PRODUCT INFO
Watch GS Pro
Manufacture	Honor
Available at	View at Huawei

The new GS Pro is a worthy successor of MagicWatch 2 which was unveiled in January this year. It brings all goodies of Magic Watch 2 with new rugged modes and features. The 14 MIL-STD-810G military certifications of the GS Pro confirms its ruggedness and durability.  The certifications highlight the device prowess to bear high altitude, temperature, and ability to survive under deep water and heavy rainfall.

Unlike its predecessor and other fitness watches the GS Pro is meant for a targeted audience only. There are several modes available on board to assist in outdoor adventures. Most of them are not available in other watches of this niche. If you are an athlete, mountaineer, or looking for a rugged watch for adventures and gym workout the GS Pro is certainly a good option. As expected the rugged features come at a steeper price tag.  Without any further delay, let’s find out how capable this watch is.

In the Box

• GS Pro main body
• Straps
• Guide
• Warranty card
• Charging Dock

Price and Release

Soon after the announcement, the Watch GS Pro was available for pre-orders in many European countries including Germany, Spain, Italy, France, and also in the UK via the official Honor website.  The device is expected to be released for other countries from periodically, however, the exact details are still not clear.  As far as the pricing is concerned the Watch GS Pro is priced at £220 for the UK market, the European customers will have to pay €249.99.  At the current currency exchange rate the watch costs roughly 400 Australian Dollars.  Just for the sake of reminder, the Honor Watch was available at a significantly cheaper price tag of £159.99.

Now we have to keep in our minds that other outdoor-centric smartwatches are not cheap at all. The Suunto 7 is amongst the priciest smartwatch available in the market, it costs $499 (available on discount on special sales). The Fēnix 5 by Garmin also costs $499 at a discounted price tag.  The Gear S3 Frontier by Samsung is currently available at $349.99. You can also grab the cheaper Amazfit T-Rex for just £110. Considering these prices the GS Pro doesn’t seem overly expensive.

Design and Display

Unlike the sleek smartwatches, the GS Pro comes with a heavy design which is understandable considering it brings several dedicated sports sensors. The Watch GS Pro chassis is made up of a reinforced polycarbonate body. On the top side, you will get the stainless steel bezels. The good thing is even with the hefty design the watch weighs 45.5g only without the strap. The rubber straps are removable and quite comfortable.

Taking a look at the design we can see that the main brain portion comes with two physical buttons on the right edge.  By clicking the first button the app menu will open whereas the second button can be customized according to preference.  There are many work modes, so it’s up to the user which mode is set on the dedicated menu button.

Thanks to the military IL-STD-810G certifications the watch is quite sturdy and can bear water up to 50 meters. Its stainless steel bezel is rugged enough to stand against the external conditions during adventures.  In terms of color options, the Watch cases are available in Charcoal Black, Marl White, and Camo Blue. The straps are also available in three options including fluororubber straps in Marl White color whereas the braided strap is available in CamoBluenylon and Charcoal Black.

It features a 1.39-inches AMOLED display with a screen resolution of 454 x 454 pixels. The Watch comes pre-installed with many watch faces straight out of the box. Apart from the pre-installed ones the users are free to customize from the gallery as well. For special workouts, the animated watch faces can also be set to know the specific details instantly.

Battery Life & Charging Times

Considering the fitness and other outdoor features the battery life of the Watch GS Pro is quite outstanding. Honor claims on normal usage the Watch can survive up to 25 days on a single charge. When the dedicated outdoor workout mode is activated the smartwatch survives up to 100 hours.  Last but not least with the GPS mode is activated it lasts 48 hours on continuous usage.

The battery life is one of prominent aspect which differentiates Watch GS Pro from its predecessor as well as Watch GT 2.  It is important to mention that the GS Pro comes with a dual satellite positioning system that wasn’t available on the Magic Watch 2.  The Watch GS Pro is packed with a 790mAh battery under the hood whereas the GT 2 comes with a significantly smaller 455mAh battery cell.  With the fast charger, the watch took 1 hour 20 minutes to complete charge from 0 to 100.

On normal usage with heart rate monitoring and automatic stress tracking the watch can easily last two weeks which is much higher than most of the smartwatches available in the market.  Despite with few hours of music playback and other routine monitoring tasks the GS Pro’s battery life is exceptional.  The stats may improve with a new software update.

Lite OS and Huawei Health

The Watch GS Pro is pre-installed with Lite OS straight out of the box. On the main home page, swiping up will showcase notifications whereas the swipe down will direct you to the quick settings.  If you swipe horizontally the watch is pre-set to different tracking options like heart rate monitoring, weather, stress level tracking, music playback, and activity dashboard. The dashboard showcases three kinds of tracking data including workout minutes, step count, and active hours.

The good thing is that you can rearrange toggle and tracking options according to your preference. Apart from the regular tracking options, you can add one more from the Display settings. When the main menu is open the top right button opens the list of apps whereas in other menus it acts as a home button.  With a single swipe inwards you can get back from the app step by step. The button on the right bottom is by default activity tracking, however, it can be adjusted to any other app as well.

The Huawei Health app is quite helpful as it provides complete e stats of workout, heart rate, sleeping habits, calories burned, and stress level. Unfortunately, like all other Huawei and Honor products, the users will have to adjust to the limited ecosystem of apps. The activity-tracking feature of the Watch GS Pro works quite efficiently, it comes pre-loaded with more than 100 modes to track elliptical, triathlon, walking, cycling, swimming, rowing, skiing, and running. It is important to mention the stress monitoring feature isn’t available for the iOS users.

Apart from the fitness and tracking features the GS Pro comes with a compass, barometer, and altimeter. It also provides weather alerts with complete details including tide, sunset, and sunrise timings.

Forgot Your Route? Don’t Worry

If you are a mountaineer the Watch GS Pro comes with a dual satellite positioning system for accurate GPS navigation. A new Route Back feature is introduced with the GS Pro, it provides offline GPS coordinates and helps the user to reach the starting point of their journey without getting lost. It provides breadcrumb navigation to hikers so that users won’t deviate from the actual route. However, this feature isn’t available for all outdoor activities.  From the right edge, you need to swipe twice to activate the route back.

Audio Experience

The audio experience of the Watch GS Pro is quite phenomenal. The speakers are not Dolby Atmos but the loudness and clarity are worth appreciating. The watch can store music files for playback, you can also connect it via Bluetooth. Last but not least it also supports the connectivity of wireless earbuds. If the watch is connected to the phone, it can be used to attend calls.  For the Honor and Huawei phones, the watch can be used as a remote camera shutter.

Huawei OneHop feature

The OneHop share is quite beneficial as it allows users to transfer videos, documents, images, and other content on the go instantly by simply tapping the device.  This feature was initially available to transfer files from Huawei or Honor phones to PC. Now it is available to share files from phone to smartwatch. You can share pictures, videos, and other documents on the GS Pro by simply placing the phone right above the watch.

Watch Faces

No matter how much we love a specific watch face but we get bored after a very short span of time. Huawei introduces Watch Faces so that users can change new faces whenever they feel bored with the existing face. The Health app is pre-loaded with a number of watch faces. The good thing is you can install a custom watch face as well. For instance, if you captured a stunning shot on your phone, you can share it via Huawei OneHop and can set it as Watch Face.

By clicking the Watch faces section on the Health app, you will get a number of Watch faces. You just need to tap the install button to have your desired Watch Face.

Fitness tracking Features

Apart from the regular Swimming, Altitude barometer, hiking, cycling, walking, mountain climbing modes the Watch GS Pro comes with a new dedicated skiing mode.  In all modes, the Watch automatically records data in real-time so that users have a record of overall performance during six different workouts. These records can be later accessed via Huawei Health app.  In terms of water resistance, the Watch GS Pro can survive under 50 meters deep water without any effect which makes it suitable for many water sports.

To make sure your outdoor activities are not disturbed the watch will showcase regular weather alerts and also forecasts severe weather condition.  Not just that the device also analyses sunrise and sunset timings.  Apart from the outdoor modes, the watch comes with many fitness-related features. It brings heart rate sensors, Calories burnt, Step count, blood oxygen, air pressure calculation, stress monitor, and sleep monitor.  The SpO2 Monitor keeps an eye on the users’ blood oxygen saturation level to ensure the users’ health.

As mentioned above there are tons of dedicated modes in all sorts of conditions. There are special modes for martial art and dancing. Those who are gym freaks the Watch GS Pro comes with 13 cardio modes assist in shaping your body and reduce weight.

In the end, the GS Pro comes with many lifestyle modes. It assists the user in capturing shots from the phone using the watch. The native storage can store up to 500 songs. You can also control playback music via the watch.  Though the messages notification is shown on the watch, however, you can’t reply to it.

Conclusion 

The Honor Watch GS Pro and Watch ES are aimed at two different kinds of customers. Undoubtedly the GS Pro is a worthy successor as it brings all the goodies of the Magic Watch and also brings a number of new workout modes.

The only tiny drawback of the GS Pro is its slightly hefty price-tag, don’t get me wrong here. For enthusiastic wanderers, this price tag is still justified. But for an average consumer, the price tag might not be the most pleasant. However, if you are looking for a rugged smartwatch with tons of features for outdoor adventures and fitness modes the GS Pro is certainly an amazing option.

Honor Watch GS Pro

Explorer's Companion

Pros

• Many Fitness modes
• Military-grade certified rugged watch
• Built-in dual GPS
• Long-lasting battery
• Route-back is impeccable

Cons

• Polycarbonate chassis
• hefty pricing

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Display: 1.39-inches, 454 x 454 pixels | Chipset: Kirin A1, | Weight: 45.5g | Colours:  Charcoal Black, Marl White, Camo Blue | Waterproof rating:  50m | Battery: 790mAh

VERDICT:The Honor Watch GS Pro is for those who are looking for a durable outdoor watch with great battery life. However, the little hiccups in the software are certainly an issue that will be sorted out in the software update surely. Overall the Watch GS Pro doesn't fail to impress in almost every aspect.

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PRODUCT INFO
HONOR MagicWatch 2 46mm
Manufacture	Huawei
Available at	View at Amazon UK

Smartwatches are a great way of complimenting your smartphone and making use of even more features in unison with your phone. A fitness tracker and other essential, or even additional, features are a given with the Honor MagicWatch 2. But there is another highlight that really brings the MagicWatch 2 into the spotlight.

Honor teamed up with 4 pioneers and icons in the world of art and digital graphics to deliver a watch that goes above and beyond. Smartwatches are usually designed with a look that is going to work with just about every type of outfit that you will be wearing.

Personalizing your possession and adding a touch that makes it yours is on the mind of just about every consumer. Honor’s move of teaming up with these 4 renowned artists has delivered straps that truly are works of art. Each artist has integrated their style of art into the different strap designs, making the Honor MagicWatch 2 look more alive than any other smartwatch. The Honor MagicWatch 2 variant on our hands is the 46mm one with the Ficus strap designed by Giovanni Ozzola.

Unboxing

The Honor MagicWatch 2 comes in a very standard black box. Pulling the box open, you’ll find the MagicWatch 2 being securely packed. Inside the packaging, the contents are as follows:

• Honor MagicWatch 2
• USB-C cable
• Charging dock
• Warranty card
• Quick Start guide

Design

The Honor MagicWatch 2 and Honor’s GT2 smartwatch have very similar designs. The MagicWatch 2 is available in 42 and 46mm versions, both rocking a really good look. Around the edge of the OLED screen is a tachymeter and the buttons, which I’ll be getting into later. Both the 42mm and 46mm versions have removable straps which, although it is pretty common for a smartwatch to have, work great with MagicWatch 2’s ability to let you customize your watch. There is quite a noticeable price difference between the 42mm and 46mm variants and that’s because the change is not just limited to the size of the screen. Microphone, a longer range for the Bluetooth connection, and bigger battery life, just to name a few.

The MagicWatch 2 is a really sleek looking smartwatch that is a testament to how Honor has polished their footprints in markets other than just smartphones. On the top, you have a 1.39-inch AMOLED display with nice and thin bezels and a resolution of 454 x 454. Being an AMOLED display, the black color looks really good here and the display is very vibrant. This is further complemented by you being able to change the face of the watch, which I’ll talk about later. The two crows on the side don’t stick out too much either and let the watch sit comfortably on your wrist when you’re wearing it. In between these two crowns is a little speaker that can come in quite handy.

Turning the watch over, you can find the heart-beat sensor that is essential for a fitness-oriented smartwatch. To charge the Honor MagicWatch 2, you must place it on a charging dock that attaches itself magnetically. The two contact points for the magnetic attachment can also be seen at the bottom. The build quality, material strength, and durability are all top-notch with the Honor MagicWatch 2. 316L aerospace-grade stainless steel is used for the metallic casing of this watch. This material is quite lightweight and is free of any corrosion that may otherwise ruin the watch. The 46mm watch weighs about 41g, making it light on your wrist and easy to wear.

Removing the strap of the Honor MagicWatch 2 is quite easy, all you need to do is pull the little pin on the band and you can remove the strap. There’s a tiny pin that locks the band with the metal of the watch, keeping the band in place. However, there’s also a downside to this. If the pin on the band and the lock on the watch are not perfectly aligned, the pin scratches with the surface of the watch. Over time, this can cause quite a lot of marks and scratches which will be quite annoying to look at. This problem is not found in Apple Watch. And seeing as how Honor MagicWatch 2 brands itself on its ability to be customizable, this pin-lock design is not as well-executed as it should be.

MagicWatch 2 Artist Collection Straps and Customization

I talked about how Honor went a step ahead and released special bands by working together with 4 renowned artists. Jacky Tsai, Giovanni Ozzola, Wang DongLing, and Zhou Li have come together to bring you some really fantastic looking straps to add to your collection. Giovanni Ozzola designed straps are made available to you in a few different artworks. In my hands, I have the Ficus band designed by Giovanni Ozzola. The artwork on these bands is guaranteed to make you look twice towards your Honor MagicWatch 2; once for checking the stats while working out and another to appreciate Giovanni Ozzola’s artwork. Ozzola explores different mediums in his artworks and the Ficus band is nothing short of a great piece of art.

These art collection straps are made by Braloba Leather Goods, known for their superior quality leather straps for watches. The Honor MagicWatch 2 straps are made up of leather and fluoroelastomer, making them durable, lightweight. This material selection also adds quite a bit of damage resistance to them. One of the art collection straps by Jacky Tsai is actually 3D-printed with woven fabric in it, giving it a very unique look that does not otherwise meddle with the artwork. These straps are available in different variants and you can choose the ones that appeal to you most. You can even go a step beyond and change the face of the watch using the Huawei Health app. There is a lot to choose from and you can easily find one that goes with how you want your watch to look.

Giovanni Ozzola has captured the leaves in the Ficus strap in different lighting conditions which add a very in-depth feeling to the art on the strap. As these bands are designed by artists known for their phenomenal artworks, so too are the different faces for the Honor MagicWatch 2. Through the Honor Global Watch Face Design Contest, a number of designs were selected as themes for Honor’s MagicWatch 2. These faces can be changed and you can add the designs and custom look to your watch that some smartwatches skip out on.

Software and Features

With Honor expanding their horizons, it only makes sense that they adopt an ecosystem of their own as well. The Honor MagicWatch 2 uses Lite OS which has found its way in Honor smartphones as well. On one end, Honor’s aggressive approach is to be praised and there are certainly quite a few bits which Lite OS gets right. However, in comparison to Wear OS by Google’s smartwatches, Lite OS feels a bit short.

Lite OS lets you attend or make calls using your smartwatch by having it connected to a phone via Bluetooth. Honor MagicWatch 2 alerts you of notifications and etc using vibrations along with sound alerts and screen pop-ups. The strength of the vibration can be adjusted which is quite an understated advantage that MagicWatch 2 holds over some of its competitors. There are a bunch of fitness monitoring modes and apps that are going to be of great benefit to you.

The MagicWatch 2 also supports NFC Touch and Transfer function. With supported phones, you can enable NFC Touch and Transfer on both your smartwatch and phone and hold the phone over your smartwatch to transfer the digital photos from your mobile to your MagicWatch 2.

The activity records show you clean and simple data of all things relevant. In addition to that, there are 15 goal-based fitness modes and 13 running courses that you can choose. MagicWatch 2 also has a stress and sleep monitor in addition to the necessary heart-rate monitor. This watch is water-resistant up to 50 meters for 10 minutes, meaning you can even go swimming with this watch on. The rating for the water-resistance of this watch is 5ATM.

Using Huawei’s TruSleep technology, the MagicWatch 2 monitors REM, light, and deep sleep patterns and duration, helping you sleep soundly and peacefully. Along with TruSleep, TruRelax and TruSeen monitor your stress and heart-rates respectively. MagicWatch 2 uses all of these to give you not only highly accurate results but also helps with the 15 different fitness modes and 13 running courses available.

The Honor MagicWatch 2 has a storage capacity of 4 GB whereas 2 GB is available for offline music storage. While there are certainly quite a few things that the Lite OS gets right, there is certainly room for improvement. The notifications displayed are only there for that, display. You cannot reply to them using MagicWatch 2. Media files or even voice notes are not possible with the MagicWatch 2. The microphone is there for only the voice guidance that this watch supports.

Battery Life

Being powered by Huawei’s Kirin A1 chipset, we’re given one of the most promising aspects of the MagicWatch 2. Of course, the exact numbers are not always going to be accurate because usage time varies in accordance to the usage and settings. However, Honor’s claim of 14-day battery life is pretty great.

The Kirin A1 chipset requires less power while processing data at a fast rate, hence prolonging the battery life. Once fully charged, I tried to use my MagicWatch 2 as I normally would and was able to get very close results to the ones based on Honor labs. The battery life is definitely not going to be on your list of worries when looking into the Honor MagicWatch 2. Even with the “Always On” display mode turned on, the battery life did not disappoint.

Conclusion

The Honor MagicWatch 2 is a fitness smartwatch that gets a lot of things right. On one hand, you have the necessary features required from a smartwatch that the MagicWatch 2 quite successfully delivers. And on the other, the different design patterns available to you that are crafted by the minds of innovative and renowned artists is definitely a huge plus. The Ficus band, that I had, definitely took me a little by surprise because I was not expecting it to be that good. There are a few more straps available in the artist collection of the Honor MagicWatch 14 that you definitely are going to like very much.

The OS and software end of the MagicWatch 2 requires a little bit of work and I hope that future firmware updates are going to acknowledge and fix them. A little graphical overhaul and just overall improvements and tweaks are going to go a long way. However, these are minor inconveniences compared to what the MagicWatch 2 gets right. A vibrant display, a 2-week battery life, and a fantastic collection of faces and straps are all at your disposal. The Honor MagicWatch 2 is here to solidify its footprints in the smartwatch market and it has definitely taken a great step.

Honor MagicWatch 2

The Best Versatile Smartwatch

Pros

• The art collection straps look absolutely fantastic
• 14-day battery life
• NFC Touch and Transfer
• Robust design
• Monitor your stress levels along with sleep patterns

Cons

• Cannot reply to notifications through the MagicWatch 2
• No direct way of controlling songs downloaded off of a streaming service
• Pin-lock design for the band is prone to leaving scratches behind on the watch

Processor: Kirin A1 chipset | Battery-life: 14-days | Storage: 4 Gb | NFC Touch and Transfer: Yes | Monitors: Heart-rate, Stress, Sleep patterns, Oxygen

VERDICT:Honor MagicWatch 2 is definitely a watch that you should be looking into if you're in the market for a fitness-oriented smartwatch. The MagicWatch 2 leaves some room for improvement but gets plenty of things right which really nail this for a smartwatch at this price. Its long battery life, many different fitness modes, and programs and of course, the art collection straps are just a few promising aspects that you can appreciate quite easily.

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The post Honor MagicWatch 2 Review appeared first on Appuals.