The Honor Band 9 has emerged in a Bluetooth SIG filing, hinting that the budget fitness tracker could be close to an official release.
Two versions of the Honor Band 9 - marked as RH-B19 and RH-B39, as shown below - are referenced in the filing first uncovered on Reddit, which could potentially hint at different case sizes or price points for the first time.
It's also entirely possible it relates to a China-only NFC version and the non-NFC global version, as we're accustomed to seeing with these kinds of cheaper fitness bands.
Bluetooth SIG
Aside from this, though, and the fact that both will be equipped with Bluetooth 5.3, the filing doesn't tell us much about the Honor Band 9.
In itself, it's a bit of a surprise to see one being prepared at all.
The Honor Band 7 was the last generation to launch, and Chinese brands don't typically avoid an eighth-gen moniker (as they almost always do with fourth-gen devices, due to the perception of bad luck).
Instead, the Honor Band 8 being skipped over could be to help align the company's fitness tracker line with Huawei's, which did see a Band 8 version release last year.
The two Chinese companies are no longer officially tied, of course, but the wearable divisions are still very, very closely aligned in design and features.
Until an official announcement from Honor, we won't know for sure whether that link will remain for another generation. But, thanks to this leak, we now know we probably don't have to wait long to find out.
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Conor moved to Wareable Media Group in 2017, initially covering all the latest developments in smartwatches, fitness trackers, and VR. He made a name for himself writing about trying out translation earbuds on a first date and cycling with a wearable airbag, as well as covering the industry’s latest releases.
Following a stint as Reviews Editor at Pocket-lint, Conor returned to Wareable Media Group in 2022 as Editor-at-Large. Conor has become a wearables expert, and helps people get more from their wearable tech, via Wareable's considerable how-to-based guides.
He has also contributed to British GQ, Wired, Metro, The Independent, and The Mirror.