Huawei Watch unveiled at MWC, first Android Wear watch with a sapphire crystal display

March 1, 2015 5:43 AM PST

Huawei on Sunday announced a new premium Android Wear watch at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The Huawei Watch is the first Android Wear watch that features a scratch-proof sapphire crystal display. The company's first smartwatch is one of the best looking we have seen, with its stainless steel body and mesh (or leather) strap. The watch has a 1.4-inch circular display with a 400x400-pixel resolution, which measures to around 286 pixels per inch, and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage. Underneath there is a heart-rate sensor that appears to be continuous for all-day tracking.

As is the case with other Android Wear watches, the Huawei Watch can display personalized Google Now cards and notifications such as text messages, emails and calls from your smartphone right on your wrist. Huawei has include over 40 customizable watch faces, including a dial that shows lunar phases, the weather and notifications in a traditional watch design.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Along with the heart-rate monitor, the watch uses a 6-axis motion sensor and barometer to track your steps, distance and calories burned. It can also automatically detect and track when a user is walking, running, biking, hiking or sleeping. Huawei has partnered with Jawbone to let users sync their data with the company's Up health app. This is in addition to being able to sync with the Google Fit app.

We didn't hear anything about battery life, although the company noted that the watch will use a "magnetic charging station" for convenient charging. Huawei has made a great feeling watch, and a new level of premium Android Wear watch. But we're judging on style, not function.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Questions remain, however. Who knows how much this will cost, and that could factor into our opinion. Also, since Android Wear has hit a wall on new hardware features being allowed, this doesn't do anything different than other Wear watches. But the 40 customizable watch faces, which look beautiful in the mockups Huawei showed, could be a difference maker. For now, this might be king of the hill. It feels like a Moto 360 meets LG Watch Urbane, but maybe even better.

The Huawei Watch will be available in more than 20 countries including the US, UK and Australia. Pricing and release information wasn't announced, although we expect a high price tag to match the premium features and design.

Airtel launches 'India's first 4G on mobile' in Bangalore

Bharti Airtel on Friday released a joint statement with Apple announcing the launch of "India's first 4G on mobile" services in Bangalore. According to the statement, iPhone 5s and 5c customers will be able to use 4G services, as these phones support the 2300MHz TD-LTE band that Airtel is using for 4G services in the city. Other phones that support the 2300MHz TD-LTE band, like Airtel's co-branded phone with Huawei, the Ascend P1 LTE, will also be able to enjoy the 4G services. Unfortunately, there are not many such phones available in the Indian market, hence the claims of the service being 'exclusive' to Apple's phones.

Notably, Airtel says 3G subscribers will be able to get 4G mobile Internet speeds at the same rate as their current 3G tariffs. To access the services, existing 2G and 3G subscribers will have to upgrade their SIM card to a 4G SIM card.

Airtel says while data browsing will be on 4G networks (where available), voice calls will be routed to 2G/ 3G networks 'seamlessly' with the CSFB (Circuit Switched Fall Back) technology. In addition to the regular 3G plans, Airtel also announced the launch of a new 4G plan for heavy data users, giving customers 10GB of 4G data for Rs. 1,000.

Announcing the launch, Srini Gopalan, Director - Consumer Business, Bharti Airtel India said, "Airtel has always set the technology trends in India and was the first operator to introduce 4G to the country. The Information Technology capital of India saw the advent of 4G in 2012 and today we are proud to announce the launch of the much awaited Airtel 4G services on mobile in partnership with Apple. We will together give customers in Bengaluru the power to upgrade to cutting edge 4G LTE technology at no additional cost. As a brand we are committed to enriching lives of millions by giving them the best user experience and invite our data savvy customers in the city to enjoy this world class data experience."

Airtel had launched India's first 4G network in April 2012 in Kolkata, later expanding the service toBangalore and Pune, though these have been been data-only offerings till date.

Huawei Ascend P6 with 4.7-inch HD display launched at Rs. 29,999

Huawei Ascend P6 with 4.7-inch HD display launched at Rs. 29,999

Ketan Pratap, October 25, 2013

Huawei's new smartphone, the Ascend P6, has been launched for the Indian market, at Rs. 29,999. The device was listed online in the fourth week of October on an ecommerce website for a discounted price of Rs. 25,750. Huawei first unveiled the Ascend P6 back in June this year.

The Huawei Ascend P6 is called the slimmest smartphone in the world by the company, and measures in at 6.2mm, while weighing 120 grams. The smartphone comes in Black, Pink and White colours. It features a 4.7-inch LCD display that has a resolution of 720x1280 pixels. It's powered by the company's in-house chipset, the Huawei K3V2 quad-core processor, clocked at 1.5GHz and coupled with 2GB of RAM. 

The Ascend P6 includes an 8-megapixel rear camera with a BSI sensor, capable of recording 1080p HD video, apart from a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. It runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and features Huawei's Emotion UI 1.6 OS layer on top. It offers 8GB of inbuilt storage expandable up to 32GB via microSD card and has a 2000 mAh battery. 

On Wednesday, two of Huawei's recently launched Android phablets, the Ascend G610 and Ascend G700, also made it to the Indian market via an online retailer. The Huawei Ascend G610 and Huawei Ascend G700 have been listed at Infibeam for Rs. 12,499 and Rs. 16,500 respectively. The Chinese major had unveiled both the devices back in September this year, at an event in Taiwan. 

Huawei Ascend P6 key specifications

• 4.7-inch HD in-cell LCD screen with a resolution of 720x1280 pixels
• 1.5GHz quad-core Processor
• 2GB RAM
• 8GB Internal storage expandable via microSD card
• Dual-SIM with dual-standby support
• 8-megapixel rear camera
• 5-megapixel front facing camera
• 2000mAh battery
• Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean with Emotion UI

Huawei introduces Ascend P6 as "world's slimmest smartphone"

Reuters, June 18, 2013

China's Huawei unveiled its flagship smartphone, the Ascend P6, at its first standalone launch event on Tuesday, underlining its ambitions to compete with Apple and Samsung in the top tier of mobile technology.

The company says the device, at 6.18 mm thick, is the world's slimmest. It has a 5 megapixel front-facing camera, designed for taking "selfies", or pictures of the owner to be shared on social media networks.

The company picked the launch date - 6/18 (June 18) - to tie in with the smartphone's dimensions.

The launch, at an arts venue in North London, takes a cue from Apple and Samsung, both of which have made new product announcements at high profile events for a number of years.

Previously Huawei unveiled its handsets at industry trade shows like Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Huawei, which also makes telecom networking gear, is looking to drive sales of its consumer devices, a sector in which it has only had its own brand for about three years.

The company was the fourth-largest maker of smartphones in the first quarter of 2013, trailing LG Electronics and the two dominant brands Apple and Samsung, according to analyst firm Gartner. The top two sold more than 100 million units between them, while LG sold 10 million and Huawei 9 million, most of which were in its native China.

The Ascend P6 uses Huawei's customised version of Google's Android operating system.

Industry analyst Ben Wood at CCS Insight said that at the right price the Ascend P6 would attract buyers who had not considered Huawei before.

"Huawei P6 is darn thin," he tweeted. But he added that the device was not, at this stage, compatible with the high speed, next generation 4G networks, which are being rolled out across the world.

Carolina Milanesi at Gartner said she would have liked to see a more original design instead of something that tries to position the brand as an alternative to Apple by going with a similar rounded metal design.

Overall it shows that Huawei is working towards their goal of becoming a top brand by 2015, she said.