Honor Watch 4 vs Redmi Watch 4: Honor Smartwatch Has a Killer Feature!

A few weeks ago, I tested the Honor Watch 4. I thought the Honor Watch 4 would be a killer of the Redmi Watch 4, but it also has many problems, for example, I couldn’t listen to music through the earbuds, although they are connected to the watch. In addition, I didn’t like how the heart rate and built-in GPS worked.

In this article, I will try to connect new earbuds to the Honor Watch 4 and listen to music. We will also compare the heart rate, GPS tracking and other functions of the new Honor smartwatch and Redmi Watch 4.

I want to finally decide which of these smartwatches is better. Let’s get started.

Design

The first thing we pay attention to when choosing a watch is the design. In this case, Redmi Watch 4 and Honor Watch 4 are very different.

As you can see, the Honor smartwatch is more compact because of the smaller display. The screen is also rounded, which makes it even more convenient.

Perhaps it is because I have a thin wrist, but the Honor Watch 4 is much more comfortable for me than the Redmi Watch 4.

However, I am surprised that the watches weigh the same 48 grams.

They also have an aluminum alloy frame, but the Redmi Watch 4 comes with a crown, while the Honor Watch 4 has a physical button on the side. I prefer a crown because it is more functional. You can spin it to navigate through the menu.

The back panels are plastic, but it is glossy on the Honor smartwatch, and matte on the Redmi watch.

Here we can see charging contacts and health tracking sensors. We will compare heart rate and spO2 measurements a little later.

Talking about the straps, they are both made of TPU. I told you that Honor Watch 4 is more compact, and it even has a slightly shorter strap – from 150 to 200mm. The length of the Redmi Watch 4 strap is from 135 to 205mm.

We can also see that they have different clasp. I like the Honor Watch 4 option better, but I am sure they are both very reliable.

You should also know that the smartwatches have the same 5ATM water resistance level. You can swim in the pool with them, but you shouldn’t take a sauna or very hot shower.

So, I like the Honor Watch 4 better because of its more compact size and rounded screen. Although, if you have a thicker wrist, you might be better off with the Redmi Watch 4.

The advantage in the design of Redmi Watch 4 is the crown. It is very easy to navigate, especially during training.

Display

I have already said that Honor Watch 4 has a smaller screen, namely 1.75 inches. The screen diagonal of the Redmi Watch 4 is 1.97 inches.

However, both have a resolution of 390 x 450 pixels. This means that Honor smartwatch has a higher PPI, so the image should be clearer. On the other hand, I don’t think you will notice much difference on small displays.

The Redmi and Honor watches have AMOLED panels with 60Hz refresh rate.

The maximum screen brightness of the Redmi Watch 4 is 600 nits. We don’t have information about the brightness of the Honor watch, but I think it is about the same.

They are also equipped with ambient light sensors and automatic screen brightness adjustment.

Of course, they support Always-On Display mode.

So, I like both screens and don’t see much difference between them other than the size. They are both very good.

Operating Systems

Now, let’s talk about operating systems and functions.

The Redmi Watch 4 has a HyperOS operating system from Xiaomi, while the Honor Watch 4 runs on MagicOS.

However, the controls are almost the same, such as swiping left and right to switch widgets; swipe up and down to read new notifications and open quick settings menu.

By pressing the crown on the Redmi Watch 4 and a button on the Honor Watch 4 you can open the menu with all the functions.

I will not compare every function right now, but I looked at them all, and they are about the same on these watches.

However, since I have the Chinese version of the Redmi Watch 4, it has AliPay, WexinPay, as well as Mi Home, and Mi AI. I don’t think these are very useful functions because they only work in China.

On the other hand, I didn’t find remote camera control on the Honor Watch 4. Although I do not use this function, this may be a drawback for some.

The quick settings menus also have about the same functions, such as do not disturb mode, silent mode, flashlight, battery saver mode, etc.

You can also compare the settings menus.

Earphones Connection

The main difference that I found in the settings is the earphones on the Honor Watch 4. The manufacturer claims that you can connect earphones to the watch and listen to music.

I tried this, but it didn’t work. Let’s try again with different earphones.

So, the earphones are detected and connected. So far, so good.

I have already shown you how to upload music to your watch in a full review.

By the way, the Honor Watch 4 has 4GB of built-in memory for storing music.

Now we can go to the music player and try to listen. Hooray! It works. The sound comes through the earphones.

I don’t know why I couldn’t listen to music through earbuds in the full review, but now it works. That’s very good. I think it is a killer feature of the Honor Watch 4.

Just to remind you that Redmi Watch 4 doesn’t have a built-in memory, and the function of connecting earphones to the watch.

Heart Rate and spO2

You know, I also talked about the problem with measuring heart rate on the Honor Watch 4 in the full review, but now let’s compare it with the Redmi Watch 4.

So, in a calm state, the heart rate level on the watches is almost the same – about 75 bpm.

Now I just want to lift my hands up off the table. As you can see, the heart rate level goes up on both watches. I said this was a problem with Honor Watch 4, but the value on the Redmi Watch 4 also increases.

It seems like it is just not a good idea to measure your heart rate with your arms up.

OK, let’s do some squats.

After a short workout, my heart rate is about 115 bpm on both watches.

I also want to measure spO2 on Redmi and Honor watches. It is also the same 94 %.

Workout Modes

OK, now let’s look at workout modes.

The Redmi Watch 4 has more than 150 sports modes, but the main ones are walking, running, freestyle, hiking, etc.

The Honor Watch 4 has the same walking, cycling, running, swimming modes, but there are also running and fitness courses available.

If we run the same sports modes on the watches, for example, walking, we can see that first they try to connect to the GPS satellites.

Then, there is training duration, distance, pace, heart rate, and other information on the watches.

By swiping left, you can control the music.

Then you can swipe left again on the Honor Watch 4 and see your movement map and check the weather.

However, the main feature of the Honor smartwatch is that you can press the physical button on the side and minimize the workout mode. After that, you can use other functions of the watch. Any time, you can return to the workout mode.

When you press the crown on Redmi Watch 4, it only prompts you to pause or finish the workout.

I think the Honor Watch 4 has a big advantage here.

Built-in GPS

Since both watches have a built-in GPS, I have to test them outdoors.

I started walking mode on these watches and walked for 30 minutes.

After completing the sports mode, we can see movement maps on both smartwatches.

The Redmi Watch 4 says that I have walked 2.55 km and 2998 steps.

The distance on the Honor Watch 4 is 2.58 km and 3108 steps.

As you can see, the difference is not very big. However, I trust the Redmi watch more than the Honor smartwatch, because the latter counts the distance even when it is just lying on the table. I already talked about this in the full review.

I didn’t notice this problem on Redmi Watch 4.

Battery

Talking about battery, on paper, the Redmi smartwatch has a longer battery life – up to 20 days, while the Honor Watch 4 has 14 days. However, it highly depends on your usage, such as Always-On display, screen brightness, sports modes with GPS, and much more.

I would say that both have about 10 days of battery life in normal use.

Conclusion

So, I didn’t really like the Redmi Watch 4 at first, and I expected the Honor Watch 4 to be much better. However, it is also not perfect.

Anyway, when choosing between these watches, I would settle for the Honor Watch 4 because it has a more compact design with a nice, rounded screen, a built-in memory and direct connection of earphones to the watch, so you can listen to music without a smartphone, and multitasking support in sports mode.

However, if you want a watch to track your movements while running, walking or cycling, then the Redmi Watch 4 will probably be better because the GPS tracking is more accurate.