Huawei is launching not one but three wearables this year at Mobile World Congress, and the new Android Wear-powered Huawei Watch is the most interesting of the trio. The Huawei Watch is nice but also, well, just another Android Wear watch, and to me it’s as bulky as almost every other smartwatch out there — with a couple interesting ideas scattered along the way.
Much like the G Watch R, the screen takes up the whole watch face, so you don’t have to deal with that ugly black band on the Moto 360. The front is made of crystal sapphire, the first Android Wear watch to use the ultra scratch proof material, and the 1,4-inch AMOLED panel has a very decent 286 pixels per inch. Holding it in my hand, though, I honestly couldn’t tell the difference between this and LG’s new Watch Urbane. Huawei also includes the typical heart rate monitor in the back, so yes, you can still record your daily bpms.
You’ve got three flavours to choose from — black, silver and gold — and all of them are compatible with standard 18mm straps. The amount of colours and straps available makes for a lot of possible combinations, and the Huawei Watch comes with a couple of really great-looking straps, especially when paired with the silver model.
The thing is, after trying it on and playing with the device for a while, it doesn’t offer anything substantially new. To me, it’s as thick and bulky as the LG Watch Urbane. So except a couple of details here and there, like that sapphire glass front, the rest is essentially the same watch you’ve seen before, just with a different logo.
Android Wear still has its issues and doesn’t exactly have a ton of apps to offer (but it’s getting better!). The only software addition Huawei offers up is a fitness app created to keep record of your steps, distance, and heart rate.
Still no word about the final price and availability, and the price might be what really makes this thing interesting. but Huawei says to expect its new timepiece in stores around June.