Huawei unveiled three new wearable devices that will come to market in the next few months, including its first smart watch.
At a press conference in Barcelona on Sunday, the Chinese equipment maker also presented an updated version of its TalkBand designed for business customers, and a set of headphones that can store music ad track activity.
Wearable devices are "an extension of your senses and extension of the human body…and human intelligence," said Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei’s consumer business group.
Yu opened proceedings by demonstrating the TalkBand B2, a new version of the smart wrist band that Huawei launched a year ago.
The B2 tracks fitness and enables the user to receive phone calls. It also includes a pager feature that helps the user find their phone and alerts them when the band is too far away from the phone, making it more difficult to forget or lose their smartphone.
The TalkBand B1 was a sporty device, made of brightly coloured plastic.
"[But] business users also need this," Yu said, noting that the B2 is made of metal and the premium version comes with a leather strap.
When it hits the shelves in April it will carry an RRP of €195 for the premium version and €169 for the basic model.
Next up was Huawei’s TalkBand N1, which is essentially a set of headphones with integrated fitness tracking technology and 4 GB of internal storage.
It will come to market in May priced at €119.
"[It is a] beautiful design, suitable for all occasions," Yu said. "It’s an earpiece and a necklace."
Despite a video presentation showing a modern woman wearing the N1 for both running and a social event, it’s difficult to be convinced about the necklace part.
Similarly, Huawei insists its first smart watch has been designed to appeal to women as well as men, unlike some of the competing designs on the market. However, a 42 mm diameter is probably too large for many women and the design of the product is overwhelmingly masculine.
Nonetheless, it is a good looking smart watch.
"It looks like a real watch," Yu said, highlighting its advantages over other watches, such as its 286 ppi resolution and cold-forged steel casing.
The Huawei Watch comes in gold, silver or black and has 40 customisable faces, enabling the user to change the look to suit their outfit.
Wearers can receive phone calls on it, check SMS and email messages and view their calendar. It uses Google Now for voice recognition and has a heart rate monitor, among other features.
"This watch will be available in the middle of this year," Yu said. "Maybe June."
