Huawei has unveiled an all-new gadget that merges two wearables – a smartwatch and wireless earbuds – into one unlikely combo.
The not-so-creatively named Huawei Watch Buds will provide users with all the benefits of a smartwatch – being a device that’s both a timepiece and fitness tracker – while also serving as a handy case for their earbuds. When you want to listen to some tunes, you just have to lift the face of the watch up and take out the buds hidden inside.
While this isn’t the first tech of this kind we’ve ever seen – Lance Ulanoff, our US editor-in-chief checked out something very similar back in 2020 – Huawei’s creation is nevertheless an intriguing one as it’s coming from a more mainstream brand. Though we’re not entirely convinced it’ll find a place among our best wireless earbuds or best smartwatches lists.
Never lose your wireless earbuds again! They’re in your smart watch! This is Wearbuds from Aipower. The smartwatch is a case and charger. $179. #CES2020 pic.twitter.com/LIKRfYd9zvJanuary 7, 2020
For starters, the earbuds inside Huawei’s Watch Buds look somewhat basic. While we can’t judge their capabilities properly without giving them a listen, they don’t seem to be very large – which will limit their audio capabilities and feature set. We don’t expect them to be capable of producing thumping bass, nor for them to come with tools like active noise cancellation or particularly long battery life.
Additionally, we’re skeptical that the watch itself will be practical. Based on the released images and videos, the whole thing looks kinda bulky. It doesn’t seem to be the most comfortable gadget to wear on your wrist and certainly not something we’re keen to wear while working out so we can track our fitness goals. We’re also worried that the two-gadgets-in-one approach will negatively impact the total use time – as both devices will be drawing on the same limited battery power.
All that said, we hopefully won’t have too long to wait before we see this tech in action and can judge it properly. While Huawei did impose a last-minute delay to its Winter 2022 product launch (it was meant to happen on December 2) the video below suggests that the device is ready to ship – though where it’ll be available and how much it’ll cost is yet to be revealed. All we do know is that our readers in the US will definitely miss out on the release as new Huawei products are currently banned from sale.
However, if Huawei’s Watch Buds prove to be popular, we wouldn’t be surprised if its rivals will follow suit. Google already has its separate Pixel Watch and Pixel Buds, and Apple has the Apple Watch and Apple AirPods, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see these or other brands combine their existing hardware into a hybrid device similar to the Huawei Watch Buds.
Do you need some new fitness tech right now? Check out our picks for the best running headphones out there.