One minute review
For its latest watches, Huawei had altered from WearOS to its Lite operating system. This change caused Huawei to lose access to apps on its watches, but got much better battery life. Huawei has now integrated Lite OS with Harmony OS, which is expected to power each and every Huawei smart device in the future. For its 2 flagship, Huawei relies on HarmonyOS XNUMX, which not only accepts third-party apps, but with a battery-saving option helps the Watch XNUMX Pro last up to XNUMX days. The new operating system also brings a unique new style to the Watch XNUMX Pro, resulting in a clean interface, smooth animations, and an overall pleasant browsing experience. The new look comes with a host of smarts, including temperature tracking, SpOXNUMX, stress and sleep monitoring, and more. For a watch as seriously stylish as the Watch XNUMX Pro, there's a lot you can do just by sitting on your wrist. A new addition is the eSIM feature, which separates the Watch XNUMX Pro from your smartphone to work as a standalone device. This allows you to make phone calls, listen to music, and enjoy fairly accurate GPS tracking while running outdoors. Battery life is pretty solid despite all the tech in this watch, with the ability to last even longer if you slow the watch down a bit and turn off most of its tech. But this watch isn't meant to be just a standard centerpiece, it's meant to fit seamlessly into your life (and your phone) to support you on a daily basis. There are still a few things here and there that could be a bit of a downer for first-time Watch XNUMX Pro users. NFC payments haven't been launched in the area yet and eSIM compatibility is going to largely depend on the carrier you're tied to. your phone today. Then there's the size and weight of the Watch XNUMX Pro, which can be a bit of a pain on smaller wrists, and also awkward to wear at night as a sleep tracker.
Huawei Watch XNUMX Pro price and release date
- Pre-orders in UAE from August 1 to September XNUMX
- At a cost of AED 1,999
In the UAE, the cost of the Huawei Watch 1 Pro is set at AED one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine. Pre-orders will be available from August XNUMX to September XNUMX, and customers of the service will receive Freebuds XNUMX for free, valued at AED XNUMX. That's a lot to ask for a smartwatch, and it's significantly more expensive than the Apple Watch XNUMX and Samsung Galaxy Watch XNUMX. The Huawei Watch XNUMX Pro is clearly aimed at a more complex user base, with looks and features, high-end materials. .
Design and display
- Large one-forty-three-inch screen with four-hundred-sixty-six x 466 determination
- Bracelet options include leather and metal links.
- Weight sixty-three g, case forty-eight mm
Huawei has gotten really good at making clothes that look like watches. Large attractive round faces, modest bezels and buttons on the right side. For the Huawei Watch XNUMX Pro, these buttons include a familiar rotating crown, giving you all the familiarity of an Apple Watch's scroll wheel, but none of the boxy vibrations of WatchOS. The Watch XNUMX Pro can be picked up with a leather strap like our test model, or with a metal link strap as well.
(Image credit: Avenir) Bright and clean, the Huawei Watch XNUMX's AMOLED screen is boosted to a thousand nits, making it easy to view outdoors, even in bright sunlight. Auto brightness and a XNUMXHz display make scrolling and menus very responsive. At XNUMX ppi, the XNUMX-inch AMOLED panel screams quality, while the curved glass on top is comfortable for a finger to glide over. The titanium body is clearly an attractive feature, covering each and every side of the watch body, including the lugs. This makes it particularly resistant to drops, scratches and weather conditions, especially in the harshest of times. It's also water resistant, making it ideal for running outside or monitoring your swimming performance.
(Image credit: Avenir) The leather strap is a great option for those who want a more traditional look, but aren't really suited to other activities like working indoors or running outside. Thank goodness the XNUMXm leashes can easily be swapped out for something different, so I personally stick with the leather look for everyday/office use and switch to a different leash for training. The rotating crown on the side of the Watch XNUMX Pro is a great touch and allows you to zoom in and out, as well as quickly scroll through options. The "Huawei Watch" text engraved on the crown shows how much detail Huawei has put into this little feature. It's easy to use and navigate, and it's clearly a nice touch. Like the Apple Watch, you get a slight haptic feedback when you scroll with the crown.
(Image credit: Avenir) Below that is a secondary button that starts the perfect training mode by default, but can be set for other uses like music, alarms, contacts, etc. You can also hold it down to activate Huawei's digital assistant, which we'll get to later. The size and weight of the watch make it a bit awkward on smaller wrists, so you'll just have to live for this Pro variation. Using the Watch XNUMX Pro as a sleep tracker adds to the slight discomfort. This is something we were very aware of when using it when trying to fall asleep, and clearly you have to be careful not to accidentally hit a partner while you're sleeping.
- Run Harmony OS 2.0
- Controlled via Huawei Health app
- Notifications are not interactive
If you want to use the Huawei Watch with a non-Huawei phone, you need to install the Huawei Health app on your iPhone or Android device and pair the watch via Bluetooth, with varying degrees of functionality. It is essential to note that the Health app should only be downloaded from the Huawei app store; we tried a version of the Google Play store and it just didn't work when we tried to pair the watch with our phone.
(Image credit: Avenir) While previous Huawei wearables used either Android Wear or LiteOS, the Watch XNUMX runs Harmony OS XNUMX. It resembles Lite OS XNUMX, with full app support via the watch's AppGallery, very fancy menus, and an Apple Watch-style grid of apps. Navigation is quick and easy and the menus are simple to read. Personalization is key here, and you can explore more than one with zero watch faces to pick one that suits your mood and needs. On iOS, however, that selection dwindles to less than XNUMX. There are several great watch faces to choose from, but we found that some of the more complex (and precious) watch faces were only paid for, some set to AED. twenty. Whether or not you want to spend the money on a watch face is entirely up to you, but we choose to use what was installed on the watch. For even more customization, you can still create your animated watch face with a short video clip from your phone, but keep in mind that animated watch faces will start to drain the life of your watch, your battery.
(Image credit: Avenir) The Huawei Health app is where all the action is, containing a host of activity trackers including heart rate, stress, sleep patterns and more. There's plenty of information that can be easily browsed, as long as you're wearing the Watch XNUMX Pro throughout most of the day, and at night for sleep tracking. Everything is organized efficiently and you really get a good breakdown of your fitness goals with the information summarized on the watch.
(Image credit: Avenir) Also new to the Watch XNUMX Pro is the ability to install apps natively from Huawei's app store, directly from the watch, without the need for a phone. App availability is limited now, but there are a few apps that are highlighted. Emirates, for example, has an app that lets you enter your flight booking reference, then get flight information and updates right on your watch. The Talabat and Dubai Taxi apps work with your smartphone to provide updates on trips and grocery deliveries. It's a slow-developing ecosystem, and more integrations are required little by little to make their way in the coming months.
(Image credit: Avenir) Unfortunately, notifications on the Watch XNUMX Pro are somewhat lacking, just because they only display information - you can't interact with or reply to them in any way. So if you get a quick WhatsApp message and want to reply, you'll need to pull out your phone, although the Watch XNUMX Pro has built-in keyboard input. It could be because the Watch XNUMX Pro is not running Watch OS. - Android can be really picky about the data you share with other devices and apps, so unfortunately you can't interact with your watch notifications beyond just reading it. One thing the Watch XNUMX Pro touts loud and clear is its new eSIM support. In the UAE, Etisalat and du offer eSIM to subscribers, though you have to visit a local branch or use their dedicated apps to activate it properly. Once activated, you can use your Huawei Watch XNUMX Pro independently from your phone, and you can even make and receive calls from it. Even without activating eSIM, the Watch XNUMX Pro works fine for making and receiving calls through your paired phone.
(Image credit: Avenir) The clarity of phone calls was quite acceptable, and callers didn't even realize we were using a smartwatch to call them. This is certainly useful when you're running outside and an urgent call comes in, but eSIM activation isn't required to take advantage of the Watch XNUMX Pro for calls. The Watch XNUMX Pro's speakerphone is loud enough to hear what it says, so for quick calls that won't last more than a few minutes, it's got you covered. Remember, we're not planning to have full conversations through the Watch XNUMX Pro; it's helpful to call someone quickly or tell them you'll call them back later. A better use of LTE connectivity is to stream music or podcasts and listen to them on wireless headphones.
(Image credit: Avenir) Huawei's smart assistant Celia is also on the Watch XNUMX Pro. Built to mimic other digital assistants, you can set simple alarms, ask for weather updates, or call contacts. Corn...