In the last year, smartwatches have grown on me, so much so that I don’t really wear any of my analog-style watches anymore (unless there is a special occasion that one of them fits). The HUAWEI Watch GT4 smartwatch became available recently, so I was keen to put it through the paces, as I loved the Watch GT3 last year and hoped that the next version could carry on the trend.
Starting off with the unboxing, the Watch GT4 comes packaged in a tidy little box and contains the watch itself, some quickstart manuals, the charger, and nothing more. Since the model of watch that I received had an adjustable strap, I simply put it on, secured the strap to the most comfortable fit, and off I went.
Aesthetically, the Watch GT4 smartwatch is a thing of beauty. It satisfies my desire for simple elegance by not having too much going on around the edges. The minute/hour guide around the perimeter is easy to read and not too small. The minute/hour guide is also split between a white colour on the bottom half and a lovely green colour on the top half to match the colour of the watch strap. Green isn’t my favourite colour at the best of times, but I really like the look of the watch and the strap.
As for the operating system, HUAWEI has kept Harmony O/S, and the interface remains largely the same as what was on the Watch GT3. This made things super easy to navigate around, as I already knew where everything was. Even if you are a newcomer to the HUAWEI ecosystem, the Harmony O/S is extremely easy to use and find what you want.
“Aesthetically, the Watch GT4 smartwatch is a thing of beauty”
You still do need to have the HUAWEI Health app on your Android or iOS device to pair the watch to and software updated to at least Android 8 or iOS 13 or later. The HUAWEI Health app allows your watch to track all of your pertinent data, like sleep, activity, heart rate, etc. and displays that data in an easy-to-read way. The app also allows you to update the firmware of the watch, change the watch face, and more.
Since the Watch GT4 still runs on the Harmony O/S, it still is not compatible with some of your more popular apps, like Spotify, Google Maps, YouTube, and more. While there are some substitutes found in the app gallery, I don’t think they’re worth the time and effort to use when you go right back to Spotify or Google Maps when you’re using your mobile device. As for me, I have the smartwatch set up to receive messages from my Facebook Messenger, regular SMS messages, and phone calls. That’s about it for app connectivity, and that’s more than enough for me.
Receiving messages is the main goal of my Watch GT4, but responding to them still requires me to use my phone. Sure, there are a few pre-determined replies that you could use if one is relevant, but more often than not, I was pulling out my device if I needed to send a more detailed reply. Same with phone calls, I could see who is calling and either accept or decline. If I want to send to voicemail or screen the call, then I need to pull my phone out to do so.
“Since the Watch GT4 still runs on the Harmony O/S, it still is not compatible with some of your more popular apps, like Spotify, Google Maps, YouTube, and more.”
As for answering an actual phone call on the watch, it is possible, but I don’t really recommend it. The sound quality isn’t awesome, and I still encountered many instances where I would accept the call on the Watch GT4, and it would answer on my phone, where I would have to go and change the source back to the watch.
Now we come to the actual star of the show, and that is the screen on the Watch GT4. The display itself on the 46 mm model (which is the one I used) features a resolution of 466×466 and retains the PPI (pixels per inch) of 326 that the Watch GT3 had. The AMOLED screen is still as beautiful as ever and displays some incredibly crisp and bright colours while supporting full-screen touch, swiping, pressing, and long-pressing to make your interactions on the watch as easy as can be.
One of the best things that I observed while using the Watch GT4 would have to be the Enhanced Route Tracking. This utilizes a smart satellite antenna array to boost the accuracy of the watch’s signal by up to 30%. This means that your runs are more accurately tracked if you’re gliding through side streets, alleyways, apartment complexes, and more. In practice, it became very easy to see where I had been, as previous devices I’ve used would trim a whole section of distance, making my distance travelled seem smaller than it actually was, giving me inaccurate results.
“During the month or so I have used the Watch GT4, I was getting around 10-11 days of battery life per full charge.”
A lot of features, like the Pulse Wave Arrhythmia Analysis, which is designed to give you alerts about your heart health, alerting you to possible A-fib, and premature beat risks, are still in development and aren’t available to users outside of China. If/when they become available, I am keen to put them to use to see exactly how accurate and helpful they are.
The last thing I want to touch on is the battery life, which is a pain point for many smartwatch users, regardless of the device they use. During the month or so I have used the Watch GT4, I was getting around 10-11 days of battery life per full charge. This is with the Always-On Display turned off and moderate usage in regard to incoming messages, sleep tracking, etc.
HUAWEI claims that the Watch GT4 can get up to 14 days of battery usage under slightly less strenuous usage compared to my own, up to 8 days of battery under more heavy usage, and 4 days with the Always-On Display on. I can’t complain about the battery life at all, as it is exponentially better than that of similar devices, like the Google Pixel Watch 2, which only features a 24-hour battery life.
All told the HUAWEI Watch GT4 smartwatch is a very reliable device that looks good and does pretty much what you expect a smartwatch to do. If/when more features become available outside of China, then the true potential of the watch will be seen, but until then, I’ll continue to use it every day simply because it’s a low-maintenance peripheral that gives me better integration with my phone.
- 1.43 inches AMOLED screen
- 14-day maximum battery life
