Huawei Watch Fit Review: Stylish Design Deters from Inaccurate Fitness Tracking

For various reasons, Huawei and its subsidiary Honor are no longer involved in the smartphone market in India. Nevertheless, the company continues to thrive in adjacent product categories, such as wearables and audio devices. Wearables are particularly popular and rapidly expanding, especially in the budget-friendly segment that features many of Huawei’s recent releases. One of the latest products launched by the company is the Huawei Watch Fit.

Available for Rs. 8,999 in India, the Huawei Watch Fit is positioned as a smartwatch rather than merely a fitness tracker, although its design and features may suggest otherwise. Its price point is slightly above many competing products with comparable features, but certain distinguishing factors set it apart. Is this the ultimate fitness-oriented wearable for under Rs. 10,000? This review will answer that question.

Design of the Huawei Watch Fit

Smartwatches and fitness trackers provide many similar functionalities, but their distinctions lie in their physical design and software capabilities. The Huawei Watch Fit boasts a design that is sufficiently unique to not be easily categorized as either. The expansive AMOLED display and robust casing give it a smartwatch appearance, while its slim profile and fitness-oriented features align more with those of a fitness tracker.

The Huawei Watch Fit features a 1.64-inch AMOLED touchscreen with a resolution of 280×456 pixels, resulting in a pixel density of 326ppi and a screen-to-body ratio of 70 percent. It is offered in three color options in India: black, blue, and pink, each featuring matching detachable rubber straps. A single button is located on the right side of the device. On the underside, you’ll find the charging contact points and the optical sensor for monitoring heart rate and blood oxygen levels.

I found the Huawei Watch Fit to be comfortable for extended wear, and it was light enough to remain unobtrusive even during sleep. The button functionality includes power control, access to the app drawer when on the home screen, and navigation back to the home screen from anywhere within the watch’s interface. The device includes a charging cable that magnetically attaches to the charging points below, remaining securely in place on a flat surface during the charging process.

The Watch Fit weighs 21g minus the straps and includes various sensors such as an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a capacitive sensor to wake the screen with a lift gesture, an ambient light sensor, and an optical heart rate sensor. Additionally, it comes with built-in GPS and is rated at 5ATM for water resistance. The primary connection to your smartphone is via Bluetooth, though the version has not been detailed.

Software, Interface, and App of Huawei Watch Fit

The Huawei Watch Fit operates on its own custom OS and interface, connecting with the companion app via Bluetooth (available for both Android and iOS) to synchronize health and fitness data. For the purpose of this review, I used an Android smartphone with the app installed.

The user interface is simple and streamlined, relying on touch and tap gestures for navigating through different screens, complementing the physical button’s functionality.

The Huawei Health app facilitates the connection between the Watch Fit and your smartphone and is downloadable for both iOS and Android

The AMOLED display is effectively utilized on the Huawei Watch Fit, employing predominantly dark backgrounds to enhance content visibility and conserve battery. The smartwatch has a fixed selection of apps that generally cover essential functions, with no option to install third-party applications. Most apps on the smartphone I paired with the Watch Fit received notifications, including WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, as well as Phone and Messages apps.

I appreciated the sharp and premium appearance of the Watch Fit’s interface, optimized well for the high-resolution AMOLED display. Access to settings and notifications was straightforward, fitness and health data was just a few swipes away, and starting workouts or measuring my heart rate and SpO2 levels was quite convenient. Additional functionalities included weather updates, music control for the connected smartphone, timers, alarms, and a feature to locate the paired smartphone.

Many preinstalled watch faces can be selected directly on the Huawei Watch Fit, but you also have the option to download custom faces via the Huawei Health app at no cost. While many of these seemed poorly designed, there are notable exceptions that are functional and aesthetically pleasing, providing additional information alongside the time, such as step counts and heart rate.

The Huawei Health app performed admirably, maintaining a stable connection between the smartwatch and smartphone during my usage. The app synchronizes and stores health and fitness data for easy access. From the app, users can initiate workouts directly, adjust essential device settings, update firmware, and more. It ranks among the better apps available for affordable smartwatches and fitness trackers today.

The 1.64-inch AMOLED panel, featuring a resolution of 280×456 pixels, delivers a sharp and clear viewing experience

Performance and Battery Life of Huawei Watch Fit

Although marketed as a smartwatch, the Huawei Watch Fit seems more akin to a high-end fitness tracker. With its large, crisp AMOLED display, the necessary hardware for monitoring primary health and fitness metrics, and practical second-screen features, the device appears impressive on paper for its price. However, I found the Huawei Watch Fit’s measurements for certain tracking parameters to be less than accurate. In contrast, smartwatch functionalities were more dependable, with no issues reported regarding app notifications, caller identification, or music controls.

The Huawei Watch Fit can track an impressive array of 96 different workout types, encompassing popular options such as indoor and outdoor walking and running, cycling, swimming, rowing, and elliptical activities, among others. It also supports niche activities like diverse dance styles, yoga, pilates, strength training, various martial arts, and well-known sports such as tennis, cricket, and football.

Additional categories encompass watersports, extreme sports such as parkour, and winter sports like snowboarding. While tracking accuracy for some of these activities remains uncertain, it’s advantageous that the Huawei Watch Fit is capable of recognizing various body movements associated with specialized activities.

The Huawei Watch Fit features a single button on its side, while most functionalities are operated via tap and swipe gestures on the display

For my evaluation, I focused on tracking standard exercise metrics, including indoor and outdoor walks as well as stair climbing in my apartment. During our manual step-counting test, the Huawei Watch Fit recorded 1,071 steps compared to my manual count of 1,000, leading to an error margin of approximately 7 percent. Further tests compared data with an Apple Watch Series 5, revealing similarly substantial discrepancies.

While walking in a controlled environment, the Huawei Watch Fit logged approximately 75 additional steps per 1,000 in comparison to the Apple Watch. The distance measurement displayed an even greater discrepancy, showing 1.14km on the Huawei device against 1km on the Apple Watch. Notably, the Watch Fit does provide the option for manual distance calibration for indoor walks to enhance tracking precision over time.

The Huawei Watch Fit includes a GPS sensor that activates for any outdoor workouts that depend on distance, such as walks and runs. I anticipated improved accuracy as a result, but the distance readings remained significantly off—1.18km on the Huawei device versus 1km on the Apple Watch, for a distance that Google Maps approximated to be just shy of 1km.

Overall, the Huawei Watch Fit’s fitness tracking falls short of the accuracy I’ve seen from lower-priced devices with comparable features, such as the Realme Watch 2 Pro.

I also discovered that the SpO2 readings were notably inaccurate when compared to a reliable pulse oximeter; the Huawei Watch Fit displayed blood oxygen saturation levels of 96-97 percent, while the pulse oximeter recorded 98-99 percent.

[IMAGE_5]

The bottom part of the Huawei Watch Fit houses the optical sensor for heart rate and SpO2 monitoring

Heart rate measurements taken from the Huawei Watch Fit proved to be accurate, aligning well with readings from both the pulse oximeter and the Apple Watch. Sleep tracking on the Huawei device was also fairly precise, providing more detailed insights than the Apple Watch.

The battery life of the Huawei Watch Fit is commendable, lasting approximately nine days on a full charge with regular usage. Users might achieve slightly longer battery life by disabling continuous heart rate monitoring and limiting GPS use. Nonetheless, decent battery performance is observed even with more power-intensive activities. Charging the device is also quick and convenient with the accompanying cable.

Conclusion

The Huawei Watch Fit boasts a range of positive attributes including a well-thought-out design, quality hardware, an excellent display, and sophisticated software, paired with an app that ensures seamless operation. Yet, it falters in a critical area: fitness tracking. The inaccuracies in step and distance tracking are too pronounced, and the blood oxygen saturation measurements appeared inconclusive during testing. Although heart-rate and sleep tracking yielded satisfactory results, these features alone do not sufficiently verify the fitness capabilities of the device.

As a smartwatch, the Huawei Watch Fit performs reasonably well, making it a potential option for those who prioritize design and user-friendliness. However, as a fitness tracker, it falls short in comparison to more budget-friendly competitors, such as the Realme Watch 2 Pro. Alternatives like the Mi Watch Revolve Active could also be worth exploring at a similar price range.