Honor's super cheap A2 fitness tracker arrives with heart rate and OLED display

But the budget band is only available in China for now
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Adding another budget fitness tracker to the family, Honor has unveiled the Honor Band A2.

The Chinese company's latest iteration will now feature a heart rate monitor and a 0.96-inch screen, with the strap also coming available in four different colours — black, red, yellow and white.

Read this: Best fitness trackers

As standard with fitness trackers, the device is able to keep tabs on your steps and a number of activities, including running, cycling and walking, with the added bonus of this data now being displayed in real time.

In terms of further specs, the device will also bring an IP67 rating to the table, meaning it can tackle dust and withstand water submersion of up to 1m for up to 30 mins, and a 95mAh battery, which Honor claims will allow users to go nine days without hooking up to a charger. This can also be stretched out to 18 days of standby time if you're not an everyday wearer.

The display won't just be for looking at some basic exercise data, either, as notification support is also included. This means that you'll be free to pair up your iOS or Android smartphone and receive notifications for emails, texts and calls.

Price and availability for the new Honor Band A2 is where things get interesting. At least for now, it seems the device will only be available in China for 199 yuan — which translates to roughly — starting on 9 June.

With Honor primarily acting as parent company Huawei's budget outlet, it's no surprise to see it retain the light price tag. However, despite the two key additions of HRM and a display, it's still the same price as its predecessor. Then there's the fact that this could make a big dent in sales of the similarly cheap Xiaomi Mi Band 2 sales.

Of course, the big question is whether it's still able to perform the job of everyday tracker to a solid standard and not just offer users a cheap entry point.

No US or UK availability has yet been announced by the company, but expect to see this new device cross over into other territories in the months after its initial launch.

Honor's super cheap A2 fitness tracker arrives with heart rate and OLED display




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Conor Allison

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Conor moved to Wareable Media Group in 2017, initially covering all the latest developments in smartwatches, fitness trackers, and VR. He made a name for himself writing about trying out translation earbuds on a first date and cycling with a wearable airbag, as well as covering the industry’s latest releases.

Following a stint as Reviews Editor at Pocket-lint, Conor returned to Wareable Media Group in 2022 as Editor-at-Large. Conor has become a wearables expert, and helps people get more from their wearable tech, via Wareable's considerable how-to-based guides. 

He has also contributed to British GQ, Wired, Metro, The Independent, and The Mirror. 


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