Huawei Watch GT 2 comes with LiteOS, two sizes & excellent battery life
Huawei has unveiled Watch GT 2 today. The LiteOS device comes in two sizes, lots of health and fitness smarts and excellent battery life.
Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets
The next generation of Watch GT has a thinner, more compact design than its predecessor. It sports a slightly larger display area which Huawei has achieved by shrinking the bezel. The two physical buttons have made the cut once again but they look sturdier this time around.
Those interested are able to choose between two sizes. The first is common across both generations and consists of a 46mm case and 1.39-inch curved 3D glass AMOLED display (454 x 454 resolution).
The 2nd generation also comes in a more modern looking 42mm option for those with slender wrists. This one sports a 1.2-inch curved 3D glass AMOLED display (390 x 390 resolution). In looks, it reminds a lot of Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Active. Interestingly, the display and bezel have been fused into one piece of glass so there’s no metal edge.
Other than that, this is again a fitness-focused device so there’s 5 ATM for water-resistance, a heart rate monitor and built-in GPS. Just like its predecessor, Watch GT 2 runs on LiteOS. As rumored, powering everything is the low power consumption Kirin A1 chip.
Some had expected the watch would run on Harmony OS but the new operating system may not yet entirely ready. The software is meant to further reduce Huawei’s reliance on Google products.
In addition to all the fitness tracking basics and monitoring your ticker every 10 minutes (and continuously during workouts), the watch can track eight outdoor and seven indoor sports. This includes everything from running to using the rowing machine. Open water and indoor swimming are on this list thanks to 5 ATM water-resistance and a heart rate sensor that works underwater.
There are some health features, too. The heart rate sensor scans for heart failure and bradycardia. If it notices your heart rate has climbed above 100bmp and you are not exercising, it will sound an alert. Same if it notices your heart rate below 50bpm for more than 10 minutes.
Another health feature is Huawei TruSleep 2.0 which tracks sleep quality, heart rate and sleep breathing quality. Finally, there’s TruRelax, which helps users deal with stress by reporting on their heart rate variability.
As expected, battery life is excellent once again. The larger version of Watch GT 2 can keep going for two weeks between charges, the smaller about a week. And that’s with an always-on display.
These stats are particularly impressive when you take into account they are with 90 minutes of exercise per week, 30 minutes of bluetooth calls and 30 minutes of music playback. With GPS switched on the 46mm version can go for up to 30 hours and the 42mm model 15 hours.
Huawei has also slapped on a microphone and speaker to this iteration. Which means, Watch GT is able to make calls when tethered to a smartphone. Apparently, it allows you to take calls from up to 150m away from your smartphone thanks to the more stable Bluetooth connection provided by the Kirin A1 chip.
You can listen to music on the built-in-speaker in addition to your headphones. The thing comes with 2GB of onboard storage which is enough space for up to 500 songs.
The 46mm model will cost around $275 and the 42mm model $250 when they become available in October. In addition to two sizes there are two distinct styles to choose from and a plethora of strap options.
Check price on Amazon.
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