Huawei Band 2 Pro - Review 2022

For $69.99, Huawei'southward Band ii Pro offers upwardly a list of features that other fitness trackers might charge twice as much for. But upon close inspection, the Band 2 Pro doesn't evangelize all that it promises. Step counts and centre charge per unit were inaccurate in testing, and button notifications, while bachelor, are switched off past default and subconscious in a carte du jour that's labeled in Chinese. Information technology also isn't the most attractive wearable, and you tin't swap its ring out to switch things up. Trackers like the Fitbit Alta Hr and Garmin Vivosport are more expensive, but represent meliorate ways to spend your money.

Outset Impressions

With its slim shape and vertical rectangular display, the Band Pro 2 takes the same basic appearance as the Garmin Vivosport, Fitbit Alta 60 minutes, and a few other wristbands. In general, I find this course factor too sporty and inelegant for all-twenty-four hours wear. It works fine in the gym and in coincidental environments, but if you dress in annihilation but streetwear, information technology looks out of place.

The silicone band, which does not detach from the device and therefore can't be swapped, comes in three colors: black, blueish (more of a midnight blueish), and ruby-red, which is more than of a strong coral.

To fasten the wristband, y'all thread one finish through a loop in the other and then snap two prongs into two facing holes. In my experience with other devices with a similar closure, they tend to hold up well for some months, merely eventually stretch and become loose.

Huawei Band 2 Pro The OLED display remains off until yous raise your arm or flick your wrist, then it lights upward with pale blue lite on a black background. An surface area at the bottom of the display is sensitive to bear on and acts like a push button for moving through unlike screens that show the time of twenty-four hour period, pace count, heart rate, and other data. You press it once to change screens, and hold it downward to get additional information about any screen.

Battery life on the Band 2 Pro is the most impressive thing about it. Later on five days of article of clothing without using GPS, it nonetheless had more 50 percent battery left. To charge it, you plug in a USB-C cable to a proprietary connector slice that snaps onto the unit.

Features

Huawei Band 2 Pro Every bit with almost fettle trackers, the Band 2 Pro counts steps, distance, and sleep. It has a standard activity reminder, besides, also sometimes chosen a movement reminder or idle warning, that nudges you to move if you've been sitting still for more than an hour. The Band 2 Pro estimates the percentage of your steps that were spent "climbing," but doesn't convert information technology to flights of stairs. Worse, it never recorded any climbing for me whatsoever, fifty-fifty later on a hike that involved significant elevation change and steep slopes.

The Band 2 Pro captures center rate and shows the latest reading, resting heart rate, as well every bit lowest and highest heart rate for the solar day, which the app incorrectly labels "minimum" and "maximum." Word choice is of import here, equally "maximum" centre rate ways the heart charge per unit you lot should not exceed during practice.

The device has GPS for tracking runs, cycle rides, and swims. Information technology has a water resistant rating of 5ATM, and so you can swim laps and shower with information technology on, but no diving. At that place'due south also an on-device setting for measuring indoor runs.

In that location are some included programs, such as a Run Coaching feature, that I was excited nearly when I learned of them. I set upwardly a preparation schedule in the app to run a one-half marathon. And so...I never heard any more about it. Neither the app nor the tracker itself reminded me to run or added scheduled runs to my agenda or anything. When I did run, I got no feedback or information nigh the training schedule. I don't know what skilful a "coaching" feature is if information technology tin't even remind you of upcoming workouts.

The Animate Coach feature disappoints, as well. It'due south an on-watch programme that very simply coaches you through slow breathing exercises. Information technology does aught more than than prove you a ring on the screen that grows bigger and and so shrinks while displaying the words "inhale" and "exhale" below it. A progress bar on the bottom gives you an thought of how much longer it'due south going to accept before you reach the end.

Huawei Band 2 Pro After 14 breaths, it's over and you become a numerical score (it's unclear what this score ways or how it'south calculated) and either a descriptor of your breathing session or possibly a discussion of encouragement, like "excellent." I found the whole exercise underwhelming, unclear, and awkward considering you accept to stare at your wrist while breathing rather than sitting with your dorsum direct and eyes closed. The fitness tracker Spire has audio-coached animate exercises included in its mobile app, and they are much meliorate than what you get with Huawei'south Band 2 Pro.

So while the Band 2 Pro has a lot of functionality on paper, in reality it comes upwardly curt. More examples: There is a move reminder, but you can't customize the time interval for it. Twenty-four/seven heart rate monitoring sounds like a great feature, but information technology'south off by default, and information technology's never brought to your attention that y'all can or should enable information technology. Push notifications from a connected smartphone are off by default every bit well, and I only found them by thoroughly exploring the app menus. The setting is hidden in a menu option that'due south labeled in Chinese (everything else is in English).

Accuracy

The Huawei Band 2 Pro consistently nether-reported step counts and altitude in testing, compared with data collected by a Misfit Ray wrist tracker, a Wahoo Tickr X chest strap that doubles as a run-tracker, and a treadmill.

I wore the Misfit Ray simultaneously with the Huawei Band 2 Pro for several days. Whenever I exercise comparative testing, I wait to see some difference in step counts, merely this time the difference was too big to moving ridge off. In general, I consider adept data to show a difference of about a quarter mile, or roughly 500 steps, between trackers. I also consider it a expert sign when one tracker does not consistently report higher or lower results. In other words, the tracker with the greater number of steps is not always the aforementioned 1.

When looking at step counts from the Huawei Band 2 Pro, it always had a lower step count and by a meaning number. Over five periods of activity, ii partial days and three full days, the average deviation between the Ray and Band 2 Pro was 1,676, which is about three quarters of a mile.

Distance recorded during runs and treadmill walks were off also, and over again the Huawei Band 2 Pro was consistently curt. A one-mile walk, recorded on target with the Wahoo Tickr X and as reported past the treadmill, came upwardly to but 0.65-mile with the Huawei tracker, which is also far off. While non every fitness tracker nails information technology on the first go, others at least give you lot the option to right the mileage and other information to hep calibrate the device. Garmin watches have this capability, for example. There are no options for correcting data in Huawei's app or tracker.

Heart rate readings were better, both at residuum and during low- and high-intensity workouts. While sitting all the same, the heart rate reported past the Band 2 Pro was usually within three beats per infinitesimal (bpm) of what the Wahoo Tickr X showed. At times, yet, it differed by every bit much as 7bpm. During a treadmill walk, the heart charge per unit reading was within a few bpm to that reported by the treadmill handlebar heart charge per unit monitors and the Wahoo Tickr Ten. Similarly, readings were merely a few beats off during a treadmilll run.

Comparisons and Conclusions

The Huawei Ring 2 Pro has long bombardment life and a low sticker price, simply it falls behind other fettle trackers in functionality, accurateness, and style. The app doesn't offer any real insight into your habits, and some of the advertised special features are lackluster. For another relatively depression-cost pick, the Misfit Ray has been out since 2022, only information technology's gorgeous, comfortable, and authentic. The Fitbit Alta and Alta Hr cost less than $150 and are much more reliable than the Band 2 Pro. The same goes for the Garmin Vivoactive three, and if you're willing to spend more, it's our current Editors' Option.