In one line, the Huawei Watch GT 2 is a sports and fitness tracker camouflaged as a smartwatch. As its successor, Huaweis new GT 2 is also powered by Lite OS, making it the second smartwatch running the OS. The newer Watch GT gives you a choice between two sizes, better customization options, depending on the model you choose.While adding features like a speaker, full phone call functionality, it still retains the magic of its first edition - the unmatched battery life. Huawei priced the Watch GT 2s 42 mm variant at 18,000 INR which comes with a choice between sport and classic edition, while the 46 mm variant is priced at 20,000 INR.

Design and Build

Huawei has invested a lot in the new Watch GT 2 to overcome criticism it received for the first edition. First of such is that Watch GT is too masculine, given that it came in a fixed 46 mm size. Huaweis solution is to offer a new 42 mm variant of Watch GT 2, with a curved glass top, minimal look and stripped of some functions in comparison to the 46 mm variant.Huawei offers a small bezel on the 46 mm variant and a 3D bezel-less watch face on the 42 mm variant with the new Watch GT 2. The silicone strap felt light and smooth on hand. It offers water resistance up to 50 meters, making it fit for swimming even in an ocean.The Huawei Watch GT 2 packs a more touch friendly device, and the experience is sweetened by two physical buttons, ideally placed to avoid accidental press.

The one on top acts like a Home button to jump between the watch face and menu. The second one at the bottom can be assigned with a custom shortcut, by default assigned to start a tracked exercise. The circular 1.39 inch AMOLED touchscreen comes with a 454 x 454 resolution for the 46 mm variant and a 1.2 inch with 390 x 390 AMOLED touchscreen for the 42 mm variant.It is one of the sharpest you can expect from a smartwatch. The Watch GT 2s screen is exceptional. The AMOLED panels are high in contrast, saturated and rich - giving you a bright and clear screen during the outdoor workouts even on bright sunny days. Like Moto 360, Watch GT 2 also has an always-on mode. Huawei translated what we call always-on on Googles operating systems into Lock screen in its OS. You can choose between analogue or digital lock screen faces that shows only the time.The best you can do when it comes to customize the lock screens is a choice of highlights between red, green or white. All of the lock screen faces look attractive, with a very minimal look compared to the standard watch faces. Huawei reminds you that it would significantly reduce the battery life, suggesting users to keep it switched off.

Good Sports Tracker

Huawei Watch GT 2 is a good exercise tracker in a smartwatchs skin. Honor, one of Huawei's subsidiaries, may be the only company to offer this set of features at a lower price among its rivals. Watch GT 2 packs all sensors you need to get going - on-board satellite positioning system (GPS with GLONASS for better precision), a heart rate sensor, a barometer, compass and basic sensors you need in any activity tracking devices like gyro and accelerometer motion sensors.The modes for walking, cycling, running, and a few gym machines are available. If you cannot find the specific mode you are looking for, you have an other mode which tracks basic stats like duration and heart rate. The popular GPS - an essential component for outdoor workout tracking - is reinforced with GLONASS for better precision and accuracy. The watch tracks your movement which can be reviewed in the mobile app after workout.Huawei seems to have learned from Samsung, trying to keep you motivated by showing you your performance in comparison to your own average. This is very thoughtful of Huawei to help you keep fit.

Watch GT 2 packs 13 guided exercises at four different effort levels for runners. Some simple plans available in the Watch GT 2 would help you time your warm-up and warm-down phases better during exercise runs. Whether it is a guided plan or a manual tracking, Huaweis Lite OS gives you voice prompts.For example, every kilometer of your run, you get a summary of your performance and vitals like heart rate. The voice accent does not conform to any major accents, neither US nor the British English. By default, the voice prompts play through the on-board speaker on the watch. Each prompt might be 10 seconds or more long. These voice prompts are also customizable. You can mute it if you want. You can also change the frequencies at which these prompts pop up, and avoid some data, like heart rate data being played out loud.

Sensors and their Accuracy

One of the most important features that promote the watch in its ranks as a fitness tracker is the heart rate tracker itself. The watch comes with an all day mode that lets you track your heart around the clock even when you are asleep. The data is summarized on the watch neatly, with options to browse daily, weekly or monthly reports. If you are worried about the battery life, do not be dismayed: it has a very slight effect on the Huawei Watch GT 2s promise of amazing battery life.There are usual features that you would expect, like reminders to keep moving, options to set goals, achievements to gamify your fitness goals and summary of monthly stats. Packed with challenges and community features, Fitbit and Samsung clearly have an edge over Huawei in keeping you motivated. The watch does fall short of ANT+ radio, limiting its ability to broadcast its sensor readings like heart rate to other devices.The watch packs Huawei TruSleep - the signature sleep tracker that we are familiar with from other bands from Huawei and Honor. The watch assists in monitoring your sleep patterns and breathing, which is later used to decode sleep depth, like light or deep sleep periods. This is only if you choose to keep the watch on your wrist round the clock. The Health app on your phone prompts you with suggestions to improve your sleep quality.

The Lite OS

Like the Watch GT original edition, Lite OS powers the Huawei Watch GT 2 as well. Huaweis strongest case for Lite OS is the magical battery life. The device is powered at heart by Huaweis own Kirin A1 processor, advertised as the first processor designed and optimized for smartwatches.To browse the watch, you simply need to swipe left or right from the clock, the default face. The widget pages show quick summaries of data collected by Watch GT 2 along with options and settings for the watch. A dedicated heart rate widget summarizes your daily resting heart rate data along with a graph generated with readings from preceding hours.A similar widget is available for stress data as well, if auto stress measurements are enabled in the companion app on the paired phone. There is one for weather, one with music controls and finally, a widget summarizing workout statistics. The upper button lets you switch between the watch face and apps menu. You can also find other features like find my phone to ring your phone from your watch. There is also a compass app, and an app for guided breathing exercises.

Smartwatch Features

Notifications are handled really well on the Huawei Watch GT 2. The companion app lets you configure apps which can pass the notifications on to the watch, if your phone tends to explode with notifications from different apps. The large screen and higher resolution makes the text more crisp and visible than most of Huawei's other bands.There is 2GB storage for your favorite songs and audiobooks or podcasts. They can be managed and copied to the device through the Huawei Health app. The onboard speakers take over unless you pair it with wireless Bluetooth headphones. The speaker on the device is surprisingly loud and less jittery, but you might want to go for headphones for a better listening experience.You can also answer calls using your watch now, thanks to the speakers and the on-board mic. This is a welcome addition compared to its first edition, where we could only simply either accept or reject calls. The Chinese models feature an on-board NFC.

The Amazing Battery Life

The 46 mm variant lasts up to 14 days or 30hours on continuous GPS use and the 42 mm variant for 7-8 days on typical usage in one charge. A lot of battery optimizations are credited to the Huaweis Kirin A1 chipset, which assures high operation performance with incredibly low power consumption.Huawei also brags a Power Saving Algorithm 2.0 optimizing the dual-chip processor further. With almost all needed functions like notifications, all day heart rate tracking and TruSleep enabled, the watch gave an astonishing 11 days battery backup. Using the always on mode (or lock screen as Huawei calls it) considerably reduces battery expectancy.In the box, Huawei packs a magnetic charging thimble with two metal contacts. The watch charges from zero to 55% in less than an hour, which is pretty impressive.

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