-up would bring. Its successor, however, enters a smartwatch market that has seen rapid growth in the number of premium, round-faced, smartwatches, with various OEMs throwing their hats in the ring.
In the face of this increased competition, does the latest smartwatch iteration from Motorola manage to stand out? We find out, in this comprehensive Moto 360 (2nd Gen.) review!
Design
As far as the design is concerned, Motorola tries to inject much of their smartphone buying experience into the second generation Moto 360, introducing the customization capabilities available with Moto Maker for their latest smartwatch. Granted, the level of customization on offer isn’t as robust as what is available with their flagship smartphones, but you do get to choose between different sizes, the design on the bezel, the color of the metallic case, and various watchstraps. This is a pretty important part of the Moto 360 experience now, with the user having a lot of control over how the watch looks.
Apart from the availability of Moto Maker, the new Moto 360 has changed quite a bit from the design language of its predecessor, with positive effect. A metallic body can now be finished in a few different colors, and the aluminum bezel can also be given a patterned design, called Micro Knurl, although that will set you back an additional $20. The crown-like button has now moved to the 2 o’ clock position, and has a very solid click to it. Motorola certainly isn’t trying to hide the button either, with it being quite large and obvious, with a lining around it, and the Motorola logo on it.
The main design additions are the nubs on the top and bottom, which are a much-appreciated departure from the watchstrap location found with the original Moto 360, and makes it very to easy to switch out the watch straps, especially with the inclusion of the quick release pins. There are also a couple of options available as far as the size is concerned. Seen in this review is the 46 mm version, which can be very big for those with smaller wrists, but a 42 mm iteration is available as well.
The way the nubs are designed actually add to the overall aesthetic, with their rigid angles fitting in nicely with the large body, which is just over 11 mm thick. This thickness isn’t unsurprising when considering other smartwatches on the market, but Motorola does seem to acknowledge the rather large size, especially of this 46 mm iteration, better than others. Motorola knows that their smartwatch is bulky, and makes every design element reflect that. Industrial might be the best way to describe each and every part, with straight lines everywhere, instead of more curves that others have added for a perception of luxury.
Display
Motorola was the first to bring the round watch face form factor to the Android Wear game, but the company did receive a lot of flak for the inclusion of the infamous “flat tire,” a small portion on the bottom that houses the ambient light sensor. In terms of utility, its presence isn’t as big of an offense as some believe, and now that it returns with the Moto 360 (2nd Gen.), seems to be more like a defining design trait. Motorola continues to justify its existence as the location for the sensor, which provides the benefit of smaller bezels.
As far as the display itself is concerned, the IPS LCD screen features a 360 x 330 resolution, and is protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 panel. The 46 mm iteration comes with a 1.56-inch display, while the smaller version features a 1.37-inch screen.
The display performs as well as it should. Daylight viewing is pretty good at the highest brightness settings, and the ambient light sensor means that the user will not have to micromanage the screen. As is the case with any mobile device, the screen can still be a nuisance in dark situations, like in movie theaters, and some input will be required on the user’s part to enable Theater Mode. With it featuring just a slightly higher resolution and resulting pixel density when compared to its predecessor, the display experience isn’t all that different this time around, and for viewing and controlling Android Wear, it continues to get the job done.
Performance
Under the hood is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor and 512 MB of RAM, and given the fact that this is the de facto processing package for Android Wear, the new Moto 360 won’t let you down as far as performance is concerned. As such, swiping among all of the different notifications and cards were smooth and snappy, and extra input methods are available via companion applications and voice input.
We did have a few issues with getting the watch to recognize our voices with the “OK Google” prompt, which is certainly odd, with the device coming from a company that has been famously good at sound and voice recognition. Granted, these issues are common with other smartwatches when using them in really loud environments, like when driving a car, but we felt that these issues were even more common with the Moto 360 (2nd Gen) than most of its competition. For fitness tracking, Google Fit and Moto Body do try and provide some insight on your step count and lost calories, but these numbers tend to be pretty arbitrary. Then again, with a metallic body and leather or metal strap, this smartwatch might not be an obvious fitness companion anyway.
Hardware
In hardware, we start with the typical heart rate monitor that is available with almost every Android Wear smartwatch out there. In this case, it works well enough for the user that is curious about their current heart rate, and it can be used during workouts to get a little more fitness insight. The Moto 360 (2nd Gen) does come with IP67 certification for resistance against dust and water, but if you decide to go with a leather strap, having one makes this a watch that you will probably be removing before getting into any water-based situations anyway.
As already mentioned, the performance of the microphone is a little uneven in its performance. It failed to register the voice prompt a noticeable number of times, even when not in a particularly loud environment. It felt like consciously speaking into the microphone hole in the bottom left corner was required, and that little bit of necessary awareness was something that should ideally not be needed.
In battery, Motorola brings back their wireless charging dock, that makes the watch a kind of landscape bedside clock while charging, and remains one of the better smartwatch charging implementations out there. The battery gets a small bump to 400 mAh, and the battery life available with the Moto 360 (2nd Gen) is pretty standard. About a full day of use is possible, but it generally won’t go much beyond that. With charging times of around an hour and a half to get to 100 percent, placing the watch on the charger at opportune moments can keep it going easily throughout the day however.
Software
Finally, on the software side of things is Android Wear, which hasn’t changed a whole lot since the original Moto 360. Aside from being a notification machine, with the cards and Google Now suggestions, functionality stays pretty standard across the board. You are essentially just swiping all over the place, and occasionally using your voice to trigger a few functions.
Companion applications can be used when applicable, but as nice as some of them are, it is a small fraction of the overall Android Wear experience. The ability to respond to messages via voice input is always nice to have, but you do have to be wary of outside noise and that might make things difficult. Motorola adds in a number of functions through the companion smartphone app, and also includes customizable watchfaces, but going through the Google Play Store to find even better ways of customizing the experience is certainly the recommended way to go here.
Gallery
Pricing and final thoughts
The price of the base model of the Moto 360 (2nd Gen) is higher that it was with its predecessor, at $299, not including additions like the patterned bezel for $20, the gold body for $30, and metal bands for $50. While the hike in the price point is a bit of a bummer, changes in the overall design of the smartwatch, and the addition of the Moto Maker experience, keep the watch from feeling like a forced acceptance, because you are responsible for how it turns out.
Looking back: Moto 360 review – probably the best Android Wear smartwatch yet
So, there you have it, for this in-depth look at the Moto 360 (2nd Gen)! Overall, the latest smartwatch offering from Motorola is a worthy update to the original, that benefits from the company’s customization system. Its big size may be a concern for some, but a slightly smaller iteration is available for those who want it, and all said and done, this kind of size has become pretty commonplace with smartwatches. Android Wear continues to be as standard as ever, and even with Motorola trying to add some extras, the shell of the device itself feels more important than what it is ultimately presenting. Thankfully, you get more control over that than with most other devices out there, and we think that is the main selling point of the Moto 360 (2nd Gen).
doubleTwist’s CloudPlayer now supports Android Auto and Android Wear
Taking your music everywhere and controlling it from any device is quite the treat, but not every platform allows you to do so. doubleTwist’s CloudPlayer now works across Google’s software for phones, tablets, smartwatches, and vehicles. CloudPlayer’s latest update gives Android Auto and Android Wear users control of their library from respective devices.
doubleTwist describes the update:
The latest release of doubleTwist CloudPlayer brings support for Android Wear and Android Auto, helping you control your music from your wrist or from your car stereo while zipping down the highway. This works not only with songs stored locally on your phone but also for all the music that’s on your Dropbox, OneDrive or Google Drive. We’ve effectively brought Android Wear and Android Auto support to your favorite cloud service.
CloudPlayer also supports AllPlay, Qualcomm’s smart media platform that merges wireless speakers and audio devices of any brand for use. doubleTwist says that this makes CloudPlayer the first music app to support Chromecast, AirPlay, and AllPlay from the get-go.
Source: doubleTwist
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TAG Heuer teases a new image of the Android Wear-powered Carrera Wearable 01 smartwatch
TAG Heuer has been teasing its first Android Wear-powered smartwatch for some time, and we’re now closer than ever to the wearable’s November 9th release date. Pretty much all we know at this point is that the device will run on an Intel processor, could potentially feature a battery life of approximately 40 hours, and that it will carry an extremely hefty $1,800 price tag. Now thanks to a recent tweet from the Swiss watchmaker, we’re getting our first look at what the watch, dubbed the Carrera Wearable 01, will look like.
Get ready to experience the next step in innovation. #connectedtoeternity http://t.co/nViLajHIUw pic.twitter.com/MmX56NbPP9
— TAG Heuer (@TAGHeuer) October 12, 2015
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The Carrera Wearable 01 will be based off the company’s Carrera Heuer 01, which is definitely an attractive timepiece. Looking at the image above, we can see that the watch will feature a circular display and body, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
No matter how high-end this watch turns out to be, we aren’t sure if TAG Heuer will sell a lot of these things. $1,800 is a lot to spend on a wearable that’s internal specifications will become outdated in a few years, especially now that you can now get a brand new Android Wear smartwatch for as little as $125.
In any case, we’ll know more about the Carrera Wearable 01 on Monday, November 9th, so we’ll let you know more details when it becomes official.
More great Android Wear devices
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TAG Heuer teases new Android Wear smartwatch on Twitter
TAG Heuer today took to Twitter to share a new teaser image of its upcoming premium Android Wear smartwatch. The smartwatch is called the Carrera 01 and is set to launch on November 9.
The teaser image doesn’t show much besides what seems to be a circular body. From TAG Heuer:
Get ready to experience the next step in innovation. #connectedtoeternity http://t.co/nViLajHIUw pic.twitter.com/MmX56NbPP9
— TAG Heuer (@TAGHeuer) October 12, 2015
Obviously we don’t know much about the watch just yet, but it’s supposed to be running Intel under the hood and is expected to run for around $1800. We’ll no doubt hear more teasers on the device as we get closer to the official announcement.
In the meantime, be sure to check out TAG Heuer’s countdown page!
source: TAG Heuer (Twitter)
Come comment on this article: TAG Heuer teases new Android Wear smartwatch on Twitter
Huawei Watch review
Aiming to create smartwatches that allow for the look and feel of a classic watch, more and more OEMs have been adopting a circular design when it comes to their wearable devices. One such Android Wear smartwatch that has piqued our interest since its introduction has been the smart wearable from Huawei, and the beautifully-designed device is certainly one that a lot of people have been clamoring for. Does this smartwatch manage to be more than just all about looks? We find out, in this comprehensive Huawei Watch review!
More great Android Wear devices
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Design
Not surprisingly, the design of the Huawei Watch is the most important part of the entire experience, and given that the unboxing of the device was also a pretty luxurious affair, its obvious that this is a watch made for both the executive, business dress, as well as for the casual, everyday style.
With a leather strap with the base model and a metal construction, Huawei has definitely hit a lot of the right notes. The screen is completely round, and without any breaks in the shape, and found at the 2 o’ clock position is a single button. The button is nice and solid, with good tactile feedback and a bit of a spring action to it, and while not jarring in its appearance, Huawei certainly hasn’t attempted to hide it away. At the top and bottom are nubs with some curve to them, that houses the standard 18 mm straps this version comes with. Speaking of straps, it is very easy to replace them as well to any of the numerous options that Huawei has available, with the presence of quick release pins.
There’s no doubt that this executive design checks all the right boxes, with the tuxedo color scheme fitting in with everything from suits to a more casual attire. That said, if your getup isn’t all that presentable, the shiny, silver watch may look out of place, and it also quite difficult to take advantage of the fitness capabilities of this Android Wear device, given its more formal design. Another point of note is that while the 42 mm size is pretty standard for watches in general, the thickness, of just over 11 mm, exacerbates its size, and if you have small wrists, it will unfortunately look strange.
As mentioned, there are quite a few different color and strap options available with the Huawei Watch, even if it isn’t at the level as what is possible with the Moto 360 (2nd Gen.) and Moto Maker. Silver, black, or rose gold finishes are coupled with a number of watch bands, ranging from leather, to full deployment clasp metals in different colors. Of course, you will have to shell out a little more to get the look that fits your wants.
We do think that the Huawei Watch is one of the first Android Wear devices to get the classic round watch design right, but that is important only if you really want your smartwatch to look like an old timepiece, but with a whole lot of extra capabilities baked in. To that end, you do get the sense that the Huawei Watch tried just a little too hard to be everything, and while it knows what makes a watch a watch, it then has to contend with the tropes of a smart device. The curves of the top and bottom nubs feel just a touch out of place from the rigidity that is the flat AMOLED display, and the leather watch strap, though a prerequisite of typical luxury, isn’t anything too special.
There’s no denying that the Huawei Watch is one of the new Android Wear devices that melds the worlds of watches and smart devices together in a seamless way, but that looks to result in as many disadvantages as there are positives.
Display
One of the best displays on a smartwatch to date
The Huawei Watch comes with a 1.4-inch AMOLED display, with a 400 x 400 resolution, and allows for one of the best smartwatch display experiences available right now. Sapphire Crystal covers the display, which is another classic timepiece note that Huawei manages to hit. Text is really crisp on this screen, and the high resolution makes the otherwise rather cut and dry Android Wear software look smooth and snappy.
There are also benefits from having the perpetually on screen with an AMOLED display, as it helps keep the watch from using too much power, and the contrast does help things pop. While the screen does make viewing quite great, it does again seem to be trying just a little too hard however. Without an ambient light sensor available, the screen is left at the user defined brightness, which will ultimately require a little more micromanagement of the watch than might be desired. Thankfully, the brightness is otherwise good enough to allow for comfortable outdoor visibility.
Performance
Under the hood, the Huawei Watch packs a Snapdragon 400 processor, backed by 512 MB of RAM, which is pretty standard fare as far as Android Wear devices are concerned. 4 GB of on-board storage is also available for those looking to locally store some music on the watch for phone-less workouts, even though we stand by the fact that a watch like this doesn’t really fit in with gym attire.
It is of course, quite difficult to really push an Android Wear smartwatch through its paces and really test the performance, as there isn’t much to do on one, other than swipe among cards, and occasionally perform some input within installed applications. In our daily usage, there weren’t any problems with getting applications to load, checking or dismissing notifications, and also keeping track of our fitness activities. In a way, one of the benefits of Android Wear is that things remain pretty reliable across the board no matter what watch you get, and the Huawei Watch is no different.
Hardware
Typical Android Wear smartwatch features are found on the hardware side of things as well, including a heart rate sensor on the back, but Huawei tries to make it more accurate by adding a second one. When comparing this to my Polar heart rate monitor, it did stay within a smaller margin of error than what is seen with some other smartwatches out there.
An IP67 certification keeps the watch safe from the elements, and you won’t have to worry about it breaking down under water contact. That said, you will probably feel like taking a watch like this off before any kind of contact with water happens anyway, regardless of the fact that nothing would go wrong with it.
Don’t miss: Huawei Watch unboxing and initial impressions
The built-in microphone is one of the main methods of input for Android Wear, and it performs as well as expected, even if taking to the watch takes some getting used to. Really noisy environments can stifle recognition of your voice however, which can be annoying primarily when in the car, but this isn’t an issue seen with only the Huawei Watch, but most other Android Wear devices out there.
Battery life on the Huawei Watch is very impressive
On the battery front, we have to give the Huawei Watch some credit for being one of the more impressive devices in this aspect. Huawei claimed a day and a half of battery life, and that is what was actually observed in our testing as well. Having to plug in the watch every other night is a marginally better situation to be in, and also a big plus, given the fact that Huawei takes an unfortunate step back with their charging solution.
The Huawei Watch requires usage of a contact-based charger, instead of the more preferred wireless solutions, which means that you have remember to keep this charger on hand, and what is disappointing is that the magnet doesn’t always make the pins line up properly, which can become annoying.
Software
Finally, Android Wear is the cusp of the experience surrounding the Huawei Watch, and as mentioned many times before, this watch manages to check all the right boxes, but without really excelling, or being truly exciting. The is what is expected from the Android Wear experience though. There are cards that require a lot of swiping around, certain shortcuts are available, including voice input, and unless specific applications are installed along with your smartphone apps, that is essentially all there is to it.
Android Wear is still best described as a notification center, and gives you the ability to respond or control plenty of them as they come through. Certain applications, like being able to have directions and maps on your wrist prove the usefulness of Android Wear, but the very nature of looking at and controlling another touchscreen makes it less than ideal for some situations, like when you are driving.
Huawei does try to inject what it can to the typical Android Wear formula, such as the availability of plenty of custom watchfaces, and its own health suite, but ultimately, the general feel is the same, and as far as the software aspect of the Huawei Watch is concerned, it all boils down to whether you love or hate Android Wear.
Gallery
Pricing and final thoughts
As far as the price is concerned, the Huawei Watch does fall at the higher end of the price spectrum, with the potential to get quite expensive depending on which version of the watch you want. The base silver model with the leather band will set you back $349, the addition of a clasping metal band will bring that up to $399, and if you want to go completely gold, $799 is what you will have to spend.
Related: The most expensive Android Wear watch yet is coming on November 9 from Tag Heuer
So there you have it for this in-depth look at the Huawei Watch! A good bit of money will be needed to pick up a watch that does succeed in adding luxury to the equation, but it is otherwise bogged down by what is currently a cut and dry Android Wear platform. The Huawei Watch may be the first device to get the “watch” aspect of a smartwatch right, but it does so at its own peril. Unless you’re really looking for a classic look, this device could actually be a little boring, made only slightly better by one of the other color and watch band options available, which also be more expensive. In an increasingly round smartwatch landscape, Huawei should be lauded for being the first that got it right, but it isn’t going to be alone for much longer, and that might be its biggest problem.
AIVAnet 