Honor Watch Magic: tested in water, at the gym and in bed
17.6.2019
Translation: Eva Francis
The Honor Watch Magic is Honor's first foray into wearables. Can Huawei's little sister impress, or is the Magic nothing but a feeble trick?
When I heard the name Honor Watch Magic, I wondered: «can this watch really conjure up something special?» I tried to find out, testing it out for a whole month. The smartwatch has accompanied me around the clock in my life as a professional swimmer. From training to school and even while I'm asleep, the Honor Magic Watch was always there.
First up, I opened the sleek, dark blue cardboard box at home and unpacked everything. The Honor Watch Magic, a docking station, a USB cable and the instructions all come nicely packaged in the box.
The smartwatch is already partly charged. But because I wanted to make sure that I was working with the full battery life, I still charged it up. The integrated magnets in the docking station hold the Watch Magic in its optimal position for wireless charging. With a full battery, I managed to use the watch for five whole days without any top-up charging. And I had the heart rate monitor activated the entire time, otherwise the battery would have lasted even longer.
Then it was time to put the Watch Magic to work. I recommend downloading the Huawei Health App (Android and Apple iOS) to compare individual training sessions or sleep cycles. I'm not a fan of instructions, so I worked out the functions by trial and error.
If you'd rather read through them, of course, you can.
I find the Honor Watch Magic incredibly easy to use. With 19 functions, it's mainly used for sport, health and activity tracking.
Close-up magic
But there are also handy smaller features, such as the weather forecast, which works well and is nicely designed in the form of icons. However, there's no option to load music onto the smartwatch in MP3 format. It's a drawback compared to other models.
Monitoring notifications is another feature. There's a visual distinction between WhatsApp, SMS and Instagram messages, but you can't reply.
As I don't want to be woken up by notifications during the night, I set the smartwatch to silent between 10pm and 7am. Messages are received, but they're only displayed the next morning when the Watch Magic is active again.
My favourite thing was the sleep monitoring function. After the trial period, I find comparing a month's sleep analyses fascinating. According to the smartwatch, I have really good sleep 😉
I also liked the heart rate monitor. I looked at my pulse time and time again: after I'd climbed the stairs to my apartment, straight after waking up in the morning, after training, all day actually. It's really interesting to see which everyday situations cause my heart rate to increase and by how much.
A major benefit of the Honor Watch Magic is the changeable straps and home display designs. This turns the smartwatch from sporty to elegant in seconds.
Underwater and on the weights
The watch is waterproof, making it ideal for swimming, and the
«swim training» feature takes its suitability to the next level. I wore the Honor Watch Magic during five two-hour training sessions. According to the manufacturer, you can dive down to five metres' depth wearing the watch without affecting its functionality.
The strap is really comfortable and isn't even annoying while exercising. I don't usually wear a watch during strength training because the pressure and the sticky feeling of the watch strap irritate me. But the Watch Magic's strap has several holes, preventing sweating and the resulting tacky sensation.
The Honor Watch Magic does spread a little magic in a sense. With changeable straps and different home display options, you can conjure up a new smartwatch in no time. If you're looking for an attractive smartwatch to track workout sessions with a few extras, the Magic is the one for you.
Svenja Stoffel
Schwimmerin
noreply_ss@fakemail.comSporty, open-minded, fun, creative – at Galaxus, I put all these characteristics into use. Be it in writing reviews or in testing products.
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