Like most electronics giants, Chinese company Huawei has its fingers in a number of different pies. It makes phones, of course, but also wearables, its endeavors in the latter field include activity trackers and smartwatches. While Huawei’s efforts so far have focused on the high end, the company appears poised to round out its wearable catalog with less expensive devices. On its official Twitter account, Huawei teased the Band Zero, a low-cost smartwatch, and a new Bluetooth headset called the Honor Whistle.
The Band Zero, which Huawei says is bound for China in August, sports a circular display with a polished steel bezel. It’s resistant to water and dust with an IP68 certification, packs sensors to measure sleep and physical activity, and will ship in white and beige colors. Huawei hasn’t disclosed the Band Zero’s operating system, but given the quoted battery life — around 4 days — the power-hungry Android Wear seems improbable. More likely (and for better or worse), it’ll run some derivation of the Talkband B2’s in-house software.
Next up is the Honor Whistle. It stands in aesthetic contrast to the minimalist Band Zero, featuring a prominent button with a glowing power indicator. It sports a brushed metal finish and will come in black and beige varieties, though Huawei hasn’t revealed at what price or when.
As evidenced by our experience with the Talkband B2, there’s no doubt Huawei knows how to build quality wearables. Its problem, at least historically, has been making it and other flagship products available overseas. It doesn’t seem like that’ll change with the Band Zero or Honor Whistle — Huawei’s tweets heavily imply they’re staying in China — but here’s hoping the company makes a bigger push for the U.S. market soon with the Huawei Watch, which has reportedly been delayed.
