The Honor Watch 5 Ultra is undeniably a beautiful smartwatch. From the sleek titanium build to the crisp AMOLED display, this timepiece exudes premium craftsmanship. But while the hardware is top-notch, the software experience falls flat, making me long for Wear OS.
A Premium Design That Impresses
At first glance, the Honor Watch 5 Ultra is a gorgeous piece of technology. The 46mm titanium chassis strikes the perfect balance between durability and elegance, blending matte and glossy finishes seamlessly. It’s paired with a 22mm watch band, available in either a black fluoroelastomer strap or a dark brown leather option, giving users flexibility in style.
The 1.5-inch AMOLED display is sharp and vibrant, housed within a 5ATM/IP68 water-resistant body. On the right side, you’ll find two physical controls—a rotating crown and a customizable shortcut button, adding to the premium feel. The watch also includes comprehensive health tracking sensors and supports wireless charging, ticking all the right boxes for a high-end smartwatch.
Software That Feels Restrictive
While the hardware is nearly perfect, the software is where things start to unravel.
Honor has opted for its own custom operating system, which is fast but severely limited. There’s no mobile payment support, and app selection is minimal. The built-in watch faces are basic, with very little customization—and if you prefer digital faces over analog, you’ll find the selection disappointing.
Even trying to download additional watch faces is a struggle. Honor offers a “Watch Face Market” in its Health app, but on my Oppo Find N5, I couldn’t get a single face to load or download. The Health app itself is functional for tracking stats, but beyond that, it feels cluttered and disorganized.
Frustrating Notification Handling
One of the biggest letdowns is how the Honor Watch 5 Ultra handles notifications.
While you do get previews of incoming messages, that’s about all you can do—there’s no way to interact with them. Even worse, group chat notifications are handled terribly. Instead of showing the latest messages in a thread, the watch keeps displaying the same first notification over and over until you manually clear it.
This inconsistency is infuriating. At one point, my watch vibrated dozens of times for new messages, but never showed a preview. Then, after dismissing older notifications, it suddenly started displaying them correctly. This makes the watch practically useless for staying connected without pulling out your phone.
Battery Life Is Fantastic—But at What Cost?
The one area where Honor’s custom OS shines is battery life. The Watch 5 Ultra lasts over a week on a single charge, and after seven days of use, I was still at 50% battery.
But is this trade-off worth it? I’d argue no.
Wear OS has significantly improved battery efficiency in recent years, with smartwatches now comfortably lasting 1-3 days on a single charge. So, while the Watch 5 Ultra’s battery life is impressive, I’d rather sacrifice a couple of extra days for a better software experience.
Honor Should Embrace Wear OS
The Honor Watch 5 Ultra is a premium smartwatch, and at €279, it’s not cheap. The problem is, you can get a much more affordable smartwatch with similar battery life and a better user experience.
Honor’s hardware is fantastic, but its software is holding it back. Switching to Wear OS would fix many of these issues—it would give users access to Google Play apps, seamless notifications, and better watch face support. Plus, Wear OS is customizable, meaning Honor could still add its own unique touch without limiting functionality.
Honor has built a stunning smartwatch, but it deserves better software.
What do you think? Would you buy the Watch 5 Ultra, or do you prefer Wear OS-powered alternatives?
