Huawei Band 6 Review: Premium Features at a Higher Cost

The Huawei Band 6 positions itself as a premium fitness tracker with a striking design and advanced features, though it comes at a higher cost than its close competitor, the Honor Band 6. This review explores whether the extra expense justifies the enhancements offered by Huawei's model.

Design and Build The Huawei Band 6 sports a modern, polymer fiber frame with a metallic finish that elevates its aesthetic and tactile appeal. Its removable silicone strap is soft, lightweight, and accommodating to various wrist sizes, earning a comfortable wear experience without skin irritation. At just 18 grams without the strap, the device maintains a featherlight profile. The watch features a side button without the red accent seen on the Honor Band 6 and lacks the Huawei logo on the frame, aiming for a unique visual identity. The Amber Sunrise variant, tested here, presents an attractive look, with additional color options including Forest Green, Graphite Black, and Sakura Pink available.

Display The centerpiece of the Huawei Band 6 is its 1.47-inch AMOLED panel, delivering vivid colors and deep blacks at a sharp 283 PPI. While similar in size to the Honor Band 6, the Huawei model exhibits slightly more natural color representation and improved contrast, particularly noticeable in specific watch faces. Users can choose from over 100 watch faces, with the ability to store up to 32 on the device itself. The screen supports five brightness levels but lacks auto-brightness, resulting in less-than-ideal visibility adjustments in low-light conditions.

Companion App Pairing the Huawei Band 6 with the Huawei Health app unlocks its full potential. Due to past restrictions, the app had lagged in updates on the Play Store; however, using the version from Huawei’s AppGallery resolves synchronization issues and introduces features like menstrual cycle tracking, provided HMS Core 4.0 or later is installed. The app organizes health data clearly and handles firmware updates and watch face syncing efficiently.

Health and Fitness Tracking With 96 workout modes—10 professional and 86 general—the Huawei Band 6 offers extensive activity tracking options, categorized for ease of navigation. While the professional modes include running, walking, and swimming (thanks to its 5 ATM water resistance), the general modes primarily record heart rate and calories burned, categorizing exertion as aerobic or anaerobic. Testing revealed that both the Huawei and Honor Band 6 recorded similar heart rates during workouts, though neither triggered a high heart rate alert during an intense exercise session.

A standout feature is the all-day blood oxygen monitoring, a step beyond the on-demand SpO2 tracking found in many budget wearables. However, the monitoring records SpO2 levels every 30 minutes and pauses tracking if the device is removed, even briefly. The band also tracks stress levels, sleep patterns using the TruSleep 2.0 algorithm, and provides a daily sleep score notification, though the timing of these alerts can be inconsistent.

Battery Life Equipped with a 180mAh battery, the Huawei Band 6 promises up to 14 days of endurance. In real-world use, with all-day SpO2 monitoring, numerous notifications, and brightness set to level 4 during the day and level 1 at night, the device lasted 7 to 8 days on a single charge. The included magnetic charger features fast charging capabilities, bringing the band from 0 to 100 percent in under an hour.

Conclusion The Huawei Band 6 delivers a premium design, a colorful AMOLED display, robust health tracking including continuous blood oxygen monitoring, and impressive battery life. However, its price premium over the Honor Band 6 may deter many buyers, as the two share numerous similarities. The decision ultimately hinges on whether the additional features justify the extra cost for the user.