Smartwatches are beginning to make serious inroads into various markets. Huawei is firmly one of the brands behind that trend and in the Watch GT 2e, the Chinese company has a great offering that comes in at a reasonable price point.
A lot has been said about the Chinese tech giant, including us, and there’s a very good reason for that. The brand is the top of its game and there seems to be no stopping them. And despite their recent troubles with the US government, the company is continuing to make massive headway in the fight for smartphone superiority.
Like its competitors, the company is focused on building an ecosystem revolving around its array of devices. just the other day they announced their entry in the ultrabook market through their MateBook D series, a big puzzle in said ecosystem.
Taking that a step further, the company is also investing largely in the wearables scene with a strong product line-up catered for all kinds of individuals. As mentioned earlier, we managed to get our hands on one of these, the GT 2e (the younger sibling of the GT2) smartwatch which is clearly built for the sporty and trendy types.
It couldn’t have come at a more perfect time with lockdown encouraging most of us, myself included, to resume my long (way too long!) abandoned habit of physical exercise and activity when the opportunity arises.
For me, this comes in the shape (see what I did there?) of running, walking and organised workout sessions … after all you can’t stay idle for the entire day while staying indoors. You might be asking why this is relevant? Well, funnily enough it’s the little things that sometimes motivate you that bit more, and for me fancy gadgets (like the GT 2e) push me to get up and go even when I don’t feel like it.
So it certainly was a welcome addition and one that I pushed to its limits to see what it offered. With that said, here’s what you can expect and ultimately my thoughts on the watch.
How it looks
Like most things, there’s no other way to start than with the design. But before we get into that, you might be wondering why this watch has an ‘e’ at the end of it. Well, the story behind it is a bit weird – according to Huawei it stands for ‘energy, mentality and vitality of the youth today’ … Exactly, strange like I said, but that’s that and it is a thing so let’s go with it.
Our review unit consisted of all the black number (officially known as the black fluoroelastomer strap) which I preferred to be honest. It has an element of mystery, simplicity and solidity about it and of course, is equally eye catching.
The GT 2e is designed for the sporty and trendy at heart with more of a youthful zest to them. It comes with a stainless steel case with the buttons laid out in the 2 and 4 o’clock directions. It has a 1.39-inch screen with a 454×454 AMOLED display which comes through in a very attractive and bright manner with the stats all being visible in all kinds of conditions and lighting.
It comes in just under 10mm in thickness and despite it looking a bit weird at first when I tried it on, eventually it makes for a comfortable and nice looking profile. One thing is for sure – it’s not exactly unisex as it is a bit chunky and oversized with a 47mm case size … so ladies, unfortunately I don’t think you will find this to be an attractive option for you.
The GT2 has 4GB of RAM giving it a great boost in performance with the battery (one of my highlights) being at 455mAh comfortably offering an amazing 14 days of battery life. The watch feels and looks premium and is generally very lightweight, comfortable and, considering its price point, doesn’t feel cheap.
Its fitness tracking features
The main reason many look into investing in smartwatches is because of their various tracking capabilities and that’s what the GT 2e not only does but also excels in. The device has a standard number of 15 exercises included alongside the usual basic step tracking. In addition, it also has as many as 100 workout modes available making it perfect for all kinds of people who are into different workouts and exercises.
The GT 2e can automatically detect up to six different workouts without having to engage it proactively yourself. The results and data it gives you at the end is not too bad either with a full and more detailed breakdown once synced, provided via the Huawei Health app. To achieve this, Huawei has partnered with Firstbeat to provide detailed insights into training and fitness.
A new and innovative feature it comes packed with is a SpO2 sensor which is designed to monitor blood oxygen levels, a feature which will especially be more useful to marathon runners (a list I’m currently excluded from as I’m not quite there yet). Although this is an increasingly standard feature on smartwatches nowadays, Huawei has done a great job in going a step further than most in explaining what the sensor reading actually means.
The Huawei Watch GT 2e also comes standard with the usual heart-rate tracking which I observed to also do an accurate job that works perfectly alongside the Stress levels and Breathing exercises, both of which you can also measure and receive daily data on both via the watch and the Health App.
Considering its size, the sleep tracking feature can at first be quite tricky especially when you are still adjusting but once you do, it works out quite swimmingly. As part of it you will be able to get a sense of your various sleep patterns in different stages as well as be able to ascertain your breathing, stress and heart rate levels.
That battery
The GT 2e’s battery is a marvel to behold. Such is its reliability that at full charge you are guaranteed 14 days or at the very least and realistically (depending on how much you put it to work) a total of 10 days of battery life. That is beyond impressive and the handy charger it comes with conveniently includes fast charge capabilities, is easy to use and boot.
To sum it up
I admit to not using too many smartwatches prior to this one so it’s difficult to state definitively how the competition measures (excuse the pun) up, but for now, I can safely say that the GT 2e is going to take some beating. The watch more than made a great impression.
The simple yet solid design make for a premium feel and a watch that can hold its own in the looks department. Having said that the bulkiness of it might put some off but for those that don’t mind or barely pay attention to that can expect to have a great watch that’s inexpensive with a great battery life and does the job its expected to.
Where you can find it
The Huawei Watch GT 2e comes at a recommended retail price of R3,499 and is available at several retailers namely the Huawei Store, Totalsports, Makro, Takealot, Incredible Connection and Sportsman Warehouse.
