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Of course, that also works: you change the appearance and the name a little - and you have a new product.
This is the case with the Honor Watch Magic 2, which is similar to the sister watch Huawei Watch GT 2 with a few design adjustments.
But it is much cheaper to buy.
Honor is a brand of the Huawei group.
In the test, the Honor Watch Magic 2 mastered fitness tracking at a very high level.
For the rest, however, it does not come close to most other smartwatches.
You could also call the Magic 2 simple, at least in the black version with its black silicone bracelet.
Or functional.
Because if you really wear your watch during sport, you should do without leather.
Otherwise it quickly looks unsightly.
Sweat and moisture cannot harm the Honor watch.
It's even waterproof.
For testing purposes we had the larger version with a case diameter of 46 millimeters.
The advantage over the 42 millimeter version is a larger battery: it should last two weeks.
The downside is the size, but that's also a matter of taste.
The watch weighs just under 70 grams.
We got by about a week on one battery charge, which is probably more realistic than the manufacturer's specification of two weeks if you also use the watch from time to time.
However, we recorded at least an hour of sports activities with her every day.
The battery life should be even shorter if you leave the display activated all day so that it no longer turns off.
We did not use this setting.
The watch is charged on a small magnetic charging cradle.
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Honor Watch Magic 2
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The clock cannot be set up without a smartphone
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The Magic 2 shows its strengths in fitness tracking.
She is able to track eight outdoor and seven indoor sports.
In the test, we compared the results for running, swimming, rowing and on the cross trainer with an Apple Watch, the results of which are considered reliable.
The fitness data were largely congruent.
The Honor watch has an optical heart rate monitor, a barometer, an acceleration sensor, compass and GPS satellite positioning.
It can even monitor sleep and, for example, measure the length of the deep sleep phase.
Tips on how to improve sleep are displayed via the Huawei Health app, which is part of the watch.
Good advice: refrain from alcohol.
The watch constantly monitors the pulse and reports if it exceeds or falls below specified limit values.
The clock cannot be set up at all without the app, which is available for Android smartphones and iPhones.
Some fitness data statistics can also be read on the watch.
But if you want to see a slightly longer time course, you have to look in the smartphone app.
They are also needed to play music on the watch.
Because of the four gigabytes of memory, half can be filled with songs.
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But they really have to be files on the smartphone in order to transfer them.
If you only listen to your music via streaming services, you will not be able to transfer it to your watch.
Users can choose from a number of watch faces that are already installed on the watch.
Additional watch faces can be added via the Android app.
This doesn't work on the iPhone.
Neither mobile nor WiFi reception
The watch's Amoled display is touch sensitive and is 3.4 centimeters in diameter.
It is easy to read even in sunlight.
The watch has its own operating system called LiteOS.
However, it also does without an app store.
So you have to be content with the few applications that are installed on the watch.
In addition to sports tracking and the music player, these include an alarm clock, a stopwatch and timer, a weather app and a flashlight.
The watch itself has neither cellular nor WiFi reception.
It must be connected to a smartphone via Bluetooth.
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But then it also shows notifications that are received on the phone, including short messages, emails, calendar entries and social app messages.
The watch can even make phone calls when the connected mobile phone is nearby.
It works very well in the test.
We were able to understand our interlocutor well and were also well understood.
However, the ambient noise should not be too loud.
Conclusion:
The Honor Watch Magic 2 is particularly suitable for all those who want to reliably measure and record their sports activities without having to charge their watch every day.
When it comes to battery life, the watch beats many of its competitors.
At 179 euros it is rather cheap in comparison.
However, users also have to forego some functions.
For example, they cannot make contactless payments or install new apps with the Honor watch.
Voice control is also missing.
The use of a digital voice assistant on a smartwatch is particularly useful.
Unfortunately, messages cannot even be answered on the Magic 2.
To do this, users then have to use their smartphone again.
This article was first published in January 2020.