Buy the Honor Band A1 fitness bracelet in the DNS online store. Specifications, price Honor Band A1 | 1078083

Stuffing several sensors, a battery and a Bluetooth module into a compact box, screwing on a strap and quickly creating a synchronization application is so simple that in the last couple of years, fitness bracelets have been released by everyone , who cares. But these products, often costing several hundred rubles, were for the most part not distinguished by their reliability, monitoring accuracy, or convenience. Let’s find out how good the latest product of this kind from Huawei is, the Honor Band A1. It’s worth making a reservation — the bracelet was sent to me from Huawei as a gift (as, indeed, to many other Russian journalists writing about gadgets) shortly before the New Year, complete with Nordic walking poles.

Together with the fitness gadget, which now costs 1000 — 1500 rubles in Moscow retail, the box contains a magnetic pad with contacts for charging, a microUSB-USB cable and setup instructions
. Before pairing for the first time, it is recommended to fully charge the Band A1 — a full charge is indicated by the color of the built-in indicator changing from orange to blue.

The device consists of a plastic strap in black or a turquoise color proprietary to the Honor brand, and a metal module with sensors, a battery, a vibration motor and a color LED. The strap material is clearly inexpensive, it cannot be called tactilely pleasant
— harsh, very far from fluoroelastomer (like in the Apple Watch strap). The relief pattern in the form of a “braid” on the outside of the bracelet is intended to slightly improve the impression. Costing twice as much as the plastic version in China (199 yuan instead of 99, that’s 1,740 and 870 rubles, respectively), the leather version of the bracelet, which looks much nicer, is not sold in Russia. But in vain:

If you wish, however, you can choose a replacement strap yourself — the main thing is that it fits in size, the metal mount of the fitness tracker does not impose any other restrictions. The main thing is that the device looks more expensive on your hand than it feels when you pick it up — and this is much more important in the current culture of conspicuous consumption.

Convenience is fine
— the bracelet weighs only 20 grams and does not rub your hand, the touch module does not cause irritation to the skin, the clasp is also quite comfortable and you won’t be able to unfasten it accidentally. The IP57 dust and water resistance rating indicates that the Honor Band A1 is protected from dust (it can get inside, but will not cause operational problems) and short-term immersion to a depth of 1 m — so, theoretically, you can take a shower in it. But the manufacturer is silent about this possibility; it only talks about the protection of the bracelet from drops of water — in the rain or when washing hands. I still trusted the IP57 rating and did not remove the Honor Band A1 in the shower for a week
— so far the flight is normal. But in case of water damage, you should not hope that they will agree to repair the device under warranty.

Honor Band A1 is compatible with both Android and iOS
, I tested it in conjunction with an iPhone. Here’s what the screenshots of the Honor Band A1 app look like, which you can download from the App Store for free.

Already from them it is clear that the bracelet can: monitor motor activity (it is stated that the gadget automatically distinguishes between walking, running and cycling) and, based on this data, calculate calories burned, monitor sleep (distinguishing between deep and fast sleep phases). «sleep), notify about calls and SMS by vibration
and LED flashing.

The device copes with monitoring pedestrian activity
— the number of steps was not fundamentally different from what was displayed by the Apple Watch worn on the same hand. At the same time, the distance traveled on most days coincided between the two devices with an accuracy of up to 100 m, but the number of steps counted by the bracelet usually turned out to be 10 percent more than what was displayed by the watch. In order for the bracelet to “count” running or cycling in addition to walking, you need to select “Trajectory” in the right side menu (the interface is generally organized quite intricately), and then set a goal in minutes, kilometers or calories burned. In this case, the bracelet also records the route of movement.

As for calorie counting, it is basically naive to expect accurate results from a bracelet that is not equipped with a heart rate monitor
. The Apple watch, having recorded 50 minutes of increased activity per day (the device focuses on regular heart rate measurements, the time when it is elevated is recorded as spent on exercise, the higher the heart rate, the more calories are spent per unit of time), counted me 377 active calories, the Honor bracelet — only 235.

Honor Band A1 tries to measure sleep
, but the results do not inspire confidence: the screenshot above shows that I supposedly managed to take a nap not only at nine o’clock in the evening, but also after lunch at the editorial office the next day. I declare responsibly: I do not sleep at work (mainly, of course, because there is nowhere).

Alarm clock
Honor Band A1 is declared as “smart”, but so far in fact it does not correspond to this definition. In the world of fitness trackers, a “smart” alarm clock means the device’s ability to choose the time of alarm in a certain time period depending on the current phase of sleep: it is much easier to wake up from “REM” sleep than from deep sleep, a person feels better rested.

For now, the user can only set the exact time when the alarm clock vibrates. Even worse: after vibrating for ten seconds, the bracelet simply goes silent; the software also does not provide the ability to delay wake-up for 5-10 minutes. So if you overslept, it’s your own fault.
What can I say, Huawei (or rather, its partners — the developer of the Honor Band A1 application in the App Store is the company Fenda
, a manufacturer of consumer acoustics and Bluetooth components from Shenzhen), there is generally a huge scope for improving the bracelet software and applications for it.

The main problem with the vast majority of cheap fitness trackers: they promise more than they actually deliver
. Honor Band A1 is not spared from it either. In fact, it copes without a “but” with two tasks: counting steps and notifying about incoming calls and SMS. Another one — measuring the intensity of ultraviolet radiation — is useful only on vacation in hot countries or during the short weeks of our northern summer. But the bracelet will not have to be charged often: according to my observations, the battery drains by about 7% per day, that is, a full charge will last for two weeks.

Buying Honor Band A1 makes sense mainly if your smartphone (Android 4.4 and later or iOS 7.0 and later) does not have a built-in pedometer
or you want to count your steps without taking any gadgets with you except your bracelet. Yes, it will also help you not to miss a call or SMS, but it will not warn you about messages in instant messengers, social networks or new mail. Calorie counting is very arbitrary, and sleep monitoring is not reliable. In general, 1000 rubles (you can buy an Honor Band A1 for that much at sales that happen from time to time in the official Russian online store of Huawei) for such a device is really not a pity, “what you paid is what you got,” but it’s unlikely to pay more costs. If you really want more accurate monitoring of calories burned, it makes sense to buy a fitness bracelet or smart watch with a heart rate monitor, and a normal model of this kind can hardly cost less than 4,000 — 5,000 rubles.