Huawei Watch Fit 2 review

The Huawei Watch Fit 2 is without doubt one of the newest smartwatches from Huawei with an emphasis on vogue in addition to health. 

It’s a little bit less expensive than Huawei’s personal Watch GT 3 Pro and Watch GT Runner, however could also be a little bit pricier than the Fitbit Charge 5, and the recently-launched Huawei Band 7. It sits someplace in the similar value bracket because the running-centric Polar Pacer. 

The Watch Fit 2 is subsequently higher suited in opposition to people who find themselves extra considering mild activity or who’re simply beginning a Couch to 5K-type program, and/or individuals who desire a smartwatch that’s one thing of a observation piece in addition to an activity support. 

Design and construct

• Lightweight and low-profile
• Single bodily keep watch over
• Different designs for health devotees and the fashion-conscious
• Essentially a refresh of the primary Watch Fit’s design

The Huawei Watch Fit 2’s design is unassuming but trendy – it’s an oblong case with rounded corners, and a unmarried button at the facet. 

The watch case measures 46 x 33.5 x 10.8mm, and whilst that’s now not as flush in your wrist as, say, the Fitbit Charge 5, the profile continues to be lovely low, that means maximum long-sleeved clothes ought to slip properly excessive. 

Like the unique Watch Fit, it appears to be like extra like a miniaturised phone than the likes of the Huawei Watch GT Runner or Polar Grit X Pro, whose round shows and chunky straps mimic conventional watch designs. 

There are 3 variations of the Huawei Watch Fit 2, Active, Classic, and Elegant Editions, and it’s smooth to inform who those are all aimed toward. 

The Active fashions are produced from plastic, function silicone straps, and are obviously geared extra in opposition to individuals who aren’t prone to thoughts if their watch will get rained on, or caked in a little bit of dust. 

The Classic model options an aluminium frame and a leather-based strap, and is a little bit pricier, whilst the Elegant watches are pricier nonetheless, however function an excessively fetching Milanese mesh strap which fastens with a magnetic strip as an alternative of the standard buckle. 

Thomas Newton / Foundry

The model I used to be despatched used to be a silver Elegant fashion, and the magnetic clasp used to be very nifty certainly. Having stated that, the mesh strap did ceaselessly transfer round on my wrist a little bit throughout runs within the park. While I by no means felt that the item would fall off, it did make me wonder whether the accuracy of the guts charge observe can be compromised. 

Again, in case your pursuits lie extra within the path of calisthenics than aesthetics, your selection is apparent. It’s excellent that you just have a decision as smartly – the unique Watch Fit simplest got here with one strap choice and that used to be silicone, or pass house. The straps additionally connect with the case with a click on to free up mechanism, so switching one out for every other will probably be no drawback. 

Regardless of which model you go for, the inner parts and purposes are the similar. 

Thomas Newton / Foundry

Display and audio 

• 1.74in AMOLED show is colourful and responsive
• 336 x 480 pixels, 336ppi
• Internal mic helps voice calls over Bluetooth
• Skip song tracks, resolution calls, and select up phone notifications

The Watch Fit 2’s show is shiny, detailed, and responsive, all of which makes it smooth so that you can learn messages and motion instructions whether or not you’re mid-exercise or in the course of a gathering. The speaker’s additionally loud sufficient for you with the intention to simply pay attention encouragements from the digital trainer when understanding, and the speaker blended with the inner mic means that you can resolution and take calls by the use of Bluetooth. 

Huawei doesn’t listing the utmost brightness of the AMOLED show, however I will ascertain that it’s greater than shiny sufficient for you with the intention to take a look at your tempo, distance, time and the remainder when outdoor on a sunny afternoon. 

The 9-axis IMU sensor, comprising an accelerometer, gyroscope, and geomagnetic sensor is suave sufficient to locate whilst you’re elevating your arm so as to take a look at in your vitals, powering at the show as a way to get a handy guide a rough have a look at issues. As with the Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro, there’s no option to regulate the sensitivity of this tilt-to-wake function, however it’s excellent sufficient as it’s. 

Even if you happen to’ve labored up a sweat, in reality the usage of the Watch Fit 2 isn’t a bother, even though extra bodily controls may have made this more straightforward. 

Thomas Newton / Foundry

Software and lines 

• HarmonyOS 2.1
• Interface may also be customised – to some degree
• No NFC beef up, so Huawei Wallet doesn’t paintings

The Huawei Watch Fit 2 runs on HarmonyOS 2.1, and provides a consumer enjoy very similar to what you get on watches just like the Watch 3 and Watch GT 3 sequence. 

The responsiveness of the show is complemented smartly through a slightly logical structure which offers you a point of customisation, even though there are limits to what you’ll do. 

Swipe proper from the house display screen and also you’ll transfer via a sequence of panels, or ‘playing cards’ as Huawei calls them. These are such things as shortcuts to the SpO2 (Pulse Oximetry) reader device, center charge observe, name log, and climate widget, all helpful stuff that you just’d most likely wish to have on the subject of hand when exercising. 

But you’ll’t, for instance, pin controls for elementary purposes, like quantity, or brightness, as playing cards. And whilst you’ll upload a shortcut to coaching plans you create at the Huawei Health cell app, you can also’t upload a shortcut to any explicit workouts. 

It’s great with the intention to customize such things as the semblance – I added a complicated artwork deco-type background to mine – however the customisation feels pores and skin deep. 

Other helpful options come with the Ringing device, which reasons your phone to ring if you happen to’ve misplaced it, but in addition emits a voice which says ‘I’m heeeere’ in some way that’s by no means creepy. Music controls are easy, however efficient, and each time a textual content message comes via, you’re given the choice of replying with numerous pre-set responses, or swiping the message away. 

Frustratingly, for the reason that the Watch Fit 2 doesn’t function an NFC sensor – and subsequently doesn’t beef up NFC bills – there’s nonetheless a Huawei Wallet icon at the Watch Fit 2’s menu. You can release the app, however all it’ll do is instructed you to finish the set-up procedure at the Huawei Health cell app. Which you gained’t have the ability to entire, as a result of… the Watch Fit 2 doesn’t function an NFC sensor. 

Thomas Newton / Foundry

Fitness and monitoring

• 97 exercise modes
• Plan and organize routines with the Huawei Health cell app
• Takes a couple of minute for the GPS to fasten
• Exercise information may also be exported as GPX, TCX, and KML recordsdata

Huawei has added quite a lot of exercise guides to the Watch Fit 2, most commonly centred round operating, strolling, biking, and swimming, however there also are techniques designed to trace your efforts on go running shoes and rowing machines. While there’s no program in particular for such things as yoga or lifting weights, you’ll nonetheless file activity instances and your center charge as a generic ‘different’ exercise regimen. 

For probably the most phase, you’ll most likely be recording workout routines on an ad-hoc foundation, or selecting from numerous pre-set lessons, starting from the mild ‘Run/Walk-Primary’ to the extra intense ‘HIIT Run’.

You can plan out longer routines in higher element by the use of the Huawei Health apps (iOS, Android). These have easy layouts, and are smooth to navigate. As smartly as performing as a dashboard from which you’ll glance up day by day step counts, and drill down into such things as sleep information.  

The Huawei Health app means that you can proportion result of your efforts, both within the type of a JPEG, which is excellent for social media bragging, or within the type of GPX and KML recordsdata, will have to you need to proportion your routes with folks on platforms which will settle for those recordsdata. You too can offload center charge, energy burned, and cadence within the type of TCX recordsdata, if you wish to use this knowledge somewhere else. 

Battery

• Good longevity
• Charges briefly
• Magnetic charging cable is fiddly

Huawei says that you just’ll get between 7-10 days’ price of energy off of a unmarried price, and in keeping with my observations, I’d say that’s a correct estimate. 

It relies a great deal on what you’re doing. If you’re understanding each and every different day, you’re prone to want to achieve for the charging cable faster, however if you happen to’re now not exercising as incessantly, you’ll have the ability to pass additional on a unmarried price. 

For instance, after 8 days, together with a complete operating week, 1 exercise, and 1 stag weekend, I used to be on 9% battery. 

The provided USB-A charging cable is a little bit fiddly to hook up with the bottom of the Watch Fit 2, and doesn’t simply keep in position. As is conventional of maximum smartwatches, there’s no mains adapter within the field, simply the cable. 

Using a 2013 MacBook Pro’s USB port, I used to be in a position to get to 55% charged in part an hour, and 97% in an hour, taking about an hour and ten mins to completely price up. 

Using a Huawei TremendousCharge 22.5W mains adapter scavenged from an outdated Huawei P20 Pro review unit, I used to be in a position to head from empty to 87% complete in part an hour, taking 53 mins in general to price up from flat. 

Thomas Newton / Foundry

Price and availability

The Huawei Watch Fit 2 is that can be purchased now, at once from Huawei. 

On Huawei’s UK website online, the Active Edition is priced at £130, whilst the Classic Edition fashions are £160. The most costly Elegant Edition fashions price £190. 

You too can select up Active Edition and Classic Edition fashions from Amazon UK, which is promoting them for £129 and £159, respectively. There’s additionally lately a deal on at Amazon which sees you getting both model of the watch with some Huawei FreeBuds 4i bundled in, for £189.98, and £219.98 every. 

Currently, simplest the Active Edition variations of the Watch Fit 2 are indexed on Huawei’s Australian website online, however it’s now not imaginable to shop for at once.

Instead, patrons will have to head to Auptimal, which is promoting the Active Edition Watch Fit 2’s for AU$299, and the Classic Edition with the white leather-based strap later within the yr, or MobileCiti, which has inventory of Active Editions simplest, for AU$298.

Amazon Australia lists each Active Edition and Classic Edition variations of the Watch Fit 2, however used to be out of inventory on the time of writing. 

U.S. pricing and availability knowledge used to be now not to be had on the time of writing. 

Verdict 

The Huawei Watch Fit 2 is a great-looking and easy-to-use smartwatch that’s geared in opposition to well being monitoring, and springs with some helpful additional options, such because the phone locator and Bluetooth calling. With the most costly choice priced at below £200, it’s extra reasonably priced than some competition. 

While there are numerous choices, you could have much less keep watch over over the health information than you could possibly with different smartwatches, which may frustrate some, however the ones after a smartwatch which appears to be like large and will lend a hand other folks kick get started a brand new health regime, it’s an excessively compelling be offering. 

Specs

• Dimensions: 46 x 33.5 x 10.8 mm
• Weight: 30g
• Water resistance: 50m (5ATM water-proof)
• Display: 1.74in AMOLED
• Resolution 336×480, 336ppi
• Case: Polymer and steel, with plastic, leather-based or Milanese mesh straps
• Connectivity: A-GPS;Bluetooth 5.2 and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE);
• Charging: Magnetic charging Type-A USB cable;
• OS: HarmonyOS 2.1
• App beef up: Huawei Health app helps iOS 9.0 or above, Android 4.4 or above