Huawei Watch GT 3 Review: Great Look, Impressive Tracking

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The Huawei Watch GT 3 is the newest in Huawei’s wearable line, providing a high-end wristwatch design with sensible options targeted principally on monitoring well being and health and bold two-week battery lifestyles.

It’s a tempting choice then, however does the loss of sensible options like wealthy notification enhance and third-party apps imply it’s extra of a complicated health tracker than a fully-fledged smartwatch? Well…

Design & construct

There’s a sea of smartwatches and health trackers in the marketplace in 2021, however you’ll nonetheless be capable to spot a Huawei-manufactured wearable from a mile off.

The corporate’s smartwatches generally tend to appear the section, extra so than maximum smartwatches, and that’s very true with the Huawei Watch GT 3. There’s a degree of polish unrivaled by way of maximum producers that makes it now not handiest really feel like an actual watch, however a high-end wristwatch at that.

There are two fashions of Watch GT 3 – 42mm and 46mm – however we’ll focal point principally at the greater 46mm fashion as that’s what was once equipped for assessment. The greater Watch GT 3 includes a high-end glass end with an angled bezel that’s totally flush with the polished stainless-steel case, leading to an exact, sumptuous feel and appear that’s enjoyable to run your finger over.

At the center of the Huawei Watch GT 3 you’ll discover a vibrant, detailed 1.43in round AMOLED show that’s greater than vibrant sufficient to be used in direct daylight, and the 466 x 466 answer makes the number of watchfaces to be had at the wearable pop with element. The nature of the massive show additionally way it’s a lot more straightforward to learn small textual content, like incoming notifications, at a look than smaller opponents.

The handiest problem is that the combo of a 46mm case and a 1.43in round AMOLED show way it’s relatively a large smartwatch. I don’t imply thickness – it’s handiest 11mm thick – however in relation to basic proportions. It’s wonderful for greater wrists like mine, however the ones with smaller wrists may wish to go for the smaller Watch GT 3.

The small 42mm variant sports activities a moderately other glance, with a curved glass show offering a miles rounder look comparable to that of the Huawei Watch 3.

Design parts of the Watch GT 3 hark again to old-school wristwatches, together with the second one markings at the external bezel, the rotating crown and a unmarried facet button – a transformation from the Watch GT 2’s two-button setup.

The side-mounted rotatable crown borrowed from the Huawei Watch 3 lets you scroll via messages and menus with out tapping the display for an unhindered scrolling enjoy and it really works about in addition to you’d be expecting. The side-mounted button supplies short get entry to to exercise capability and Huawei’s sensible assistant, however it may be modified should you’d want.

That’s paired with a sumptuous soft-touch brown leather-based strap at the Classic Edition that’ll produce a singular glance because it ages. There’s additionally a fluoroelastomer strap within the Active Edition for activity, and for without equal top rate glance, there’s the chrome steel hyperlink strap with the Elite Edition.

All are same old 22mm straps by way of the best way, making the Watch GT 3 suitable with a variety of third-party straps, and the quick-release strap gadget makes switching straps a breeze. That’s superb, as a result of although the Classic Edition’s leather-based strap appears nice, it’s now not the most productive subject matter for activity – one of the vital Watch GT 3’s key options – however extra on that later.

Smart options

The Huawei Watch GT 3 runs Huawei’s personal HarmonyOS 2.1 out of the field, and whilst it will not be as succesful because the likes of Wear OS and watchOS, there’s one thing to be mentioned for its simplicity and simplicity of use.

There’s a degree of familiarity should you’ve used any contemporary smartwatch. Let’s get started with the watch faces; there are a couple of pre-installed at the Watch, starting from the standard to the exercise-focused, with some providing reside headaches exhibiting information like steps taken, present climate and up to date center price information.

If there aren’t any in your style, you’ll be able to head to the Huawei Health app and skim from an enormous library of third-party watch faces – even supposing most of the easiest include a ticket.

But whilst there are many designs to make a choice from, there’s now not a lot in the best way of watchface customisation. Huawei’s personal watchfaces be offering very restricted customisation choices – like converting the information displayed in headaches – however now not the facility to switch the color scheme or design as with high-end possible choices just like the Apple Watch Series 7 or Samsung Galaxy Watch 4.

Cards, or widgets, may also be discovered to the left and proper of the watch face. Accessible with a swipe left or proper, the playing cards vary from climate to center price or even the present moon section, offering key data at a look in a effectively designed UI.

Pressing the crown will take you to the principle app menu, with a variety of pre-installed apps to make a choice from. The icons are vibrant and vibrant, however with none naming visual, it’s a bit laborious to figure out what every app is first of all – particularly when some icons glance very equivalent. The apps come with center price tracking, tension tracking, exercise monitoring, blood oxygen tracking, barometer and compass.

You may realize a loss of third-party apps from that listing – and that’s as a result of there isn’t enhance for any. That way you received’t be capable to obtain in style watch apps like Spotify or Citymapper, and that does restrict simply how succesful Huawei’s smartwatch may also be in comparison to the contest.

That’s obvious in different ‘sensible’ spaces of the Watch GT 3, together with notifications. You’ll get notifications reflected out of your smartphone, however those handiest show textual content, with out a strategy to engage with out getting your phone from your pocket – and that roughly defeats the item. There’s additionally no emoji enhance, which means any emoji in textual content messages or WhatsApps will come via as stars at the smartwatch.

In many respects, it sort of feels the Huawei Watch GT 3 is extra a health tracker in smartwatch shape than a fully-featured smartwatch. That’s wonderful should you don’t wish to spend your whole time interacting with a smartwatch, but when you wish to have a wearable that’ll actively cut back how a lot time you spend attaining in your smartphone, there are extra succesful choices to be had.

Fitness & activity monitoring

Design apart, it’s the well being and health monitoring features of Huawei’s wearables that lead them to stand proud of the contest – and I’m now not simply speaking in regards to the sheer choice of sensors that let it to seize such detailed data.

The Watch GT 3 will observe your health ranges right through the day the usage of the blood oxygen observe and HR observe, giving you key metrics like energetic hours, energy burnt, and steps taken, in addition to extra complicated metrics like center price, blood oxygen ranges, tension ranges and sleep. It’ll even report small naps mechanically the place maximum opponents require no less than 3 hours of sleep to provide information.

That’s blended with Huawei’s Healthy Living app, to be had as a standalone app at the Watch GT 3 itself, that allows you to create day by day regimen objectives. That can vary from a constant wake and sleep time to hitting a undeniable choice of steps or consuming sufficient water, with the purpose of making improvements to basic lifestyles high quality.

The Watch GT 3 actually excels within the exercise monitoring division, with over 100 types of activity to be had to make a choice from throughout the devoted Workout app, available by the use of a press of the facet button. These vary from same old workouts like jogging, operating, swimming and yoga to extra area of interest workout routines like cross-country snowboarding and mountain climbing, with every offering other metrics relying at the activity in query.

It’s arguably runners that get the most productive enjoy even though. There’s a variety of operating classes to be had each at the Watch GT 3 and the Huawei Health app, starting from freshmen to these operating marathons, designed to strengthen your operating capacity.

That’s paired with an AI Running Coach that’ll shout key metrics at you all through your run (it’s loud sufficient that I heard it over my headphones!) and inspire you to hurry up should you’re a bit sluggish. Just how useful it’s will most probably rely at the person, however I discovered it helpful to notice when my center price was once getting too sluggish or too rapid for the run.  

The monitoring efficiency is exceptional too, with twin GPS features offering a sign nearly right away – no ready round within the chilly – with an impressively correct heatmap, offering peace of thoughts that the Watch GT 3 is as it should be monitoring the whole lot I’m doing.

You’ll get a number of running-specific metrics on-screen (center price zones, distance, tempo) with the bodily facet buttons doubling up as controls to pause and resume monitoring – a at hand characteristic that prevents you from fidgeting with the smartwatch an excessive amount of mid-run.

Post-run you’ll be supplied with a variety of information on display, together with pores and skin temperature, blood oxygen ranges, cadence, and also you’ll even get a ‘Running Ability Index’ that takes all of the information and determines simply how robust a runner you might be. It’s offered in quantity shape, offering a tangible metric that is helping you realize simply how a lot you’re making improvements to through the years.

If you wish to have much more information, you’ll have to move to the Huawei Health app.

Huawei’s better half app for iOS and Android, Huawei Health, gives an Apple-esque breakdown and research of a wide variety of metrics in addition to one of the crucial maximum in-depth and useful sleep monitoring effects I’ve were given from any wearable, providing essentially helpful recommendation that may make a distinction to sleep high quality.

It even works with Apple Health on iOS gadgets, permitting you to export key information like sleep monitoring for a extra holistic review of your present well being developments.

Importantly, Huawei hasn’t long gone down the course of competition like Fitbit that experience locked some information/options in the back of a per thirty days subscription. You get get entry to to all information and lines with no need to spend a penny on a per thirty days subscription – a large plus for health fanatics.

Charging & battery lifestyles

Most smartwatches generally tend to expire of energy after round 24 hours of use – and even much less should you’re rocking an Apple Watch Series 7 – because of this you’ll most probably wish to rate your wearable day by day. It’s now not an enormous inconvenience, however relying on whilst you rate it, chances are you’ll fail to spot sleep monitoring capability.

That’s now not the case with the Huawei Watch GT 3 even though, oh no. Huawei claims that the smartwatch will closing round two weeks (14 days) on a unmarried rate, even supposing with the caveat that the always-on show tech will have to be disabled to succeed in such lofty heights.

I haven’t relatively hit the whole two weeks with what I’d describe as moderate use – consistent well being monitoring with blood oxygen and HR tracking, and two devoted out of doors runs – however I did come very shut at 11 days. If you have been extra conservative along with your blood oxygen tracking, you should simply squeeze two weeks out of it.

Having a two-week battery lifestyles is a surprisingly liberating enjoy when dressed in a smartwatch. You now not wish to take it off as soon as an afternoon to rate, and whilst it doesn’t sound like a lot, it way you focal point much less at the upkeep of the watch and extra on the way it is helping you.

It additionally way you have got the versatility to permit battery-draining options just like the always-on show whilst nonetheless getting true multi-day battery lifestyles.

Charging instances are first rate too, with the Huawei Watch GT 3 attaining a complete rate in round 90 mins by the use of its magnetic charging puck that snaps securely into position when within sight.

Price

Released on 10 November 2021, the Huawei Watch GT 3 46mm is now that can be purchased in the United Kingdom beginning at £229.99 for the Active Edition. That is going as much as £249.99 for the Classic Edition, reviewed right here, and is going as much as £299.99 for the Elite Edition.

The smaller Huawei Watch GT 3 42mm has a moderately inexpensive ticket, beginning at £209.99.

As chances are you’ll be expecting, there’s no US availability at the moment, and it’s not going that’ll trade anytime quickly.

Both variants of Huawei Watch GT 3 are that can be purchased immediately from Huawei, and on the time of writing, you’ll get a couple of Huawei FreeBuds 4i Red Edition and a 22mm watch strap at no cost too. It’s additionally to be had from Currys and Argos at moderately inexpensive costs, however with out the bundled candies.  

To see the way it compares to the contest, check out our number of the most productive smartwatches and the most productive health trackers too.

Verdict

The Huawei Watch GT 3 46mm, at the start, seems like a shocking wristwatch with a degree of precision in design and construct merely now not provide on maximum opponents at a equivalent value. It’s shocking, with a real ‘wow’ second as you’re taking it out of the field for the primary time, and also you’ll in finding your self momentarily captivated because it sits for your wrist.

That’s paired with a vibrant OLED show that appears implausible, with a variety of watchfaces to go with it. Though the preinstalled watchface variety is proscribed, there are 1000’s to be had to obtain by the use of Huawei’s better half app – even supposing some are paid. The handiest problem is the loss of watchface customisation to be had.

While the sensible options are somewhat restricted in comparison to the likes of the Apple Watch Series 7 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, missing third-party app enhance and providing elementary notification enhance, it makes up for it in health monitoring.

The smartwatch gives probably the most in-depth activity monitoring apps I’ve used, with devoted classes for out of doors runners, metrics that include explanations and useful recommendation and enhance for a variety of area of interest workouts – over 100 in truth. Pair that with similarly in-depth sleep monitoring and also you’ve were given a wearable that’ll come up with an impressively detailed review of your present well being and health ranges.

It will not be as sensible as some smartwatches, but when health monitoring is your factor, the Huawei Watch GT 3 is a handsome and succesful choice.

Specs

Huawei Watch GT 3 (46mm): Specs

  • 45.9 x 45.9 x 11mm
  • 46.2gl 1.43in AMOLED show (466 x 466)
  • Power/serve as button, rotatable crown
  • 5ATM water resistance
  • Black/Steel case
  • 100+ exercise modes
  • Dedicated operating systems
  • In-depth well being and sleep monitoring
  • GPS
  • Bluetooth
  • Optical center price sensor
  • Air power sensor
  • geomagnetic sensor
  • Temperature sensor
  • HarmonyOS 2.1
  • iOS and Android enhance
  • 14-day battery lifestyles
  • Wireless magnetic charging



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