CheckMag | 3 of the lightest smartwatches and fitness trackers Notebookcheck reviewed in 2023
Lightweight smartwatch / fitness tracker #1 - Huawei Band 8
- Weight: 14 g with no strap, 24 g including the stock strap
- Get it on Amazon Germany now
To dial the weight down by quite a few notches, Huawei engineers had to get rid of many features that full-fat smartwatches normally have. There is no NFC, no GPS, no ambient light sensor, no speaker and no microphone here; the watch will display incoming call information but that's about it. This means that without the paired phone, the Band 8 becomes a bit useless which is unfortunately normal for the device category.
The Huawei Band 8 is capable of measuring stress levels, blood oxygen, heart rate and sleep quality. And it is mostly good at all that, too. The strap is easy to change without the use of any tools; the 1.47-in OLED screen gets rather bright at around 390 cd/m2.
To use the watch, one will have to install Huawei's Health app first. We cover that in our full review of the Band 8. The product is not exclusive to Android phone owners as Huawei offers an iOS app as well.
The smartwatch can be had in black, green or pink. While it is compatible with Strava and Runtastic, Google Fit compatibility is absent and is unlikely to be implemented any time soon. Another disappointing aspect that is certainly worth mentioning is that the touchscreen did not really function perfectly in our testing; instead of opening a program, a tap would sometimes lead to unintentional scrolling.
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Lightweight smartwatch / fitness tracker #2 -
Huawei Watch Fit Special Edition
- Weight: 21 g with no strap
- Get it on Amazon Germany now
This Huawei product is compatible with iOS and Android phones. As we have noted above, downloading the Huawei Health app is a bit more tricky than just firing up the Play Store and looking up the app's name but it's nothing most users can't handle.
While NFC did not make the list, GPS support is thankfully onboard meaning the Watch Fit SE can be used outdoors without the need to always carry the paired phone in one's pocket. The watch is waterproof and it is also compatible with lots of activities; its 1.64-in OLED screen is not very bright at around 290 cd/m2 but this is easy to forgive considering the product's moderate price. Like the Band 8, the Watch Fit SE comes with no speaker of its own and no mic either.
Pulse and SpO2 measurements delivered by the product proved to be rather accurate in our testing. The Watch Fit SE can be had in black, pink, or green; as the other customization option, the user will have lots of watch faces to choose from.
Lightweight smartwatch / fitness tracker #3 -
Amazfit Band 7
- Weight: 28 g with the stock strap attached
- Get it on Amazon USA now
The Amazfit Band 7 is available in either black color or beige color. It features a fairly bright 1.47-in OLED display (up to 380 cd/m2) and, like the competition, it is a little short on features. There is no GPS and no NFC to be found here; there is no speaker, either, but at the very least there is a built-in microphone.
The product is mostly notable for its long battery life and relatively accurate bodily function measurements that the companion app uses to generate lots of insights. Find out more in our in-depth review.