Product test
Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro tested: Reliable sports watch with long battery life
by Jan Johannsen
Quick-testing the Huawei Watch Buds: the 5 most important questions answered
24/3/2023
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
Huawei Watch Buds are a smartwatch and earphones combined. This alleged Swiss Army knife device raises questions. Allow me to answer the five most pressing ones.
In any case, the Huawei model is now also available in Switzerland. For a long time, the earphone watch was only available on the Chinese market. To get the most important thing straight: the in-ear buds are located below the dial, where they’re attached with magnets. This is what the two-in-one smartwatch looks like in action.
Now for the five most important questions.
1. Isn’t the smartwatch waaaaay too fat?
Yes, definitely! For this reason I wouldn’t couldn’t test the Watch Buds for more than two days. With that block around my wrist, I kept getting caught. On my neighbour’s bike parked in our bike cellar, on the door frame at the office and on the counter at a bar. At least the Watch Buds watch was forgiving of these hiccups and didn’t seek revenge with scratches or a broken Amoled display.
Compared to my analogue watch, it really shows how mahoosive the Watch Buds is. On a man’s wrist that tends to be broader, the 1.43-inch Amoled display probably doesn’t look so bad. But I’ll get back to that in question number five.
2. How bad are the earphones?
When they’re in your ear, the earphones feel like a button. And removing them from the watch makes me feel a career in the secret service is within reach. But this little boost is soon crushed by the sound quality of the earphones. It’s meagre. And that’s putting it mildly.
Surely, that’s why Huawei was quick to manage my expectations: «You’re best off switching the bass boost on right away; otherwise the sound quality’s a bit feeble,» the manager for Switzerland advises me. But with the boost, the buds sound muffled and tinny at the same time. I’m lacking balanced mids. Plus the sound quality is too cold for my taste. I like my soundscapes warm and lush.
What’s surprisingly good, on the other hand, is their call quality. In a short test, I can hear the person on the other end clearly and vice versa. This is far from a tin can phone call.
3. How good is the smartwatch?
The measurement data and features of the Huawei Watch Buds are roughly the same as the ones of the GT series.
You connect your mobile to the watch with the Huawei Health App (in German and French). The app can be downloaded from the Huawei page. After it’s installed, the app asks for all permissions – this takes time, but you get to decide which data and permissions you want to share.
4. Is the battery strong enough for both?
The earphones themselves have a short battery life; with noise cancelling enabled, this means just three hours of music and two hours of calls. Not much. At least you can charge the buds on your wrist.
5. Who’s the earphone watch for?
I’ve left the hardest question for last. Who’s the target audience for this hybrid gadget, anyway? My quick test soon revealed: not me. But I think I know who it could be.
Speaking of ROI, I asked Huawei how the price tag of around 500 Swiss francs for the hybrid product was determined. The brief answer:
- Smartwatch: 300 francs
- Earphones: 100 francs
- Development costs: 100 francs
Sounds about right.
Header image: Livia Gamper
Testing devices and gadgets is my thing. Some experiments lead to interesting insights, others to demolished phones. I’m hooked on series and can’t imagine life without Netflix. In summer, you’ll find me soaking up the sun by the lake or at a music festival.
