Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro review

2022-06-19

Introduction

Huawei announced the global arrival of the Watch GT 3 Pro last month in Milan, the fashion capital of Europe. It is the company’s flagship wearable for 2022, and it's certainly one of the best-looking smartwatches ever made. It was introduced in two sizes and we had a chance to try both of them for this review.

After weeks of testing we are now ready to share our impressions of the Watch GT 3 Pro so strap yourselves in.

We had the Titanium version of the 46mm Watch GT 3 Pro and the Ceramic 43mm unit with gold-accented bezel. Both variants look extremely premium and classy. The larger version has a metal body, while the smaller comes only with a ceramic body, that can be had with a matching ceramic band or a white leather strap.

Design and build

The Titanium version supports standard 22mm straps, and the one you get in the box is very similar to what the Watch 3 Pro series had. It has a folding clasp that is very easy to operate. The strap can be adapted for bigger wrists, with Huawei providing three extra elements to extend the length.

The Ceramic 43mm version takes 20mm straps. It looks truly impressive and while the gold accent on our version won't be everyone's cup of tea its amazing build quality will certainly gather the right kind of attention.

The white ceramic band is equally eye-catching. It was crafted at extreme high temperatures of 1500 degrees Celsius and the surface was finished with a diamond powder polish to achieve a smooth, flawless texture.

The watch body is made from white nano-ceramics, while the sapphire glass sitting on top is practically immune to scratching and damaging.

The clasp is a classic butterfly, and just like its bigger sibling, there are three extra elements to extend the length of the band. However, unlike the Titanium version, here you have to use a tiny screwdriver for the microscopic screws, so you have to be very careful not to lose those.

Both versions of the Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro have two buttons on the side - the top is a rotating crown, the bottom is a simple button at first glance. In fact it has conductive surface, which is key for enabling the ECG functionality. The charging is standard Qi wireless affair, but unless you plan on detaching one end of the bands every time you charge the watch, you'd be better off using the charger that comes in the retail box.

Software

The Watch GT 3 Pro runs Harmony OS 2.0 as most of the company's wearables these days. The operating system has been adapted to support several new features here, though.

The watch comes with an ECG (Electrocardiogram) sensor that measures the heart’s rhythm. This includes real-time analysis, sinus rhythm, atrial fibrillation, premature atrial and ventricular beat reminders, and to help keep you aware of any heart health-related risks.

Everything sounds fantastic on paper, but Huawei is yet to receive the required certifications to activate the feature, so at this point it isn't working in Europe. The company is working on getting approval in Germany and Italy, which will open the door for further expansion in other EU members.

We already mentioned that the bottom key is conductive, and that’s needed to close the electric circuit going through the body. So far, we could only measure the arterial stiffness detection, and the Watch said the measurement was “normal”. Yay, us!

The Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro connects with any smartphone over Bluetooth. It does not have cellular support, which is arguably the main difference between it and the Watch 3 Pro. It integrates with a selection of third-party apps downloaded from AppGallery on the phone, and it can also serve as a hands-free for taking calls.

There are plenty of features and sensors that measure the sleep quality, the SpO2 levels, and heart rate, as we've come to expect from Huawei Watch devices these days.

The Watch GT 3 Pro supports “over 100 workouts” modes available, and the newest is free diving. Aside from the standard IP68 and 5 ATM rating, this watch “has withstood a staggering 200 water pressure cycles,” and in theory, it supports free dives as deep as 30 meters.

Yes, it is nice Huawei managed to develop the wearable for such high-pressure scenarios, although we are unsure how accurate and useful it can be for that specific activity.

In fact, despite the very comfortable fit the Watch GT3 Pro is pretty heavy in both of its versions and we are not sure many will want to take it for a run or in the weights room (where it will be of little use much like every other smartwatch). It fits better in more formal environments where its impeccable design and selection of beautiful watch faces really help you stand out.

In such environments it will do well to forward the notifications from your phone to your wrist, although it's kinda limited with regards to what you can do about them. Some pre-typed responses is as good as it gets and even that's not available for all apps.

Still for most people reading the notification and then knowing if you need to reach out for your phone or not. You also get niceties such as weather updates, sunrise and sunset times, moon phases and Huawei Wallet in the handful of supported countries.

Battery life

This is the other great thing about the Watch GT 3 Pro alongside its looks. Huawei equipped the 46mm version with a 530mAh battery, while the 43mm version has a 292mAh power cell.

The 46mm GT 3 Pro can go the very impressive 13 days with constant heart-rate, skin temperature and sleep tracking. We kept the SpO2 tracking off, as well as the stress test as those features will hardly have practical usage for the vast majority of users.

Turning these on lowers the battery life by about a day and a half, which still means you'll need to recharge it once every 11 or 12 days.

If you do decide to take the 46mm GT 3 Pro for your runs and do four hours of GPS-tracked workouts per week would bring the battery life down to 8 days.

All these numbers were achieved with the Always On Display turned off. The raise to wake gesture is fast and reliable, so you might want to keep it that way. Still, if you prefer to have AoD you get about 6.5 days of battery life in the first test scenario with only a few sensors turned on and about 4 days in the heaviest use case with workouts involved.

The 43mm variant of the Watch GT 3 Pro's smaller battery understandably can't match the endurance of the 46mm version. However even that one easily has most smartwatches outlasted.

With no AoD and only heart tracking enabled among the sensors you get to go 8 days between charges, which is great. Switching AoD on brings endurance down to four days.

Huawei does not announce the brightness levels of its 1.43” AMOLED (1.32” for the Ceramic version), but it gets plenty bright to hadle even the brightest sun.

Charging the 46mm Watch GT 3 Pro from 0 to 100% takes 110 minutes, which is longer than Huawei’s promise of 85 minutes, but considering that a 30 minutes charge gives you 39% charge that can usually last for several days it's not a big deal.

The 43mm variant takes about 80 minutes from 0 to 100%.

Since the devices support wireless charging, they work with any Qi charger. However, most chargers are too big so you will need to detach one end of the band to be able to place the Watch GT 3 Pro over it.

Verdict

The Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro offers a compelling set of features, but it's battery life and design that really set it apart. The watch look impressive, has amazing build quality and feels really comfortable.

When you consider the kind of materials you are getting and, above all, the super tough sapphire glass screen its price tag really sounds like a bargain. There are not that many classical watches with sapphire glass that cost as much and practically none among smartwatches.

The 46mm Watch GT 3 Pro begins from €369 with a leather strap, while the full Titanium package is €499. In a rare twist the smaller 43mm version is actually more expensive. A ceramic white body with no accents and a white leather strap will cost you €499. The one with a gold bezel ornaments and ceramic strap is €599.

It is worth mentioning Huawei often sells its premium devices with a bunch of freebies, and you can get Freebuds Pro or Freebuds Lipstick for free in many markets, as well as a yearly membership with Adidas Running. Those certainly help further sweeten the deal, particularly if happen to need the device offered in your specific market.

All that said we can strongly recommend the Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro. It's not the cheapest, nor the smartest wearable around, but its unrivaled looks and battery life, combined with reliable notifications delivery make it really the best wearable around for a huge group of people. And thanks to its premium materials it's bound to retain its looks for a long time too.