Huawei Honor 4 bracelet: classic fit band with all the trimmings

Before we take a close look at the Huawei Honor 4 Running Version, let's recap on what the original fit band has to offer.(If you are looking for a full Huawei Honor 4 bracelet review, don't miss this post Huawei Honor 4 fitness bracelet review: take your workouts further with a waterproof sports band)

	HUAWEI Honor 4 Bracelet - BLACK
	$48.76

The Honor 4 is your classic fit band in the best of Huawei traditions. The band comes with a rather large 0.95 inch AMOLED high-resolution colored display. The screen fits up to 45 characters — so, in addition to clearly seeing all your fitness data — you will also be able to read text messages right on the band without too much scrolling. The full-touch display is easy to navigate — made even easier thanks to the one button return.

Now, on to the features.

One of the best things about the Honor 4 is that it comes with real-time heart rate monitoring and uses an advanced AI mechanism to make sure it's especially accurate — up to 94% as the company suggests.   

Another feature of note is that the band is 50 metres waterproof making it a great choice for swimmers and even divers — the band is protected not only from water itself but can also withstand pressure if you choose to go deeper.

In general, when it comes to sports tracking, the Honor 4 is geared to cater to all sorts of sporting activities: running, swimming, bike riding, climbing, gym workouts, and more. With that, there is no particular specialisation when it comes to fitness tracking — and, thus, no "special" features to help monitor your progress in a specific sport.

Wellness features include a sedentary reminder (to make sure you don't spend too much time behind the desk), a drinking reminder (nope, that's not what you thought: the drinking reminder makes sure you stay hydrated throughout the day) as well as a sleep monitor (to watch over your rest during the night).

When synced with your phone, more functionality reveals itself like the anti-lost feature, message and phone call notifications and more. The band also sports a very decent battery giving you up to 14 days on standby (6 days with the sleep monitor function enabled).

Huawei Honor 4 Running Version: lots of running data, but...

Now, let's see what makes the HUAWEI Honor 4 Running Version special. First, it costs less — the running band is half the price of the original Honor 4.But what makes the bracelet geared specifically for running? A few things.

	HUAWEI Honor Bracelet 4 Running Version - LAVA RED
	$31.9 $22.99

First, there are two wearing modes with the Honor 4 Running Version: you can wear the fitness band conventionally on your wrist or attach it to your running shoe. The latter unleashes the running-specific functionality that we've been talking about. Here's what it includes.

Thanks to the 6-axis sensor and a professional running algorithm, you will be able to get information on your pace,  swing angle, landing, eversion, impact — and more. Based on this data, the fitness band will give you advice on improving your running technique, which is an especially useful feature for amateur runners.

This extra monitoring is also a great way to avoid injuries as you will get timely feedback on what you might be doing wrong.

However, there is a price to pay for the cheaper price (pun intended): there is no real time heart rate monitoring. Unfortunately so, as keeping an eye on your heart rate is also very important during a run. The band will count steps, calories, display time and date, etc. When synced with your phone, you will receive messages and call notifications.

Design-wise, the two bands (the Honor 4 and the Running Version) are very much similar. What is different on the the Running Version is the smaller display — 0.5 inches, to be exact.

On the inside, the Running Version of the Honor 4 comes with a much  larger battery than the original band (210mAh compared to 100mAh on the Honor 4). Thus, you get to enjoy up to 21 hours of standby.

So what's the right call: the Honor 4 or its Running Version?

Truth be told, it all depends on your priorities. The Honor 4 is a classic — and, as we know it goes, you can't go wrong with a classic. The Honor 4 Running Version, on the other hand, offers an interesting alternative by providing data very few other smart bands do. Taking into account the friendly price tag, the running bracelet definitely makes for an interesting option to try out. Then again, if your workouts require a heart rate monitor, the Honor 4 would be your best bet.