Honor Band 4 Running Edition is sold at a price of about 1,100 rubles, and this fitness tracker can be worn on the wrist or on shoes. It is designed to be waterproof (up to 50m). The Honor Band 4 Running Edition is an activity tracker designed for runners, but it doesn't look like a standard bracelet. In fact, this product does not have GPS or heart rate sensor and cannot track runs when you wear it on your wrist. Instead, the tracker comes with an attachment that allows you to attach it to your shoes. Once you do this, it will be able to track your runs and provide information that most other products in this area cannot provide.
Running Edition is a simplified version of Honor Band 4. Is this fitness tracker suitable for use without GPS and heart rate sensor? We used the device for about 10 days to find out all the details.
Characteristics of Honor Band 4 Running Edition
Factory data
- Warranty: 12 months.
- Country of origin: China
Are common
- Type: fitness bracelet
- Model: Honor Band 4 running
- Case color: black
- Strap color: black
- Optional Color: Red
- Compatible with devices: Android devices, iOS devices
- Operating system compatibility: iOS 9 and above, Android 4.4 and above
- Control type: touch
Display
- Availability of display: yes
- Dial Type: LCD
- LCD screen manufacturing technology: OLED
- Touch display: yes
- Color display: no
- Diagonal: 0.5″
- Resolution: 88×48
- Display form factor: bracelet
Case and strap
- Housing material: plastic, polycarbonate
- Water resistance: 5 Bar
- Protection level: WR50
- Strap material: TPU
- Place of attachment: on the leg, on the arm
System
- Built-in memory: 1 MB
- Sensors: 6-axis motion sensor
Communication and switching
- Wireless: Bluetooth
- Bluetooth version: 4.2
- GPS: no
- SIM card slot: no
Camera
- Built-in camera: no
Functions
- Measurements: number of steps, duration and quality of sleep, calories burned, distance traveled
- Application support: Huawei Health
- Audio playback: no
- Video playback: no
- Sports functions: physical activity monitoring, running parameters monitoring
- Smartphone interaction functions: incoming call alerts, incoming SMS alerts
- Other functions: calendar, alarm clock, smartphone search
- Contactless payment technology: no
Power and charging
- Power type: battery
- Battery form factor: Li-Ion battery
- Battery capacity: 77 mAh
- Operating time: 504 h
- Charging time: 2h
Additionally
- Equipment: shoe holder, documentation, charger
Dimensions and weight
- Width: 14.8 mm
- Length: 40.5 mm
- Thickness: 11.2 mm
- Weight: 20 g
Specifications
The tracker has the following characteristics:
| Bracelet material | Silicone |
| Adjusting the strap length | Present |
| Time display | Electronic |
| Moisture protection | Present |
| Mobile Internet | Absent |
| Headphone jack | Absent |
| GPS | Absent |
| NFC | Absent |
| Vibration | Present |
| Notifications | Calls, messages, calendar, mail |
| Bluetooth | 4.2 |
| Screen size | 0.5 inches |
| Display | Monochrome, backlit, P-OLED |
| Charging time | 1,5 hour |
| Battery capacity | 77 mAh |
| Charging connector | Removable cradle |
| Equipment | gadget User guide Plastic shoe attachment Warranty card USB charging adapter |
Management and design
Honor Band 4 Running Edition can be used in two modes – on the wrist and on the leg. It has a tiny, 0.5-inch OLED display on the capsule. The capsule has one capacitive button that you can press to scroll through different menu options (distance, sleep, calories, etc.).
You can press and hold the button to trigger certain actions, such as restarting the device or starting to record your current workout. The kit includes an adapter that can be used to charge the device.
The adapter connects to the device using a proprietary port, and at the other end is a regular USB, so you can easily charge the device with any standard USB charger.
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Verdict
For a low price, you get a device with a clear, contrasting and bright display that can accommodate a large amount of information. Accurate detection of physical activity, round-the-clock monitoring of heart rate and sleep quality - all this makes Honor Band 4 a reliable companion for users leading a healthy lifestyle.
The Honor Band 4 Running Edition retails for $23 and is a fitness tracker that can be worn on your wrist or on your shoe. It is designed to be waterproof (up to 50m).
Wrist use
To use the tracker in wrist mode, you simply need to put it on the strap.
We found that the capsule was quite loose in its place and, therefore, it jumped out of the strap several times. In other cases, on the contrary, we had to slightly bend the strap several times in order for the capsule to pop out of its recess. This lack of a secure fit can be a problem for people who use the tracker during training.
Despite this, the strap is quite comfortable. It has multiple holes on both sides for ventilation, preventing discomfort during long workouts. The strap has a standard watch clasp, which ensures that the strap will never fall off your wrist.
Wearing attached to shoes
Honor Band 4 Running Edition comes with an accessory that allows you to attach the capsule to your shoes. You simply need to slide the device under the laces and attach the capsule to it. The capsule snaps easily and remains motionless. At the top of the capsule, there are two metal contacts and two more on the accessory.
You must make sure that both of these pins are firmly connected when connecting the parts so that the tracker will automatically switch to foot mode. It will vibrate to let you know it has happened.
It is important to note that the capsule can be attached incorrectly. We'd like a mechanism designed to be installed only one way, but if you accidentally dislodge the capsule, you'll at least know it's happening because there's no vibration.
Main conclusions
The Huawei Honor Band 4 fitness bracelet is a modern, affordable and multifunctional sports gadget that will make your life more active and organized. The main advantages of the device include a large color display with protection from stains and scratches, deep sleep analysis, a large number of useful functions, sports modes, and the ability to swim in the pool.
However, many users are unhappy with the lack of GPS, as well as the ability to make contactless payments. Many people don’t like that the camera can only be controlled on Huawei smartphones. Otherwise, Huawei Honor Band 4 is a comfortable, practical to wear, budget fitness bracelet that can compete with more expensive trackers.
Performance in wrist-worn mode
To test the accuracy of the Honor Band 4 Running Edition, we ran our standard tests while wearing it on our wrist. The first test is a walk of 1000 steps with manual counting to ensure the accuracy of step tracking on the device.
The Honor Band 4 Running Edition recorded 986 steps when we walked 1000. We have tested many other products using the same process and the best ones do not show deviations of more than five steps. A deviation of 14 steps from 1000 may not seem like much, but compared to other products, this model definitely lags behind.
This is made worse by the fact that if you wear this device on your wrist, you won't be able to track your current workouts. You can only use it to count the steps taken.
Autonomous operation
Thanks to modern technologies, Huawei Honor Band 4 has many useful features. However, this causes the fitness bracelet to discharge faster.
This is interesting! The sleep tracking feature called TruSleep will consume the most energy.
Huawei Honor Band 4 battery life:
- Up to 17 days when sleep monitoring, heart rate and some other functions are turned off.
- About 14 days with periodic activation of TruSleep and other energy-consuming options.
- No longer than 6 days when tracking sleep and heart rate.
In addition, the AMOLED screen will consume a lot of energy.
Huawei Honor Band 4 is completely infected in 1.5-2 hours.
Performance in leg-worn mode
Once you switch to wearable mode, the tracker allows you to start or stop tracking your running workout.
The capsule can be quickly removed from the tape and transferred to an accessory to attach it to shoes
When you do this, you will only be able to see the distance and time traveled. We believe the tracker should allow people to see the number of steps taken when logging their mileage. It records this data, but you won't be able to see it until you return to wrist mode or check the app on your paired smartphone.
If you're looking for an affordable running tracker, the Honor Band 4 Running Edition won't disappoint. We ran 1km with the tracker attached to one of our shoes to see how accurately it could measure distance. We measured a certain route using an odometer on a car and know that it is 1 km long.
Even though it doesn't have GPS, the Honor Band 4 Running Edition showed a distance of 1.04 km at the end of our route. This is more accurate than most GPS-enabled devices we've tested and marginally worse than the best devices, which report a distance of 1.02 km or 1.03 km.
Waterproof and battery life
It's good to see that this product is said to be waterproof (up to 50m), because if you accidentally step in a puddle or want to run while it's raining, you don't have to worry. Honor recommends not exposing this product to seawater to avoid corrosion of the metal contacts.
During our review, we wore the Honor Band 4 Running Edition on our wrist while showering several times, and also submerged it in a bucket of water. The tracker passed all these tests successfully, without consequences. Honor claims this product has a battery life of up to 21 days, but with notifications turned on, we found the battery drained after eight days.
This won't bother most people, but we think it's a drawback given the tracker's limited functionality.
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Band 4 water resistance
The fitness bracelet is waterproof up to 50 meters (5 ATM). This does not mean that you can dive with it to a depth of 50 meters, as many believe. The 5 ATM rating means that the bracelet was tested under static water pressure of 50 meters of water column, but in reality, if you get caught in a wave while swimming, the pressure can already exceed 3 ATM.
Therefore, you can swim at shallow depths, but you should not dive. Also, all manufacturers do not recommend using gadgets in hot or salty sea water. Although for many users such experiments end without consequences.
Application for Honor Band 4 Running Edition
The Huawei Health app , a companion app for the Honor Band 4 Running Edition, shows data that you won't get with most other fitness trackers. (You can download the Huawei Health app for free here...)
For example, based on the specifics of our running, the app suggested that we could reduce ground contact time and avoid landing on our heels to improve running form and reduce injuries. The analysis was accurate because we tend to land on our heels.
The high ground contact time basically means that we land hard while testing the walking mode of the Honor Band 4 Running Edition. This data is also accurate because this test was carried out immediately after we had completed a relatively fast kilometer run in the heat, which meant that we were tired and almost strained our legs.
The app displays your previous workout data in neat bar graphs and we think it's quite nicely designed. If you want, you can use the Huawei Health app to track your location while exercising (using your phone's GPS), but there are several other apps that do this better than Huawei Health.
Once you pair Honor Band 4 Running Edition with your smartphone, you will receive a vibration notification and icon on the device screen when you receive a phone call or SMS. You can also set an alarm through the app. These features work, simply, perfectly, but the small screen of the Honor Band 4 Running Edition is a big limitation.
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