Huawei Honor Band 3 Review | Detailed Hands-On Review

Huawei Honor Band 3 Review, Spec, and Features.

Huawei Honor Band 3

Honor Band 3 is one of the top health Smart bands on the market. It is sold for a retail price in the price range of $25-30 range, positioning itself as a natural alternative and competitor to Xiaomi’s Mi Band 3 smart band; which is sold for a retail price range of $22 (Chinese edition) and up to $30 for the global international edition. Amongst the watch functions, you can find similar functions such as water-resistant, advanced sleep-tracking, dynamic heart rate monitoring, Smart notification functionality, etc.

Huawei Honor Band 3 features a 0.91-inch OLED Screen with touch functions. It supports connectivity and syncing with a mobile phone via App through a Bluetooth wireless connection and compatibility with V4.0/4.1. You can receive Call ID notifications and select remind/refuse preference according to different usage scenarios. It can display messages from popular Apps such as Viber, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Wechat, E-mail, and calendar, and comes with a built-in Smart vibration alarm.

The Sports functions include continual pulse, heart rate monitor, Time, Calories, Steps, Distance, and Pace measuring. For sleep management activities, Huawei has a TruSleep sleep monitoring function that lets you accurately analyze various sleeping scenarios, Such as deep sleep, light sleep, REM sleep, and walking, to assure better sleep quality. The device comes with water protection, allowing you to use it for swimming activities at a maximum depth of 50M while measuring time and calorie burning.

Its internal battery can sustain the watch’s operation for 10 to  30 days on a single charge. One of the main reasons I picked this specific watch for reviewing is my personal preference as a user is to buy a health watch with great software, something I didn’t find in many less-known Chinese brands. 

Jumping to the Software Support & Compatibility arena. All Smartwatch functions are managed through the ‘Huawei Health’ App, which comes pre-installed on Huawei’s latest handsets. The Smartband is compatible with the ‘Google Fit service. Google Fit will record and display speed, pace, route, elevation, track fitness, nutrition, and sleep so you can stay motivated and on track. You can track everyday sports activities via the Web and mobile app. As you walk, run, or cycle throughout the digit instant insights, you can see real-time stats for your runs, walks, and rides.

You can find this Smartband in Two editions. NFC Edition and the standard edition without it. The Smartband comes in 3 different color variants. Dynamic Orange, Classic Navy Blue, and Carbon Black are the most common. It’s made from plastic and silicone rubber materials, weighing only 18g. In terms of functions vs. buck ratio, this is a great product worth considering for everyday sports activities.

Honor Band 3 | Color Variants 

Huawei Honor Band 3: Main Features

• Model: NYX-B10
• Apps and OS:  ‘Huawei Wear,’ ‘Huawei Health’ for Android 4.4+/iOS 8.0+
• Compatible with ‘Google Fit App
• Connectivity: Bluetooth: 4.2, compatible with 4.0/4.1
• Screen: 0.91 Inch OLED Screen, Round Touchpad
• Functions: Some of the below functions need to be set in APP to work
• Call: Remind/Refuse
• Message/APP: Remind/Show message, customize apps permission
• Sport: Continual pulse heart rate monitor, Time, Calories, Steps, Distance, Pace
• Sleep: Auto track, even a nap at noon, TruSleep by Center for Dynamical Biomarkers, Harvard
• Alarm: Smart vibration
• Battery Capacity: 100 mAh
• Convenience: Lift wrist to show sedentary alarm, etc.
• Water Protection: Swimmable, 5ATM (Swim or Shower in not-hot water), show swimming time and calories.
• Strap: Streamline Texture, Skin Care, Sweat Indent, Nimble Design
• Standby: Magnet dock charging, Slight Using 30 days, Normal Using ten days

• A – Product introduction
• B – Price when reviewed: $25
• C – Specs & Product Key Features

Huawei Honor Band 3: Package

Huawei Honor Band 3: Package Content

• 1x Chinese Manual
• 1x USB-Micro USB (Charging Cable)
• 1x Charging Adapter
• 1x Smartband

Huawei Honor Band 3: Appearance & Design

The honor band three externally looks like a classy brand such as Fitbit, but without the hole in the pocket. The smart band very comfortable to wear, its lightweight, weighing only 18g. It has IP67 water protection, so you can swim with it up to a depth of 50M (5ATM) and also take a shower without damaging the watch. The watch’s strap is made from a flexible silicone material with a plastic clip that lets you tighten it towards the hand wrist according to personal preference. To switch between different operating modes, Huawei added a round-shaped responsive touch button that enables you to change (navigate) between all watch modes, start a specific activity with a long press, and power it when it’s not operating in standby mode.

Honor Band 3 | Full view

Huawei Honor Band 3: Display

The Huawei Honor Band 3 comes with a relatively small squared, shaped 0.91 Inch OLED display that shows all watch modes in a simple way not different from most Smartband watches sold on the market. If you are planning on running or walking outdoors on a very sunny day without using a handset, the display will not be invisible nor clear to read.

The same display visibility issue also exists with Xiaomi’s Mi Band 2/3 Smartband series, which also uses OLED Technology. An E-ink display could have been a better selection for outdoors. To overcome this problem, viewing the band display in a more shaded environment is the only viable solution.

Honor Band 3 Display | Outdoors

Huawei Honor Band 3: Connectivity

To connect (Pair) the Smartband with the handset, you will need to enable the button until the device is discovered as ‘honor Band 3-3a3’. Once connected, you can access a wide selection of features and options. In Bluetooth mode, the range of the device can reach about 15-20 meters when used indoors. When the Smartband is connected to the handset, you can share your data, monitor exercise progress, calorie-burning, and monitor weight loss according to the days and the intensity of the excess. More commonly, you can push notifications to the Smartband and use the handset GPS to set an exercise running/walking route and track it in real-time with a google based visual map.

Huawei Honor Band 3: Software

When speaking about software innovation, Huawei did an outstanding job designing a multi-functional mobile app packed with a wide selection of features and an excellent user interface that lets you control all aspects of the smart band, including firmware updates. To operate and enjoy the product to its fullest, you will need to install Huawei ‘Health’ mobile app that usually comes pre-installed on all Huawei handsets. For non-geeks, this app might look somewhere complex to operate, but once you play with it becomes very intuitive to learn.

Honor Band 3 | Health App (Exercise)

Honor Band 3 | Health App (Me)

Honor Band 3 | Health App (Main)

Data Sharing

Another powerful feature Huawei added to their App is the ‘Data Sharing‘ option that lets you share training history on a few external apps, including their cloud-based services. You will find available platforms on the list such as ‘MyFitenssPal,’ ‘UP by Jawbone,’ and ‘Google Fit.’ In the ‘Google fit’ platform, which is the most popular, you can import personal training information, monitor, and set exercise goals in a user-friendly graphical interface.

Sleep Monitoring/Tracking

Another highlight feature of Huawei’s Health Application is the ‘TrueSleep’ option that analyzes and measures deep sleep and light sleep stages using Smartband sensors. With it, you can check for the best optimal sleeping hours and produce a full report showing your rest quality score for each day of the week.

Notifications

Another handy feature this Smartband offers is the notification feature, which is very common and used in many smartwatch brands. When you receive a text notification, you first get a minor vibration. This helpful function is great if you are carrying the phone in a pocket and still want to get updates. Even when driving, if you don’t want to be distracted by picking up the handset or while working.

Under ‘notifications management,‘ you have a list of pre-installed apps in your handset; you can select pick applications that will push notifications to the watch. The most common notification types are e-mail, missed phone calls, SMS, and receiving information upon text message via popular IM Apps such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Viber, WeChat, etc.

Firmware Updates

From time to time, Huawei pushes new firmware updates to the Smartband, which include a few minor bug fixes. To start the update, you must first connect it with a Handset and turn the WiFi connection on. During the update process, the Smartband will display around icon with an arrow inside, indicating the software is downloaded directly to it.

Honor Band 3 | Updating the Firmware

Huawei Honor Band 3: Other Features

I am not sure if a professional sportsman will use all the functions this product offers, not to mention regular sports hobbyists. Huawei’s ‘Healthy‘ app is extensive, offering many options for users that require aerobic and health tracking monitoring solutions. If we sum all of the Smartband main features, they will be the pedometer, continuous heart rate monitoring, calorie count, daily activity tracking, distance/pace monitoring, smart notifications, sleep monitoring, multi-sport modes, and call and message notifications.

To enjoy all for health/sports activities, including real-time tracking and fitness monitoring functions, you will have to keep the intelligent band connected with a handset via a Bluetooth connection, or don’t connect to a handset and operate it independently to save more power and extend the watch operation time.

Huawei Honor Band 3: Operation Mode

Charging

Charging the Smartband is very simple. You will have to use the charging adapter and USB cable included in the package.  The adapter’s built-in Micro-USB port connects to the cable and, from there, the other end to any USB port or 5V charger.

Honor Band 3 | Charging the Smartband

Honor Band 3 | Testing Heart Rate Monitoring Accuracy 

The pulse (heart rate) measurement function is perhaps the most known feature that never seems to ever work and produces a shallow accurate reading, especially in low-cost intelligent bands. Surprisingly, Huawei did very well at embedding a sensitive sensor that is very accurate, with an error deviation of about 1%.

According to Huawei instructions, to accurately take a pulse reading, you must tighten the band and keep it at least one finger width away from the carpal bone. If you want to get a better reading, I suggest twisting (turning) the watch (Shown below in slide No’ 2) and position it upward the palm side of the hand wrist facing to the arteria radialis.

Honor Band 3 vs. A Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor

Comparing Results

The test was performed numerous times with less than a minute period between changing and replacing each device on the hand.

Final Words

The main highlight of the Band 3 is its very innovative software that brings tons of features under a well-organized UI. I recommend buying this excellent Smartband for both health and sports activities monitoring.