When I was a kid, I used to dream of owning high-tech watches that agents from spy films used to wear. Imagine being able to use your watch as a phone, a map, a compass, a health monitor, and more! These were all put into reality by Huawei through their newest Huawei Watch 3.
I have nothing but praises for the Huawei Watch GT2 Pro in November 2020 but the Watch 3 is way better with its smoother animation, graphics, watch faces, health monitors, and features. This is the first time that I’ve tried a smartwatch with a skin temperature monitor, audio recorder, eSIM capability, automatic exercise detection, in-watch games and watch-optimized apps that can be useful in daily life (e.g. maps, language translators), to name a few.
For the price of Php 18,990, here’s what you can expect:
INSIDE THE BOX
The Huawei Watch 3’s box and contents are very similar with the Watch GT2 Pro. Inside the premium-looking black box, you’ll immediately find the smartwatch. Upon opening the compartment on the right side, you’ll find the charger, along with a couple of papers — the User Guide, Safety Information, Quick Start Guide, and Warranty Card. There’s also a small sheet containing the Huawei Health app’s QR code, which you’ll need to download in order to fully utilize the smartwatch’s features.
DESIGN AND DISPLAY
Only the Active Edition with fluoroelastomer (a type of synthetic rubber) strap and black stainless steel case is available in the Philippines but in other countries, Huawei also offers a Classic Edition with a leather strap and Elite Edition with a stainless steel strap. Either way, the 22m strap can be changed and the smartwatch has a consistent premium aesthetic look.
Despite having thin wrists, the Huawei Watch 3 fits me and my OOTDs perfectly with its 1.43-inch AMOLED display that has 466 x 466 resolution. It delivers bright colors and there are a lot of free watch faces to choose from in order to match our outfit. With a large curvature 3D glass technology, ceramic and sapphire polished back case, and an all titanium metal-body, it looks sleek and way more expensive than it’s actual price. I have no complaints about the size, given the multiple features that it offers. It can be quite hard to use its onscreen keyboard if Huawei made it smaller so this size is just right.
What I love about this is its rotating crown on the right side, which can be used to scroll through the smartwatch options when you’re tired of swiping on the screen. There’s also a quick access button below the rotating crown which can be used as a shortcut to Workout options or to any other app that you want.
The Huawei Watch 3 is also designed to accompany us even as we swim or take a bath. It has a 5ATM water resistance which is good for up to 50 meters. There’s a Drain feature which helps shake out excess water after every swim, which is pretty cool especially since I tend to overthink when charging water-resistant devices like this one after soaking them in water.
The only downside of its display is that it can be quite challenging to see what’s displayed on the watch when you’re under intense sunlight — unless you change the watch face to something more colorful and brighter. The strap, on the other hand, tends to attract lint but it’s easy to wash off. I prefer a leather strap, though.
PERFORMANCE
I am really in awe of the animations and smooth transitions of the Huawei Watch 3. The interface has a grid of apps, which is super neat vs the traditional list-like design. It can be a challenge for some to memorize which icon stands for what, but I love it! Users can also scroll the crown or pinch the screen in order to zoom in and out of the grid. It runs on HarmonyOS, has a dual-chipset, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage.
Gestures are supported and customizable as well so you can:
- Swipe down from the main menu to show shortcuts
- Swipe up for notifications
- Swipe left to right to return to previous screen
- Swipe right to left to show apps
- Double press the crown to view and delete recently opened apps
- Click the shortcut button to enter Workout Mode or an app of your choice (you’ll need to assign this via Huawei Health app)
The Huawei Watch 3 has over 100 workout types, which includes swimming, running, cycling, hiking, triathlon, and elliptical. If you’re not sure how to pace your workout, the digital fitness coach provides target heart rate and activities every few minutes to make sure that you make the most out of your time. It accurately measures the distance traveled, calories burned, and even keeps track of your location when running/ cycling.
Like other Huawei watches, the Watch 3 also has an Sp02 monitor, 24/7 heart rate monitor, stress monitor, sleep monitor, and breathing exercises feature. However, there’s one interesting addition that caught my attention: The Skin Temperature Monitor. With the rise of health concerns, it’s important to keep track of our temperature as well. Even though it does not delivery medical-grade results, checking our skin temperature from time to time can help keep our body in check.
Aside from the workout and health functions, the Watch 3 is capable of serving as an extension of our smartphone — answer calls, make calls, control music, download apps, and more. It has an eSIM feature, which users need to enable by checking with their carrier. Globe SIM users like me would need to visit a Globe Store physically to activate an eSIM and get a QR voucher to be scanned via the Huawei Health app for this to be fully utilized.
Battery life is good enough for around 2-3 days if you’re on continuous health monitoring, which is not bad for busy bees who don’t have time to keep their health in check. If you’re on ultra-long battery life mode, you’ll be able to extend the smartwatch’s life to up to 14 days.
OTHER FEATURES
Another thing I loved about the Huawei Watch 3 is the availability of multiple apps that are custom-made for smartwatches. Who would’ve thought that playing games, opening maps, and translating sentences into a different language would be possible within a small device? The only downside is that the AppGallery isn’t location-locked at the moment so there are app suggestions in other languages or are country-specific.
SPECIFICATIONS
| Size | 46.2 mm × 46.2 mm × 12.15 mm *12.15 mm indicate the distance between the watch’s rear case and the screen, excluding the sensor area. |
| Weight | About 54 g (strap excluded) |
| Display | Size: 1.43 inches AMOLED color screen Support full-screen touch operations, including swiping, tapping, and pressing and holding. Resolution: 466 x 466 pixels, PPI 326 |
| Watch Case | Material: Stainless steel+ceramic |
| Watch Strap | Fluoroelastomer |
| Sensors | Acceleration sensor Gyro sensor Geomagnetic sensor Optical heart rate sensor Ambient light sensor Barometric pressure sensor Temperature sensor |
| Memory | Internal ROM: 16 GB Internal RAM: 2 GB |
| Button/s | Up and Down buttons with Rotatable Crown |
| Charging Port | Wireless charging |
| System Requirements | Android 6.0 or later iOS 9.0 or later |
| Waterproof Level | 5 ATM water-resistant Note: Devices complying with the 5 ATM-rated water have a water resistance rating of 50 meters under ISO standard 22810:2010. This means that they may be used for shallow-water activities like swimming in a pool or ocean. However, they should not be used for scuba diving, waterskiing, or other activities involving high-velocity water or submersion below shallow depth. |
| Network | Oversea–UMTS: B1/B3/B5/B6/B8/B19 LTE: B1/B3/B5/B6/B7/B8/B9/B18/B19/ B20/B26/B38/B39/B40/B41 |
| Connectivity | WLAN Supported (only 2.4 GHz is supported) GPS GPS+GLONASS+Galileo+Beidou NFC Supported Bluetooth 2.4 GHz, supports BT5.2 and BR+BLE |
| Speaker | Supported |
| Microphone | Supported |
| Environment | Temperature: 0 ℃～+ 35 ℃ Humidity: 5%～95% (non-condensation) |
| Charging | Charger Voltage and Current Requirements: 5V 2A |
| Battery Life | 3 days if on factory default setting, 2 hours LTE connection every day, 22 hours Bluetooth connection with mobile phone every day, heart rate monitoring enabled, HUAWEI TruSleep™ enabled for sleeping at night, 60 minutes of using Apps every week, 30 minutes of Bluetooth callings every week, 30 minutes of Bluetooth music playing every week, 90 minutes of working out every week (GPS enabled), message notifications enabled (50 SMS messages, 6 callings, and 3 alarms a day), and the screen is turned on 200 times a day. 14 days if ultra-long battery life mode enabled, factory default setting, heart rate monitoring enabled, HUAWEI TruSleep™ enabled for sleeping at night, 30 minutes of Bluetooth callings every week,90 minutes of working out every week (GPS enabled), message notifications enabled (50 SMS messages, 6 calls, and 3 alarms a day), and the screen is turned on 200 times a day. |
AVAILABILITY
The Huawei Watch 3 has been available in the Philippines for quite some time now and it’s still offered online via the Huawei Store, Shopee, and Lazada. You can also visit Huawei Experience Stores and authorized resellers nationwide.
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