The war of the smart bands has been open for years now, with the protagonists of the scene who always seem to be the usual suspects. Between Xiaomi's Mi Band and Honor's Bands, of course, the presence of Huawei could not be missing, which tries to establish itself in this segment with Huawei Band 4 Pro, recently announced in Chinese soil, but already available also for our market. Here's how our test went.
It must be said that this is not a completely new band. As the name suggests, this is a revised, corrected and improved version of Huawei's previous Band 4. The suffix “Pro”, as easily conceivable, includes new functions, such as the presence of a GPS, which makes this smart bracelet more autonomous than the smartphone.
The design of the band is very similar to the previous model, with a shape now usual for this type of peripheral, even if squared off, therefore particularly different from Xiaomi Mi Band 4, which instead uses softer lines. Huawei Band 4 Pro is much more similar to Honor Band, and moreover it could not be otherwise given the proximity between the two brands.
At the construction level there are substantial differences with the aforementioned Xiaomi smartband, considering that the strap is not removable, and the charging dock is also totally different.
Speaking of the latter, reloading the bracelet is really difficult and uncomfortable. The dock, in fact, is not magnetic, as is the case with most similar devices, but you have to fit the bracelet in a precise position. In short, the system studied by Huawei is not at all comfortable to use.
The packaging is similar to that of the Band 4 but the content is slightly different. The package contains, in addition to the Huawei Band 4 Pro, a USB-A to USB-2.0 cable and a spring connector. This connector, in one way inconvenient to use for recharging, because it is not of immediate use, still has the advantage of allowing recharging without having to remove the strap.
Huawei Band 4 Pro features, like its predecessor, a 0.95-inch high-definition color display, AMOLED technology, with a brushed metal frame and a silicone strap, comfortable to wear and light.
What distinguishes the “Pro” version from the previous one is the presence of an NFC that supports mobile payment, even if the system is that of Alipay, so not too useful at the moment in our country.
Another big difference, this time completely exploitable in Italy, is the presence of the integrated GPS module, which expands the tracking features of the smartwatch, and which will certainly be useful in fitness use, so you can leave your smartphone at home, and run. only with the band on the wrist.
Huawei Band 4 works well, is accurate in measuring all data, and is definitely a good choice for sports lovers, also in consideration of the fact that it can track up to 11 different sports, including indoor and outdoor running, indoor and outdoor walking, cycling, indoor and outdoor swimming, cross trainer, and free movement.
Among the novelties, Band 4 Pro hosts an SpO2 meter that monitors the rate of oxygen saturation in the blood, so as to increase the tracking of health and fitness data. Obviously, this is not a full-fledged medical device, but the ability to measure oxygen saturation in the blood is a key indicator of oxygen supply to cells and tissues and provides the user with important clues in daily life. : a good result in terms of SpO2 indicates a good state of muscle energy. 
Normally, normal blood oxygen levels are between 90% and 100%. If the SpO2 value is below 89%, it could be a sign to reduce exercise or seek medical attention.
Technical features
Daily use
In everyday use we found no malfunction. The band works well, it is always accurate and the addition of GPS certainly makes it preferable over those that, on the other hand, do not have such a tracking system. The count of steps is quite accurate, even if it tends to slightly overestimate the data, at least compared to the Amazfit watches with which we made a comparison.
Like the Honor one, we also liked Huawei Band 4 Pro for the part relating to sleep measurement, which seemed more precise and more complete than that of the competitors. In fact, the band, in addition to perfectly calculating the hours of sleep, and dividing them into REM phase, heavy and light sleep, also provides indications to improve the quality of sleep, should it detect something not appropriate.
The display is absolutely legible even in direct sunlight, even if the characters and writings are rather small and, like Honor Band, on a graphic level the icons are less sought after than those of the Mi Band. An update from the UI point of view wouldn't hurt.
Notifications
The notification department of Huawei band 4 is standard, but functional. The device does not have a speaker or microphone, which is why it will only be possible to view incoming notifications, not being able to interact with them. from the app you can activate the notifications you want to receive on your wrist: you can enable all the apps available on your smartphone.
The Band Messages Hub offers a list of incoming messages, but the notification icon is always the same, not distinguishing WhatsApp from emails, Messages from Instagram notifications, and so on. The text of very long messages is cut, as happens with all bands of the same genre.
Application
The app is the same as the one used for managing the Honor Band 5 and Huawei's Health. We undoubtedly appreciated the possibility of being able to change the watch faces (but only on Android). Another difference between iOS and Android apps is on notifications: on iOS you can only flag some specific apps, as well as a generic “other” that allows you to manage all other notifications, while on Android it is possible to choose the apps one by one. to receive notifications.
The Health UI is very simple and easy to manage, through the tabs on the lower part. We still want to underline the Sleep tab, which seemed to us to be really nice, with absolutely plausible data and equally useful advice.
Conclusions
Huawei Band 4 Pro is the right choice for those who need more attention towards tracking during sports activities. Needless to go around it, the presence of GPS is the most valuable feature compared to its competitors.
If before this band, the GPS module was reserved for more expensive smartwatches, now even the smartbands have their own exponent with GPS. The watch faces are very beautiful, as is the very bright display, the part relating to sleep measurement is excellent. The software and the UI are a bit immature.
PRO
AGAINST
Price and availability
HUAWEI Band 4 Pro is available from the best consumer electronics stores and at the Huawei Experience Store in Milan, in Black and Red colors, at the recommended price of 79.90 Euro.
It can be found on offer at around 68 Euros: by applying the discount code HYHBWT can be purchased on TomTop directly at this address.
