4 distinctive options I feel make the Honor Watch 5 Extremely stand out

Regardless of my love of all issues tech, I have been gradual to leap on the

wearable gadget
bandwagon. I’ve but to really feel the necessity to buy

virtual reality
(VR) or

augmented reality
(AR) glasses or headsets, and also you usually will not discover a smartwatch strapped round my wrist every day, both.

That being stated, I can admire a

good smartwatch
after I see one.

Honor’s recently-released
€280 (roughly $313) Watch 5 Extremely is one such wearable, and, regardless of its lack of availability within the US, I’ve had the possibility to check it out over the previous a number of weeks. I’ve labored out with it, I’ve slept with it, and, sure, I’ve even checked the time with it. Listed here are 4 attributes of the Watch 5 Extremely that make it a singular providing in at present’s saturated smartwatch market.

Associated

4 features that help the Honor Pad V9 stand out from the crowd

The Honor Pad V9 is an Android-based mid-range pill that punches above its weight – it is simply too unhealthy it is not out there on US retailer cabinets.

1

It is a gorgeously crafted timepiece

I am unable to get sufficient of the Watch 5 Extremely’s aesthetics

Merely put, Honor has constructed a surprising product within the Watch 5 Extremely. Its design language is modest but good-looking, and its spherical show, skinny symmetrical bezel, and delicate octagonal form all work to supply a visually harmonious aesthetic. The machine is well-built, too: other than being

IP68 water and dust resistant
, its principal chassis is crafted out of polished grade 5 titanium. My black unit arrived with a corresponding polymer fiber (fluoroelastomer) watch band that seems like comfortable rubber to the contact. A brown variant of the watch can be out there, which ships with a leather-based strap by default.

The Watch 5 Extremely makes use of customary 22mm lugs, which suggests you possibly can change the out-of-box strap with another appropriate possibility you see match. Its fast launch mechanism is simple to work with, and there are a ton of third-party choices out there to select from throughout most e-commerce storefronts. Put collectively as a whole 1.83 oz (51.8g) package deal, I might describe the Watch 5 Extremely’s design as being firmly on the masculine aspect — extra so than, say, an

Apple Watch
or a

Google Pixel Watch
.

Associated

Honor’s latest devices are now official, and AI is at the forefront

Forward of Cellular World Congress 2025, Honor has unveiled 4 new gadgets: the Earbuds Open, the Watch 5 Extremely, the Pad V9, and the MagicBook 14.

2

Its show is close to unattainable to scratch

Sapphire crystal to the rescue

The Honor Watch 5 Extremely is out there in a single measurement configuration: a 46mm casing with a 1.5-inch show. This LTPO AMOLED panel is available in at a decision of 466 x 466 pixels (for a fairly sharp 310 pixels per inch (ppi)), and it presents an always-on show mode out of the field. Greater than anything, what I like concerning the Watch 5 Extremely’s show is that it is protected by sapphire crystal.

Sapphire crystal measures in at a hardness degree of 9 on the Mohs scale, which places it effectively above the extent 5 or degree 6 that is typical of

tempered glass solutions
. The result’s a smartwatch show that will not be simply scratched up, until it comes into contact with such gem stones as rubies, sapphires, or diamonds. Sapphire crystal is extra brittle than tempered glass, which might result in elevated danger of shattering on influence, however the Watch 5 Extremely is much too lovely for me to abdomen dropping it onto concrete.

Associated

10 apps every new Wear OS user should try

These apps will allow you to get essentially the most out of your Put on OS machine.

3

It does not run Google’s Put on OS

The product ships with Honor’s personal in-house software program platform

HONOR Well being

Honor Well being is a fitness-tracking software that enables Android telephones and iPhones to sync content material with Honor wearables, such because the Watch 5 Extremely.

After I first discovered of the Honor Watch 5 Extremely, I assumed that it might be powered by Google’s Android-based

Wear OS platform
. Not so: the smartwatch as an alternative runs Honor’s proprietary MagicOS, which is at the moment on model 7.2. All of the fundamentals are right here, together with a house display screen of round app icons, customizable watch faces, well being monitoring, a fast settings panel, and entry to notifications. It is easy sufficient to flick by way of widgets and content material utilizing the contact display screen, and I take pleasure in utilizing the fluid digital crown with its delicate haptic suggestions to zip across the interface.

The system comes with 8GB of onboard storage for downloading extra watch faces and the like, nevertheless it lacks entry to the massive catalog of third-party functions discovered on

Wear OS smartwatches
. It is a main sore level in my eyes, because it limits the flexibleness and utility of the machine by a substantial diploma. For example, whereas the machine comes with built-in near-field communication (NFC) expertise, there is not any strategy to set it up with

Google Wallet
for contactless funds.

The Watch 5 Extremely can interface with each Android telephones and iPhones by way of Bluetooth, requiring the obtain of the Honor Well being app to take action. The app itself is fairly fundamental, nevertheless it’s required for notification syncing, on-watch telephone name answering, and different important capabilities. The Honor well being app can be adept at surfacing sleep monitoring and health-related knowledge pulled from the watch itself, together with sleep part timeframes, coronary heart fee updates, and ongoing step counts.

Associated

With its flagship Magic 7 Pro, Honor flirts with Android greatness

Honor’s newest flagship smartphone, the Magic 7 Professional, is an absolute powerhouse — it is software program is the one factor holding it again from true greatness.

4

It is a battery endurance champion

The 480mAh energy pack can energy the look ahead to as much as 15 days

Honor says that the Watch 5 Extremely can survive simply over two weeks on a single cost, which is a lofty declare to make. After all, to attain this endurance, you will want to show off the

always-on display
, change the center fee monitor from steady over to good, and decrease the display screen brightness significantly. Personally, I all the time go away the watch firing on all cylinders, and I’ve skilled round per week of battery life per cost. In comparison with many different smartwatches in the marketplace, the Honor’s newest mannequin is an endurance champ.

The Watch 5 Extremely’s battery itself measures in at 480mAh, and it recharges by way of an inductive charging puck that adheres magnetically in the identical vein as

Qi2
or MagSafe. Actually, you possibly can plop the telephone onto any previous Qi charging pad, and it will high up, although you will lose out on the magnetic latching system and under-an-hour top-up speeds for those who forgo Honor’s included charger. I actually want the smartwatch provided full Qi2 compatibility, which might save me the effort of coping with the USB-A port discovered on Honor’s charging cable.

This machine was offered to Pocket-lint by Honor.

Associated

The Honor Magic V3 shocked me with its thin, lightweight form factor

Honor has crafted the world’s thinnest book-style foldable, and it makes me excited for the way forward for the class.