The HUAWEI Band 6 is the company’s latest rollout for the brand’s Band Series. It’s supposed to be a worthy companion for those with an active lifestyle or a general user like me.
Looking very similar to the Honor Band 6—which was launched earlier this year—the Band 6’s screen also has a 1.47-inch AMOLED display, much bigger compared to its predecessor’s 0.96-inch, the HUAWEI Band 4.
I got the band that came with a Forest Green silicon rubber strap. It’s comfortable and secure to wear, as it had a belt loop with a nub to fasten onto the band’s holes. With such a tight fit, however, it was a hassle to take off whenever I needed to shower or charge it.
Comfortable And Good Enough
To get a gist of my usage for smartbands, it’s mainly to check the time, track my sleep, and receive notifications from my phone that’s always on silent.
Weighing just 18g, the Band 6 is lightweight and feels like it’s barely there on your wrist; it’s a delight when compared to my past experience with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3. Whenever I needed to check the time, a simple raise of my wrist would light up the screen.
If not, there’s also a physical Home button on the side to wake the screen or open up the app drawer. There, you can check your health metrics, use the stopwatch, or control the music playing on your phone.
This function also works by simply swiping left or right on the screen to check your heart rate, SpO2 (blood oxygen) levels, sleep, stress, and activity records. The latter consists of your daily step count, standing times, along with medium and high intensity activity time.
The Band 6 is also water-resistant up to 50m with a 5ATM rating, so I didn’t have to worry about getting it wet while sweating or washing the dishes.
Monitoring My Wellness
There are 96 workout modes supported on the band, all of which I thought were supported by the auto-detect function that gives advice and guidance. However, it failed to do so when I was playing badminton and doing aerobics (2 of my most frequent exercises lately).
Later, I learnt that this auto-detect function actually only works for their 11 professional sports modes, which include running, walking, elliptical, and rowing training.
The sleep tracker was where I felt a little more appreciation for. Like most other trackers on the market, it monitors your sleep quality by reading your sleeping patterns from light, deep, REM, and awake states to assess if you have sleeping problems.
Based on your sleep quality, you’ll then get a daily score that comes with an explanation for why you received that number, and how you can improve it. This is an updated feature from its predecessors.
I found the tracking quite accurate, with it even picking up the small moments during the night where I’d wake up to go to the toilet, for example. To add, its little nuggets of advice on how to improve your sleep is a nice touch that makes it feel like it’s more than just showing you data.
Another upgrade new to the Band Series is a menstrual cycle tracker. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to try it as it will only be rolled out through an app update on a later date.
Verdict
If I had one word to describe my opinion about the HUAWEI Band 6, it would be “basic”. It’s got all the necessary features you’d need and want in a fitness band, and each one performed adequately while looking decent and feeling comfortable on the wrist.
The Band 6 claims to have a 2-week battery life, even with intense usage. However, I only got about a week of juice while testing it even after making sure to charge it fully in the beginning. Maybe my usage was too intense for Huawei’s standards?
Though trivial, what bothers me most about the Band 6 was the limited options for watch faces available. It was either too cluttered, too boring, or too childish, with cartoons characters and tacky fonts displaying the time on-screen.
It’s difficult to overlook too, because it’s the first thing I’d see when checking the time. As bands and watches for me also function as accessories, I wished it came with sleeker, more sophisticated watch faces to choose from that didn’t require me to pay for it.
Retailing at RM219, the HUAWEI Band 6 comes in 3 colours, Graphite Black, Forest Green, and Amber Sunrise. I’d say it’s decent value for money for those completely new to the fitness tracker game, but it lacks attractiveness for those thinking of upgrading from its predecessors since there are only minor upgrades.
Not to mention, Xiaomi’s Mi Smart Band 6 has also landed in Malaysia and will be opening pre-orders in a few days. With closely similar features and at a slightly cheaper RRP of RM189, it would be a tough choice for consumers to pick between the two.
What may be the defining factor is the phone you’re using, since obviously the bands would work the best with their own brand smartphones.
| Pros | Cons |
| Lightweight and comfortable to wear | Unsophisticated free watch faces, if you plan on using it as an accessory |
| Sleep tracker gives helpful advice | Limited auto-detectable workouts |
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