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Huawei Watch GT 3 42mm Review


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Huawei Watch GT 3 42mm Review Rating

Summary

The Huawei Watch GT 3  is a significant upgrade from its predecessor, the hardware has improved incrementally and this now offers one of the most accurate wrist-based heart rate trackers I have used. The switch to Harmony OS opens up the watch to installable apps, this currently only has a limited number of useful apps but there is huge potential.

Pros

  • Still one of the best looking smartwatches on the market
  • Exceptional battery life
  • Accurate fitness tracking (HR and GPS)
  • Excellent health tracking features

Cons

  • No data exports such as Strava
  • Limited & poor selection of installable apps

The Huawei Watch GT series has always been great but somewhat limited. After Huawei launched the Watch 2 with WearOS back in 2017, it seemed like they ditched the idea of a fully-fledged smartwatch. The GT series sacrificed the functionality of installable apps in favour of a light OS that provided exceptional battery life and reasonably affordable price points.

Huawei finally launched the Watch 3 earlier this year which was equipped with Harmony OS, the Huawei alternative to WearOS/Google. It was a superb watch that outclassed most WearOS devices with the quality of the hardware and also battery performance, but Huawei can’t compete with the overall number of apps available.

The Huawei Watch GT 3 takes a different path than its predecessors, running a slimmed-down version of Harmony OS, opening up the possibility of far more functionality than was possible previously. Huawei has managed to do this while retaining the superb battery life the GT series is known for.

In theory, the Huawei Watch GT 3 should be a strong contender for the best smartwatch out there, but as usual, there are a few niggling complaints.

Specfication / Key Features

Huawei Watch GT 3
Display 46mm: 1.43-inch AMOLED, 326ppi,
466 x 466 resolution

42mm: 1.32-inch AMOLED, 352ppi,
466 x 466 resolution

Dimensions and weight 46mm: 45.9 x 45.9 x 11mm
42.6g

42mm: 42.3 x 42.3 x 10.2mm
35g

Build/Design 46mm
Colour: Black/Steel
Material: Stainless steel and plastic
Watch straps: Black rubber strap, brown leather strap, stainless steel strap

42mm
Colour: Black/Gold
Material: Stainless steel and plastic
Watch straps: Black rubber strap, white leather strap, gold Milanese strap

Battery 46mm: Up to 14 days of “typical” use, 8 days with heavy use

42mm: Up to 7 days of “typical” use, 4 days with heavy use

Wireless charging

Processor ARM Cortex-M
RAM 32MB
Storage 4GB
Hardware Speaker
Microphone
Connectivity Dual-band GNSS
GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, and QZSS
Bluetooth
Sensors Accelerometer
Gyroscope
Geomagnetic
Optical heart rate sensor
Air pressure
Temperature
Durability 5ATM
Software Harmony OS
Compatibility Harmony OS 2 or later
Android 6.0 or later
iOS 9.0 or later

One thing Huawei has not disclosed is what chipset this is running. It is an unknown ARM Cortex-M chipset. Previous generations ran the Kirin A1, which was a big selling point at the time.

Design & Build Quality

I opted to review the smaller 42mm model this year. I have already reviewed the 46mm Huawei Watch GT 2, GT2e and GT 2 Pro. I have relatively thin wrists, so it is not too hard for me to pull off the smaller size, and I think the black model looks more elegant than the black 46mm watch.

The black is a bit of a dull colourway. This model also comes in gold or with a white strap and bronze/gold trim. The other colours are perhaps a little feminine for my personal style, but the product pictures make them look much more impressive. It is worth noting that the other colours come with a premium price, £20 extra for the while leather, £70 for light gold.

My black 42mm model has a similar overall design to the Watch 3. Both with curved glass, and the crown is located in the same place. It is not as weighty as the Watch 3, weighing just 35g vs 54g, and this is not just because it is a smaller size, the 46mm model is only 42.6g. This is heavier than the previous generation, the 42mm watch weighs 6g more, and this is reflected in the overall build quality. It feels like a proper watch rather than cheap plastic.

Just like the Watch 3, the crown can be rotated and pressed for navigation, or you can use the touch screen. Physical navigation is always a big bonus for anyone that does fitness making stopping and starting activities easier.



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