The HUAWEI Watch GT 2 is the latest smartwatch from Huawei. I have been wearing it since September and finally, I feel that it is appropriate to give my opinion on it.
My review unit is the HUAWEI Watch GT 2 Sports Edition in 46mm casing (RRP: S$268). I will be talking more about daily usage than on the workout features (not feeling well these few weeks. Therefore have to skip my exercise).
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Introduction
The HUAWEI Watch GT 2 is not the first smartwatch from Huawei and with the experience of the HUAWEI Watch GT, it continues to use Huawei LiteOS as the watch OS. Hardware-wise, the HUAWEI Watch GT 2 has the addition of the latest Kirin A1 chip.
With the Kirin A1 chip, the HUAWEI Watch GT 2 is supposed to have a faster Bluetooth transmission speed.
First Look
This is the box of the HUAWEI Watch GT 2
There are not many things in the box. You have the Watch GT 2, the charging cable, the charging dock, and a Quick Start Guide.
One of the biggest physical differences between the HUAWEI Watch GT and the HUAWEI Watch GT 2 is the piece of glass on the display. The glass on the HUAWEI Watch GT 2 flushes right to the edge. If you have touch the HUAWEI Watch GT, you can feel the groove at the dial area (not flushed).
Here is another angle showing the glass.
On the back, it has the sensors to detect your heart rate and etc.
Here is how big the 46mm watch face is as compared to my hand.
I think it has become the standard that all straps come with the quick-release mechanism (as shown below).
Here is the rubber strap with the branding imprinted on it. I think Huawei can skip this in its future edition.
Here is the buckle with the branding on it.
The charging dock is my favorite. It is so small and can be connected with a USB-C cable. Check out the size of the dock as compared to the watch.
Here is how it looks when the smartwatch is being charged.
Battery
This is, in my opinion, the best feature of the watch. I don’t know how Huawei did it, the Watch GT 2 is able to sustain for 10 days before it needs a charge. On paper, it states that the battery life is about 14 days.
Based on actual scenarios (without workout), the battery lasted around 10 days. Here is how each charge lasted for the past month.
- Charge 1: 21st September – 30th September
- Charge 2: 1st October – 10th October
- Charge 3: 10th October to 21st October
For a Smart Watch, this is a feat. If you turn on the all-day screen, it will last about 7 days.
- Charge 4: 21st October to 27th October
As you can see from below, I charged it on 21st Oct and turned on the all-day display. On the 27th Oct morning, it is left with 14% of battery life. And in the evening, it has dropped to 6%.
The battery life is incredible as the watch is not only showing the time, but it is also capturing your heart rate, stress level, and even your sleep pattern.
Charging speed
I love the charging speed. From my experience, from about 6% to fully charge is about 1 hour and 25 minutes. If you are in a hurry, it takes about an hour to charge up to 90%.
APP
The only app you need to use with the HUAWEI Watch GT 2 is the Huawei Health app.
In the app, you can add devices like Smart Watch, Smart Band, Weighing Scale or Heart Rate Monitors.
On the home page of the app, you can see your steps taken, workout done, heart rate, Sleep information, weight and Stress Level.
For different notifications to appear on the watch, you will need to go to Devices on the Health App, click on the device (smartwatch) and configure the notification based on the apps on your phone.
However, I think Huawei needs to work on the notification information. I feel that they are inconsistent. Sometimes, I can read a few lines (e.g. from WhatsApp). At times, I can only see some information.
Heart Rate Monitor, Sleep Pattern and Stress Levels
These features come with the smartwatch. What you need is to activate them so that they can monitor you via the sensors. To do that, you will need to go to the Health app, select your device and enable the settings.
Some information on these features. Huawei employs these core technologies to monitor you.
For example, for TruSleep, it monitors the sleep and let you know your sleep pattern the next day.
And for TruSeen, which measures your heart rate, it will continue to monitor when you are sleeping.
Huawei is careful not to disturb you in your sleep. Therefore, the HUAWEI watch GT 2 automatically changes the usual heart rate reading (with green light) to infra-red which will not emit any light out.
And for TruRelax, it monitors your Stress Level. It is interesting to see if you are stressed out in certain situations.
Based on my personal experience, my stress level shoots up to the highest level when I was not feeling well and vomited.
Others
There are other features that I did not try. For example, keeping music inside the internal storage of the Watch GT 2, or playing the music via the speaker of the watch.
I don’t think the speaker will do any justice to any song. As for calling via the watch, I only did it once but I don’t think I would do it often, especially in an open area.
There is one feature that I really need to mention. It has a very long connection range. I am pleasantly surprised that the watch and phone are still connected when they are quite far apart (more than 20 or 30 meters with walls).
Summary
As a smartwatch, the HUAWEI Watch GT 2 has incredible battery life and has options to adjust accordingly to your lifestyle.
For example, there are options to change the watch face to suit the mood or to have the watch to be always viewable with its all-day display feature.
With its built-in features like heart-rate, sleep and stress monitor, it can help you to understand more about your habits or yourself and to detects if there are any underlying issues (for example, heart rate becomes irregular for a period of time).
At the pricing of S$268, I think the HUAWEI Watch GT 2 is affordable for most people who needed a feature-rich smartwatch.
I really hope that Huawei can make the future smartwatch with wireless charging. From my understanding, they have thought about it but decided against it for this HUAWEI Watch GT 2 as it is not up to their expectations yet.