HONOR Watch 6 Launches With One Month More Battery Life Than Apple And Samsung

HONOR launched the Watch 6 globally today, following the HONOR Watch 6 Plus launch in China on May 25. The new smartwatch is the successor to the HONOR Watch 5 launched two years ago. I covered the 15-day battery life Watch 5 Ultra launch at MWC 2025. HONOR also introduced the Watch 5 Pro on October 15, 2025.

With the Watch 6, HONOR is delivering longer battery life, a brighter display, more sports features, and stronger water resistance.

The most impressive feature is battery life, leaving Samsung and Apple in the dust. The battery gets a massive upgrade with a 980mAh capacity and up to 35 days of typical use, according to HONOR. By comparison, Apple’s flagship Apple Watch Ultra 3 is rated for up to 42 hours, or up to 72 hours in Low Power Mode. Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Ultra does better at up to 100 hours in power-saving mode, but HONOR’s 35-day claim sets a new bar for premium smartwatches.

To be fair, the HONOR Watch 6 runs on MagicOS instead of Wear OS, which is why it delivers significantly longer battery life. The tradeoff is that the user cannot install Google Play Store apps directly onto the device. Instead, the watch apps are easily managed through the HONOR Health companion app on any Android phone. Additionally, any Google notifications received on the phone will mirror perfectly to the watch.

For example, to get access to active Google Maps turn-by-turn directions via third-party tools like Navigation Wear or Navigation Watch. These applications run on the phone and display the active Google Maps turn-by-turn directions, distances, and vibration alerts directly on the watch screen. I would certainly accept the trade-off to get a high-end smartwatch that delivers over a month of battery life.

On the display side, the Watch 6 features a 1.46-inch AMOLED screen with a 464 x 464 resolution, 317 PPI, and up to 3,000-nit peak brightness. Compared to the Watch 5 Ultra, the key upgrade is the much brighter screen, which should be easier to read outdoors.

On the fitness side, the watch supports more than 120 sports and health modes, including a professional football mode with heat maps and trajectory data. Compared to previous models, the Watch 6 adds a stronger sports focus with football analysis, badminton smash-speed tracking, trail-running tools, AI running coaching, and route-deviation alerts.

The Watch 6 also comes with 5 ATM and IP69 water and dust resistance, plus wet-hand touch control, which will help when using the screen during workouts, rain, or swimming. The 5 ATM rating means the watch can withstand pressure equivalent to a depth of 50 meters, making it fine for shallow-water activities such as swimming in a pool or at the beach, but not for diving, hot showers, saunas, or high-speed water sports. 

For health tracking, the Watch 6 monitors heart rate, blood oxygen, stress, body energy, and sleep. The Quick Health Scan provides a fast snapshot of key wellness indicators, while daily reports offer a morning summary.

When it comes to smart features, the Watch 6 supports dual-phone pairing, notifications, NFC payments, wrist-twist gestures, an AI Recorder with smart summaries, and video watch faces that use live photos or short clips. Compared to earlier models, the smart upgrade is less about app bloating and more about user-friendly controls, better personalization, and more phone-free daily features.

In the UK, the black fluoroelastomer strap model costs £229.99, while the brown leather version costs £249.99. Early-bird subscriber offers from June 18 to July 17 lower them to £149.99 and £169.99, with HONOR CHOICE Earbuds Clip included. In Germany, launch pricing starts at €169.90 for black and €189.90 for brown leather.

Filed in Apple >Cellphones >General. Read more about Apple, Honor and Samsung.