Huawei Band 6: the leading fitness tracker under $100

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When it comes to fully featured fitness trackers, you’re probably looking at spending $300 or more.

Or so I thought.

At the beginning of the summer, my partner and I set a goal together to get active. To help us achieve that, we started looking at fitness trackers.

When we researched fitness trackers available on the market, we realized that there were very few options that had everything we were looking for in our price range.

That’s when we discovered the Huawei Band 6.

In a crowded market, Huawei’s Band 6 has managed to stand out by offering a bevy of features only available on models that are double–or even triple–its price.

With its vertical 1.47 inch display, this is a fitness tracker that’s comfortable, attractive, and functional.

Huawei was kind enough to send us two models to test out on our exercise journey. Here are my impressions so far.

Comfortable and attractive

Fastening the Band 6 to my wrist, I was surprised to find how comfortable the band and body were. Having worn it for a couple weeks, this is one of the lightest trackers that I’ve used. I often forget that I’m wearing it until a notification comes through.

The tracker comes in four styles, with dark colours such as forest green and black, or soft-pastel colours such as pink and orange. I gravitate towards neutral colours that don’t draw attention, so I’ve been wearing the black model, but my partner immediately fell in love with the orange band. She’s been wearing it every day since getting her hands on it.

Huawei has considered more than just aesthetics when it comes to the body of the Band 6. The large display is easy to read, making it easy to track your workouts at a glance.

Including a display also allows for a bunch of features you won’t find on models without one.

If you need music or podcasts when you workout like I do, you’ll appreciate the Bluetooth control functions. Connecting to your preferred music app through your phone is simple, so you can skip over the ballads that somehow made it into your exercise playlist.

A large physical button on the right side of the body allows you to quickly switch between apps, and even control special features such as operating the shutter on your smartphone. Taking selfies–or recording videos–has never been easier.

And one of the most underrated features is the battery. This is the longest battery life for a fitness tracker I’ve come across, lasting two weeks on a single charge.

Designed for a healthy lifestyle

But this is a fitness tracker first and foremost. So how does it perform?

The Band 6 makes navigating and understanding all of its information easy. With continuous monitoring, you can check your heart rate, steps, stress level, and even your blood oxygen saturation in seconds.

Blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) is a measurement that previously had to be checked manually, but all-day monitoring is now supported, a rare feature for fitness trackers in this category.

When it comes to exercising, the Band automatically recognizes your movement and increase in heart rate. I was sent a notification when I began jogging to ask if I was exercising, and I simply clicked on the appropriate workout on the screen to continue tracking my progress.

After finishing, I was presented with a post-workout summary. It let me know how long I’d been running for, my pace, calories burnt, and my distance covered. I was able to log my heart rate to compare it to future sessions.

96 different workout modes have been included, so whether you’re exercising indoors, outdoors, on land, or in water, the Band 6 will have you covered.

Stress management tools

And just as importantly, Huawei has included sleep tracking and stress management tools. Tracking everything from when you fell asleep to your different levels of sleep, your sleep habits will be tracked to help you understand your health better during the day.

With the addition of the stress management tools, the tracker is equipped to help you not only understand your habits, but help control them. The Band 6 has breathing exercises built-in, allowing you to stay on top of your stress in moments of heightened pressure or anxiety. This has been one of my most-used features.

For just $99 CAD, Huawei’s Band 6 is the leader in the sub-$100 fitness tracker category. I’ve gone over some of the key features, but there’s plenty more that this preview didn’t cover. The customizable watch faces, weather app, and handy lifestyle features all add up to provide plenty of value for the price.

Huawei is mainly known for their smartphones, but if you’re looking for a feature-rich fitness tracker at an affordable price, the Band 6 should be at the top of your list.

Sponsored by Huawei.