Huawei Band 6 vs 7 – Should You Upgrade?

If you find this post helpful, please share it. Thank you!

The Huawei Band 6 now has a successor in Huawei Band 7. The Band 7 was released in May 2022 and it comes in a slimmer case with the ability to reply to messages. One thing that really caught my attention is that the Band 7 still doesn’t have an inbuilt GPS which is a very big turnoff for me. Nevertheless, it’s good to see that the Huawei Band 7 has the ability to reply to messages with preset quick replies as well as features an always-on display mode. Beyond these few additions, nothing much has changed. In this post, we’ll be discussing the difference between Huawei Band 6 and 7 to help you decide if it’s worth upgrading.

Huawei Band 6 vs 7

In a nutshell, the Huawei Band 7 looks exactly like the Huawei Band 6. However, it’s slimmer and weighs a little less than its predecessor. It also now has an always-on display and can reply to messages with preset replies. Beyond these few additions, both Band 6 and 7 will track the same activities and have the same battery life of 14 days.

Huawei Band 6 vs 7 Full Specifications Comparison

 
 
Product Info
Huawei Band 6 Specifications and Features

Huawei Band 6 Full Specifications and Features

Huawei Band 7 Full Specifications

Huawei Band 7 Full Specifications and Features

Price $69.90 -
ABOUT DEVICE ABOUT DEVICE ABOUT DEVICE
Device name Huawei Band 6 Huawei Band 7
Device type Fitness smartband Fitness smartband
Gender Unisex Unisex
Release date April, 2021 May, 2022
Predecessor Huawei Band 4 Huawei Band 6
Successor Huawei Band 7 Huawei Band 8
Versions
BODY BODY BODY
Dimension 43 x 25.4 x 10.99 mm 44.35 x 26 x 9.99 mm
Weight (excluding straps), 18g (excluding straps), 16g
Shape Rectangular Rectangular
Case material Polymer Polymer
Strap material Silicone Silicone
Bezel material Bezeless Bezeless
Strap size 135 – 210mm 135 – 210mm, 16mm
Interchangeable strap Yes Yes, 16mm
Screen protection Anti-scracth glass Anti-scracth glass
Water resistance Yes, 5ATM Yes, 5ATM
Durability test
Swim-proof Yes, recommended Yes, recommended
Color Graphite black, Orange, Pink, Forest Green Flame red, Graphite black, Pink, Wilderness Green
DISPLAY DISPLAY DISPLAY
Display size 1.47 inches 1.47 inches
Display type AMOLED, Full color AMOLED, Full color
Display resolution 194 x 368 pixels 194 x 368 pixels
Pixel density 283 PPI 283 PPI
Always on No Yes
Custom watch face Yes Yes
Input type 1 Physical button, Touchscreen 1 Physical button, Touchscreen
CONNECTIVITY CONNECTIVITY CONNECTIVITY
Bluetooth Bluetooth v5.0 Bluetooth v5.0
Bluetooth calling No No
GPS (connected GPS), No (connected GPS), No
NFC (China only), Yes (China only), Yes
Wi-Fi No No
MEMORY MEMORY MEMORY
RAM
ROM
Memory card slot No No
CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY CELLULAR CONNECTIVITY
Technology None None
SIM type None None
Band
NOTIFICATIONS NOTIFICATIONS NOTIFICATIONS
SMS alert Yes Yes
Calls alert Yes Yes
Email alert Yes Yes
Event reminder Yes Yes
Third-party apps alert Yes Yes
Reply to Notifications - Yes (preset replies)
MEDIA MEDIA MEDIA
Audio No No
Bluetooth music No No
Loudspeaker No No
Microphone No No
Camera No No
Radio No No
SENSORS SENSORS SENSORS
Sensor(s)
ACTIVITY TRACKING ACTIVITY TRACKING ACTIVITY TRACKING
Blood oxygen Yes Yes
Blood Pressure - No
Calories Yes Yes
Distance Yes Yes
ECG tracking No No
Heart rate monitoring Yes Yes
Sleep tracking Yes Yes
Steps Yes Yes
Floors climbed - No
Stress Yes Yes
Fall detection No No
Menstrual cycle Yes Yes
VO2 Max Yes Yes
Swim-tracking Yes Yes
Underwater heart rate tracking No No
On-screen workout No No
Sport modes 90 90
BATTERY BATTERY BATTERY
Battery type non-removable Lithium-polymer non-removable Lithium-polymer
Battery capacity
Battery life Regular: 14 days Regular: 14 days
Charging type Magnetic charger Magnetic charger
Charging time 30min-1hr 30min-1hr
Solar charging No No
PLATFORM PLATFORM PLATFORM
Chipset
CPU
GPU
Operating system
MISC MISC MISC
Companion app Huawei Health App Huawei Health App
Compatibility Android 6.0+, iOS 9.0+ Android 6.0+, iOS 9.0+, Harmony OS 2.0+
Payment system Alipay Alipay
Voice command No No
Find my phone Yes Yes
Box content Charger, Manual, Straps, Huawei Band 6 Charger, Manual, Straps, Huawei Band 7

Huawei Band 6 vs 7 Features Review

Design

Regarding the design, nothing much has changed. The Huawei Band 7 looks very similar to the Band 6 expect for slight improvements.

First, both smartbands have cases made of the same durable polymer which I can confirm is very durable after using the Band 6 for almost a year.

The Band 7 also comes with silicone straps just like the Band 6. And the straps are interchangeable (another reason I liked the Band 6)

Furthermore, the Huawei Band 7 is rated 5ATM just like Huawei Band 6. This means that it can survive submersion in water up to 50 meters. As such, you can wear the Band 6 or 7 to the pool, shower or otherwise.

The difference as far as design is concerned is that the Huawei Band 7 is slimmer than Band 6. The Huawei Band 7 is 1mm slimmer than the Huawei Band 6.

The Huawei Band 7 also weighs a little less compared to the Band 6. It weighs only 16g compared to the 18g of the Band 6. Nevertheless, the Band 6 is still very lightweight. I always forget I’m wearing it due to it being extremely lightweight.

In all, both the Band 6 and 7 are well designed to maximize comfort. Although, the Huawei Band 7 is more comfortable to wear than its predecessor.

Display

In the display section, the Huawei Band 7 retains the same display size as its predecessor. It has a 1.47 inches display size powered by AMOLED technology.

Both smartbands have the same resolution of 194 x 368 pixels and 283 PPI. So you shouldn’t expect any difference in the color depth.

From my experience using the Huawei Band 6, the display is quite colorful and can easily be read even under direct sunlight.

You also get loads of watch faces to choose from in the Huawei Health app. Although, there is now the availability of always-on display watch faces on the Huawei Band 7.

Meanwhile, the Huawei Band 6 lacks an always-on display. You only have the option of keeping the screen awake for up to 20 seconds.

Both Band 6 and its successor have a touch-sensitive screen with a single button by the side for effortless navigation.

Fitness Tracking

Again, nothing much has changed in the fitness tracking department. Although, the sleep and outdoor tracking inconsistency I experienced with Band 6 has been resolved with the Band 7.

The Huawei Band 7 just like the Band 6 comes equipped with an accelerometer, gyroscope, and heart rate sensor. Both smartbands will track your steps, calories, sleep, heart rate, stress and blood oxygen.

Unfortunately, the Huawei Band 7 still doesn’t have an inbuilt GPS. It however supports connected GPS with your phone just like Huawei Band 6.

From my experience with Huawei Band 6, the connected GPS was purely awkward. It never tracked my route correctly. Even worse, is that you must start an outdoor workout from the Huawei Health app to track routes, yet it was very inconsistent.

This anomaly has now been corrected with the Band 7 which is one of the main reasons I will encourage upgrading. It did map my routes correctly when compared to the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic and Apple Watch Series 7.

It’s interesting to note that the Band 7 comes with 96 preloaded sports modes just like the Band 6.

Managing Notifications

When I compared the Huawei Band 6 against Galaxy Fit 2, I rated the latter higher simply because it allows you to reply to messages using the preset quick reply function.

The Huawei Band 6 lacked the ability to reply to messages, and that was a big turnoff. However, the Huawei Band 7 allows you to reply to messages using preset quick replies. This is one of the additions that come with the new smartband. It’s also one of the reasons I’ll recommend upgrading.

Beyond being able to reply to messages, the Huawei Band 7 just like the Band 6 will alert you when you receive calls, messages and other notifications from your phone. Notifications have to be enabled from the Huawei Health app to receive messages. You will also need to grant Huawei Health app permission to call logs so that you can receive incoming call notifications.

Just like the Huawei Band 6, the Chinese version of the Huawei Band 7 comes with an NFC chip that supports Alipay. This allows for a non-contactless payment directly on the device.

Battery Life

Surprisingly, the Huawei Band 7 has the same battery life of up to two weeks just like the Huawei Band 6.

With the Huawei Band 6 I got about 2 weeks of battery life on mixed usage. It’s one of the interesting features of the Band 6, and it’s good to note that the Band 7 also has the same battery life.

The charging method is the same for both Huawei Band 6 and 7. You can charge any of these two using the magnetic charger. It takes just about an hour to charge any of these two.

Price

There is no significant difference in price between Band 6 and 7. The new Band 7 despite having a slimmer design, always-on display and ability to reply to messages, is priced at about $50 for the standard edition, while the NFC version is priced at $60. This is almost the same price as the Band 6 which costs about $45 on average.

Final Words

In all, nothing much has changed with the release of the Huawei Band 7. It has the same appearance, design, display, and battery life as the Huawei Band 6. The Huawei Band 7 also has the same fitness tracking features as the Band 6.

The only difference between the Huawei Band 6 and 7 is that the latter has a slimmer design, features an always-on display and can reply to messages.

The Huawei Band 6 lacks a quick reply function and always-on display watch faces, yet, it’s a fantastic smartband.