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Huawei Watch review: the almost-perfect smartwatch

androidpit Huawei Watch 15
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The Huawei Watch, the first Android Wear offering from the manufacturer, caused quite a stir when we first saw it back in March. Now that the Huawei Watch is finally on shelves, we take a closer look to see how well it stacks up against the competition in our full Huawei Watch review.

Huawei Watch

Good

  • Classic design
  • Premium feel and materials
  • Excellent display

Bad

  • No ambient light sensor
  • Interface stutters
  • Average battery life
Huawei Watch
Huawei Watch
Huawei Watch: All deals

Huawei Watch release date and price

The Huawei Watch was originally presented at Mobile World Congress in early March 2015, but it wasn't until IFA 2015 in September that Huawei was able to announce final details on the Huawei Watch availability. The official Huawei Watch release date was September 17, 2015, with pre-orders starting on September 2.

The Huawei Watch price is dependent on the strap options and finish you choose. The prices are as follows: US$349 for the stainless steel version with black leather strap; US$399 for the steel link band or steel mesh bracelet; US$449 for the plated black watch with steel link band; US$699 for the rose gold-plated stainless steel watch with alligator leather strap; and US$799 for the rose gold-plated version with rose gold-plated link band.

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The silver Huawei Watch with leather strap starts at US$349. / © ANDROIDPIT

Individual watch straps can also be bought direct from Huawei with prices ranging between US$79.99 and 169.99. The Huawei Watch charging cradle can also be bought separately for US$39.99 if you want to have one at home and the office.

Huawei Watch design and build quality

While several first generation smartwatches were square – a distinctly techy shape – the Huawei Watch is round, which makes it looks like a real watch rather than a gadget. Several other manufacturers have also opted for a round format for their most recent smartwatches. In terms of the competition, the Huawei Watch looks a little like a mix between the LG G Watch R and the Moto 360, but it comes closer to a traditional watch design than any other smartwatch.

It features a thin profile, small elevated bezels in a diver's watch style and a physical button at the two o'clock position. The Huawei Watch measures 42 mm in diameter, which is a standard for traditional watches. In fact, when you look at it next to a classic watch face, there's really very little to distinguish them. 

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There's very little to identify the Huawei Watch as a smartwatch. / © ANDROIDPIT

At 11.3 mm, the Huawei Watch is fairly thick compared with a standard watch, however, but it's in the same ballpark as other current smartwatches. It's just 1 mm thinner than the Moto 360, for example. It's when you put it on that the Huawei Watch really sets itself apart from other smartwatches.

The Huawei Watch it doesn't look or feel like a smartwatch at all while you're wearing it. This is mainly due to the fact that Huawei managed to squeeze a 1.4 inch (35 mm) AMOLED display into that 42 mm housing, giving it one of the highest screen-to-body ratios of any smartwatch. The attention to detail on the watch's partially polished and partially brushed aluminum frame also makes it stand out.

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The housing of the Huawei Watch is made from corrosion-resistant surgical stainless steel.  / © ANDROIDPIT

Huawei wisely avoided a pronounced diver's watch bezel like the one found on the LG G Watch, but the bezel is still slightly raised, so the screen is at least partially protected from incidental scratches. Likewise, the choice to push components such as the display driver to the lug areas (where the watch strap attaches) manages to avoid the infamous 'flat tire' that the Moto 360 display suffers from.

As well as design prowess, Huawei also has a clear knack for choosing premium materials. The body of the Huawei Watch is made from cold-forged surgical stainless steel, a type of steel that is particularly well-protected against pitting and corrosion due to the use of molybdenum in the alloy.

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The physical button on the Huawei Watch is placed at the two o'clock position. / © ANDROIDPIT

The main part of the back of the Huawei Watch is also made from this corrosion-resistant material, with a small plastic part in the center that surrounds the heart rate sensor. Time will tell how well this plastic holds up to wear and tear (the original Moto 360 had issues with cracking back plates), but the Huawei Watch certainly seems very well put-together.

The front of the watch is also made from premium materials. The Huawei Watch, like the Apple Watch before it, uses sapphire crystal for the glass covering the touch screen. Sapphire glass is harder and more scratch-resistant than Corning Gorilla Glass, the material used on most other Android Wear watches.

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Hauwei Watch bands have a quick-release mechanism, but any standard 18 mm strap will fit the watch. / © ANDROIDPIT

Also like the Apple Watch, the Huawei Watch places its physical button at the two o'clock position, which, according to Huawei Watch designer Ben Norton, creates better ergonomics. Unlike the Apple Watch however, the Huawei Watch's button doesn't spin. It is simply used to turn the display on and off and for basic menu navigation.

The watch we were sent is the cheapest of the available options: the regular silver stainless steel body with leather strap. The watch itself is identical to the more expensive models, apart from their black- or rose-gold plating, so the only real difference is the band. Despite using a clever quick-release mechanism on the official bands, the Huawei Watch will accept any standard 18 mm watch strap, so the strap options are practically endless.

Huawei Watch display

The Huawei Watch display is a 1.4-inch AMOLED screen, which means the blacks are true blacks, but outdoor visibility is compromised slightly by the lack of a back-lit screen.

androidpit Huawei Watch 10
The Huawei Watch display works best with dark colored watch face designs. / © ANDROIDPIT

Its resolution is 400 x 400 pixels, which produces the highest pixel density on any smartwatch, 286 pixels per inch. However, the sharpness of the display is only really evident on dark watch face designs. On white or lighter watch faces you will be able to see some pixelation, compared with your smartphone (most of which currently have between a pixel density of 400-500 ppi).

Beyond this minor point, the display on the Huawei Watch is brilliant: bright, crisp and with good colors. Our unit did have a slight greenish tint and the absence of an ambient light sensor means that you will have to manually adjust screen brightness in the watch's settings, but all things considered, this is a very good display for a smartwatch.

Huawei Watch software

The Huawei Watch currently runs Android Wear version 1.3.0. This OS version is primarily distinguished from previous iterations by the addition of Wi-Fi support. This means that the Huawei Watch can connect direct to Wi-Fi so you can get notifications even when it's not in the vicinity of your smartphone.

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The Huawei Watch runs the latest version of Android Wear. / © ANDROIDPIT

In our experience, this is particularly useful at home, when you're in the backyard and your phone is indoors, for example, but not so relevant when you're on the move, because you'd usually have your phone with you. It's worth noting that syncing your watch via Wi-Fi will drain the battery faster than when it is receiving notifications from your phone via Bluetooth.

If you have never used a smartwatch with Android Wear before, the interface is a fairly straightforward vertical stack of cards, much like Google Now on your phone. At various times throughout the day, cards will appear detailing the weather, your steps, calendar reminders and so on. You can scroll through them and dismiss or dive deeper into them as the notification demands.

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Voice commands allow you to use your Huawei Watch hands-free. / © ANDROIDPIT

Using the watch's microphone and voice recognition, you can verbally respond to messages or open them on your phone to reply in more detail. With the newest version of Android Wear, you can also draw and share smiley faces and the like with your friends. Like most other smartwatches, the Huawei Watch can also be used as a fitness tracker, using its heart-rate sensor and accelerometer.

The Huawei Watch comes with a default set of apps, and more can be downloaded with the companion Android Wear app, which you install on your phone. You use the app to pair the watch to your phone as well as to download additional watch face designs.

The Huawei Watch can be paired with Android devices running Android 4.3 and above, and with iPhones running iOS 8.2 or newer. Incidentally, the Android Wear app was the first Android app to be allowed in the Apple App Store.

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You can add new watch face designs and Android Wear apps with the companion app. / © ANDROIDPIT

The new version of Android Wear also introduced interactive watch faces, allowing you to add custom components to watch faces. Previously, all you got was the time, but now you can add battery status, moon phases, steps taken and more to your chosen watch face. A long press on the home screen allows you to choose from a range of different watch faces to suit any style.

When the screen is lit, long pressing the physical button of the Huawei Watch will open the app launcher (with your contacts list and 'actions' screen just a swipe away). When in the midst of a menu, pressing the physical button will take you back to the home screen. The button can also be used to illuminate the display or to turn it off again.

As always, Google's 'OK, Google' hotword will activate the phone's voice command functionality. If you use voice commands on your phone, the transition to using them on a watch will feel natural. If you don't, suddenly talking to your watch may seem a little odd. Having said this, Google's voice commands are still not really good enough for daily use in noisy environments, but in quieter spaces they are very handy.

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Using a smartwatch for navigation is a very useful feature. / © ANDROIDPIT

Huawei Watch performance

Since the first batch of smartwatches appeared, the hardware they use has barely changed. The same is true of the Huawei Watch, which uses the same components as most other Android Wear watches. This 'outdated' hardware unfortunately suffers from occasional stutters when swiping through screens.

Some smartwatches manage to produce smooth scrolling and good responsiveness, but the Huawei Watch is not one of them. For a smartwatch that costs around US$400 this is unfortunate, and the jitters and lag affect your enjoyment of the watch much more than they should. Google and the manufacturers really need to work more closely in order to integrate the software and hardware better.

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The Huawei Watch's heart-rate monitor in action. / © ANDROIDPIT

On the technical front, besides Wi-Fi, the Huawei Watch also includes Bluetooth 4.1 Low Energy, a six-axis motion sensor and an optical pulse sensor. The Huawei Watch can distinguish between different types of movement, including walking, running, cycling and even rock climbing.

Using the Wrist Gesture setting, the watch face will automatically be illuminated when you raise the watch to your face. You can also flick your wrist to scroll through notifications. Other options include theater mode for keeping the watch face dim, brightness boost for outdoor visibility and various notification settings based on Android Lollipop's Priority Interruptions (also known as 'do not disturb' mode).

Huawei Watch battery

On paper, the Huawei Watch's 300 mAh battery seems to be its biggest weakness – other watches offer batteries that are up to 25 percent larger – but in practice this isn't the case. On average, the Huawei Watch managed to get through 30 hours of constant use with the Always-On Display function activated (this shows the time in black and white even when you're not actively using the watch, which means the display is never truly off).

With Always-On disabled, the Huawei Watch manages to reach Huawei's stated run time of two days before it needs to be recharged. Despite this, you'll probably tend to charge it every night as you would with your phone (or any other smartwatch), but knowing it can comfortably make it through a day and a half away from the charging dock adds some peace of mind. Compared with other watches, the Huawei Watch's battery life is slightly better than average.

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The Huawei Watch's magnetic charging dock with pogo pin connectors. / © ANDROIDPIT

Huawei Watch technical specifications

Final verdict

In terms of aesthetics and feel, the Huawei Watch is arguably the best Android Wear smartwatch around. But classic design and premium materials come at a cost. At between US$350 and 400 for the standard model, the Huawei Watch is more expensive than some comparable offerings.

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Is the Huawei Watch the smartwatch for you? / © ANDROIDPIT

Technically, the Huawei Watch is on a par with most other Android Wear devices. Although it has a better screen than most, it falls down in the performance stakes; the stutters we mentioned ealier really mar the experience. This could be fixed with a future Android Wear update, which is good news, but for now it's definitely noticeable.

If you're looking for a low price smartwatch with all the requisite features, you might want to look elsewhere (you can pick up a solid smartwatch for as little as US$150 at the moment). But if you're after a watch that also serves a status symbol and fashion accessory then the Huawei Watch is definitely worth a closer look. It may not be perfect, but its closer to attaining that status than any other Android Wear watch so far.

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Shu On Kwok

Shu On Kwok
Senior Editor

Since 1999, Shu has written about the colorful world of IT and telecommunications. His career started as a presenter at the five-hour TV show NBC GIGA, which led him through several career stages until he finally joined the AndroidPIT team in May of 2015. His passion for mobile devices and gadgets knows no boundaries. Whether Android, iOS or Windows, Shu feels at home with any OS.

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  • Micah Owensby 5
    Micah Owensby Mar 8, 2016 Link to comment

    I just bought this watch about a week ago. At first I noticed the dreaded performance stutters, which really took away from the experience, but with the update to Marshmallow performance is much more fluid. I absolutely love this device. The only reason I chose this over the Moto 360 is the flat tire, which I reasoned would drive me absolutely nuts. I can live without an ambient light sensor.


  • Mako Cam 1
    Mako Cam Feb 22, 2016 Link to comment

    Button fell off after 3 months of very light use, company says no repairs can be done and warranty is voided since the button fell off WTF


  • 5
    Edward Murray Oct 28, 2015 Link to comment

    IMO, this is the best looking A.W watch available.
    the Alcatel one touch watch looks great also, but it doesn't run A.W.


  • Dylan S. 11
    Dylan S. Oct 15, 2015 Link to comment

    They should have a sport version or a less premium version (like the Apple Watch and the Samsung gear s2)for a less premium price


  • 5
    Kevin Stagg Oct 13, 2015 Link to comment

    I know it's not Android Wear - but I'm liking the Tizen packed in the Gear 2 by Samsung much more better-er.


  • 31
    Deactivated Account Oct 13, 2015 Link to comment

    nice looking tech but what am I gonna do with it and what does it do for me..
    apple is gonna push wearable tech, but this is not the iPad which helped sell android tablet's, no matter how nice this tech is its just too much fashion and not enough function..
    for now....


    • Micah Owensby 5
      Micah Owensby Mar 8, 2016 Link to comment

      There is plenty of function here. Fitness tracking, making/taking phone calls, listening to music, taking notes, setting reminders, replying to texts, sending texts etc. I use my phone about 75% less since I got the Huawei Watch because it actually does that much.


      • Dominik 1
        Dominik Jun 15, 2016 Link to comment

        "making/taking phone calls" - how? as far as i know, this watch doesnt allow you to make/take phonecalls, this is the only thing that stops me from buying it :(
        edit: ok, i see there was an software update, great news :D


  • 19
    Glostermeteor Mar 14, 2015 Link to comment

    I am still struggling with what a smartwatch is supposed to be for. I have an LG G watch which was given to me as a present, and beyond being able to change faces and receive alerts when I get new messages it seems pretty gimmicky to me. It also drains my already fast draining phone battery faster as Bluetooth has to be enabled for it to work. I think until they find something that we actually need to use a smartwatch for their take up will be limited.

    Kevin Staggdrkmgiri


  • 5
    Carolyn Flaherty Mar 13, 2015 Link to comment

    Huawei Watch is here and for sure will make waves in the market. They are assume to be very useful for all your multitasking and daily lifestyle.

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