Huawei Band 2 Pro fitness band review

Overview The Huawei Band 2 Pro is a fitness band aiming at the lower end market. It has a vertical 0.91-inch 128×32 PMOLED display for a slim look with three sensors on the back as well as some charging pins. Hardware Inside the band is 256KB of RAM, 1MB of ROM, 16MB of flash storage, a 105mAh battery, and GPS. You'll also get Bluetooth 4.2, an accelerometer, a cardiotachometer (heartrate sensor), and an infrared wear sensor. On top of that you get 5ATM water resistance, which means it's safe to use for swimming. If you're disappointed by the specs, don't be. It's a fitness band that's not running Android and doesn't need great specs for performance. Unlike the older and more expensive Huawei Fit, the display on the Huawei Band 2 Pro is backlit and gets washed out in the daytime. It's also a bit bright in the nighttime, as it doesn't have a light sensor to adjust brightness. However, it is easily readable in most conditions The screen is not a touchscreen; instead, you get a touch sensor below the display to navigate the device. Unfortunately, it only has one mode of operation: the tap. This means that you tap to get to the next screen and tap and hold to select. If you missed the screen you were looking for, you'll have to loop all the way around again because you can't go back. Some swiping gestures would have made the Band 2 Pro experience a lot more pleasant. The way it is now, it feels a bit clunky and annoying. Software The Band 2 Pro uses Huawei Wear for device management and Huawei Health for your fitness tracking. The former will provide software updates while the latter is where you'll spend most of your time when using this wearable. The Health app is laid out very intuitively. You have multiple sections dividing the app. The sections are steps, exercise, heart rate, training plan, sleep, and weight. Steps is pretty self-explanatory. Exercise gives you exercise time and allows you to start a workout. Heart rate gives you a daily heart rate history, which takes advantage of the Band 2 Pro's constant heart rate monitoring. The training plan section allows you to create a customized training plan based on running distances. Sleep will give you sleep history. Every section can be opened up for more details, but details are often scarce in the app. Sometimes tapping on parts of the UI seems like it would work but does nothing. A bit more detail would be appreciated. Overall the app is decent but has less features than Google Fit. Thankfully, you can sync Google Fit and Huawei Health and use the strengths of both at the same time. Build quality The body is made out of a nice smooth plastic and the screen is polycarbonate (plastic) with a UV coating. The TPU band is nearly seamless with the body and of very high quality. This device is built as well as they get, with no flex or creaking even when stressed. Comfort Thanks to the ridiculously light weight, soft TPU band, and rounded shape, this fitness band is very comfortable. You can barely feel it on your wrist even if it's tight. The bump with the sensors is not in the way and can't be felt. The band itself is not removable, but it's pretty easy to clasp on. It has two nubs that go into the holes along the band. That second nub is occasionally tough to put in, but generally it's an easy process. Battery life The battery life on the Band 2 Pro is excellent for the size. Huawei claims that without GPS and constant heartrate monitoring on, it can last 21 days on a single charge of its tiny 105mAh battery. It can also fully charge in an hour and a half. Obviously most people will want to run the device at its full potential and have continuous heartrate motoring on, even if they won't need it. This drops the battery life, but not by too much. I reliably got over two weeks without full GPS-enabled exercise, which is very impressive. During exercise routines running the GPS, you'll see around four hours of battery life. GPS eats up that tiny battery pretty quickly. The charger supplied with the Band 2 Pro is a tiny clip-on dock with two power pins and a microUSB port on the side. Also included is a 6-inch microUSB cable. It's not hard to put the band in the dock, but it's a very deliberate effort (unlike many smartwatch chargers). Huawei Band 2 Pro7.5 / 10 The Huawei Band 2 Pro is a very solid fitness wearable at a pretty low price. Unfortunately, that price comes with sacrifices. The clunky navigation method and lack of info on the display are a big downside to this product. If you want a budget wearable with amazing battery life and GPS (something that's surprising to see at this price), this is the wearable for you. If you want more detailed info, a much nicer display that's easier to use but can skimp on the built in GPS (meaning you'll have to take your phone with you for GPS tracking), the Huawei Fit is a better… fit for you. Plus, you can get it on sale for not much more than a Band 2 Pro. Buy yours at Amazon! Android Match ae http://androidmatch.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default