You don’t need a smartwatch for most things, as this cheap bracelet I tested has shown me.

A few years ago there was a boom in smart bracelets, but this category of device has been losing prominence in recent years in favor of smart watches or smartwatches, which are more expensive and have more functions.

In 2021, smart bracelets accounted for a majority part of the market for this type of wearables, with 38% in volume which placed it ahead of smartwatches (36%) and basic smart watches (26%)

However, in the second quarter of 2024 this figure had been reduced to a 17% share for bracelets, which are already far behind basic watches (48%) and smartwatches (35%), according to data from analyst Canalys.

Furthermore, although sales of most technological products are rising in 2024, bracelets are not at their best, since 14% fewer units were sold in the second quarter of the year.

Are smart bracelets still necessary? Given the bad moment that this category is going through, I have decided to use an Honor Band 9 bracelet for two weeks and put away my high-end smartwatch.

I’ll tell you what I’ve missed the most, what I haven’t noticed a significant difference in, and even what I think are better than much more expensive watches.

You don’t have to spend the same amount as a cell phone if you’re just looking for an accessory.

The first difference, which is important as obvious as it may be, is that smart bracelets are worth much less than watches.

The point is that, although they share many of their characteristics, a smartwatch and a bracelet are designed for different uses.

On the one hand, bracelets are accessories that serve to house biometric sensors and have a small screen that can display some information and allow you to interact. But they do not have an advanced operating system and you are much more limited, having to resort to the smartphone app more often.

However, with a smartwatch, especially in models that have an advanced operating system such as watchOS, Wear OS or Tizen, you have a device that is independent for many things: you can make phone calls thanks to the speaker and microphone, you can respond to chat messages, and above all you can install third-party applications.

If you only want an accessory and what interests you are only the measurements but not using the functions that are only present in a smartwatch, it makes much more sense to choose a bracelet which costs 59.90 euros like the Honor Band 9 or the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 (39.90 euros), instead of the minimum 400 euros that a Google Pixel Watch 3the 299 euros from which the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 or the 449 euros of Apple Watch 9.

After all, it is 250 euros less, so it is worth thinking carefully before making a decision between bracelet or watch.

You are not going to use your cell phone less

This is closely related to the previous point, but I think it deserves its own section: If what you want is to use your cell phone less, bracelets are not going to be the device that allows you to do so..

Most of the advanced functions and metrics of a bracelet must be done from the smartphone application, in the case of the Honor Band 9 it is Honor Health. Although I really liked this application, it does not help reduce the time you spend in front of the mobile screen.

This is a very big difference that is clearly in favor of watches, since as I told you in this article, One of the most important things for me in a smartwatch is its ability to make me use my phone less.and there are already several models that achieve it – they are not cheap, I’m afraid.

The precision of the sensors is very similar or the same

Each watch and bracelet has its own characteristics and in many cases this also includes biometric measurements of different health parameters, but in general there is a belief that watches are more accurate than bracelets.

After testing the Honor Band 9, one of the things I liked the most is that Its sensors achieve measurements very similar to those of a high-end watch What is the Pixel Watch 3 like?

The precision is very similar both in heart rate and calories, steps and oxygen saturation, with measurements practically the same in all cases.

But If there is one aspect in which it excels, it is sleep tracking.with measurements not only of the time you have slept but with detailed statistics that separate the time of deep sleep, light sleep, REM sleep or time spent awake.

You will be surprised to read it, but it has been much more precise and with more logical results than watches costing more than 200 euros that I have tested in recent years, from different recognized and popular brands.

A bracelet is more comfortable for many things and you will have to take it off less

Bracelets are smaller than smartwatches. Although this is bad when it comes to viewing information and handling the device, it also has benefits.

In general, smart bracelets are more comfortable than big, expensive watchesas I have seen with the Honor Band 9 if I compare it with recent watches that I have tested, from the Pixel Watch 3 to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 Classicpassing through Original Apple Watch Ultra.

With a narrower, smaller dial and thinner profile, the bracelets are lighter. Not only do they weigh less, but they also cause less discomfort when you move your wrist – something important, for example, if you practice racquet sports.

That extra comfort will allow you to wear it all the time, even when you sleep.and forget that you have it on your wrist. This avoids having to take it off as usually happens with bulkier watches, which is not only a nuisance, but also causes you to lose sleep and exercise data, the most valuable.

It doesn’t have an operating system… but this makes it easier to use

Unlike smart watches, which work with advanced operating systems such as watchOS, Wear OS or Tizen (Apple, Google and Samsung, respectively), smart bracelets do not have an open operating system, but a closed one and only works with native apps.

This makes the things you can do less than with a smartwatch, with which you can install third-party applications with which you can do almost everything. The watchOS ecosystem and especially Wear OS has improved a lot in recent years, so you can find many more of the applications you use on a daily basis.

This, which under normal conditions would be a clear advantage for watches over bracelets, also has certain benefits for devices like the Honor Band 9, since they are generally easier to use.

With the bracelets, you just have to connect them with your mobile phone through the brand’s application, in this case Honor Salud. This way, you will only be able to use the functions present in the app, where you can generally see a history with more data and add spheres or customization elements, and use the functions present directly on the bracelet.

With watches it can be more complicated to use, since you have to synchronize accounts and applications and the options are many more, so At least the bracelets have a simpler operation and less chance of raising doubts.

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Tags: Honor