Review: The Huawei Watch 2 (Sport)

Meet the Huawei Watch 2 – one of the most anticipated Android smartwatches around. The wearable comes in sports and classic watch styles with variations that cater to almost every taste out there. From the slick black timepiece with a posh leather strap to the rubberised sporty version with bright yellow or orange highlights.

We had the sport version show up in the office. Sure, it’s got a funky rubber strap and comes in bright colours, (our review unit had bright yellow buttons and a clasp) that might not appeal to more conservative watch fanatics, but I loved it.

Since the alpha, the original Huawei Watch is my daily timepiece, I was curious to give this a go. At first glance, the AMOLED screen is a lot smaller than its predecessor at 1.2-inches. Though it fits quite snugly on your wrist. It’s light as well, weighing about 40gms.

The initial start-up interface looks quite childish. Perhaps Huawei were trying to make it seem a bit more sporty with the pre-loaded watch faces, however swap it out with a custom watch face and you’re good to go.

One of the best features is within. The watch rocks Android Wear 2.0. And can run applications remotely. My favourite application was Uber – summoning transportation right from your wrist – the future is here!

This thing is a Fitness Freak

Another interesting feature of the watch is its insatiable need to keep you fit. This is something that the first generation Watch didn’t do quite well and I had to resort to a Fitbit for help. The Watch 2’s fitness offerings are quite impressive.

Once you set up your Daily Tracking app with your details, you can set a daily reminders for your fitness goals. You can even set reminders to stand up or stretch. The app also tells you your BMI and tracks your heart rate, with the option to have it live on a watch face continuously in real time. Lastly, its independent GPS app can track your workout when you’re away from your phone too.

And then there’s the running and workout coach with real time guidance on when to run faster or slow down.

One of my main issues with the Watch’s design is that its crowns and bezels do not rotate. It’s just a design gimmick, when compared to something like the Samsung S3 Frontier that makes navigating through menus much easier. Perhaps in the Watch 3 huh Huawei?

Lastly, the battery. One of the main issues I experienced with the first generation Huawei Watch, was that it needed to be charged every day, despite its 300mAh battery that claimed to last two days.

The Watch 2 is fitted with a 420mAh battery which also claims two days. I’ve managed a little less than two days with this device – so that stat seems legit. Then again, it all comes down to usage. So yeah.

Verdict? It’s a close tossup between the Samsung S3 Frontier and the Watch 2. But if you’re in the market for a smart watch right now at around Dh1000, you won’t be disappointed with this device.

Huawei Watch 2 Specifications: