Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro review: Sleek and sporty with bags of stamina

Greatest Costs Right now: Huawei Watch GT 6 Professional

The Huawei Watch GT 6 Professional joins the Watch GT 6 as the most recent instalment to Huawei’s mid-range smartwatch with added design thrives.

This can be a Huawei smartwatch that’s extra succesful than the cheaper Watch Match and likewise affords most of the similar options you’ll discover on the Huawei Watch and Watch Final, at a extra agreeable worth.

For this technology of the GT, Huawei is clearly specializing in making its one to enchantment to outside fans that is likely to be casting an eye fixed on the Apple Watch Extremely 3. So there are enhanced options for runners, cyclists, golfers and skiers on supply. 

You’re additionally getting a lift in battery life with new options for individuals who care a bit extra about their common psychological well-being versus hurtling down a ski slope with extra real-time metrics.

We praised the Watch GT 5 Professional for its seems and efficiency and the GT 6 Professional is ready to serve up extra of the identical.

Design & Construct

• Now out there in a single case dimension
• Three strap choices
• Diveproof as much as 40 metres

The Watch GT 6 Professional sticks fairly carefully to the look of the Watch GT 5 Professional, which isn’t a foul factor.

One essential factor has modified, nevertheless. You now solely have the choice of a 46mm case dimension. The smaller 42mm mannequin out there with the GT 5 Professional is gone for now, at the very least for this model.

Mike Sawh

In that 46mm dimension, it’s greater than the largest out there Google Pixel Watch 4 dimension (45mm) and the identical dimension because the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Basic, for context.

Huawei retains an octagonal case design to assist supply extra of a particular look. I wouldn’t say the all-black model matched with a fairly customary fare fluoroelastomer strap significantly stands out.

Particularly in comparison with the all-titanium or new model with the woven strap. It’s clearly a properly put collectively smartwatch that’s not too chunky or too slim and does supply a superb quantity of that titanium alloy to tug collectively the highly-constructed design.

Mike Sawh

The identical two bodily buttons are laid out on the proper facet of the case. The highest one is a digital crown which might be pressed and twisted to scroll by means of screens, with the underside pusher one there to provide you faster entry to options like the numerous out there sports activities modes on supply.

Huawei stays unmoved on the extent of safety you get in opposition to water. In order that’s making the Watch GT 6 Professional appropriate to be submerged in water as much as 50 metres depth to make it appropriate for swim monitoring and is match for leisure diving as much as 40 metres as soon as once more.

Whereas this model of the Watch GT 6 Professional won’t be probably the most eye-catching or radically completely different from the final Professional, it’s actually a smartwatch that feels very nice to put on.

Display screen & Audio 

• Bigger AMOLED display than Watch 5 Professional
• As much as 3000 nits peak brightness 
• Bluetooth calls solely

Whereas the design has largely stayed the identical, Huawei has improved issues within the display division.

There’s now a bigger, 1.47-inch AMOLED display. That’s up from the 1.43-inch one included on the same-sized 46mm Watch 5 Professional.

Not solely is there a 5.5% bigger show, however it’s additionally a brighter one too, going from a peak brightness of 1,200 nits to 1 that may hit 3,000 nits. It means you’ll be capable of use the watch in brilliant outside situations rather more simply.

Mike Sawh

Huawei does a sensible job of masking the black bezel round with hour markers and ensuring there’s loads of display right here to let watch faces and menus unfold throughout.

The agency’s smartwatch shows have at all times impressed for sharpness and that doesn’t change on the GT 6 Professional. Sure, it’s brighter, however even when not cranked as much as the utmost brightness setting, it’s been straightforward to look at in most lighting situations.

The show is protected against scratches with sapphire glass, which is often discovered on extra rugged outside smartwatches. Given Huawei is making a much bigger play with the GT 6 Professional to be extra outdoor-friendly with out including bulk, the show has remained fortunately scratch-free in my testing.

If you wish to make calls with the GT 6 Professional, you’ll must do it when paired to your smartphone over Bluetooth. Solely the Huawei Watch 5 affords that added mobile connectivity if that’s one thing you crave.

The built-in speaker and microphone is definitely one of many higher setups you’ll discover for dealing with calls. There’s loads of quantity, the readability is robust and it’s fairly easy while you need or must make or settle for a name out of your cellphone.

Software program & Options 

• Runs on HarmonyOS 6.0
• New video watch faces
• Customisable watch faces

I’d say what you get in a smartwatch doesn’t really feel vastly faraway from what I’ve skilled on the final GT collection smartwatches. The newest model of Huawei’s HarmonyOS is on the coronary heart of all of it.

It labored properly, linked predominantly to my Samsung smartphone, barring the seemingly fixed software program updates that I wanted to take care of.

Mike Sawh

From the watch, you possibly can swipe in all instructions to get to the menu or a chunk of knowledge. Swipe proper and also you’ll discover a stream of widgets, swipe the opposite manner and there’s widgets devoted to particular person screens. The highest bodily crown button will get you into the primary menu display, which might be displayed both in an inventory or what Huawei calls its Hex grid.

Scrolling by means of that grid or record offers you a fast sense of what smartwatch options are at your disposal. The already talked about Bluetooth calls, cellphone notifications, capability to manage music playback and cargo your personal music on through the Huawei Well being app.

There may be Huawei Pockets to supply help so as to add fee playing cards, although that doesn’t look like enabled within the UK.

Mike Sawh

You do even have entry to the Huawei AppGallery retailer, the place moderately than discovering the highest tier apps you will see within the Apple App Retailer or Google Play Retailer, you will see apps that may supply higher help for some extra excessive profile smartphone apps.

There’s an unofficial controller app for Spotify, health ones like Fitify Exercises or just turning your gadget right into a cube. I’d put this stage of app help in the identical bracket as Amazfit’s storefront. By that, I imply there are methods to reinforce the options in your Huawei smartwatch, however it finally lacks the polish of extra established ecosystems.

I ought to point out the watch faces, which I’d say Huawei does a greater job of than most different smartwatch makers when it comes to selection and making an attempt to get a bit extra ingenious. There’s a superb bunch of preloaded ones which can be properly customisable and do now help the flexibility to incorporate video watch faces.

There’s a watch face retailer the place you’ll have to pay for many faces, except you select to join a watch face VIP account. That will get you entry to all faces for a £4.99 a month or on a £49.99 a yr subscription. Who’s paying this a lot for watch faces, I don’t know.

Health & Monitoring 

• Professional-level biking, path operating, golf and snowboarding metrics 
• Improved GPS efficiency
• Emotional well-being monitoring

Whereas Huawei made an enormous deal about introducing extra well being options to the final GT collection, the pendulum has actually swung within the course of all issues outside and sporty.

For those who’re a bicycle owner, runner, golfer or like to go snowboarding, you then’ll possible respect most of what’s new on the GT 6 Professional. Moreover, there’s additionally a bit extra to look out for on the well being and common well-being monitoring entrance.

Mike Sawh

Beginning with these added sports activities options, there’s loads for cyclists to dig into. Huawei has launched a digital biking energy meter for outside biking and can now additionally join to 3rd get together energy meters, speedometers and cadence sensors. A further new sensor measures gradient for these hillier rides and added an FTP check, which is a approach to assess your biking health. 

There’s additionally the promise of slicker automated biking detection and on the protection entrance, Huawei has additionally added a fall detection mode that may set off an SOS alert, with Huawei promising a fall detection accuracy of 90%. I’m not a bicycle owner, so can’t vouch for these options, however this extra cycling-centric replace appears to observe Apple’s choice to enhance performance for two-wheeler followers in its most up-to-date WatchOS updates.

I can discuss a bit of extra from a operating perspective, the place there’s promised enhancements with GPS accuracy in comparison with the GT 5 Professional. That’s helped by a brand new antenna structure and positioning algorithm to supply a 20% enchancment in GPS accuracy.

I’ve been utilizing it alongside the Garmin Forerunner 970, which is among the best-performing sports activities watches for GPS and the GT 6 Professional greater than held its personal. It locked onto a GPS sign good and shortly and peering down at key metrics like tempo and distance lined confirmed the GT 6 Professional delivered robust GPS efficiency general.

Mike Sawh

There’s extra on the operating entrance, particularly for path runners, as Huawei has sped up importing routes from third get together app Komoot and upped the room for saving routes as much as 50. Given Komoot has just lately been acquired by an funding group, how beneficial that integration goes to be long-term stays to be seen, nevertheless.

For those who’re into golf or snowboarding as properly, there are enhancements with the consumer interface while you get monitoring and, typically, richer information to delve into. 

Mike Sawh

Away from sports activities monitoring, there’s a number of notable new well being additions primarily led by the flexibility to measure your feelings by means of utilizing the onboard TruSense optical sensor setup that sits across the again of the watch.

These completely different emotional states, which might vary from telling you you’re relaxed to being very anxious, are properly introduced on the watch and felt in step with my emotional states throughout testing.

Add to the already current coronary heart fee, ECG, pores and skin temperature, SpO2 and strong sleep monitoring and there’s lots for those who need to flip to the Watch GT 6 Professional to observe their wellbeing.  

Battery Life & Charging

• As much as 21 days in gentle use
• 14 days in typical use
• As much as 40 hours in GPS battery life

Huawei’s smartwatches have impressed relating to preserving you away from that very same round charging cradle through the years. That is an space that has improved on the GT 6 Professional over the 5 Professional. 

You may anticipate as much as 21 days, up from 14 days in every day use. In heavier use, that drops to 14 days, which is up from 9 days on the GT 5 Professional. Huawei doesn’t state a battery quantity with the display on always, however in our testing, it’s simply shy of every week.

Mike Sawh

The battery life on the Watch GT 6 Professional is superb. Every day drop-off with the elevate to wake show mode usually noticed battery drop by a number of %. After I swapped to the always-on show mode it was nearer to fifteen% drop, which works out to about 6 days.

The GPS battery numbers are robust too. Huawei says you possibly can get pleasure from as much as 40 hours of GPS battery life. For over an hour’s use the battery dropped by 4%, which doesn’t fairly add as much as these 40 hours, however nonetheless is an efficient stage of GPS battery.

These numbers are actually spectacular and blow the likes of Apple, Samsung and Google out of the water.

While you do get low, you’ll must seize a fairly sturdy proprietary charging cradle, which magnetically clips to the again of the case again. Getting from 0-100% took round an 1.5 hours, in order that’s a rise on the charging time on the Watch GT 5 Professional.

Given you’ll be charging much less typically, that’s not a foul compromise.

Worth & Availability

The Huawei Watch GT 6 Professional was formally introduced on 19 September alongside the Watch GT 6.

The Watch GT 6 Professional pricing begins at £359.99 and will get extra expensive relying should you go for the all-metal model. There’s a £30 off launch supply, too.

The bottom worth of the Watch GT 5 Professional was £279, so that could be a leap in worth, however it’s nonetheless very reasonably priced in comparison with the Extremely-type fashions from numerous rivals.

It’s in the stores now from Huawei in addition to retailers corresponding to Amazon.

Within the context of different ‘common’ smartwatches, the Apple Watch Collection 11 prices £399, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 begins at £319 and the Google Pixel Watch 4 sits at £349.

So it’s really cheaper than another flagship smartwatches, even when it has crept up in price in comparison with the earlier GT Professional.

So far as we all know, the watches received’t be out there within the US.

Try our present 10 finest smartwatches you should purchase.

Do you have to purchase the Huawei Watch GT 6 Professional?

The Huawei Watch GT 6 Professional stays a strong smartwatch for each Android and iPhone customers. Particularly should you worth having numerous battery life and a fairly in depth array of sports activities and well being options with out paying over £500.

I’m undecided it’s going to be an on the spot improve for Watch GT 5 Professional house owners as that also affords a superb all-round package deal for what is going to invariably now price much less cash now that the GT 6 Professional is on the scene.

Mike Sawh

I nonetheless don’t suppose the GT 6 Professional is essentially a greater smartwatch than a lot of the equally priced competitors. For those who’re proud of one thing that’s extra weighted in the direction of monitoring, and offers you most of these core smartwatch staples, then could also be price looking on the Huawei Watch GT 6 Professional.

Specs

• 1.47-inch AMOLED show
• 3,000 nits peak brightness
• Coronary heart fee, ECG, pores and skin temperature and SpO2 sensors
• Sapphire glass
• Appropriate with Android and iOS
• Twin-frequency GPS
• As much as 21 days battery life