The Honor Watch 5 Ultra looks stunning, but the software drops the ball

Honor Watch 5 Ultra with brown leather strap
(Image credit: Honor)

What you need to know

  • The Watch 5 Ultra boasts a titanium build with a mix of matte and polished finishes, paired with a 22mm strap in black fluoroelastomer or dark brown leather.
  • It sports a 1.5-inch LTPO AMOLED with a 60Hz refresh rate and up to 15 days of battery life.
  • The watch runs on Honor’s MagicOS, but works with both Android and iOS.

Honor has unveiled the Watch 5 Ultra, its latest shot at taking on the top Android smartwatches and a premium upgrade to the Watch series.

The company's latest smartwatch is a key piece of its bigger AI push, which Honor flaunted at MWC 2025. It’s not just about the watch—Honor is rolling out a whole lineup of devices, like the AI-boosted Honor MagicBook Pro 14, the Honor Pad V9, and the Honor Earbuds Open.

Honor also promises seven years of Android updates for its smartphones.

The Honor Watch 5 Ultra stands out with its bold design. The titanium build blends a rounded display with sharp edges, mixing matte and polished finishes for a sleek look.

Inside its bold frame, the Honor Watch 5 Ultra packs a 1.5-inch AMOLED display with LTPO tech and a 60Hz refresh rate. The always-on display and adaptive refresh rates help save power, and Honor claims its 480mAh battery can last up to 15 days on a full charge.

You’ve got a simple two-button setup here—a customizable shortcut key and a handy rotary crown for easy navigation. It's also packed with all the health sensors you’d expect and even supports wireless charging.

Right out of the gate, this watch brings handy features to the table. There’s the Quick Health Scan, which gives you a fast, detailed check on how your body’s doing. Plus, it rolls out a Healthy Morning Report to give you a snapshot of your energy and readiness for the day.

One big caveat is that it doesn’t run on Wear OS. Instead, the Honor Watch Ultra 5 uses Honor’s own MagicOS. While that might be a dealbreaker for some, it still works smoothly with both Android and iOS.

Honor has priced the Watch 5 Ultra at €279, as revealed during its Barcelona keynote. It comes with a 22mm strap, available in black fluoroelastomer or dark brown leather.

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Jay Bonggolto
News Writer & Reviewer

Jay Bonggolto always keeps a nose for news. He has been writing about consumer tech and apps for as long as he can remember, and he has used a variety of Android phones since falling in love with Jelly Bean. Send him a direct message via Twitter or LinkedIn.