Huawei Watch GT Unboxing and First Impressions
Most smartwatches have thick bodies, but with weak battery life. Huawei said that the new Watch GT is not one of them.
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| The affordable fitness smartwatch to beat? |
Huawei Watch GT is a hybrid wearable with the style, modern smartwatch functionalities, and battery performance unheard-of in its class. In particular, the company said that it can last for 2 weeks on a single charge.
If true, that is insane! Fortunately, Huawei made the said wearable official in the Philippines for PHP 12,990.
Let's check it out.
If true, that is insane! Fortunately, Huawei made the said wearable official in the Philippines for PHP 12,990.
Let's check it out.
Unboxing/Accessories
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| The packaging |
Huawei Watch GT's packing feels and looks premium. Inside, you will see the watch itself, USB-A to USB-C data/charging cable, USB-C dock with pins, and the paper documents like the warranty card and user guide.
Build Quality/Design
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| Heart rate sensor and charging pins below |
The materials used by Huawei on the Watch GT screams premium and durable. The GT in my arsenal is the stainless steel body version with black ceramic bezel, and saddle brown leather strap. The company also offers the Watch GT in several band styles.
The body of the watch comes with a sturdy-looking plastic back, stainless steel shell, ceramic bezels, and a DLC coating, PVD coating, and 5 ATM water resistance.
DLC means Diamond-like carbon which makes its screen resistant to scratches and cracks from light accidental drops. PVD coating is designe avoid fingerprint smudges. 5 ATM water resistance offers up to 50 meters of water resistance.
Huawei used a two-tone strap on the Watch GT that I have. Huawei did not mention if it uses genuine leather, but it feels and smells like a real leather. Underneath, the brown leather strap is cleverly attached to a flexible rubber strap to add durability.
As we all know, a leather band is more susceptible to discoloration and deterioration from moisture, sweat and direct sunlight than metal/rubber bands. That's why it is great that they added a rubber strap below the leather material instead of just using pure leather.
We are surprised that it is truly not prone to scratches. I personally dropped the watch several times (accidentally) and it still looks as good as new.
Right off the bat, Huawei Watch GT is one of the most premium looking smartwatches in the market today. It even looks more premium than my PHP 28,490 Garmin Forerunner 645 Music.
The watch measures at 46.5 x 46.5 mm. The screen is 1.39-inch big. It doesn't look as big as Amazfit Stratos with 48 x 48 mm size, but this smartwatch is still considered as quite big.
If you have small wrists, the watch might not fit your style. But if you are regular-sized wrists, this watch will look cool on you.
The best part of its design for me is its thickness, it is slimmer than most smartwatches we tested. It only has 10.6 mm of thickness despite the 420mAh battery with 2 weeks of battery life. In comparison, Galaxy Watch and Amazfit Verge are 13 and 12.6 mm thick, respectively. Galaxy Watch has a 270mAh battery with 4 days battery life. Amazfit Verge has a 390mAh battery with up to 8 days of battery life.
Overall, it is not that hefty at 46 grams without the strap. The leather strap could provide good comfort while in your wrist as well.
1. Again, the Watch GT is easily one of the best looking fitness-centric smartwatches out there. The 1.39-inch AMOLED screen with 454 x 454 resolution at 326 ppi is also one of the brightest around. The screen comes with punchy colors even under direct sunlight.
2. Under the hood, it runs with a Cortex-M4 processor, 16MB RAM, 128MB storage, and 420mAh battery.
The battery life is insane! I first used the watch last March 12 and now (March 26) I still have 26 percent of battery left. It is simply better than most smartwatches that we tested in the past. Only the Mi Band 3 with way smaller black and white screen can compete with it.
3. The experience is smooth so far. It uses the new LiteOS, a proprietary OS of Huawei for fitness watches. It comes with easy swipe gestures and a pretty neat look skin. It is easy to understand and use.
Swipe down to view shortcut keys, swipe up to view messages, swipe left or right to view fitness tracker, weather, and bpm. You can also choose and select the notifications you want to show in the health app found on your phone.
Other features and settings are hidden when you press the power key and function button.
Since it isn't on Android Wear, there are no 3rd party apps. We also noticed that you cannot use the watch to control the music.
It has an NFC chip, though without the tap-to-pay options.
4. It is a fitness feature-rich watch. It comes with a lot of fitness tracking options, multi-sports mode, sleep tracking, heart rate tracking, real-time positioning (GPS), and more.
The body of the watch comes with a sturdy-looking plastic back, stainless steel shell, ceramic bezels, and a DLC coating, PVD coating, and 5 ATM water resistance.
DLC means Diamond-like carbon which makes its screen resistant to scratches and cracks from light accidental drops. PVD coating is designe avoid fingerprint smudges. 5 ATM water resistance offers up to 50 meters of water resistance.
Sturdy body, clever strap design!
Huawei used a two-tone strap on the Watch GT that I have. Huawei did not mention if it uses genuine leather, but it feels and smells like a real leather. Underneath, the brown leather strap is cleverly attached to a flexible rubber strap to add durability.
As we all know, a leather band is more susceptible to discoloration and deterioration from moisture, sweat and direct sunlight than metal/rubber bands. That's why it is great that they added a rubber strap below the leather material instead of just using pure leather.
We are surprised that it is truly not prone to scratches. I personally dropped the watch several times (accidentally) and it still looks as good as new.
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| Slim design |
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| Power and function button |
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| Leather strap |
Right off the bat, Huawei Watch GT is one of the most premium looking smartwatches in the market today. It even looks more premium than my PHP 28,490 Garmin Forerunner 645 Music.
The watch measures at 46.5 x 46.5 mm. The screen is 1.39-inch big. It doesn't look as big as Amazfit Stratos with 48 x 48 mm size, but this smartwatch is still considered as quite big.
If you have small wrists, the watch might not fit your style. But if you are regular-sized wrists, this watch will look cool on you.
The best part of its design for me is its thickness, it is slimmer than most smartwatches we tested. It only has 10.6 mm of thickness despite the 420mAh battery with 2 weeks of battery life. In comparison, Galaxy Watch and Amazfit Verge are 13 and 12.6 mm thick, respectively. Galaxy Watch has a 270mAh battery with 4 days battery life. Amazfit Verge has a 390mAh battery with up to 8 days of battery life.
Overall, it is not that hefty at 46 grams without the strap. The leather strap could provide good comfort while in your wrist as well.
Initial findings
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| Stunning display |
1. Again, the Watch GT is easily one of the best looking fitness-centric smartwatches out there. The 1.39-inch AMOLED screen with 454 x 454 resolution at 326 ppi is also one of the brightest around. The screen comes with punchy colors even under direct sunlight.
2. Under the hood, it runs with a Cortex-M4 processor, 16MB RAM, 128MB storage, and 420mAh battery.
The battery life is insane! I first used the watch last March 12 and now (March 26) I still have 26 percent of battery left. It is simply better than most smartwatches that we tested in the past. Only the Mi Band 3 with way smaller black and white screen can compete with it.
3. The experience is smooth so far. It uses the new LiteOS, a proprietary OS of Huawei for fitness watches. It comes with easy swipe gestures and a pretty neat look skin. It is easy to understand and use.
Swipe down to view shortcut keys, swipe up to view messages, swipe left or right to view fitness tracker, weather, and bpm. You can also choose and select the notifications you want to show in the health app found on your phone.
Other features and settings are hidden when you press the power key and function button.
Since it isn't on Android Wear, there are no 3rd party apps. We also noticed that you cannot use the watch to control the music.
It has an NFC chip, though without the tap-to-pay options.
4. It is a fitness feature-rich watch. It comes with a lot of fitness tracking options, multi-sports mode, sleep tracking, heart rate tracking, real-time positioning (GPS), and more.
Huawei Watch GT Specs
Display: 1.39-inch AMOLED screen w/ 454 x 454 resolution at 326 ppi
CPU: Cortex-M4 processor
RAM: 16MB
ROM: 128MB
Battery: 420mAh
OS: LiteOS (Works for Android and iOS)
Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, BLE, NFC, GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo
Sensors: Accelerometer, light, magnetometer, barometer, gyroscope, optical heart rate
Others: 5 ATM water resistance, Colors: black, brown, Strap colors: graphite black, saddle brown leather, glacier gray, fluorescent green
Dimensions: 46.5 x 46.5 x 10.6 mm
Weight: 46 g (w/o strap)
Price: PHP 12,990
The asking price of PHP 12,990 is not bad as well. It is more affordable than other fitness smartwatches from Garmin and Fitbit.
It could be a great watch for those who need a fitness band with stylish design and strong battery performance.
See also: Meet Huawei Watch GT Elegant White - More than just for girls
As of the moment
For its purpose, the Huawei Watch GT is a very promising wearable. The design is great, it is rich in fitness-focused features, and the battery life is insane so far. This is the only big smartwatch in the local market with a true 2 weeks of battery performance.The asking price of PHP 12,990 is not bad as well. It is more affordable than other fitness smartwatches from Garmin and Fitbit.
It could be a great watch for those who need a fitness band with stylish design and strong battery performance.
See also: Meet Huawei Watch GT Elegant White - More than just for girls
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