Huawei Watch Buds Review: You've Never Seen A Smartwatch Like This
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- Huawei Watch Buds: Price and Availability
- Design: The headphones are a hidden surprise
- Sound quality: Very good for a small size
- Software: HarmonyOS is unchanged on the watch
- Should you buy Huawei Watch Buds?
Huawei has been wading through the weird and wonderful world of gadgets for the past few months, churning out some great products left and right. The Huawei Freebuds Pro 2 are some of the best wireless earbuds you can get right now, and the Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro is a great smartwatch, but what if you could combine the two? That's the idea behind the Huawei Watch Bud, and it's a combination that works really well.
Of course, there are some issues - if you've ever used a Huawei watch, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Software can be limited and setup can be difficult, especially if you're not familiar with sideloading apps. It's also a bit pricey at £449 in the UK However, if you can get over both complaints and want a truly unique product, the Huawei Watch Buds should be on your radar.
About this review: I received the Huawei Watch Buds for review from Huawei. The company has no influence on the content of this review.
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HUAWEI Watch Headphone
Recommended by XDA
Is it a connected watch? These headphones appear to have both Huawei Watch Buds! You'll never forget your headphones again because they're always on your watch, even if they're limited by the nature of Huawei watches.
brandhuawei__ _
Heart rate monitor
Color screen yes
Notification support Yes
7 days battery life
Harmony OS operating system
Built-in GPS Yes
Offline media storage Yes
Adjustable Strap Yes (22mm)
SIM support number
Housing material glass, stainless steel
Calendar Yes
the weather haha
Smartphone music control Yes
Color black, khaki
466x466 AMOLED display
410mAh battery
Harmony OS Software
SPO2 health sensor , heart rate
Price is 400
No mobile payments
- You may not use headphones
- Hearing aids can become uncomfortable over time
- Unique and new product categories
- Good autonomy
- Darling
- Limited smartwatch experience
- The Huawei Health app is not easily accessible to everyone
Huawei Watch Buds: Price and Availability
Huawei Watch Buds are available in black or khaki models. Currently available in China and parts of Europe, including the UK and Germany. It costs £449 in the UK and €499 across Europe.
- Europe: £449
- UK: €499
- China: 2,988 yuan
Design: The headphones are a hidden surprise
- It's just like any other smartwatch
- A little uncomfortable with the leather strap
- The headphones have a boring design
On the surface, the Huawei Watch Buds look like any other smartwatch, albeit a bit clunky. It has a fairly bright 1.43-inch 466 x 466-pixel OLED display and comes with a leather strap. Most notably, there's a button below the screen that opens the screen to reveal a pair of headphones.
The headphone compartment is pretty seamless and the headphones slide up with the dial when opening. They're magnetized under the dial, so they won't fall out if you open the watch while walking, which is a plus, although the small size makes them difficult to put on or take off.
One of the main selling points of these headphones is their overall size. They don't always sit right in your ears and take quite a bit of work to play. They don't take advantage of the rest of your ear like other headphones and can be uncomfortable if they're in your ear for too long. Because of its size, the battery is also a bit lighter, which we'll talk about later.
However, I can forgive a lot for sheer convenience. I often forget to take my headphones with me when I go out and it's almost impossible. My headphones still sit on my wrist, so they're perfect for situations where I don't normally wear headphones but could benefit from them.
This design has some odd quirks, some of which can be deal breakers. Firstly, water resistance is significantly reduced here and Huawei also warns against getting the watch wet. It has a seal rating of IPX7, which should be fine for use underwater for up to 1 meter for 30 minutes. The headphones are rated IPX4 for splash resistance, but the moisture warning worries me, and I'm not sure I'd be able to take them out in the rain.
Since the battery is shared between the watch and the headphones, you'll likely notice a decrease in battery life. I often have to charge my watch when I use my headphones a lot, although the battery life is better when I use them less. I was able to get a week of battery life at MWC when I barely used these headphones, but on days of heavy use I got closer to two days.
Sound quality: Very good for a small size
- Excellent audio quality, especially for its size
- Left and right channels are easy to distinguish
It might seem strange to be talking about "sound quality" so early in a smartwatch review, but audio quality is one of the key areas Huawei has stepped up here. Given the form factor used, I immediately had my doubts about the audio quality. I would expect a decent pair of headphones in a smartwatch, but again, Huawei has done a good job with the audio product.
First, Huawei doesn't provide any driver size specifications, but from that (and the smaller overall size) we can assume it has smaller drivers than the company's other headphones. I'm not going to bash Huawei for losing the battle against physics; It's physically impossible to fit something like a 14mm driver into a 10mm diameter device.
But these headphones are smaller and not as good as the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 2. However, they are still competitive with other headphones I've used. For example, I prefer the sound of the Watch Buds from Nothing Ears (1) and I prefer the sound of the Google Pixel Buds Pro at default settings. These dialogs change as you calculate settings, but they take care of themselves by default.
Once again, Huawei has done a great job with the audio products.
What Huawei has consistently nailed is its overall sound signature, making it easy to hear one band of the frequency spectrum without overemphasizing another band. The bass, mids and highs are well balanced and easy to listen to and I didn't feel the need to make immediate changes. Their soundstage is a little louder and a little quieter than other headphones I've used, but that may be due to the smaller driver size.
If you're looking at headphones and wondering how to tell the right channel from the left channel, the software has a neat trick. Instead of having small letters on the earpiece indicating which side it's on, the company chose to make each earpiece inconspicuous. You hold it to your ear, tilt your head to the side, and it determines which side is left and which is right. I accidentally knocked the button off once and I use it a lot. Other than that, they are fine, and the directional audio works as expected.
Software: HarmonyOS is unchanged on the watch
- Conventional operating systems are limited
- No third party apps
- Fitness and health tracking is buggy, but there is a software update
As usual, Huawei's HarmonyOS pushes the boundaries when it comes to more open operating systems. You get a responsive and colorful interface with Huawei pre-installed apps and smooth animations. You need the Huawei Health app to actually use the watch, but you have to download it from the Huawei website. You cannot use the Google Play Store version.
The requirement to install third-party applications requires several additional steps, such as: giving Android permissions, so that the setup process of one of Huawei's products is automatically more difficult than that of other Western brands.
The Huawei Watch Buds offer an interesting solution to a problem I didn't even know existed.
That said, HarmoniOS does a good job as a simple smartphone companion, but you'll never feel like you're replacing your phone like other smartwatches like the Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch. There's no voice assistant, no third-party apps, and you'll have a hard time responding to messages on the watch You can set preset replies to quickly reply to messages, but they don't always work
One thing I think is really cool is that since your headphones are connected to both the watch and the phone, you can change some of the basic watch headphone effects. You can adjust noise cancellation and EQ from your wrist, though you no longer need to use the Huawei Health app.
Fitness and health tracking
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I've been wearing the Huawei Watch Buds for a few weeks now, and in true Huawei fashion, they track health and activity. It tracks steps and other health-related activities, including heart rate and SPO2 blood oxygen measurements. There's also period tracking, GPS support and workout tracking, though the latter is disabled by default. I noticed it wasn't tracking any steps for a day or two and had trouble syncing data with the Huawei Health app, but I was told I was using an older version of the software. I have since updated and everything seems to be fine.
Always remember that this is not a medical device. They serve as a decent indicator of your overall physical health and activity level and can help you on your weight loss journey if you try, but they won't do the job for you and aren't 100% accurate.
If you've read our other Huawei smartwatch reviews before, the same caveat applies. The software is limited, customization is rare, and you have to pay for some of the prettiest watch faces You can't create one yourself, and there's no watch face maker as powerful as WatchOS Free watch faces rarely have widgets that you can interact with on the screen, so they don't add any real functionality. The Watch Buds aren't among the best smartwatches out there, but they get the job done.
Should you buy Huawei Watch Buds?
You should buy Huawei Watch Buds:
- You often forget your headphones
- Want a cool trick to show off your wrists?
- You want to keep your headphones and watch connected all the time
You should not buy Huawei Watch Buds if:
- Price is an issue
- They are responsible for different functions
- You want more than simple tracking
The Huawei Watch Buds offer an interesting solution to a problem I didn't know existed, and the asking price means it will continue to be an issue for some. Starting at £449, it's a big ask for a smartwatch, although it really does include headphones at this price point. I like watches and headphones, but I think a lot of people would rather buy a cheap smartwatch than a more expensive headphone.
However, that doesn't mean it's a product you shouldn't buy. The Galaxy Watch 5 starts at £269 and you may notice that the headphones (in addition to the single form factor) cost an extra £180. That's still a lot of money, but it makes more sense when you break it down like this. Other smartwatches have distinct advantages over the Huawei Watch Bud, such as better software, but using one means sometimes I don't have great headphones when I'm out and about, which for some is worse than death.
HUAWEI Watch Headphone
Recommended by XDA
Is it a connected watch? These headphones appear to have both Huawei Watch Buds! You'll never forget your headphones again because they're always on your watch, even if they're limited by the nature of Huawei watches.
- You don't need to wear headphones
- Hearing aids can become uncomfortable over time
- Unique and new product categories
- Good autonomy
- Darling
- Limited smartwatch experience
- The Huawei Health app is not easily accessible to everyone
