Honor teases a minimalist, mystery smartwatch

Honor teases a minimalist, mystery smartwatch

Update: The new smartwatch that had been teased earlier this week has been revealed as the Huawei Zero.

It's called "Zero" because it has no buttons, and is instead controlled just by its touchscreen. It will also come with IP68 water resistance, a light sensor and health and activity monitors.

According to a Weibo post, which has since been removed but reported by SlashGear, the Zero smartwatch will be able to last up to four days on a single charge.

With its circular face it looks like Huawei will be pitting the Zero up against the popular Moto 360, and it's expected that Huawei's wearble will be quite a bit cheaper than Motorola's offering.

Apparently the Zero watch will be released sometime in August 2015.

Original news story follows...

Wearables are hot right now, so it's no surprise manufacturers are falling over themselves to get a foothold in the market, and Huawei is now teasing a new mystery device.

A cheeky tweet sent out this week reads: "#Honor's smart wearable device that embodies a minamalistic design, that's #HonorBandZero. #HuaweiFacts"

It's accompanied by a picture of the Honor Band Zero, although its circular screen is turned off meaning we don't know if it's running Android Wear like the Huawei Watch, or the firm's own software like the Talkband B2.

The Band Zero is set to be the first wearable to come out of Huawei's sub-brand Honor, which focusses its sales online and minimising marketing, helping to reduce the cost of its products.

Fitness freak?

The fact Huawei describes the Band Zero as a "smart wearable device" rather than a smartwatch suggests this could be a fitness orientated offering to take on the likes of Jawbone, Misfit and Fitbit, rather than the Apple Watch and LG Watch Urbane.

There's no further information on the Honor Band Zero, and we've contacted both Huawei and Honor in our quest to dig a little deeper.

In terms of a Band Zero release date we're drawn towards IFA 2015 in Berlin during the first week of September - so keep your eyes peeled.

John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.