Huawei Watch GT 4: One minute assessment
I actually just like the Huawei Watch GT 4. It’s an impressive-looking machine with all kinds of supplies and colorways out there, and each one in every of these iterations seems incredible. The massive AMOLED display’s refresh price is sweet and easy, colours pop, and the speaker is loud – embarrassingly loud, in case you depart exercise notifications on throughout a category.
It’s practical too, with extremely correct metrics. TruSleep monitoring was correct and the metrics within the Huawei Well being app had been pleasantly detailed, though I used to be lacking some actionable recommendation on that entrance. Huawei’s TruSeen 5.5+ algorithm gives nice coronary heart price monitoring that extends to exercise monitoring, too, and the GPS was corresponding to the most effective smartwatches (we examined it towards an Apple Watch Extremely 2), so that you’ll get nice outcomes on runs and rides.
Having mentioned all that, I received’t be utilizing it once more. Beneath regular circumstances, I’d be giving such a watch a glowing assessment, even perhaps full marks, however it’s languishing on 80% right here. The watch itself is incredible, however it’s unattainable to disregard the frustrations that include it being saddled with Huawei’s baggage.
The boundaries imposed by the US and each smartphone producer, and Huawei’s refusal to desert its AppGallery retailer, which most telephones will solely help in-browser, means you might have a watch that may’t interface with a lot of widespread apps. Apple Pay, Google Pockets, Spotify, and extra are on the no-go listing, though others like Strava had been advantageous.
Nonetheless, if you will get over these flaws, you’ll discover a beautiful watch ready to be cherished. If you have already got a Huawei cellphone and are used to a couple workarounds, it’s most likely the most effective smartwatch for you.
Huawei Watch GT 4: Specs
| Element | Huawei Watch GT 4 (41mm) | Huawei Watch GT 4 (45mm) |
| Worth | From £230 / €250 euros | From £230 / €250 euros |
| Dimensions | 41.3 × 41.3 × 9.8 (mm) | 46 × 46 × 10.9 (mm) |
| Weight | 37g (no strap) | 48g (no strap) |
| Case/bezel | Stainless-steel | Stainless-steel |
| Show | 1.32-in, 466 × 466 px AMOLED | 1.46-in, 466 × 466 px AMOLED |
| GPS | Sure (unspecified) | Sure (unspecified) |
| Battery life | 7 days in smartwatch mode | 14 days in smartwatch mode |
| Connection | Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi, BR + BLE | Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi, BR + BLE |
| Waterproof | Sure, 5ATM | Sure, 5ATM |
Huawei Watch GT 4: Worth and availability
- From £229.99 within the UK
- From €249.90 euros within the EU
- Unavailable within the US and AU
For starters, let’s tackle the elephant within the room: Huawei know-how is unavailable within the US or Australia, on account of ongoing disputes with the Chinese language telecoms producer (and the Chinese language authorities) over safety considerations.
The UK has eliminated Huawei units from its 5G community however hasn’t banned the sale of those units solely. The EU nonetheless permits Huawei units to be offered. Whereas UK and European followers can entry Huawei tech, some performance, similar to NFC contactless funds, is proscribed.
It’s a disgrace as a result of the Watch is terrific worth. Each the 46mm with silicone black strap and the 41mm with silicone white strap value simply £229.99 within the UK and €249.90 within the EU, which is a good value for a chunky health watch with a stainless-steel case. Costs rise with a wide range of completely different choices, together with a rose gold model with Milanese straps or leather-based straps on the 46mm.
The costliest is the 41mm steel-and-gold version watch, which prices £349.99 / €399.90 euros, adopted by the stainless-steel 46mm with stainless-steel strap, which prices £299.99 / €369.90 euros. It’s a really well-priced watch that appears beautiful and may very well be an absolute powerhouse with the best help; it’s only a disgrace in regards to the lack of availability. Until you’re an current Huawei person, there’s virtually at all times a greater choice.
Huawei Watch GT 4: Design
- Seven completely different seems
- Stunning, premium designs belying value
- OS is easy sufficient to make use of
From an exterior model standpoint, Huawei watches as an entire have nearly no consistency. When evaluating the Watch GT 4 fashions to the thick, boxy, plastic circumstances on the gimmicky Huawei Watch Buds and Huawei Watch D, it’s like night time and day. Whereas the Watch D and Watch Buds had been quirky at finest and ugly at worst, Huawei Watch GT 4 fashions look incredible, with in-built microphones and audio system permitting you to take and obtain calls on-wrist.
These watches evoke completely different types of conventional watches, from delicate round trend and gown watches to discipline and diving models. The unit I examined, the 46mm with stainless-steel strap, regarded very very like an analog dive watch once I picked the best face. Like all of the GT 4 fashions, it has a round digital crown on the highest proper and a secondary button on the underside proper, which mixed with the very responsive touch-screen, made it simple to navigate across the watch. It was a pleasure to make use of.
The display will get a number of actual property, and it’s a incredible display on each sizes of the watch. The complete-color AMOLED display gives a incredible refresh price, making certain a easy swiping motion, and pops with shade. The AMOLED display was higher than many Garmins (though not fairly as much as Apple’s Retina Show) and output round 600 nits of brightness. That is sufficient for most individuals, although it’s a far cry from the Apple Watch Sequence 9which may output a formidable 2,000 nits.
Some watch faces (the free ones, at the least) are fairly dross, however I discovered one I appreciated that echoed an analog watch face and carried a number of on-face problems, together with step rely, the moon’s present section, and a calendar. It echoed a basic chronograph and complemented the stainless-steel aesthetic.
Talking of the stainless-steel, I’ve to share a grievance about altering the band. It could be due to my brief nails, however after eradicating the silicone band, making use of the stainless-steel band to the watch took quarter-hour of effort, accompanied by a lot of grunting and profanity. It was not a painless expertise, however the watch seems ace with it on.
Huawei Watch GT 4: Options
- A lot of exercise profiles
- Missing funds in lots of areas
- Compelled to sideload apps
The Huawei Watch GT 4 is solely depending on the Huawei Well being app, which isn’t out there on the iOS or Google Play retailer, however might be simply downloaded through your browser and the QR code supplied. From there, you’ll be able to customise your watch faces, toggle varied notifications streams on and off, and look at all of your well being information in larger element. The Huawei Well being app is great at what it does, displaying you complete data and providing actionable recommendation in your exercise and sleep.
For instance, I’m a light-weight sleeper, so Huawei Well being really useful I minimize out caffeine within the night earlier than bedtime – not groundbreaking recommendation, however good to have. The Watch GT 4 has a load of exercise profiles, from outside and indoor cycles to pool and open-water swims that rely your strokes and lengths as you go.
The exercise profiles work together with Huawei Well being properly and supply bonus options like AI-generated plans that can assist you prepare for particular objectives in widespread workouts similar to operating, which you’ll be able to comply with alongside in your watch. TruSleep and TruSeen 5.5+ sensors supply superior coronary heart price monitoring and ECG functionalities. A temperature sensor, blood oxygen measurement, and a stress metric spherical up the helpful suite of well being options on supply right here.
All of the Huawei-native stuff is nice: it’s the dearth of compatibility with different telephones and working techniques that’s the issue. You will get WhatsApp and e mail notifications, however not reply to them, and good luck making an attempt to make use of apps like Gmail with out appreciable sideloading jiggery pokery. Need Google or Apple Maps in your watch? Powerful, you’re caught with Huawei’s personal Petal Maps. Until you reside in a rustic that helps Huawei NFC funds, you received’t be capable of use contactless playing cards in your watch both. As I used the watch, I seen increasingly options both lacking or not gelling, and whereas getting a Huawei cellphone would go a way in the direction of fixing this (in case you don’t reside within the US or Australia), within the UK you’ll be able to’t use Huawei telecoms units on a 5G community, so the cellphone received’t reside as much as its potential.
Huawei Watch GT 4: Efficiency
- Nice battery life
- Glorious sleep/exercise metrics
- GPS matched an Apple Watch Extremely 2 for accuracy
Throughout my time testing the Huawei Watch GT 4, the battery life carried out as anticipated. I examined it over 5 days, and every day the watch depleted between 5 and 10 p.c, relying on GPS utilization. I’m very glad the watch lives as much as its daring claims of as much as 14 days, and I can see the common person getting 10 days out of the watch with just a few GPS exercises thrown in.
Sleep and exercise metrics held up very nicely, and I used to be pleased with the outcomes I obtained. Working Potential index, Coaching Load and Coaching index metrics take a number of your stats (in case you’re a runner, after all) and boil them down into easy numbers. Working Potential will let you know in case you’re operating, for instance, 44% higher than customers of an analogous age, gender, peak, and weight. Huawei is sweet at condensing complicated statistics into simply accessible nuggets of data – it’s harking back to the most effective Fitbit watches on this manner.
Once I examined the GPS monitoring towards an Apple Watch Extremely 2, the principle noticeable distinction was that the Huawei Watch GT 4 took far, far longer to hook up with a community. The Apple Watch Extremely 2 was virtually instantaneous, whereas the GT 4 took at the least two and a half minutes, throughout which it inspired me to be in an open space, most likely on the place the exercise is beginning. It doesn’t sound like a lot to ask, however you both stand stationary for round 150 seconds in entrance of your home earlier than you begin operating, otherwise you simply run and the watch begins monitoring you midway by your first kilometer.
Aside from that, the Watch GT 4 matched the Extremely 2 carefully when it comes to each coronary heart price and distance coated once I wore them concurrently, so I’m glad with the watch’s accuracy.
Huawei Watch GT 4: Scorecard
| Class | Remark | Rating |
| Worth | An excellent value – so long as you’re already with Huawei. | 3/5 |
| Design and display | Excellent building from prime to backside. | 5/5 |
| Options | Good, however hobbled by Huawei’s systemic points in Western nations. | 3/5 |
| Efficiency | Lengthy-lasting battery, correct metrics. | 4/5 |
| Whole | An important health tracker, however in case you’re on Google or Apple, there are extra appropriate choices. | 3.5/5 |
Ought to I purchase?
Purchase it if…
Do not buy it if…
Additionally take into account
| Element | Huawei Watch GT 4 (41mm) | Google Pixel Watch 2 | Apple Watch Sequence 9 |
| Worth | From £230 / €250 euros | From $349 / £349 / AU$549 | From $399 / £399 / AU$649 |
| Dimensions | 41.3 × 41.3 × 9.8 (mm) | 41 x 12.3 mm | 41 x 35 x 10.7mm |
| Weight | 37g (no strap) | 31 g | 32.1g (aluminum) |
| Case/bezel | Stainless-steel | Aluminum | Aluminum or stainless-steel |
| Show | 1.32-in, 466 × 466 px AMOLED | 384 x 384 px always-on AMOLED 320 ppi | 352 x 430 px always-on OLED Retina Show |
| GPS | Sure | Sure | Sure |
| Battery life | 7 days in smartwatch mode | 24 hours | 18 hours |
| Connection | Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi, BR + BLE | Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi, 4G LTE | Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi, LTE choices out there |
| Waterproof | Sure, 5ATM | Sure, 5ATM | Sure, WR50 (swimproof) |
