Huawei TalkBand B2 Review

The fi rst thing we noticed about the Huawei TalkBand B2 is that its design has been signifi cantly improved since the original TalkBand B1, both in terms of the way it looks and the practicality. There are currently three diff erent designs to choose from: a black version with a plastic strap, a silver version with a white plastic strap, and a gold version with a brown leather strap. We’d be happy to wear any of the three designs on a day-to-day basis, which is not how we felt with the B1. You can also choose from diff erent strap sizes, which is handy for those with particularly dainty or large wrists. The tech is all housed in the removable portion of the device, which pops out easily when you squeeze the two buttons on the strap and is easy to pop back into place. Again, we were happy to see that Huawei has improved the design to make it easier to remove and replace the earpiece, something we found frustrating with the B1.

Also nice is that the screen becomes completely invisible when not in use, making the TalkBand look more like a stylish bracelet-type accessory than a piece of tech. Unfortunately, though, we did fi nd that the rubbery portion of the earpiece came off easily and was very fi ddly to reattach. It’s been slimmed down a bit compared with the previous model, now measuring 11.8mm compared with 15mm, so that’s a plus. Features In terms of fi tness tracking, the TalkBand B2 has everything you’d expect from a smart band. It’ll track your steps, distance and estimated calorie burn using the built-in 6-axis sensor that detects what type of exercise you’re doing, and can also be used to monitor your sleep. All of that information can be accessed from the 0.73in touchscreen, which we found to be pleasantly clear and responsive. We haven’t yet been able to test the accuracy and effi ciency of these tracking features, but we’ll bring you all of that information in our full review when we get the TalkBand B2 back to our labs. Then there’s the Bluetooth earpiece for handsfree calling.

It’s beginning to make a bit more sense to us now – certainly more so than talking into your wrist like you’re required to do with some other smartbands and smartwatches on the market. But using a Bluetooth headset almost feels like taking a step back in time, when everyone simply uses headphones with a built-in microphone these days Huawei seems to know this – it’s launched the TalkBand N1 too which are in-ear headphones that off er pretty much the same functionality as the TalkBand B2 aside from the touchscreen. Again, we were not able to test the call quality at the stand at MWC, but we’ll report back on that soon. Connecting to your smartphone via Bluetooth will also mean you can see notifi cations from your various diff erent apps, as well as reminders, alarms and more. The TalkBand B2 is also waterproof, and charges via micro USB. The company says it’ll take about an hour and a half to fully recharge and last for up to 12 days with no Bluetooth connection or up to 5 days with normal usage and 6 hours of talk time.

The TalkBand B2 is compatible with both Android and iOS, with Android 4.0 or above and iOS 7 or above required. The dedicated Huawei Wear app has a simple, easy to understand interface, presenting data as circles that will fi ll up as the day goes on, and more in-depth charts if you want a breakdown of the data over the day or month. Price and availability We’ve yet to fi nd out the offi cial UK pricing for the TalkBand B2, but it is 199 Euros for the leather strap version, or 169 Euros for the TPU strap. That means it’s more expensive than its predecessor, which was £100, and even then we thought it was a bit pricey. There’s no doubt that the new model is more premium though, so paying closer to the £150 or even £200 mark isn’t completely unimaginable. It should be available in 28 countries around the world including the UK at the end of April.