Huawei Technologies’ new Watch GT 4 series demonstrates clearly that the Chinese tech giant’s ambitions in the consumer electronics market remained undimmed, despite US sanctions.

Huawei has been making smartwatches for years, though its early efforts were a bit hit and miss. With the Watch GT 4, however, the company has proved it can make highly fashionable and genuinely great-looking smartwatches that can compete with the likes of the Apple Watch and the best from Garmin at a fraction of the price (R6 999 for the GT 4 vs the Apple Watch Series 9’s starting price of R10 499) for the Garmin Venu’s price of R10 999.

And, smartly, the Watch GT 4 series – which has radically different designs for men (46mm watch face; weighing 48g) and women (41mm; 37g) – isn’t restricted to use with Huawei smartphones. Even Samsung and iPhone users can pair their devices with the Huawei Health app, though Android users will have to sideload the APK (Android package file) as the app, which is available in Apple’s App Store, is not available in the Google Play store, presumably because of US sanctions against Huawei (though that isn’t entirely clear).

That said, Huawei makes it relatively easy to sideload the APK to non-Huawei Android phones. This isn’t best practice from a security perspective – and this, in our view, is the biggest downside of the Watch GT 4. We hope Huawei can remedy this problem soon.

The watch – we tested the 46mm model – has a stunning design, amplified by its somewhat rugged-looking silver bezel. It looks more expensive than it is, and its Amoled screen is gorgeous and sufficiently bright (most of the time) to be viewed in direct sunlight. Both watches have IP68 water and dust resistance, meaning it’s fine to swim with it.

The downloadable watch faces are really what make the GT 4 stand out. The watch comes bundled with only a few of these, but thousands more can be downloaded online – many are free, and top quality, while paid-for watch faces typically cost between R5 and R20 each, though can go up to R60 a pop. Some of these watch faces are the best we’ve seen for a smartwatch, and at the price are worth every cent. Changing watch faces is also trivial (press, swipe, hold, select), meaning it’s easy to change them to match your outfit for the day, or your mood.

The 41mm version of the Watch GT 4 is clearly aimed at a female audience. Unfortunately, the battery life is not nearly as good as the 46mm model

Watch GT 4’s health capabilities

While fashion is undoubtedly important to many watch buyers, people buy smartwatches not only for what they look like, but also for their health capabilities. And here the Watch GT 4 includes sensors you’d expect in a much more expensive device aimed at sports enthusiasts.

These are some of the key technologies in the GT 4 series:

Precise heart-rate monitoring with upgraded TruSeen 5.5+ technology that also provides more accurate workout training;
Advanced sleep tracking and sleep breathing awareness, which detects interruptions in sleep and helps wearers improve their sleep quality; and
SpO2 measurements (useful in demanding, high-altitude exercise, for example)

Battery life is also extraordinary, certainly compared to other smartwatches, including the Apple Watch. Huawei promises 14 days on the 46mm edition, which has a 524mAh battery. It seems like a realistic claim, since four days after a full charge, our review watch was still showing more than 65% battery (no tracked exercise in that time). That’s the sort of battery life Garmin achieves, but with a different and dimmer display technology in models like the Fenix 7. The smaller, 41mm GT 4 watch doesn’t last as long, though at a claimed seven days from its 323mAh battery it still beats most other smartwatches (the Apple Watch Ultra 2, which costs three times as much, manages only 36 hours).

More than 25 000 watch faces like this one, called HLF184, can be downloaded online

The GT 4 series also excels at sports, making it an alternative not only to other smartwatches, but also sports watches from Garmin, Suunto and others. And, yes, it is compatible (at the time of writing) with Strava – the US-built fitness app popular among runners and cyclists. (Update: Although Strava integration is supported in the Huawei Health menus, in reality we couldn’t get it to sync our activity data.)

The watch, which runs Huawei’s HarmonyOS rather the Google Wear OS favoured by other Android smartphone vendors, supports over 100 sports modes and workout types, including Padel, a popular racket sport that combines elements of tennis and squash.

Ultimately, though, it’s the design and customisability that makes the Huawei Watch GT 4 stand out. The 46mm version, aimed at men, is one of the most fashionable smartwatches we’ve seen from any hardware vendor, and that on its own means this watch deserves a closer look. – © 2023 NewsCentral Media