Hello everyone!
This year, my kid started school, and we needed to get a way for him to stay connected. We were torn between getting a phone or a watch, but we ultimately decided on a watch because it's more likely to stay on his wrist. My partner did some research and ended up choosing the Huawei Watch Kids 4 Pro.
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KEY FEATURES:
Brand - HUAWEI
Watch shape - Rectangle
For kids - Yes
Number of processor cores - 2
Operating system - HarmonyOS
Compatibility - Android, iOS
Minimum supported Android version - 6.0
Features - USB, wireless charging, magnetic charging, flashlight
We bought the watch in August, and at the time, it cost us 7680 rubles.
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EXTERIOR DESIGN AND PACKAGING:
The watch arrived in a cardboard box with the company's logo:
Since we have a boy, we naturally chose the blue color:
The watch came with a magnetic charging cable, which was a bit confusing for my kid at first, but he eventually figured it out and learned to charge the watch himself.
The watch is comfortable to wear, with a soft silicone strap that doesn't irritate my kid's wrist:
One of the first things I noticed was the SIM card slot on one side: And on the other side, the screen activation buttons: On the back, there are two metal sensors that the charging dock magnetically attaches to: The standard watch face with the astronaut, but you can choose another option:xa0
DESCRIPTION FROM THE MANUFACTURER:
The Huawei Watch Kids 4 Pro in a lightweight plastic case comes with an elastic silicone strap. The 1.41" square touchscreen display provides easy control. The model supports Nano-SIM card installation, Wi-Fi, GPS, and GLONASS location determination. The water-resistant case can withstand pressures up to 5 atm.
Sensitive sensors help the Huawei Watch Kids 4 Pro track steps, teach kids to swim, and other training. The "Do Not Disturb" mode turns off sounds during lessons. The device is equipped with an alarm, flashlight, gesture control, and other functions. The 5MP camera allows you to take photos and videos, view them in the gallery, and send them to other devices.
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MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE WATCH:
First things first, you'll need to buy a SIM card and connect the watch to your kids' smartphones. We chose a tariff from MTS for our SIM card.
Connecting the watch required downloading the Huawei app - here's the orange icon you're looking for:
The app's interface is super straightforward and easy to use - you can track your kid's location, but the map doesn't show house numbers, so it takes a bit to figure out where they are.Here's what the app looks like - you can even customize the watch face color and set it as your home screen instead of those boring grey clock faces:
The app also has chat features, where you can send your kid personal messages or join a family chat. Since my son's still learning to read, we're just using emojis for now. The watch has a camera, which means you can make video calls through the app.The camera's not bad, considering the tiny screen - you can still see the caller clearly. If you're offline, you'll have to resort to regular voice calls. The watch has a ton of apps, some of which are actually useful, in my opinion.
Watch features:
Altimeter, barometer, alarm, vibration, gyroscope, light sensor, dynamic speaker, calendar, SOS button, compass, microphone, camera, stopwatch, timer, pedometer
It's got an alarm feature:
I've been impressed with the additional features on this watch, like the flashlight and compass. The compass, in particular, has been accurate. You can also track your daily steps, sun exposure, and physical activity time. The watch has a weather app, a photo gallery where my son can store his favorite pictures, and a games app. All incoming messages are reflected in the child's notifications, as well as in my and my husband's incoming messages in the app. The interface is user-friendly, and my son has been able to navigate it with ease.In the first few days of use, my son was fascinated by the watch and kept tapping on it. As a result, the back panel would overheat, and the watch would shut down all apps except for the audio alarm. To be honest, this was frustrating, so I turned off the overheating feature. Now, the watch may still get hot, but my son is using all the features, and the overheating isn't an issue.
I've got to say, the battery life on these watches is pretty good. I've been using them for a week now, and even with heavy usage, they last a whole day. If I'm not using them much, they can even make it to two days without needing a recharge.
One thing that's really bugged me, though, is how quickly the watch face gets tired-looking. Within 10 minutes of wearing them, the watch face already looks like it's exhausted. That's definitely a minus in my book.
Another thing I'm not a fan of is the lack of a proximity sensor. It would be really useful to be able to connect with my son and hear what's going on around him, but it's not an option on these watches.
And to make matters worse, there's no sensor to track when the watch is removed from my son's wrist. We've already had an incident where he forgot the watch at school, and we had to go back to pick it up. Not ideal.
On the plus side, the strap is nice and long, so it fits both my son's wrist and mine. It's a nice touch, and it's definitely a plus.
I've been impressed with how the watches look on my son's wrist. They're not too bulky, and they have a really stylish design.
THE VERDICT:
These watches have a lot of features, but some of them are pretty unnecessary. The GPS tracking, video calls, and messaging are all great, but they do require the parent app to be installed on our phones and connected to the watch. It's not a huge deal, but it's something to consider.
The only downsides I've noticed are that the watch can get pretty hot when you're using it intensively, and the map tracking doesn't show house numbers - you kind of have to guess where you are. Plus, there's no alert when the kid takes the watch off their wrist.
After using these watches for almost 4 months now, I can confidently say that the model is great, comfortable, and stylish. My kid loves wearing them. I'd give it a solid 4 out of 5 stars!