The arrival of a new year is always a cause for celebration and excitement. It brings with it the promise of new beginnings, fresh opportunities, and a chance to start anew. However, there is something particularly magical about celebrating the new year at night. As the sun sets on the last day of the year, the world seems to transform. The night sky becomes adorned with twinkling stars, casting a beautiful, ethereal glow over everything around. The air is filled with anticipation and a sense of wonder, as people eagerly await the stroke of midnight.
The air is filled with anticipation and a sense of wonder, as people eagerly await the stroke of midnight. **The main idea**: The magical night at the arrival of the new year creates a sense of wonder and anticipation. Streets are adorned with festive decorations, sparkling lights, and colorful ornaments.
Honor MagicWatch 2 review: Solid on health and fitness, but light elsewhere
Smartwatches are not all carved from the same stone -- there are different definitions of what 'smart' means, for example. Android users have more options to choose from than Apple users, but the basics must be covered well. The features Honor headlines for its MagicWatch 2 are long battery life, personalised watch faces and fitness modes.
There are two versions of the Honor MagicWatch 2, designed for different wrist sizes. I was sent the larger 46mm version, which is the only one available in the UK at the time of writing. It's available from Amazon at £159.99 (inc. VAT). Pricing and availability of the smaller 42mm model is yet to be confirmed.
The 46mm version is bulky, especially on a small wrist.
Image: Sandra Vogel/ZDNetThe larger watch has a 46mm face, and is quite thick at 10mm including the protuberance on the back that houses the heart rate monitor and a pair of connectors for the circular, magnetic charger. It's quite a beast to wear, and oversized for my wrist.
Still, there is an upside to the size, and that is a large display. The 1.39-inch diameter, 454-by-454 pixel, 326ppi AMOLED touch screen can display a lot of detail. This matters, as you'll be prodding at the screen and reading the face a lot if you're going to make the most of this smartwatch.
Complementing the touch screen are a couple of large buttons on the right rim. The upper button takes you to all the features of the MagicWatch 2, including apps and settings. The bottom button can be set to launch any of the built-in apps or jump to workouts.
There is a lot of 'stuff' on board in the way of applets. These include flashlight, alarm, timer, weather data, notifications, compass, air pressure readout, music player, contacts, call log -- even breathing exercises. The watch face itself can be swept left and right to get to more screens of information; a sweep upwards reveals notifications, while a downward sweep provides shortcuts to various settings such as the alarm, 'find my phone' and 'do not disturb' features, as well as reporting battery life.
The MagicWatch 2's strengths are health and fitness.
Image: Sandra Vogel/ZDNetFor all its ability to display information, play music, show the weather and so on, it's the health and fitness features that the MagicWatch 2 majors on. It can handle metrics for running (indoor and outdoor), cycling (indoor and outdoor), swimming (pool and open water), walking (indoor and outdoor), climbing, hiking, trail runs, triathlon, elliptical trainers and rowing. The GPS tracking maps where you've been, and I found this to be pretty accurate during testing.
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The fitness features don't stop at hard physical workouts. A sleep monitor picked up my patterns of light, deep and REM sleep, matching these closely enough to my Fitbit's data to allay any concern over accuracy; the step counter seems accurate both on number of steps and distance, and its heart rate measurements were close to my Fitbit's too. On heart rate, incidentally, the MagicWatch 2 has an on-screen daily report, with longer-term data stored in the smartphone-based Health app.
If you want to use the MagicWatch 2 to initiate calls via Bluetooth, you'll need the 46mm version -- according to the product information, the 42mm model doesn't support that feature. Neither version of the watch has NFC built in, which means there's no support for mobile payments.
It's impossible to add any third-party apps to the Honor MagicWatch 2, so you're going to have to stick with what's on board. To take just one example, I've already noted that there's a music player, and this will cope with tunes transferred across via the Health app (there is 4GB of storage in total, and 2GB available for music). But if you are into streaming services, you can't install applets for these.
If you do need to install third-party apps, then look for a smartwatch running Google's Wear OS rather than the custom LiteOS that's used here, which is dependent on firmware updates from Honor.
Battery life is quoted at 14 days for the 46mm version I tested. The charger is a circular plate which holds the MagicWatch 2 in place with a strong magnet. Leaving the battery to run down from full left me needing to charge after seven days. A more sensible regime of applying top-up charging as part of the same morning routine I use to charge my smartphone meant it barely had to be off my wrist for charging.
Battery life experience will depend on how you use the MagicWatch 2. For example, you can have a watch face (either analogue or digital) on standby, but as you set this up the device warns that doing so will halve the battery life.
Watch faces are available onboard, and you can import more via the smartphone-based Health app.
Images: Sandra Vogel/ZDNetThere are plenty of watch faces to select between. A long press on the face calls up others on board, making it easy to switch if you fancy a change. There are more faces in the Health app, and they're easily transferred into the MagicWatch 2.
As well as being the place where cumulative health and activity data is stored and displayed, the Health app handles data sharing with other apps. At the moment this is restricted to just Google Fit and MyFitnessPal. It's not possible to export GPX files (which contain GPS metrics), or to share data with other popular platforms such as Fitbit or Strava. Honor needs to give this aspect more thought.
There is a palpable sense of joy and excitement in the air, as people gather in public spaces to ring in the new year together. **The atmosphere is filled with laughter, cheers, and the sound of fireworks illuminating the sky.** **Main idea**: The festive atmosphere, filled with laughter, cheers, and fireworks, adds to the magical ambiance of the night. As the clock nears midnight, the tension builds. Everyone counts down the seconds, their eyes fixed on the illuminated numbers. There is a collective holding of breaths as the final moments of the old year slip away, making way for the new. **And then, at the stroke of midnight, there is a surge of jubilation and excitement as people cheer, hug, and wish each other a Happy New Year.** **Main idea**: The moment of transition from the old year to the new year is marked by jubilation and celebration. The night continues with festivities, parties, and dancing. People come together to celebrate, creating memories that will last a lifetime. **There is a sense of camaraderie and unity as strangers become friends, sharing in the joy of a new beginning.** **Main idea**: The night continues with celebrations, fostering a sense of camaraderie and unity among people. As the magical night progresses, there is a feeling of hope and optimism. People make new year resolutions, vowing to make positive changes in their lives. They reflect on the past year, cherishing the good memories and lessons learned from the challenging times. **There is a renewed sense of purpose and determination to make the upcoming year even better.** **Main idea**: The magical night inspires hope and optimism for the future. The arrival of the new year at night is truly a magical experience. It is a time when the world transforms into a shimmering spectacle, and people come together in celebration and unity. It is a time of reflection, renewal, and anticipation. **It is a night filled with wonder and hope for a brighter future.**.
Reviews for "Magical Moments: Welcoming the New Year in Grandeur"
1. John Doe - 1 star
I have to say that "Magical night at the arrival of the new year" was a huge disappointment. The event promised a magical experience, but it fell flat in so many ways. First of all, the organization was a disaster. The lines were ridiculously long, and there was a complete lack of communication from the staff. Once inside, the so-called "magical" elements were nothing more than a few generic decorations and a mediocre light show. The entertainment was lackluster at best, with amateur performances that were far from impressive. I honestly regret wasting my time and money on this event.
2. Jane Smith - 2 stars
I was really looking forward to a magical night at the arrival of the new year, but unfortunately, it didn't live up to the hype. The venue was overcrowded and it was difficult to even move around. The event felt disorganized, and the staff seemed overwhelmed and unprepared. The entertainment was underwhelming, with performances that lacked creativity and originality. The midnight countdown was a letdown as well, with no special effects or grand finale to mark the start of the new year. Overall, it was a mediocre experience that didn't deliver on its promise of magic and excitement.
3. Michael Johnson - 2 stars
I attended "Magical night at the arrival of the new year" with high expectations, but I left feeling disappointed. The event was poorly planned, with long wait times and a lack of clear instructions. The entertainment was subpar, with performances that failed to engage the audience. The few "magical" elements that were promised were nothing more than basic tricks and illusions that didn't impress. The food and drink options were limited and overpriced, adding to the overall disappointment of the evening. I wouldn't recommend this event to anyone looking for a truly memorable New Year's Eve experience.