Huawei reveals new wearables in Barcelona

Many tech companies across the globe have moved their focus towards wearable technology, with Huawei no different.

The Chinese company introduced a range of wearables during its product launch in Barcelona, Spain, on Thursday.

The new line-up of wearables includes the Huawei Watch GT 5 Series, Watch D2, and the Watch Ultimate Green.

High-tech equipment 

Many brands have had to dig deep to find innovative technology that sets them apart from the competition.

This is due to more money being spent on artificial intelligence (AI) and software development on smartphones.

The proliferation of smartphone design is currently stagnant, with little radical and groundbreaking designs emerging.

Hence, brands are focusing on wearables that have become popular with people wanting to keep their health in check.

Innovation 

The Huawei Watch GT 5 Series introduces a major leap in health and fitness tracking with the debut of the TruSense System.

It tracks vital signs such as heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and respiratory rate. The new Emotional Wellbeing Assistant allows the watch to infer the user’s emotional state.

This is said to set the Huawei Watch apart as the features are more accurate.

It comes with an improved TruSense rear sensor and upgraded algorithms.

At the launch, a Huawei representative said the new sensors pack optical light source reorganisations to even out signal distribution, moving the sensors to different positions on the back of the watch and so “addressing the challenge of uneven bloody vessel distribution in skin during data collection”.

This apparently enables the watch to collect a wider range of data, and makes for reliable heart rate accuracy. 

On paper, that means heart rate accuracy on the run is improved to within ±5bpm compared with gold standard, plus more accurate blood oxygen monitoring during sleep or in high altitudes.

New to the GT 5 is Huawei’s Sunflower GPS, which boosts positioning accuracy through an adaptive algorithm to ensure highly accurate tracking on the run.

The new dual-band Sunflower technology is said to be 40% more accurate, and during the briefing, it was stated that the watch was more accurate than a Garmin Forerunner 965. 

Battery life in a smartwatch is critical and while Huawei has an average of two weeks juice in their wearables, Apple, Samsung and Oppo have dismal battery life.

There is also the issue of Apple, Samsung and Oppo wearables not pairing with some other smartphones. 

ALSO READ: Move over Apple, Huawei debuts tri-fold smartphone Mate XT [VIDEO]

Huawei Watch GT 5 Series

The wearable is available in two editions – the GT 5 Pro and GT 5 – with three sizes and 12 colours.
 
Battery life remains impressive, boasting up to 14 days on the 46mm model and 7 days on the 41mm version. The watch is compatible with Android and iOS smartphones.

The Huawei Watch GT 5 Series will be available in South Africa on 7 October 2024.

Huawei Watch D2 

The Huawei Watch D2 introduces Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM), offering 24-hour blood pressure tracking throughout a full sleep-wake cycle. 

For individuals with hypertension, the watch helps identify their blood pressure circadian rhythms and detect abnormal night-time blood pressure decline rates. For those without hypertension, the watch can help assess their risk.  

Huawei Watch Ultimate 

Golfers will also have their work cut out with the Ultimate which introduces the new Advanced Golf Course features and the enhanced Expedition Mode, along with a new green edition. 

While Huawei has innovated with its wearable, Apple still seems to dominate most markets, perhaps due to the Apple Watch being a premium device.

Unfortunately, the dark US ban hanging over Huawei has also deferred potential smartwatch users to other brands and while Google does not play an integral role in smartwatches, when it comes to affordability, Huawei seems to be leading the race.

ALSO READ: Apple iPhone 16 lands in SA, but should you get one? [VIDEO]