Huawei Watch Review: A Premium Android Wear Timepiece

As we said from the outset, this seems to be the Android Wear watch to beat. It's brawny, yet beautiful. It's polished both inside and out. It looks like a watch because it is a watch, and everything else comes second. It has, without a doubt, the most impressive circular smartwatch display that we have seen to date, boasting more pixels per inch than the Moto 360 and doing so without removing a chunk of screen at the bottom. The band options are premium in their own right, but the fact that Huawei used the industry standard as a connector means that you can insert your existing watch band from day one.


Externally, the Huawei Watch is a top-notch. It's a piece you'd be proud to show off, and it works with both business and casual attire. Internally, however, it relies on somewhat arguably underpowered components -- the same CPU (1.2GHz Snapdragon 400), ROM (4GB of storage), and RAM (512MB) as the second-generation Moto 360. In addition, the base price of the Huawei Watch is $349, a full $50 more than Moto's offering and in line with the base Apple Watch. That said, other premium components of the Huawei Watch, like its higher-end display and solid build quality bring tangible upgrades in certain areas as well, over most mainstream smartwatches.


Truthfully, the sapphire-coated 400 x 400 display is worth the additional $50, but it's tough to justify spending that sum on a watch in late 2015. Newer watch platforms are already becoming available, and it's entirely likely that we'll see these in just a few months during CES. Further, those hoping for a fitness tracker + watch combo may be disappointed by the weight of this particular device. For some, stainless steel may or may not feel right against the skin when your heart's pushing 160bpm on the treadmill. For others, that's a small price to pay for a more substantial timepiece.

The best advice may be wait and see what Huawei does next. The company's design prowess is undeniable, and we're eager to see what the they can do with a follow-up product. If paired with next-gen internals and their fantastic display it could significantly improve performance, and ultimately the overall user experience.