Huawei Watch GT 2 Review – Just how smart is it?

We think that the current crop of Huawei watch faces are decent and we particularly like Shadow. However, you are not able to customise the watch faces or ... SkiptocontentHomeWatches&ClocksHuaweiWatchGT2Review–Justhowsmartisit?HuaweiWatchGT2Review–Justhowsmartisit?JayGarrettOctober22,2019Review,Watches&Clocks,WearablesShareTweetGet Gadge DirectHuaweiWatchGT2From£180-£219.99asreviewed9.1BuildQuality9.5/10Design9.5/10EaseofUse9.5/10Functions8.0/10Value9.0/10ProsLooksgreatIntuativeinterfaceSuperbatterylifeHealth/SleeptrackingHands-freecallansweringConsNo3rd-partyappintegrationCan'tmultitaskHuaweiWatchGT2SmartwatchReviewWewereinBerlinforthelaunchofHuawei’sMate30smartphonesaswellasthebrand’slatestsmartwatch,theWatchGT2.Furthermore,wewereluckyenoughtocomebackwithaWatchGT2,andithasbeenourdailywristweareversince.WelikedthelookofHuawei’sfirstsmartwatch.TheWatchGTwascertainlyapromisingproposition.However,weweren’tquitereadytotaketheplunge.NowtheWatchGT2hasarrived.Buildingonthefoundationofitspredecessorwithtwonewsleekdesigns,theHuaweiWatchGT2sportsthesamesimpleuserinterfacebutaddsmorefeatures. ThetrickthatHuaweihastopulloffistoofferadecentwatchwithascreenandfeaturesthatimpressalongwithexcellentbatterystamina.Havetheymanagedthis?Readontofindout.HuaweiWatchGT2DesignThewatchcomesintwoflavours,a46mmand42mm.Wehavebeentestingoutthelargerofthetwo.Thisweighsinat41gandsitsrathernicelyonournotoverlychunkywrist.WehaveseentheWatchGT2onlargerwrists,anditstilllooksgood.Theindexedbezelaroundthewatchfacelookscoolbutisfixed.Inotherwords,thebezeldoesnotrotateandisprettymuchdecorative. Whatyoudogetis3Dglasswithnicelyslantededges.Wehavethemodelwithapolishedstainlesssteelcasement,andwereckonitlooksexcellent.Theotherfinishinthissizeisblackbrushedstainlesssteelthatlendsitamorestealthylook.Also,theWatchGT2hasaremarkablyslimprofilemeasuringonly10.7mm.Finally,thebright1.39-inch(454x454)AMOLEDdisplayisclear.SmartsUnderthehood,youget4GBofstorageforyourselectionoffacesandofflinemusic.YoucaneitherplaythemusicthroughthewatchspeakerorviaconnectedBluetoothheadphones.Nice.ProcessingistakencareofbyHuawei’sKirinA1,whichisthesameprocessorfoundintheirFreeBuds3earphones.Thelargerwatchgetsafull32MBRAMwhereasthesmallerversionticksalongwithjust16MB. Thereissomeintelligenttaskmanagementgoingoninsidethesesmartwatches.StrapsThe22mmquick-releasestrapsmakeitreallyeasytochangefromthetanleatherbandandtheadditionalblacksiliconeoneincludedinourbundle.Always-ondisplayHavinganicecaseandchoiceofstrapsisonething.However,it’sthewatchfacethatyou’llbespendingmostofyourtimelookingat.WethinkthatthecurrentcropofHuaweiwatchfacesaredecentandweparticularlylikeShadow.However,youarenotabletocustomisethewatchfacesordownloadthemfromanywhereotherthanHuawei’sapp.Youdo,however,gettheoptiontohaveanalways-ondisplayorsimplygowithablankfaceuntilyoumoveyourwristtoseethetime. Listedintheoptionsas‘lockscreen’yougetthechoiceofdigitaloranaloguefacesinmonochrome.Again,weliketheseandunderstandthatthe‘lockscreen’optionsarepareddowntoconservebatterylife.FunctionsItmightbeeasytoassumethat,duetoitslightweightandminimalistdesign,thatthiswouldbethesameforitsfeatureset.Don’tworry,thereisstillplentytoplaywith.Firstly,thereisaprettyaccurateheart-ratesensoronthebase.Additionally,thereareslitsforthespeakeroutputandmicrophones–yup,youcantakecallsandplaymusicthroughtheWatchGT2.Theinterface,Huawei’sLiteOS,isstraightforwardtonavigate.Granted,youdon’tgetasmanyfunctionsassomeothersmartwatches,butthismakesiteasiertouseandhandsyouthatclaimedfortnightbatterylife.Allittakesisadownwardswipetoaccessquicksettingsandahorizontalonetoscrollthroughtotheappssuchasheartrate,stress,weather,music,fitnessloggingetc.Finally,anupwardswipeenablesyoutoseeyournotificationsandmessages.It’sabitofashamethatyoucannotrespondtomessagesdirectlyfromthewatch,though.Thephysicalbuttonsworkasshortcuts.Thetopbuttontakesyoutothewatch’sapplist.Thebottomone,however,iscustomisableandisdefaultedtotriggertorecordaworkout.Oh,howwelaughedatthatoneaswetuckedintoaburger.We’veusedthetimer,alarmandstopwatchquiteabitandthecompassisanicetouch.Thatsaid,theWatchGT2isn’tbigonmultitasking.Let’ssayyou’vekickedoffaworkout,andthensomeoneasksyoutosetacountdown,oryouneedthestopwatch–thiswillmeanyou’llhavetopauseorstopyourworkouttouseoneoftheotherapps.Notabigdeal,butcouldbeseenasashortcoming.Ithinkyou’refitWeliketheadditionofstressmonitoringandsleeptrackingastheseareareasthatwedefinitelyneedtoimprove. HuaweihasalsoincludedabarometertomeasureairpressureintheGT2.Overall,theWatchGT2’sheartratetrackingseemedtobeaccuratewhencomparedwithitscompetitorsandmoreexpensiveprofessionaloptions.Wewereimpressedattherangeofworkoutsthatitsupports,too.Sixteenintotal,includingrunningcourses,outdoorrun,indoorrun,outdoorwalk,indoorwalk,outdoorcycle,indoorcycle,poolswim,openwater,climb,hike,trailrun,triathlon,elliptical,rowerandotherforgymworkoutsandthelike.Ifyou’reappyandyouknowitThesmartphonecompanionapp,HuaweiHealth,workswithAndroidandiOS,andlinkstoApple’sHealthapp,GoogleFitandalsoMyFitnessPal.However,thelackofStravaintegrationandsuchwillundoubtedlyputoffmoreactivehealthytypes.Sleeptrackingwefoundquiteuseful.Theresultsarebrokendownintolight,deepandREMsleep,withguidelinesonhowwellyou’rerestingacrossallthreemetrics.WefoundthattheWatchGT2couldevenspotwhenwetookapowernap(passedout)duringtheday. Ifyou’rethetypetorunforfun,thenyou’llalsolikethechartsyougettoreview.Hereyougetyourpace,heartrate,cadenceandaltitudeatdifferentpointsinthesessiontomullover.Actually,youcanalsogetfurtherinvolvedandcheckoutperformancemetricssuchasaerobicandanaerobiceffort,VO2Max,andtherecoverytimerequiredbeforerepeatingallthateffort.We’reprettysureourrecoverytimewillbemeasuredinweeks.Dailyactivityistrackedautomatically.Hereyougetyourstepscounted,anyexerciseyoudoandyourresting/averageheartrate.Allveryimpressiveconsideringthatthebatterylastssolong.Batterylife Likemostboastsofstamina,youneedperfectconditionstogetHuawei’s2-weekbatterylife.However,wegenerallyclockedinwelloveraweekbetweencharges. Weguessthatturningoffthesmartfeaturessuchasheartmonitoringandthelikemightgetyouthatmagicalfortnight. However,getthatlockscreenalways-ondisplaygoingandthen5-7dayswillbethebestyoucanachieve.Thatsaid,wethinkit’sstillimpressive.Wewereslightlydisappointedthatbatterychargingisn’twireless.However,theupsideisthatit’squick.FromemptytofulltankonlytakesanhourandthemagnetsinthecradlesnapsecurelytotheWatchGT2. ConclusionIfyouarelookingforasmartwatchwithexcellentbatterylifeandsomehealthtrackingsmarts,thentheHuaweiWatchGT2iswhatyou’relookingfor.Thedesignisgreatfromanyangle,andthefull-colourAMOLEDpanelisgorgeous.Welikethealways-onlockscreenandloudspeaker,almostasmuchaswelovetheweek+batterylife.TheWatchGT2doesfallshortonsomefunctionswhencomparedtoothersoutthere,anditwon’tplaywiththird-partyapps,somightputoffseriousfitnessfreaks.However,fortherestofusseekingagood-lookingwatchwithagreathealthtrackerforlessthan£200,theHuaweiWatchGT2getsourvote.PriceandavailabilityTheHuaweiWatchGT246mmcomesintwoflavours,theblack-casedSport(blackororangestrap)whichcosts£199and,thesilver-casedPebbleBrown(leatherstrapwithasparesportsstrapincluded)for£219.99asreviewedhere.Ifyoujustwantafitnessband,perhapscheckoutHonor’sBand5thatcostslessthan£30!PostnavigationPrevNextMoreGadgetyNewsLaptops&TabletsPhonesPortableMediaSoftwareWatches&ClocksWearablesHuaweiLaunchesHarmonyOS2withWatch3SeriesandMatePadProJayGarrettJune3,2021PhonesReviewHuaweiMate40ProReviewJayGarrettNovember18,2020ReviewTVsSamsungSpaceMonitorReviewJayGarrettDecember16,2019HomeandGardenReviewReviewoftheSharkAZ910UKVacuumCleanerJayGarrettNovember27,2019CamerasReviewTransportThinkwareU10004KDashcamReviewJayGarrettOctober20,2019PhonesReviewHuaweiMate30ProHands-onReviewJayGarrettOctober6,2019Keepmefueled!TopReviewsSharkAZ910UKVacuumCleaner9.4HuaweiMate40Pro9.3ThinkwareU1000Dashcam9.3SamsungSpaceMonitor9.2HuaweiWatchGT29.1HonorBand58.9DellLatitude73902-in-18.2PolaroidPOP!2.0Camera7.1LatestStereoNETNewsTechnicsGrandClassSL-G700M2DigitalAudioPlayerRevealedTechnics'SL-G700M2network/SuperAudioCDplayerbuildsonitspredecessorwithahostofperformanceandsoundimprovements.TheHead-FiExperienceofTheYearatUKAudioShow2022HifonixwillshowcasethebestheadphonesystemsmoneycanbuyattheUKAudioShow2022.KEFMu7WirelessHeadphonesReleasedKEFMu7wirelessANCheadphonesfeatureRossLovegrovedesignandlatency-free24bit/48kHzhi-rescapabilities.RecentPostsBerlutixBang&OlufsenRangeofFashionableAVAnnouncedHuaweiLaunchesHarmonyOS2withWatch3SeriesandMatePadProSteinway&SonsSPIRIO|rSelf-PlayingPianoTascamMarks50YearsofShapingMusicNaimMu-soWoodEditionReleasedHuaweiMate40ProReviewBenQX1300i4LEDGamingProjectorHPx770wUSB3.1FlashyFlashDrivesEPOS|SENNHEISERGSP601and602GamingHeadsetsSamsung8KTVandGalaxyS20DealAdvertisingandAdvertorialsPleasefeelfreetoemailGadgetyNewsdirectwithyouradvertisingrequirements.