This was almost the shortest review I’ve done. Not as short as the rugged smartphone that shattered from a fall, but close enough. It took several attempts to pair my iPhone – a 13 Pro – and the Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro. It was frustrating: the app gave clear instructions, the Bluetooth connection was established, the watch tried to pair with the app, and then… nothing.
But if all else fails, delete the app and try again. A fresh install of the Huawei Health app and we were good to go. But that highlighted one of the main issues with this otherwise great smartwatch: if you’re not using a Huawei smartphone, the process isn’t as seamless as you’d like.
That’s not to say the Huawei GT3 Pro isn’t worth buying if you’re using an iPhone or Android phone from another manufacturer. Let’s be clear: this is a great watch, it does almost everything you’ll need and the Pro version looks great. It runs Huawei’s Harmony OS, rather than Android Wear. But if you’re on iOS, you lose some functionality, such as the ability to install other apps on the watch and add music to your watch to take with you. On Android, getting the Huawei Health app requires exiting the Play Store and temporarily disabling a security setting on your phone, which I’ve done many times but won’t work for some people.
The watch is essentially a fancier version of the Watch GT 3 launched in Ireland a few months ago, with a slightly higher price tag. So why opt for the GT 3 Pro rather than the standard GT 3? The new version comes with a more premium finish and two sizes, offering a 43mm ceramic version in white and a 36mm titanium edition. They look more premium than the GT 3, which didn’t look cheap by the way, and are also supposed to be more durable. The ceramic version – reviewed here, along with the leather strap – in particular is light enough to be worth it, in my opinion.
It comes with a 1.32-inch AMOLED display, which is incredibly bright even in direct sunlight. It also has an IP68 dust and water resistance rating, and is waterproof up to 30m, if that takes your fancy. The latest ties in with a new freediving mode on the watch, which I personally would never use, but with the ongoing sea swimming craze, who knows what we’ll all be up to next year. (Note: I have never swum in the sea, currently have no intention of doing so, and certainly do not own a dry dress).
Another new addition is the driving range mode, which will monitor your golf swing, as long as the swing is strong enough and your posture is correct. I’d be more likely to use the other workouts on the watch, which Huawei has offered for a while now, like running classes or an elliptical. One thing I found disconcerting was the voice feedback – it’s loud and unexpected thanks to the device’s built-in speaker – but this can be disabled from your wrist, something I’d recommend unless you wanted everyone to hear your cheery trainer urging you at various intervals.
Some features vary by market, including the ECG function which would put the watch on a par with rivals Apple and Samsung; it’s not yet available in Europe but if approved for release here it will be part of the heart health section. For now, you’ll have to make do with wrist-based heart rate tracking, blood oxygen levels and VO2 Max readings, skin temperature, gyroscope, barometer, a magnetometer and Bluetooth 5.2.
Always-on display is not enabled during setup; you will have to do this yourself via the watch settings. There are reasons not to, with battery life being the most obvious as having the display active all the time, even in limited capacity, will inevitably reduce the time you get out of battery. But I’ve been using an Apple Watch and Garmin watches long enough to adapt to the always-on display, and being able to watch the time on your wrist without having to do an exaggerated lifting motion with your arm is one of the the fundamental uses of a watch. When the screen is blank, I assume the battery is dead. And so on.
If your watch face has an always-on display version, the watch will use it; otherwise, it uses the default. The good thing about the Huawei watch is that you can choose this default from the options loaded on the watch.
Good
Huawei’s Pro version of its watch is lightweight with a large screen and covers all the basics when it comes to health tracking. It also looks great, like a regular watch with the rotating crown, and the battery life – around a week – is adequate for most users, with a reduction to four days for heavy users. The price, while not as cheap for the ceramic version, is also much lower than other similar watches in the pro version.
The not so good
If you’re not on an Android phone, you’re missing out on some features, but apps won’t be a deal breaker for many people as the basics are covered. Music may be a bigger issue, as iPhone users can only control music on their phone rather than transferring tracks to the watch’s internal storage.
My setup issues were frustrating, but they were easily resolved and are unlikely to happen to anyone pairing a Huawei Watch for the first time.
The rest
The ECG function is still not available for European users, although it should follow.
The verdict
Android users should definitely review this watch.
consumer.huawei.com
