Five Things that I Love About the HONOR Band 5

The recently released HONOR Band 5 is a product that has made waves in the market, attracting a wide range of users, due to its high-level smart features and affordability. Below, I've listed some of the standout capabilities on the HONOR Band 5 that make it a truly unique wearable device.

Vast, colorful display
One reason that I hadn't purchased a smart band previously, was my mistaken belief that the displays on them are overly simplistic and monochrome, showing the time but little other information. This couldn't be further from the truth for the HONOR Band 5, as its vivid display oozes both color and personality.

The screen on the HONOR Band 5 comes encased in 2.5D glass, creating a gracefully curved surface that is soothing to touch. Glass is more scratch-resistant than plastic, and I've used the band for an entire month without nicking it at all. The 0.95-inch AMOLED color touchscreen features a 240 x 120 resolution, with a PPI value as high as 282, for a display that is remarkably similar to that on a mobile phone. The screen displays up to 45 characters at a time, enabling me to view important messages at a glance.

Stylish watch face designs
The Band also offers a wide selection of watch faces that I can download and sync from the HUAWEI Health app.

I opted to install a few of my favorite designs, after which they were easy to find in the "Mine" section.

The selected Dots option is the one I'm using for the moment. If I want to switch to another watch face, all I need to do is touch and hold on the home screen, and scroll from among the other designs available there.

As if that weren't enough, third-party watch face development and design will soon be made available through OTA updates, which means that I can access a bunch of new looks from aspiring designers across the globe. If you're inspired to create a watch face of your own, this platform provides you with the ability to make your vision a reality!

High-level sleep monitor
The HONOR Band 5 also incorporates sleep stage monitoring, providing the ability to identify precisely when I'm in light sleep, deep sleep, the REM (rapid eye movement) stage, or a waking state.

In addition to elite sleep tracking capabilities, the band comes equipped with tools that empower me to improve my sleep quality, including soothing music, sleep-enhancing fitness regimens, and other stress-relieving and lifestyle change recommendations, which can all be accessed through the HUAWEI Health app. Furthermore, the sleep score calculated by the system is not a simple one-dimensional metric — it gives personalized advice, drawing from the full range of data collected, rather than a one-size-fits-all formula from a specific score.

Blood oxygen (SpO2) detector
The Band supports reliable blood oxygen testing, by using a wholly-optimized hardware optical path algorithm to integrate multiple light sources (as oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin reflect and absorb light differently), and perform signal extraction and enhancement, algorithm training, and abnormal result suppression.

I can initiate an SpO2 measurement at will, and the onscreen instructions are pretty clear. It typically takes around 30 seconds to finish a testing, and the band will vibrate and display the final result (as in the rightmost image).

Waterproof functionality
A wristband that is not waterproof is simply not feasible in 2019. I prefer to keep my wearable on at all times, even when taking a shower, so it has to be able to withstand the rigors of daily use. The HONOR Band 5 is water-resistant up to 50 meters, allowing for carefree use in just about every environment I'd encounter. Whether I'm caught in the rain on a hike or run, or sweating bullets at the gym, splashing around in the pool, the band's waterproof capabilities have me covered. If you're a dedicated swimmer (which I'm not), the band can also assist you with a built-in six-axis sensor that facilitates automatic stroke detection as well as diverse fitness data tracking.