Huawei Watch D2 review: Cutting-edge health smartwatch

The Huawei Watch D2 is the follow-up to Huawei’s health-focused smartwatch which launched its groundbreaking blood strain monitoring know-how. This time, it’s refining how these blood strain smarts work and including extra smartwatch options from different Huawei watches.

Together with new well being insights, Huawei’s including smarts like Bluetooth calls, richer notification assist and extra exercise modes than the Watch D.

It’s a Huawei smartwatch that, like its predecessor, isn’t low-cost at £349/$399. It’s made some huge modifications right here although, which ought to make this model of Huawei’s blood strain monitoring smartwatch a extra enticing purchase over watches with blood strain monitoring just like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7.

Design & Construct

• Out there in two colors
• Smaller case design
• IP68 waterproof design

The primary Huawei Watch D was a hulking smartwatch with its boxy, 51mm-sized body that gave it the look of a medical gadget with an AMOLED display screen.

Fortunately, the Watch D2 has shrunk in dimension to a extra manageable albeit nonetheless massive 48mm aluminium case design that at 13.3mm thick, is simply barely slimmer than the Watch D too.

Mike Sawh

It now is available in your selection of black or gold (with a white band) appears with the choice of a fluoroelastomer or leather-based strap, which helps to make the Watch D2 look and feel extra like a smartwatch you’d wish to put on.

It’s nonetheless undeniably an enormous watch, and I’d nonetheless prefer it to get smaller and lighter. For now, although, that is the step in the proper course for the Watch D.

There are nonetheless two bodily buttons in place with Huawei ditching the highest one for a rotating crown that you need to use to scroll via screens, regulate quantity and launch into the app display screen.

Huawei sadly hasn’t budged from the extent of safety of water you get on the D2 with the IP68 ranking making it extra appropriate for showering than taking it for an open water swim.

Mike Sawh

The opposite huge design side right here is the combination of the inflatable cuff, which sits contained in the pretty extensive strap that conceals it. You’ll discover medium and long-length straps alongside same-sized airbags that ship the cuff-style blood strain measurements.

I discovered the mixture of the 2 made placing the unique Watch D fairly awkward to placed on. Whereas that feeling hasn’t completely gone away right here, it’s positively been a extra snug mixed strap and airbag design to get in place.

Display screen & Audio 

• Bigger AMOLED display screen
• Show might be set to always-on
• Contains microphone and speaker

Whereas the scale of the Watch D2 has shrunk the display screen has really grown. It’s now brandishing a 1.82-inch, 480×480 pixel decision AMOLED display screen.

That’s a fairly large bounce from the 1.64-inch, 456×280 one used on the Watch D.

Mike Sawh

The result’s that you just’re getting a display screen high quality extra in step with Huawei’s different smartwatches. It’s exceptionally sharp, the colors are good and correct and it presents these deep blacks you affiliate with good high quality AMOLED shows.

It’s a properly responsive display screen too, with no horrible lag and whereas there may be some black display screen bezel to deal with, it’s not consuming an excessive amount of into the accessible display screen property.

Just like the Watch D, there’s a microphone included and Huawei’s now added a speaker, which now means you can also make calls over Bluetooth and hearken to audio through the built-in music participant. The speaker presents loads of quantity and robust readability for music streaming and calls.

Software program & Options 

• Runs on Concord OS
• Extra smartwatch options added
• Help for customised watch faces 

The Watch D2 runs on Huawei’s HarmonyOS 5.0 and is suitable with Android and iOS units. I’ve been utilizing it with an iPhone primarily with a while spent paired to a Samsung Android cellphone and I’ve discovered the pairing and syncing expertise good on the entire.

The Huawei Well being Europe companion smartphone app is a fairly busy place and it pays to spend a while attending to realize it as a result of there’s loads to play with right here on the settings and options entrance.

Mike Sawh

One of many greatest criticisms you could possibly degree on the Watch D was that it was a extra scaled-back smartwatch than Huawei’s different smartwatches however that’s one thing Huawei’s clearly sought to deal with with the D2.

It’s nonetheless not matching the very best that Huawei has to supply on this entrance, but it surely’s actually supplying you with extra with Bluetooth calls, a music participant and the flexibility to take screenshots being essentially the most notable ones. You continue to don’t get LTE or entry to Huawei’s AppGallery storefront, nonetheless.

Utilizing it with an iPhone nonetheless means some limitations, like the lack to behave on notifications or make use of the music participant. Viewing notifications is ok on the Watch D2, although I did discover it didn’t at all times show the right app icons for the place the notifications had been despatched from.

The music controls (media enjoying out of your cellphone) are nicely built-in and there’s mixture of watch faces the place you may both make these well being options the centre of consideration or not.

Well being & Health Monitoring 

• New ambulatory blood strain monitoring 
• New Huawei TruSense system
• Over 80 train modes

Whereas this can be a watch that has the sensors and options to trace train, steps and sleep, the Watch D2 is absolutely about its capability to supply severe well being monitoring led by its built-in blood strain monitoring.

Mike Sawh

This can be a blood strain monitoring strategy that operates through the use of inflating airbags (contained in the strap) and Huawei’s algorithms to measure blood strain that’s been medically licensed when it comes to accuracy.

It’s overwhelmed Apple to providing such a monitoring and whereas Samsung and now Amazfit do provide blood strain monitoring, you’ll need to calibrate recurrently with a conventional cuff monitor to verify they’re dependable. You don’t have to do this with the Watch D2.

Taking a measurement is good and easy. It offers the directions to take an accurate studying and that takes simply 30 seconds. I’ve been utilizing it throughout testing alongside a conventional, cuff-style blood strain monitor to match readings.

Whereas the readings weren’t at all times similar, they had been typically very shut. Like a cuff-style monitor, it’s all about ensuring you follow the directions to get essentially the most dependable information.

Like the unique Watch D, it was the SYS (systolic) blood strain quantity that usually was totally different from the one displayed on a conventional monitor with the diastolic quantity typically nearer in line, however there have been loads of measurements when there was a smaller distinction between these systolic numbers.

Mike Sawh

Earlier readings might be seen on the watch and visitor measurements are an choice if you need another person to make use of the look ahead to the D2’s particular function.

Data for these visitor readings received’t be saved. The principle goal right here is to reliably measure and current that information within the app to establish traits. There’s some small perception supplied when common blood strain and pulse readings, but it surely’s in the end about supplying you with a report of your information to do the work.

Mike Sawh

Huawei has moreover added assist for ambulatory blood strain monitoring or ABPM and that’s a very huge deal. This entails taking blood strain measurements at common intervals through the day and evening as a part of a monitoring plan.

It’s really useful to make use of this function for twenty-four hours to get essentially the most insightful set of traits and diagrams to look over. It’s a bizarre sensation having these measurements go off through the evening (they might wake you up) and whereas it’s typically a quiet course of, you may nonetheless hear slightly squeaking from the airbags inflating.

Along with its blood strain monitoring, you’re additionally getting medically licensed ECG monitoring. I in contrast ECG readings on an Apple and Polar watches with ECG monitoring and in contrast information from the blood strain monitor I used to check the blood strain monitoring and it felt properly in line and dependable.

It had an issue with the truth that my coronary heart charge is often decrease attributable to being a fairly match and wholesome particular person, however I actually appreciated that after understanding I used to be prompted to contemplate taking an ECG measurement half-hour after a exercise as a approach to take a look at how your coronary heart responds to that interval of train.

Mike Sawh

There’s an entire lot right here outdoors of the blood strain and ECG monitoring. This can be a watch that may repeatedly monitor your coronary heart, monitor stress and pores and skin temperature and presents a well being look by monitoring coronary heart charge, Spo2, stress and pores and skin temperature without delay.

It’s a fairly competent exercise and sleep tracker too, although it’s fairly a hulking factor to take to mattress. It’s obtained stable sports activities monitoring expertise and whereas it doesn’t have the most recent in GPS know-how on board, the efficiency throughout my exercises was fairly stable on the entire.

Battery Life & Charging

• As much as 6 days battery life
• As much as 24 hours with ABPM mode
• Makes use of wi-fi charging

The Watch D2 does see a slight drop in promised battery life with typical utilization numbers dropping from 7- to six days. That doesn’t think about holding the display screen on always or making use of among the extra power-hungry options accessible.

I discovered that when utilizing the raise-to-wake assist and taking blood strain measurements every day twice a day, the battery lasted 5-6 days. After I enabled the always-on show mode it dropped to 4-5 days.

Mike Sawh

Should you’re planning to make use of the ambulatory blood strain mode, taking these measurements all through the day will drain the battery significantly and it’ll solely final 24 hours. When used for out of doors exercise monitoring, a 30-minute run noticed the battery drop by 4%.

When it’s time to cost, you’ll discover a fairly acquainted white round charging puck to drop the Watch D2 on. Charging from 0-100% takes just below an hour, so it’s a comparatively fast watch to get again up and monitoring your well being once more.

Worth & Availability

The Huawei Watch D2 is accessible via Huawei’s web site and retailers like Amazon and Argos priced at £349.99/$399.

That’s the identical value that the unique Watch D price when it launched in 2022 however costlier than the Huawei Watch GT 5, however not fairly as costly because the Huawei Watch Final.

Each Samsung and Amazfit provide blood strain monitoring capabilities, although they do it primarily via optical sensor-based measurements and require conventional blood strain displays to calibrate them regularly.

Try our rankings for the very best smartwatches for the highest choices.

Do you have to purchase the Huawei Watch D2?

Should you appreciated the thought of the Huawei Watch D however had been postpone by the large and hulking design or didn’t like the very fact it was an inferior smartwatch to different Huawei watches, that is going to be extra to your liking.

In order for you correct blood strain monitoring and different considerate well being monitoring options, these are the large causes to go for the Watch D2.

It’s now a greater smartwatch too and in the event you can reside with out it not absolutely matching Huawei’s most feature-packed smartwatches and never anticipating it to run identical to an Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy Watch, I believe many will likely be fairly proud of what the Watch D2 presents to get entry to blood strain monitoring that allows you to ditch the standard arm cuff-style monitoring.

Specs

• Works with Android and iOS
• 1.82-inch AMOLED touchscreen show 
• As much as 6 days battery life
• Medically licensed ECG sensor
• Medically licensed blood strain monitoring
• Optical coronary heart charge and SpO2 sensor 
• Pores and skin temperature sensor
• Constructed-in GPS
• Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
• 48 × 38 × 13.3mm
• 40 g (with out the strap)