HUAWEI Band 10 Fitness Bracelet: Real Metal

Functionally, the HUAWEI Band series fitness bracelets really have nowhere to go – at a low price, these are very functional devices: they count steps, measure pulse, sleep, help with training, display notifications, even help control the load on the heart and the level of oxygen in the blood. Moreover, several generations have already passed. That is, they essentially perform the entire mandatory program of modern smart watches – while having a compact case and a price of about three thousand rubles.

Any further addition would seem to take the HUAWEI Band series device from the smart bracelet (fitness bracelet) niche to the smart watch niche, but this in itself is not a problem. The problem is rather that the screen would have to increase and, as a result, the dimensions, as well as the price would have to increase – and this is of no use to anyone (neither the manufacturer nor the consumer), why blur the ideal positioning?

Accordingly, the changes are each time quite small – sometimes they only concern the software. But HUAWEI Band 10 can be called a noticeable step forward compared to Band 9. Due to what?

First of all, due to the new design and the use of higher-quality materials. More precisely, material. The point is that Band 10 now has versions with a case made not of polymers, but of aluminum alloy. As is usually the case with fitness bracelets, there are many color variations, and aluminum bracelets turned out to be those with matte black, white, blue, lilac and green (more precisely, light green) cases. We also tested the latest version.

There are also black and pink HUAWEI Band 10 with polymer cases, as before – they cost 500 rubles less.

In addition to more durable and, let’s face it, cooler-looking cases, HUAWEI Band 10 received straps of a new, “breathing” format – as you can understand from the name, they are porous. And yes, the hand sweats noticeably less in them – but it still sweats, the straps, as before, are silicone.

The dimensions and weight have essentially not changed – in the aluminum version, the bracelet has gained 1 (in words: one) gram, the thickness is 9 mm (excluding the influx on the back panel with sensors). In any case, this is a very thin and light device, which, like any modern fitness bracelet, is not felt on the hand at all, it is easy to forget that you are wearing it at all.
But you still need to remember. Despite the declared water protection, which in theory allows you to withstand water pressure of 5 atmospheres, Huawei strongly advises against taking a shower in the bracelet – jets of hot water under pressure can damage the gadget. But you can swim quite well.

Conceptually, the bracelet has not changed at all. The control method is traditional for such devices: touch screen + side key, with which you can switch between the main screen and the application menu (vertical list). This screen is rectangular, AMOLED with a diagonal of 1.47 inches and a resolution of 368 x 194 pixels (283 ppi), with very large frames.

On the back side (made of matte plastic) are sensors and a contact pad for the magnetic charger.

The interface changed a lot in the previous generation of HUAWEI Band. It is logical that in this generation the manufacturer did not dig around too much. When you press the button, we see all available applications. The leftmost screen displays the weather and has a player control panel. Notifications can be viewed by swiping the main screen up, the quick settings panel (and more) – by swiping down. When swiping to the left, we see a screen that brings together the main health indicators that the bracelet collects: heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, stress level, sleep quality. Next are screens dedicated to training, sleep and “activity rings”. All screens can be reassigned, choosing, for example, more traditional cards with stress, heart rate and blood oxygen saturation values.

Functionally, everything is familiar. This is, I repeat, a traditional modern fitness bracelet that can count your pulse, steps, sleep, stress, blood oxygen level, record training data, and it has retained the ability to analyze the pulse wave for possible arrhythmia from Band 9. The Emotions application has been added, which will allow you not only to notice your stress, but also to control your mood – the bracelet can quite successfully read when you are not in harmony with your emotions and recommends breathing exercises in this case or simply advises you to switch. In our rhythm of life, even such a simple assistant can be very appropriate.

There is no GPS, the bracelet receives notifications and calls quickly and correctly, but you cannot answer a call using the bracelet – there is no microphone or speaker.

The bracelet connects to the smartphone via Bluetooth, the HUAWEI Health app is required, available for Android, iOS, and EMUI, of course (it is pre-installed on HUAWEI gadgets). Functional and easy to learn, it is used to work with all wearable devices of the brand – with its help you can track incoming health data, change watch faces, and so on. This time I was unable to connect the bracelet to an iPhone (the app could not find the Band 10 in range, looking for pairing), only to an Android smartphone.

It is stated that HUAWEI Band 10 can work for up to two weeks, but, as with any watch/bracelet, everything is individual here – it depends on whether you constantly measure your data (pulse, oxygen, etc.), how often you train. My Band 10 successfully “lived” for about a week. The bracelet charges in 45 minutes.

The stated price for HUAWEI Band 10 is 3,999 rubles for a device with a polymer case and 4,499 rubles for an aluminum bracelet. But in fact, from the start of sales, there is a discount of 500 rubles – accordingly, Band 10 costs 3,499 and 3,999 rubles, respectively. HUAWEI Band 9 can be found today for 2,499 rubles. Whether it is worth the extra 1,000 rubles for the “porous” strap and emotion control widget and 1,500 rubles for the aluminum case – decide for yourself.