First Impressions
The Honor Watch 4 looks set to offer tremendous value to those looking for a stylish and wallet-friendly smartwatch. It’s further enhanced by a wide-range of dial options to suit you and LTE support.
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Low-cost LTE connectivityLTE and GPS for under £130/€150 -
Large display1.75-inch 390 x 450 AMOLED screen -
Long battery lifeHonor claims the 451mAh cell can offer up to 14 days’ of battery
Introduction
Ever wanted a smartwatch that gives off Apple Watch vibes but don’t want to fork out the cash for it (and the accompanying wedge of wonga for the iPhone alongside it too)? That’s what the Honor Watch 4 is here for.
The new smartwatch from Honor looks to pack in simple smartwatch features, and a dash for connectivity, for under £130/€150. Here are my first impressions.
Design
- Aluminium alloy middle-frame
- 1.75-inch AMOLED display
- 32 grams
The design is unmistakably Apple Watch-like, with its rounded square shape and metal body. But, that’s no bad thing, especially at this low price. It certainly feels more expensive than its sub-£150 price tag. You’ll be able to choose between Black and Gold for the colourway, with the latter erring on the side of rose gold. As well as the design of the watch component itself, the strap gives off Apple sport band vibes too.
It isn’t the lightest smartwatch, which you may have expected given its low price and basic feature set, but its surprisingly premium design does justify the added weight. It’s also a consequence of the larger 1.75-inch display, which is impressively crisp and colourful while offering plenty of screen for presenting your workout tracking, messages and the like. For reference, it’s smaller than the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and the 44mm versions of the Apple Watch SE 2 and Apple Watch Series 8, but larger than the 41mm models.
Along with a stylish outer design, there is more than 300 dials to choose from and the ones I saw really run the full gamut. You’ll find sporty looking options, taking inspiration from Nike options on the Apple Watch, as well as more traditional analog and digital watch styles. Then, there’s more outlandish abstract and digital artwork options available too.
Features and Fitness Tracking
- Speedy navigation
- eSIM LTE support
- “Fitness age” feature
The highlight of the features on offer with the Honor Watch 4 is LTE support, particularly that it offers this feature at such a low price, offering connectivity and call capabilities away from Wi-Fi through eSIM support.
Navigation is extremely simple with this smartwatch too, with just a singular button on the side. The on-screen interface matches the physical user interface in simplicity. Navigation through the basic menus feel speedy, aided by the 60Hz refresh rate. This will require further inspection in our full review but Honor is touting a strong 14-day battery life with this watch too.
If you’re looking for a reasonably-price wearable that’s easy to use but still offers useful features, the Honor Watch 4 is going to be a top contender.
For fitness features, Honor highlights its “advanced workout algorithm” for delivering accurate and helpful results that encourage the burning of more calories. I wasn’t able to give this a go in the busy and restriced conditions of an IFA convention hall so this is another test that’ll be pivotal come review time. “Fitness Age” is another aspect of this device’s workout chops, aiming to avoid getting into the weeds of exercise data by giving you a simple age-based score following assessment of your running and fitness.
The fitness tracking is aided by what Honor calls its “Optical Microlens Array”, supposedly making heart rate measurements more accurate. The on-board health monitor tracks Stress, SpO2, Sleep, Heart Rate and Breathe indicators, bringing all that date together in one place on your accompanying phone.
Early Thoughts
It’s disappointing that Europe isn’t getting the very best feature of the Honor Watch 4 that debuted in China but, at this price, LTE support remains its biggest coup. The design also offers excellent value for money, as a much cheaper Apple-Watch-alike.
Many will still look at the Apple Watch SE 2 as tough competition for this smartwatch but, on the Android side of things, it’ll take the budget market by storm. Further, the Watch 4 certainly focuses on simplicity and style offer detailed fitness features so more serious exercise enthusiasts may find the Fitbit Versa 3 a more appealing proposition.
Nevertheless, the basics of smartwatch communcation are here, boosted by LTE, and simple fitness features are on board. That’s not to forget the range of dials on offer too, alongside the quality build. There’s plenty to like.
