MEXICO CITY—About two years after Huawei launched a unique gadget that combines a smartwatch with charging capabilities for its own wireless earbuds, a Reebok-branded smartwatch showcased at the Electronics Home Mexico expo presents a similar concept at a reduced cost.
While Huawei’s Watch Buds, released in spring 2023, cleverly hide their earbuds beneath a watch screen that can pop up, the Reebok Watch EB stores them in separate compartments on one side. Seeing this innovative gadget on display piqued my curiosity.
The main draw for local customers is the price. The Huawei smartwatch is priced at 9,999 pesos on Amazon here (approximately $525), while the Reebok watch is only 1,976 pesos ($104).
Moreover, unlike Huawei, which is under a long-term commercial ban by the US government, the Reebok watch, distributed by a local company named Life Works, might eventually enter the US market.
“I’m working to get it into the US,” product manager Julio Faz mentioned in a discussion at the expo, noting that approval from Reebok’s US division for a co-branding agreement would be necessary. He mentioned a lower price of 1,099 pesos, but he was unable to clarify why Amazon lists it at nearly double that amount. The watch was first available in Mexico in January and expanded to other Latin American countries in May.
It boasts a 2.01-inch display, is rated IP67 for water and dust resistance, includes a heart-rate monitor on the back, and has a battery capacity of 345mAh, which the label states can power the earbuds for up to 6 hours of calls. This kind of battery performance is impressive for Bluetooth earbuds; for comparison, JLab’s JBuds Mini, our top pick under $50, offers 5.5 hours of playtime.
Be sure to place the earbud back in the charging compartment. (Credit: Rob Pegoraro)
The smartwatch operates on an unspecified version of Google’s Wear OS. The one on display was customized to such an extent that the “About” section in the system settings didn’t identify it as Wear OS. Adding to the software ambiguity, the manual instructs customers to download a third-party app to connect the watch with their phones.
Retrieving the tiny earbuds from the compartments of a demo unit, which was noticeably bulkier than other Android watches, required a delicate touch with my nails.
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Faz demonstrated the Spotify app on his phone; I chose Wall of Voodoo’s “Mexican Radio” and found the earbuds lacking in bass, resulting in a tinny rendition of the 1982 synth-rock hit. They seem much better suited for phone calls.
Despite my fascination with the multi-functional design of this smartwatch and earbuds, the uncertain software made me hesitant. However, the designers deserve credit for tackling the common issue of misplacing small wireless earbuds after use.
Disclosure: My visit was sponsored by the show’s organizers, who covered travel expenses for a group of North American journalists.
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