The second generation of Huawei’s GT line impressed us, especially the GT 2e which had a knockout combination of long battery life, good looks, decent accuracy, impressive running features and a hard-to-beat price. The GT 3 maintains or builds on all those positives apart from the price, although in our experience discounts on the RRP appear in short order.
The new Huawei GT 3 offers a seven-day battery life for the 42mm model and 14 days for the 46mm, and retains the aesthetics of a smart-looking watch. Huawei say the GPS accuracy has been improved with dual-band five-system GNSS positioning, which means the watch will use signals from two satellite systems (GPS is the American system – China, Russia, the EU and others have their own).
The GT 3 also doubles the number of heart rate sensors and improves the design so it sits more securely on the wrist. Huawei told us it is rated as 96% accurate against a chest strap, a fundamentally different technology which is always far more accurate, especially when tracking rapid rises and falls during HIIT workouts.
New running features include a Running Ability Index, which rates your performance so you can see if you improve over time, as well as more personalised training plans to suit your ability.
Huawei also keeps up with its competitors with a focus on health and wellbeing. The GT 3 introduces the Healthy Clover which pulls together data on your activity, sleep and “emotional wellbeing” (calculated from your physiological stats) to encourage you towards a well-rounded lifestyle. Guided breathing exercises are included in the healthy living feature as well as the “daily smile” in which you take a picture of yourself smiling. We asked a rep to demonstrate if the software can recognise a smile from a frown and it can (admittedly an exaggerated frown). And in case you were wondering, it feels as dystopian as it sounds.
The GT 3 also debuts a rotating crown which can zoom in and out of the main app menu and allows you to scroll through data screens when exercising. We’re quite excited by that addition, since operating a touchscreen becomes more difficult in direct proportion to how sweaty and knackered you are.
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It all adds up to a promising-sounding package, although we look forward to testing the accuracy of the new and improved GPS and heart rate monitor, as well as checking if the watch plays nice with Android and iOS smartphones.
The Huawei Watch GT 3 is available to pre-order now and goes on general sale on 10th November. The 42mm is priced from £209.99 to £279.99 and the 46mm £229.99 to £299.99. The device remains the same, the different strap options accounting for the difference in price.
Pre-order from Huawei | From £209.99
