Although Huawei is still trying with smartphones – proof of this is the new Pura 70 – the company has an even more interesting market, that of smartwatches. The Asian firm has unveiled what could be the best alternative not only to the simpler smartwatches from Samsung or Xiaomi, but also to the Apple Watch SE. This is the Huawei Watch Fit 3, which arrives with very interesting changes and a reduced price, and that at Hipertextual we have been able to test in depth.
The Huawei Watch Fit 3 has undergone a radical change from its predecessors. In fact, originally the previous products in this family were smartbands that were intended to compete against Xiaomi and its popular Mi Band (as it was previously known). Now, on the other hand, it is a kind of smartwatch not as advanced as the Galaxy Watch 6 or the Xiaomi Watch S3 could be, but it is very interesting for offering a balance between its features and its price.
The brand’s new watch, in particular, goes on sale for €159, and features an improved design; with more premium materials. Also, with a better display, new modes for sports and, of course, a very good battery life – something very characteristic in the brand’s watches. It also works seamlessly with iOS and Android devices.
Huawei’s watch, however, has some absences that we don’t see in other competing smartwatches, which makes us wonder: is it as good as they paint for its price or are there really better alternatives?
Familiar design, stunning screen and battery life
One of the strengths of this Huawei Watch Fit 3 is its design. It’s completely different from the Watch Fit 2; It no longer has that rectangular format, but is now completely square, making it much more comfortable on the wrist and much more intuitive to use. In addition, the company has opted for higher quality materials: the front is glass, and the frames are made of aluminum. All this, with a look that is inevitably reminiscent of the Apple Watch. In fact, the Watch Fit 3 has a crown in exactly the same position, as well as a button with which we can control some areas of the interface.
In terms of dimensions, Huawei’s Watch Fit 3 weighs 26 grams and is 9.9mm thick. It is, therefore, somewhat thinner than the Apple Watch SE, which is 10.7mm.
Now, despite this virtual carbon copy of the Apple Watch,the Huawei Watch Fit 3 is really beautiful. It is, in fact, the first impression that everyone who sees it has. In addition to being eye-catching, it is very comfortable on the wrist, and quite resistant. During these weeks of use, in fact, it has withstood the bumps and chafing of everyday life to perfection.
The strap is also very comfortable, and is perfect for sports. Huawei has also improved its fastening mechanism; With the push of a button it comes out, and to attach it you only need to fit the pins and that’s it.
This design is complemented by a 1.82-inch color AMOLED display with a resolution of 480 x 480 pixels. All this, in addition, with a brightness of 1,500 nits that allows you to view the content outdoors without problems and a refresh rate of 60 Hz. The Watch Fit 3 also has a screen-to-body ratio of 77.43%, so it has hardly any bezels.
Modes of health and sport
In addition to the design and its display, the Huawei Watch Fit 3 stands out for its health and sports modes. Specifically, it has up to 101 training modes, as well as different options for stretching with a kind of virtual trainer that shows on the screen what exercises you should do before doing the activity. A curious detail is that the watch is able to recommend exercises based on the user’s health information, as well as based on weather conditions.
Workout modes provide relevant information and record activity correctly. In addition, Huawei has improved the interface of HarmonyOS, its operating system, and both the animations and the buttons to control the workouts, as well as the information of the same, are much clearer.
Interestingly, the Huawei Watch Fit 3 also has an option to view daily goals, such as the number of calories burned, the number of steps, and the number of times you’ve stood up, using rings.
In terms of health, the Watch Fit 3 features a blood oxygen sensor as well as a heart rate sensor. In addition, it is possible to control sleep through an option available in the system, and it has an app for monitoring the monthly cycle.
And speaking of apps, the Watch Fit 3 includes some reinstalled ones that are quite useful — the classic ones that we can find on a watch, plus those aimed at sports and health. In addition, it has support for answering calls and supports system notifications. The latter case, of course, is only for preview. That is, we can’t answer them from the watch, only read them. Notifications, in fact, don’t sync very well. At least not when we have the watch paired on the iPhone: even if the smartphone is locked and we have the watch on, the notification pops first on the device itself, several seconds later, on the watch; something that doesn’t happen with the Apple Watch.
In addition, there is no app store where you can download third-party apps, so, for example, you can’t connect your headphones to the watch to listen to Spotify music from your wrist.
Is the Huawei Watch Fit 3 worth it?
The Huawei Watch Fit 3, again, is available for €159. And I would dare to say that it is one of the best watches we can buy at this price. It has an excellent design, better than even some higher-priced watches. Its screen shines, and its sports and health modes are more than enough for those users who exercise or train not so intensively.
Plus, the Watch Fit 3’s battery is second to none. It offers up to 10 days of use with the basic options activated, and up to 7 days of intensive use – i.e. making use of GPS, sport modes, etc.
There are, however, some interesting alternatives. One of them is Xiaomi’s Redmi Watch 4, which has a similar design — though not as thin and thin — and different features for health and sports. All this, for 99 euros. Although, yes, it is not as complete as this Watch Fit 3, as it has a much inferior screen in terms of features.