Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro Review

On May 18, Huawei held its “Huawei Flagship Product Launch” event for 2022, bringing virtually all of the technology that had recently launched in China at the end of April, including the Watch GT 3 Pro line, to Europe and other regions.

In reality, the Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro is just the standard Huawei Watch GT with some upgrades. Huawei is also developing a more opulent phone with the same Harmony OS functionality using materials like titanium and ceramic.

The GT Runner costs more than the GT 3 due to a few features, mostly in the area of sports and health tracking. Is there more to it if the GT 3 Pro isn’t the first time Huawei has improved its GT series smartwatches? Here are our thoughts on it.

Design

The GT 3 Pro is all about aesthetics. You can choose between a white ceramic back or a lighter titanium finish casing when you upgrade to a Pro model.

We’re looking at the 46mm GT 3 Pro titanium model, which shares many design features with the non-Pro GT3. The watch has a tactile button and a rotating titanium crown.

This casing comes with a titanium strap if you want to go all-out for the metal aesthetic, but you can also get it with a fluoroelastomer strap that is better for working out. The titanium body ensures that it is a nice weight even though it is a little bulky.

I thought the design of the GT 3 wasn’t too bad. Although there might be a little more plastic present, the stainless steel isn’t all that terrible!

The 42mm model stands out because it has a smaller screen but a more attractive ceramic casing, which makes it more appealing. It’s nice to see Huawei offer a smartwatch that clearly targets women because there aren’t many on the market that looks like the ceramic option.

Read: Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro May Come With Luxury Straps

Display

Huawei’s 46mm smartphone has a 1.43-inch AMOLED screen that is vibrant and beautiful, and the company has continued to use the same display technology. Similar to the GT3s, this excellent always-on display is of the same caliber. Both indoors and outdoors, there are excellent viewing angles, and touch input is very responsive.

Waterproof

Although Huawei has also made the GT 3 Pro suitable for freediving down to a depth of 30 meters, it has the same level of waterproofing. Only a few smartwatches exist that offer that level of protection outside of swimming pools, and this one is the only one I’ve seen for freediving.

Sports modes

The functions of Huawei’s Watch GT 3 and GT Runner are unchanged, except for a few new sports modes and a new sensor. It is compatible with both iOS and Android devices and runs on the Harmony OS, but Android and Huawei smartphones offer the best user experiences.

Although the software and monitoring experience is good overall, there are still some areas where it lags behind competing smartwatch platforms.

Along with additional running-specific features like analyzing your running abilities and checking VO2 Max estimates, a variety of sports monitoring modes are included. You can upload and follow routes, use an external heart rate monitor to get more precise readings, and follow workout routines on the Pro.

You can track your progress in both a freediving mode and a driving range mode in addition to these two modes. Apart from that, it’s very comparable to the GT3 and GT Runner.

Navigation

When compared to the highly accurate multiband support on Garmin’s most recent watches, the dual-band five-system GNSS technology, which aims to improve outdoor accuracy, performs admirably but still falls short.

The swim tracking and heart rate monitoring were both excellent at high effort. A chest strap is the best option, though, if you value the heart rate-based insights that are available.

Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro health and sports features

Health tracking

When it came to tracking our health and fitness, sleep monitoring was noticeably better than with the Garmin GT3 and the Oura Ring 3. It’s not for everyone, but Huawei’s Healthy Living clover is a great addition to help you establish a better daily routine by prompting you to drink more water and smile more.

Additionally, there are sensors on board to measure skin temperature, SpO2, stress, and an ECG sensor that will help detect signs of atrial fibrillation. Because it hasn’t been certified in the UK or Europe yet, some users will have to wait to take advantage of the new feature that competes with the Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watch.

Read: Everything we know so far about the Apple Watch SE 2

Smart features

There has been no change to the GT 3 Pro’s ability to function as a smartwatch. Users of Huawei and Android devices will value it much more. Customers of Huawei phones may also use Huawei’s Celia intelligent assistant since the AppGallery storefront isn’t permitted when connected to an iPhone, and services like importing music and downloading apps from it aren’t supported.

You can check alerts, manage music playback, and place calls using Bluetooth. Also, you can control your phone’s camera—but only if it’s connected to an iPhone or a Huawei.

The smartwatch experience isn’t great, in general. The app store supports third-party apps, but there aren’t many of them currently.

At the very least, Huawei’s watch shop has a respectable selection of pre-installed watch faces, but adding to that collection can be expensive.

Battery Life

With regular use, the battery life can last up to 14 days.

After eight days of continuous heavy use, charge times have increased.

According to Huawei, the GT3 Pro’s battery capacity is the same as the GT3’s. The maximums are 14 days of “average usage” and 8 days of “intensive usage.”

These details apply to the titanium 46mm version. This is cut down to 7 days of regular use and 4 days of intensive use with Ceramic Pro.

My experience using the larger 46mm model leads me to believe that these numbers are correct. The GT3 and I both had similar experiences.

With continuous heart rate monitoring and GPS tracking enabled, this watch should be able to withstand a week of intensive use. This watch can last much longer than a week if you don’t constantly track your health and turn your screen off when not in use.

In comparison to the GT3, Huawei promises to charge devices at a rate that is 30 percent faster. However, Huawei appears to be highlighting this feature more on the 46mm model.

You will have a 25% charge after just 10 minutes of charging, and it will take 85 minutes to go from 0% to 100%. Although this isn’t the fastest charging rate for smartwatches, it might be enough to convince you to switch from the GT3’s non-Pro model.

Price and availability

Pre-orders for the Watch GT 3 Pro were between May 18 and May 29/7; the Titanium Edition and Ceramic Edition went on sale in the UK and Europe on May 30 and June 8, respectively.

The Titanium Edition and Ceramic Edition watch from Huawei are available directly from the company’s website (Titanium Edition/Ceramic Edition) and from a few carefully chosen retail partners like Amazon and Currys if you’re in the UK.

The 42mm Watch GT 3 is the least expensive of the two case sizes, just like the regular Watch GT 3 line (starting at CNY1,488/€229.99/£209.99). The cost of this new Pro series is clearly reflected in the fact that ceramic watches are always more expensive.

For $2,488/€369/£299.99, you can purchase a fluoroelastomer strap for the Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro Titanium Edition.

You should budget about $299 for the Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro Titanium Edition (46mm) with a leather band.

The Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro Titanium Edition (46mm) costs €499/£429.99 with a titanium band.

Ceramic model

A Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro Ceramic Edition costs $2,988, €499, or £429.99. (43mm).

Price for the 43mm Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro

Ceramic Edition with the ceramic band: is 4,688 yuan/€599 (or €699 in some regions).

However, even the 43mm ceramic-strapped version of the Ceramic Edition (as opposed to the leather-strapped model) is less expensive than many common ceramic watches.

Even though it is slightly more expensive than other smartwatches, it is still a fair price for a wristwatch considering Apple Watch/SE prices.

When it was first offered in China, the Watch GT 2 Pro cost 2,188 (roughly £260 or €270, based on 2020 conversion rates).

Huawei secretly reduced the price to £299.99/€299 when it actually went on sale instead of €329 (nearly a 22 percent markup), despite the fact that the initial price was €329 (almost a 22 percent markup) (just shy of an 11 percent increase, compared to its Chinese pricing).

Is it a good investment?

What you need is a fashionable wristwatch with effective sports tracking capabilities: When it launches, the GT3 Pro will have all of the GT3’s fantastic features in addition to some crucial ones, like ECG support, whether it is made of titanium or ceramic.

Customers of Huawei and Android are more likely than iPhone owners to enjoy this wristwatch. If you choose the iPhone, you won’t have access to the app store or the music player, among other features.

Conclusions

It does live up to its promise of being a more attractive and superior smartwatch alternative to Huawei’s GT 3 series. But in the end, the software and features are largely unaltered. If you want to purchase a GT 3 today, you’ll need to be persuaded by the titanium or ceramic finish or the assurance of future ECG support, given that the GT 3 is currently selling for around £150 and offers comparable performance.

If you don’t like the design of the Watch GT 3, the Huawei Watch GT3 Pro may be a good substitute. In the end, there aren’t enough differences between the Pro and non-Pro versions (which are now considerably less expensive) to warrant the extra expense.