The Honor Band 6 launched yesterday, and we bet we are not the only ones who can see the similarity in design between the new fitness tracker and the Honor Watch ES which was announced in September. The Honor Watch ES, itself, shares most of its features with the Huawei Watch Fit. If you want to know how those two differ, you should read this.
For this post, we will highlight how the Honor Band 6 differs from the Honor Watch ES, and we hope this makes it easier for you to decide which of the two wearables suits your needs better.
The table below compares the specs of the two devices:
| Honor Band 6 | Honor Watch ES | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 1.47-inch AMOLED Touch Display 194 x 368 resolution | 1.64-inch AMOLED Touch Display 456 x 280 resolution |
| Built-in storage | No | Yes (4GB) |
| Straps | Non-removable straps | 20mm quick-release straps |
| Sports Modes | 10 Sports Modes Automatic exercise detection No animated workout courses | 95 workout modes (10 professional sports + 85 customized training modes) Automatic workout detection 12 animated workout courses |
| Female Cycle Tracker | Yes | Yes |
| Sensors | Optical Heart Rate Sensor SpO2 Sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope | Optical Heart Rate Sensor SpO2 Sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Ambient Light Sensor |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.0 2.4GHz Wi-Fi No built-in GPS | Bluetooth 5.0 2.4GHz Wi-Fi No built-in GPS |
| Water Resistance | 5 ATM | 5 ATM |
| Battery Capacity Battery Life | 180mAh Typical usage - 14 days Heavy usage - 10 days | 180mAh Typical usage - 10 days Heavy usage - 7 days |
| Price | Standard Version - ¥249 (~$37) NFC Version - ¥289 (~$43) | China - ¥599 (~$90) Europe - €99.99 India - ₹7,499 |
| Colors | Meteorite Black Seagull Gray Coral Powder | Meteorite Black Coral Pink Icelandic White |
Display and Battery Life
As you can see, the Honor Watch ES packs a larger display and has a higher resolution. The spec sheet also says it has Always-on Display but Honor doesn’t mention if the feature is available for the Band 6 even though it also has an AMOLED screen.
The Watch ES also has an ambient light sensor which means that the brightness can be adjusted automatically. For the Band 6, you will have to adjust the brightness when you are indoor or outside.
Both fitness trackers have the same battery capacity but the larger display of the Watch ES means that its battery life is lesser.
Built-in Storage
Another major difference is built-in storage which is not available on the Honor Band 6. If you don’t like taking your phone along when going on a run but don’t want to miss out on your exercise playlist, then the Honor Watch ES is the one for you.
Workout modes
The important part of a fitness tracker is how is its activity tracking. Clearly, the Honor Watch ES has the upper hand as it features more workout modes than the Honor Band 6. It also has animated workouts. However, the Honor Band 6’s 10 sports modes include the most popular ones such as indoor (treadmill) running, outdoor running, swimming, elliptical, indoor and outdoor cycling, indoor and outdoor walking, rowing, and free training. If your favorite exercise(s) isn’t mentioned above, then the Band 6 isn’t for you.
Price and Conclusion
The Honor Band 6 is only available in China for now and its price tag is less than half of that of the Honor Watch ES. Also, the tradeoffs aren’t ones you can’t live without, however, we wish it had more workout modes.
So if you like the design of the Honor Watch ES but aren’t willing to shell out that much for a fitness tracker, then go ahead and grab the Honor Band 6. You will be saving more than half of the price but you won’t be missing out on much.
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