Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Wearables
  3. News

This over-engineered smartwatch has two cameras and it morphs into an action cam

Huawei’s new kids’ watch is basically a tiny action cam in disguise

Add as a preferred source on Google
Huawei Kids Watch X1 Pro Promo Material
Huawei

Huawei’s latest smartwatch is the kind of gadget that sounds overbuilt in the most fascinating way. The Huawei Watch Kids X1 Pro is a wearable built for children with a detachable design, dual cameras, location tracking, video calling, parental controls, and enough camera tricks to make it feel like a tiny action cam slapped on a wrist.

How this smartwatch wants to be a camera

The standout feature of a smartwatch is surprisingly the camera setup. Huawei has fitted the Watch Kids X1 Pro with a 5-megapixel front camera and a 13-megapixel rear camera. The watch can rotate 360 degrees and stand upright, letting kids adjust the angle for selfies, group photos, and video calls. It can even be detached from the watch strap and slot into an included camera case to become a palm-sized camera.

Huawei also claims the front camera is an industry-first 110-degree ultra-wide-angle camera for this category, which should make group shots easier on the watch’s 1.82-inch AMOLED display. There are timer modes, 14 filter sets, and more than 100 stickers, although Huawei notes that the filter feature will arrive through an OTA update.

Recommended Videos

Storage is another big number. The watch comes with 64GB of internal storage, which Huawei says is enough for more than 5,000 HD photos, depending on available space and file size.

Why it’s perfect for parents

For all the camera weirdness, this is still primarily a kids’ smartwatch. Huawei has included five-mode dual-band satellite positioning, base station tracking, dual-band Wi-Fi positioning, sensor-assisted positioning, and SOS-assisted location features. Parents can also set safe zones and get alerts when children enter or leave certain areas.

The SOS feature lets kids press the side button five times to send an emergency message or make a call, but you do need a SIM card. The watch also supports global 2G, 3G, and 4G connectivity, along with voice calls, photo messages, and Huawei MeeTime. The Watch Kids X1 Pro also includes all-day heart tracking, activity tracking, emotional health hints, app blocking, sleep mode, and automatic rejection of calls or texts for unknown numbers.

Other notable features include an 850mAh battery with magnetic charging, IPX9 + IPX8 and 2ATM rating for water resistance. Huawei has made some impressive smartwatches in the past, with advanced health tracking. But this model seems closer to a tiny GoPro for kids to play around with.

Vikhyaat Vivek
Vikhyaat Vivek is a tech journalist and reviewer with seven years of experience covering consumer hardware, with a focus on…
Wearables are helping the elderly as record heat blasts across Europe
As Europe bakes, a simple bracelet is helping keep Rome’s elderly safe
Seremy is a watch being used in Rome for the elderly

Smartbands or smartwatches immediately make you think of some wearable built for keeping track of your health and physical activities. But in Rome, they are being used to help the elderly. The new watches are being deployed to senior citizens to help them stay safe during the dangerous heatwave that has swept across Europe.

According to Reuters, the city is using electronic bracelets as part of a €400 million support scheme for older residents. The program, backed by EU post-COVID funding, currently covers about 700 people.

Read more
Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 could get a blindingly bright display, but I’m worried about the tax
Samsung Galaxy Watch

If there’s one thing that annoys me about using a smartwatch outdoors, it’s squinting at the screen under bright sunlight. Whether I’m checking directions on a walk or glancing at a notification while cycling, a dim display can quickly turn a premium smartwatch into a guessing game.

That’s why the latest Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 leak immediately caught my attention. But after reading through it, I couldn’t shake one nagging thought: all these upgrades probably won’t come cheap.

Read more
Doctors built an AI stress pal that picks body signals form your smartwatch and earbuds
This AI therapy system prototype can spot when you need help even before you ask
AI therapist representative image generated using AI

There are already plenty of mental-health chatbots online, but they all run into the same problem. The user still has to reach out first. That is not always easy when someone is stressed, anxious, overwhelmed, or simply unsure how to put their feelings into words.

Researchers at the University of Ottawa are working on a different kind of AI assistant. It is designed to read emotional cues in real time through signals from devices people already use, including smartwatches, smartphones, and earbuds.

Read more