Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro is arguably the best-looking large-screen smartwatch, but there are compromises

Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro: Thanks to US sanctions most third party apps are absent

Adrian Weckler Twitter Email

June 30 2022 02:30 AM

Price: from €349

Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro

Pros: great design, screen and battery life

Cons: limited app compatibility

Although Huawei doesn’t sell phones here anymore (thanks to US trade restrictions), it does still market quite a lot of other tech. In some ways, the most impressive of these are its smartwatches. The GT 3 Pro, its latest high-end model, is a good example of why – while also illustrating the limitations that Huawei’s isolation has, even on wearable accessories.

First, the good bits. This is arguably the best-looking large-screen smartwatch you can get right now. Huawei is clearly trying to make up for some of what you can’t do on this watch by creating the nicest design.

My test model, a 46mm version with a titanium (link-chain) strap (€499) is easily the neatest, most premium-looking smartwatch design I’ve seen outside Apple’s ludicrously expensive Hermes-strap collection.

It has a clever size-adjustment system, from slim to large wrists. The other models look good, too, from the ‘basic’ black strap (€359) and grey leather strap (€369) to the brighter 43mm white leather strap (€499) 43mm ceramic (€599).

Battery life is also relatively excellent . The 46mm model that I’m wearing gets me over 10 days with moderate interaction on it, which is noticeably longer than an Apple Watch (two days) or a Samsung Galaxy Watch (five days).

And the screen itself (1.4-inches on the 46mm version, 1.3 inches on the white 43mm ones) is beautifully bright and responsive, with Oled colour profiles.

As you’d expect, it’s properly waterproof and has built-in GPS. It has all of the main sensors you’d want, including SpO2, optical heart rate and even an EKG (though this is not permitted yet in the EU as Huawei doesn’t have clearance).

And for quick and easy access to the most common fitness tasks, the GT 3 Pro is also pretty good, from running, biking and swimming to workouts.

It’s what you can do – or, more importantly, can’t do – with that data that shows the limitation of Huawei’s smartwatches.

Third party app integration is poor or non-existent, meaning you’ll be completely reliant on Huawei’s Health app (which works well on either iOS or Android).

It also means no mainstream music platforms, such as Spotify, to keep you company. Or one of the main voice assistant apps you might now expect to see on a mainstream smartwatch.

Huawei’s ecosystem isn’t bad for those who just want an accurate, good-looking smartwatch that does the basic fitness things well. But if you’re someone who likes to link their smartwatch to their phone a lot, you’ll be making some compromises with this one.