Apple Watch 6 gets impressive new rival for fraction of the price

Honor Watch ES combines smartwatch staples and topnotch fitness functionality to step up to Apple Watch 6

Honor Watch ES
(Image credit: Honor)

Honor has just released its latest smartwatch – the Honor Watch ES – and while the wearable comes in at a wallet-friendly price, its functions and features put it on a par with much more expensive gadgets. 

The Honor Watch ES sports a generous 1.64-inch AMOLED touch display, with customizable home screens. It offers all of the usual functionality we'd expect from a fitness tracker including a step counter, notification checker, sleep monitor, and various workout settings; but there are some nifty advanced features we wouldn't normally associate with a product in this price range.

Honor Watch ES

(Image credit: Honor)

You'll find a 24/7 heart-rate monitor that promises “high-precision" readings of what’s going on with your ticker – it’ll even alert you if your heart-rate is elevated, or it detects "abnormal results”. 

There’s also a stress monitor that gives you a score from 0 to 100 based on how stressed you are. When those results teeter into the red, you can use your watch to do some breathing exercises. There’s also an SpO2 monitor that measures the oxygen saturation of your blood. 

The smartwatch is available in Meteorite Black or Coral Pink, and the soft plastic band comes in a range of designs; with a price tag of £99.99, it’s slightly cheaper than the Fitbit Charge 4, but offers much more functionality. In fact the Honor Watch ES could give the impending Apple Watch 6 a run for its money - despite being a fraction of the price.

Honor definitely has Apple in its sights with its focus on fitness. There are over 90 workout modes with automatic recognition, and ‘animated workout courses' that act as a personal trainer, right there on your wrist. It can even track and record leisure activities – like a game of pool, or a jazz dancing class.

The battery can last up to an incredible 10 days on a single charge, which blows the Apple Watch Series 5's paltry 18 hours out of the water. 

What's even more impressive is that a 30-minute fast charge will see the battery last for up to an entire week, so there'll be no more skipping out on going for a run of an evening because your smartwatch is almost dead.

At the moment, the Honor Watch ES is available to order in the UK and Europe for £99.99/ €99.99 which translates to around $130, giving you a great bang for your buck. 

Check out our T3 best smartwatch guide to find the perfect smartwatch for your budget.