In other glorious times, Huawei was known for its high-end smartphones that were packed with features and the latest cutting-edge technology. Then came the sanctions imposed by the US authorities that forced the Chinese brand to remove Google services from all its equipment and to prevent it from using 5G technology outside its national territory, China.
To deal with this situation, Huawei changed its entire business strategy, focusing its attention and efforts on other market segments, namely wearable devices. The focus is so much on this market that, recently, in a press conference given to the Portuguese media, it assumed that it wants to be the leader of wearables in our country.
But will Huawei’s currently available wearable devices succeed in making the brand the market leader? Do you have the same success you once had with your smartphones? In recent weeks, I have used the Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro to test its capabilities and limitations in practice and see if this will be one of the devices that will return Huawei to the top of global sales. Now I invite you to know my experience with one of the best Huawei smartwatches.
First impressions
Opening the box of the Watch GT 3 Pro, we immediately feel that we are looking at a handsome smartwatch with enough sex appeal to win over male and female audiences.
The box includes a lightweight charger that is very practical to use, as long as we always have a USB-C port on hand to charge the device. Finally, the instruction manual is located at the bottom of the box. At that precise moment I decided that I would not consult this valuable aid to evaluate the ease of navigation and use of the wearable.
Screen and smartphone pairing
As soon as it is turned on, the Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro immediately asks what language we want to use on its 1.32-inch screen that is bright enough for quality viewing, without hurting the most sensitive visions.
The chosen language, the pairing with the service smartphone follows, of course. In my specific case, connecting both devices was a very easy task that resulted in an immediate pairing between them.
I say in my specific case because I paired the Watch GT 3 Pro with a Huawei smartphone. If the user has an Android model of another brand or an iPhone, this task involves taking more steps and spending more time, since they will have to install applications, such as Huawei Health – in the case of Huawei smartphones, this app It comes from the factory installed.
As soon as both devices are paired, the communication takes place at a good pace. I’ve even managed to control a small portable speaker that I’ve paired with my smartphone, moving the tracks on my music playlist forward or backward.
Interaction with the Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro
The AMOLED screen of the Huawei smartwatch recognizes and works through touches and gestures, being very sensitive to both. With ease, we navigate through the menu. To access this we have to press the physical button, located on the side, to display all the functions that occupy the entire screen.
Then just touch the explanatory and easy-to-understand icons to access resources on health, sports, phone calls, text messages, among others.
Let’s start with the phone calls. As soon as we receive a call on the smartphone, the Watch GT 3 Pro immediately gives a signal, allowing us to answer on screen and speak loudly, of course. In general, the audio quality is good, but twice my callers complained about some dropouts during the call.
As I mentioned, I had the nice surprise of being able to control my playlist that was being loaded by a small portable speaker. I confess that it is easier and more practical to control anything with a device that is on our wrist, without having to move.
As for notifications, unfortunately these are received inconsistently. Sometimes we get it, sometimes we don’t. Without a doubt, Huawei can improve this function so that users do not miss relevant information.
comfort in use
As soon as I put the Watch GT 3 Pro on my wrist, I felt the weight of the face. It doesn’t hurt to wear it, but its presence is felt. Although this could be an aspect that could be improved, it does not cause intolerable discomfort.
By the way, to test the sleep tracking feature, I slept a few nights with the smartwatch on my wrist and never felt discomfort or discomfort.
As for the bracelet, it is equally comfortable to wear and adapts well to the wrist, in addition to being well fixed in the most active moments during physical activity. Also, the weight of the sphere also does not bother you when walking, running or other physical exercise.
Battery and autonomy
Now let’s talk about autonomy, from my own experience I have verified the battery autonomy announced by Huawei. Which means the Watch GT 3 Pro can last, on a single charge, seven days in moderate use and four days in heavy use.
Charging this Huawei smartwatch is also very easy, as long as we have a USB port at hand. I loaded it up on my work computer and the GT 3 Pro went from 2% to 50% in just 38 minutes.
To charge, simply place the back panel of the display on the charging cradle so that they are connected via magnetism, so there is no need to place other types of objects, not even a sheet of paper, between the two.
Health and sports resources
I confess that I have not tried all the training modes that are more than a hundred. But in outdoor walking and running modes, the Watch GT 3 Pro performed very well.
He always recognized the path I was taking, warning me loud and clear of obstacles. On the other hand, even in strong sun, I was able to see information about the fitness session on the screen.
As I also mentioned, the weight of the dial did not bother or cause any discomfort during the exercise session. But I always felt that I had company on my wrist, I think that after a session of two hours or more – I have always practiced sessions of one hour – the weight of the dial causes discomfort.
As far as health-focused features go, the Watch GT 3 Pro performs well, quickly detecting heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and even body temperature. In fact, it is so effective at providing information that it can become addictive. Without realizing it, I found myself monitoring stress levels during a work day, just because the smartwatch allowed me to.
It also reports on sleep quality, showing how long we slept in light, deep, and REM sleep. In the Huawei Health application, all the data is recorded, and these are accompanied by an analysis, which shows the recommended time for each phase of sleep and the night’s rest is evaluated between low, good or high.
Likewise, the rest of the health data collected is also registered in the same application and can be consulted, even in graphic mode, whenever the user so wishes.
Strengths of the Huawei GT 3 Pro
- Rich in health and sports features.
- Good for recognizing routes, alerting of nearby obstacles
- Very responsive health sensors
- Seductive design suitable for everyday use.
- Good battery life and fast charging
Weaknesses of the Huawei GT 3 Pro
- This smart watch is a bit heavy.
- Notifications are received inconsistently
- Pairing with non-Huawei smartphones requires installation of branded apps
- Sometimes the quality of voice calls is lost
verdict
The Huawei GT 3 Pro is the right device for users who want to use a smartwatch in their daily lives, not only because of its incredibly seductive design, but also because of the battery life it offers and which lives up to the brand’s claims. : seven days of moderate use. and four days in intensive mode.
It also charges very quickly and the charging base, very light and transportable, can be connected to the work computer through the integrated USB port.
It is equipped with many sports and health features, including more “out of the box” options, such as jumping rope or monitoring stress levels and measuring skin temperature.
I tried the Ceramic edition of the Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro which is available in Portugal for a price starting at 469.90 euros. Any user who wants to buy a wearable of this type, this Huawei smartwatch is a good candidate, especially if the idea is to pair it with a Huawei smartphone. We can say that the GT 3 Pro almost justifies its price of more than 400 euros, mainly due to its addictive nature and that makes us regularly check our health levels.
Technical specifications of the Huawei GT 3 Pro:
- Dimensions 42.9 x 42.9 x 10.5mm
- Weight 50 g without bracelet
- 1.32-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 466×466 pixels
- GPS, NFC, Bluetooth connectivity
- 530 mAh battery with autonomy for seven days of moderate use and four days in intensive mode
- Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, Optical Heart Rate, Barometer, Skin Temperature
- Water resistant up to 30 meters deep
- More than 100 training modes
