Review of smart watches Honor Band 5i with their features

Instead of buying an analog watch, there is a pretty good alternative in the form of a fitness bracelet that packs in a lot of functionality. One of the best gadget manufacturers on the world market, Huawei Technologies, has announced a new product - Honor Band 5i. How does the popular model differ from its predecessors and what should you pay attention to?

Features Honor Band 5i

A smart bracelet and smart watch is one of the useful gadgets for people leading an active lifestyle, the device combines many functions and capabilities. Some of the features of the bracelet are the ability to measure blood oxygen saturation levels, sleep tracking and calorie counting, moisture resistance

Overview of key features

What does it look like

The rectangular body is made of plastic and durable glass. The back side is a convex touch block. The TFT display is protected by strong glass. The bottom of the screen is equipped with a touch button that unlocks and controls the device. The silicone strap has 17 holes that allow you to put the bracelet on any hand.

How it differs from previous models

The Band 5i can rightfully be called the successor to the earlier Honor Band 5. What are the main differences between the popular models?

1. Design. There is a significant difference between Honor Band 5i and Honor Band 5 in appearance. The main difference is the screen and bracelet. The Honor Band 5 has a 0.95-inch rectangular touch screen with a relatively small display size. Like the Honor Band 5i, there is a round home button at the bottom of the screen that is easy to operate. On the other hand, Honor Band 5i has an oval 0.96-inch touch screen, which is slightly larger and can display 30 characters, but has a lower resolution (160×80). In addition, instead of AMOLED, the user will receive here only a TFT LCD panel (less durable material).
2. Charger.In addition, although the bracelets of the two smartwatches are made of TPU material, they are very light and comfortable. One end of the Honor Band 5i is a USB-A charging port. Now there is no need to carry the cable always with you, the bracelet can be connected to a computer, laptop, portable battery.
3. Functional. There is a slight difference between the 2 models. The difference is that the Honor Band 5 has an NFC version that supports features like contactless payment, while the Band 5i does not. In addition, Band 5 supports 10 driving modes, while the second model only supports 9. In terms of health function, Honor Band 5i retains the practical SpO2 blood oxygen detection function as well as TrueSeen 3.5 technology, and supports 24/7 heart rate detection. The sleep monitoring uses the latest technology to avoid the embarrassing situation when the glow of the bracelet affects sleep.
4. Battery. The final difference between the 2 models is the battery life. The older version of the smartwatch supports a maximum standby time of 15 days, while the new one only supports 9 days, almost half that.

Screen

The Honor Band 5i features a 0.96-inch (160 x 80 pixels) TFT color touchscreen display with a capacitive home button.

Options

By clicking on the options function, you can select from additional status tracking options such as timer, stopwatch, strobe, screen brightness, find my phone, bright display, battery and system. There are 8 default display types available in this section, which can be configured by long pressing the home button. Additional options can be downloaded online.

The brightness of the watch is perfect for reading under the sun. The screen will automatically dim at night. With the help of system options, you can reboot, disable or even reset the settings.

The Find My Phone function can be used when the smartphone is within 5-10 m from the device. When detected, the gadget will make a sound. Important - Bluetooth on the phone must not be turned off, otherwise it will not be possible to track your handset.

Features and Usability

The fitness band connects to most phones running Android 4.4 or iOS 9.0 and up. The bracelet connects to your Huawei account through the Health app, and this is where you can visualize all the data - heart rate, various exercises and steps.

The user can track calorie consumption during various physical activities such as outdoor running, walking, exercise, rowing, swimming and many more. The device can track 9 different health modes.

When swimming, the display does not respond well to touch with wet fingers. In addition, the screen is locked when the user is bathing. It will take about 4-5 seconds to unlock it and execute commands. The bracelet recognizes several types of swimming. If it includes a combination of different styles, the smart watch can separate the exercise and display each. The app can also record your average speed and number of moves.

Band 5i shows the number of steps the wearer has taken and counts every calorie burned. When doing sports, no need to press the strap to check the amount of energy expended, within 2-3 seconds, when lifting the wrist, the screen lights up and the data is displayed.

The fitness tracker recognizes all three stages of sleep: deep, light and REM sleep. It detects this every time the wearer wakes up during sleep and shows the number of breaths. Huawei says the fitness tracker can even identify up to 6 different types of sleep problems and lay out suggestions to help overcome them.

If the user sits for too long, the bracelet will recommend getting up and taking a short walk.

Battery

A 91 mAh battery, when the notification mode is turned off, holds a charge for a long time - about 5-7 days of battery life.

The biggest advantage of a fitness bracelet is its ability to connect to a USB port and charge. This eliminates the need for an additional charger and other accessories.

It takes about 1.5 hours to fully charge. When using a laptop's USB port, the smart band charges approximately 30 percent in half an hour. To achieve the result of one charge in a week and a half, all additional functions must be disabled.

Applications

Honor Band 5i supports not only replacement but also third-party watch face download.

When the smartphone with which the device is paired is playing tracks, playback can be controlled. With one touch of the screen button, you can switch the melody and adjust the volume.

When you launch the camera on your smartphone, an icon is displayed on the watch screen and you can click it to take a picture with your phone. Honor Band 5i shows notifications on the screen, the bracelet does not have the ability to reply to messages in instant messengers or view images received in a chat.

One of the additional features is the display of incoming calls on the screen.Calls are made using a phone, and the phone number of the caller is displayed on the bracelet screen.

The SpO2 function (pulse oxygen saturation) is launched by pressing the special icon to start monitoring and see the values ​​displayed on the screen. The company points out that SpO2 monitoring should not be viewed as a medical tool for diagnosing, treating or preventing any disorders, but as a personal guideline.

The user can track calorie consumption during various physical activities such as: outdoor running, indoor running, outdoor hiking, indoor hiking, exercise, rowing, swimming and more. The device can track 9 different health modes.

Advantages and disadvantages

• 9 fitness modes;
• water resistance;
• built-in USB;
• long battery life;
• small price.

• no NFC;
• no built-in GPS.

Price

How much does the device cost? The Honor Band 5i fitness tracker will cost around $25 and will be available in Meteorite Black, Coral Powder, and Olive Green.

Where is it profitable to buy? The device will be available from November 1 on Vmall in China.

Conclusion

Which company is better to buy a smart bracelet? It all depends on personal preferences and financial capabilities. Honor Band 5i maintains a simple and winning design, a bracelet that introduces new practical functions such as music and photo control. It can be assumed that the fitness tracker, Honor Band 5i will be able to lead the ranking of high-quality smart bracelets.

So if your selection criteria rests on a nimble, reliable, productive model with well-designed apps, the Band 5i is the most suitable budget option at an average price of $25.