Huawei TalkBand B2 The Huawei TalkBand B2 is a hybrid wearable that offers both fitness tracking and Bluetooth headset functionality, but doesn't best dedicated devices in either category.??

Huawei TalkBand B2

  • Pros

    Clear call quality. Accurate fitness tracking. Attractive design. Comfortable.

  • Cons

    Pricey. Limited use. Faint, reflective display. Positioning in ear can be finicky.

  • Bottom Line


Made in conjunction with headset gurus, Jawbone, the Huawei TalkBand B2 is not your ordinary wearable. The B2 is basically a Bluetooth headset with a display attached to a wristband. It's a handy way to keep your Bluetooth headset close by at all times, and the unique design allows it to serve a second purpose. The $199.99 B2 doubles as a fitness tracker, allowing you to monitor basic categories like your activity and sleep. It's an interesting hybrid, but for the price, you're likely better off buying dedicated devices.

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Design and Display
The TalkBand B2 is made from a brushed aluminum that's similar to what you find on many laptops, which gives it an attractive, premium appearance. The brown leather version with gold-tone body, which I tested for this review, looks particularly sleek. I'm not as keen on the models that use a sport-minded rubber wristband, but both the leather and rubber bands are comfortable to wear. The leather one comes with an adjustable metal clasp you must snap shut—I thought it would be annoying and uncomfortable, but was pleased to find it nice and cozy. The leather version costs $199.99, while the rubber versions are priced at $179.99.  

Dust-proof and water-resistant, the TalkBand carries an IP57 rating, so it can survive splashes and submersion in water up to three feet. I wouldn't wear the B2 in the deep end. Pop the Bluetooth-enabled display/earpiece module out and you will see it measures 1.1 by 0.9 by 0.5 inches (HWD). The leather strap version is 9.3 inches long, while the rubber variant is slightly longer at 9.6 inches.

The TalkBand charges via micro USB cable that you have to plug into the back of the display, which means you have to separate the module from the band. Huawei promises a battery life of about five days, which seemed about accurate in my testing. Recharging is very quick; it takes about an hour to reach a full charge.

Huawei TalkBand B2

Unfortunately, the B2's 0.73-inch, 128-by-88 PMOLED (Passive Matrix OLED, a cheaper alternative to AMOLED) touch screen has a few issues. For one, it attracts thumbprints. After handling it for a bit, the display became nearly unreadable (too many pita chips for lunch, I guess). But even when not stained with finger marks, the display appears faint, especially on the gold-colored model, which makes the digital numbers and lettering even lighter and more difficult to read. In direct sunlight, it's near impossible. The display is highly reflective, too—it's not mirror-quality, but it's close.

In order to activate the display, you need to press the button on the side. You're greeted with Bluetooth and battery icons, the time of day, date, and the day of the week. Swipe up or down and you can see some of your stats: steps taken, calories burned, hours slept, and the amount of time you've spent doing any activity (though you have to hold the display for that last option to appear). Pleasing little animations accompany each slide, like a wavy flame for calories and a snoozing moon for sleep.  

Hold the side button down and you gain access to a couple more features, including Bluetooth pairing mode, a phone finder option that makes your connected smartphone vibrate or sound an alert if it's lost, and a selfie mode that lets you tap the band so your smartphone can remotely snap pictures.

In addition to the side button, bringing your wrist up to your line of sight triggers the display after about a second of wait time. After three seconds, though, the display turns back off. That's really quick, and there are no settings to extend the length of time it remains on. In fact, there are no settings periodno display duration, no brightness adjustment, or anything else in this veinso what you see is what you get.

Just below the side button are two triggers on either side of the band. Hold these and the display module will detach from the band to become a Bluetooth earpiece.

Pairing, Apps, and Bluetooth Headset
Huawei TalkBand B2The TalkBand B2 is compatible with Bluetooth 3.0 devices running iOS 7 and later, as well as Android 4.0 or higher. The setup process is fairly easy. You have to download the free Huawei Wear app, which will then prompt you to go through your device's Bluetooth menu to scan for the B2. After pairing, you can then connect to Jawbone's UP app through Huawei Wear. Only one TalkBand B2 can be paired at a time. I connected the B2 to a Samsung Galaxy S6 in a few seconds without issue.

The Huawei Wear app is pretty basic. Consisting of just two main screens, one shows you fitness stats like the time and distance you've traveled as well as the number of steps you've taken. The other screen breaks down sleeping patterns. After one night, it detailed that I had about an hour of deep sleep and four and a half hours of light sleep. Sadly, that's pretty accurate. However, according to the app, this is considered "Normal" sleep quality. Phew.

Huawei TalkBand B2There are a few other options available, like an activity reminder that lets you set a time period for the B2 to vibrate in order to alert you when you've been idle for too long. This feature worked pretty well, and was accompanied by a charming little animation on the display of a figure getting up and stretching. You can also set wake-up alarms, which work though vibration but could be stronger and last longer. It gave up after maybe five seconds, which might not be enough for stubborn sleepers. And the band doesn't deliver any notifications from your smartphone, like many other fitness trackers now do.

Jawbone's UP app provides some additional utility. For instance, it informed me that I sleep 53 minutes less than the average male UP user. And the Smart Coach aspect of UP offered some advice, like how I should pitch the midnight oil and get extra winks in order to boost morning productivity. I tapped on a Learn More link, which opened a New York Times article about sleep in the browser on the Galaxy S6. A real-time summary of all your activities can be viewed with the UP app, which can give other ways for you to catch up on your sleep and reach your step and running goals.

As a fitness tracker, the B2 is pretty basic. It lacks a heart rate monitor, built-in GPS, and activity-specific tracking like hiking and yoga. It can't even show you the miles you've run directly on the device. The B2's standout feature is really UP integration, but you need the Huawei Wear app connected in tandem in order for UP to work. It's easier to just buy a dedicated device from Jawbone, like the Jawbone UP24

As a Bluetooth headset, the earpiece sounds loud and clear, perfectly usable for both calls and music playback. Voices sounded natural on both ends, thanks to built-in dual-mic noise cancellation. Some Hall & Oates and Peter Gabriel test tracks sounded similarly smooth.

Huawei TalkBand B2

However, actually fitting the earpiece in my ear proved to be a hassle. As mentioned earlier, the B2 is essentially a headset with a display attached to a wristband. Pop the headset out of the band and flip it over and you'll see the tiny microphone near the USB port. On the opposite end is a circular, plastic eartip with an awkward hoop attached that made it practically impossible to keep steady in my ear. It constantly shifted or fell right out, so I just held the dang thing up. That kind of defeats the purpose of a Bluetooth headset, but your mileage (and ear size) may vary. Two additional eartips come with the B2, but they're just replacements; they don't come in different sizes. 

The Huawei TalkBand B2 is a decent fitness tracker and an average Bluetooth headset, but it certainly isn't a leader in either category. The touch screen is responsive and the icons are well-animated, but the display is difficult to see. And I wish it came with more eartips to get a better fit for the headset function. For fitness, instead, take a look at options like the inexpensive Jawbone UP Move or the higher-end Fitbit Charge HR, which both provide better options for tracking your activity. And you don't need to spend much on a good Bluetooth headset. Just check out the Plantronics M55 or the Plantronics Marque 2 M165.   

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