If it did not arouse suspicion because it is a Huawei and its access to the Google and Apple ecosystems is limited, the Watch GT 4 would be one of the best smart watches on the market, with its 12-day battery life, its design refined, its bright screen and its dozens of functions.
As usual, we are instantly seduced by the slightly dated design of the latest addition to Huawei watches, the Watch GT 4. We tested the 46mm version with its octagonal stainless steel frame, its 1. 43 inch offering 326 ppi resolution.
The screen is magnificent and you have a virtually unlimited choice of 25,000 watch faces, a few hundred of which are free. Some respect the retro design, others are worthy of science fiction and offer up to ten displays. As usual, we preferred the simple multi-modular dial displaying heart rate, number of steps, temperature and number of unread text messages.
Nothing too complicated for control: there is a rotary button at the top right, and a smaller clickable button at the bottom. The bottom one can be ingeniously configured to launch one of around thirty functions with one click. We chose the timer, definitely the most useful function of a smart watch in our opinion, but we could have taken, among other things, physical activity, a barometer, a compass, a remote shutter, music playback or weather report.
As for the main button with its rotating crown, Huawei has shamelessly copied the Apple Watch. This is where you select from a nebula of icons the fifty apps available on the watch, navigate through the screens and select your choices, in combination with the touch screen.
Concretely, what is the purpose of this watch that we wore for almost two weeks? First, it shows the time, outside temperature, heart rate and number of steps. It then displays all notifications, emails or text messages, that come from the phone.
When the phone rings, you can take the call on the Watch GT 4, hear the other person on the small speaker and use the microphone. Not the ideal conversation, but a function that helps when you don’t have the phone at hand.
You can stop and resume music playing on the phone. If you have an Android phone, you can put music up to 4 GB directly on the watch. Transfer is not possible with iOS.
Above all, we have access to dozens of dials configured for sporting activities. In our case, we used it for two jogs and four big bike rides. The watch displays in an arc, from blue to green, the heart rate, and by default in the rest of the screen the pace, distance traveled and elapsed time. All of this is obviously infinitely configurable and you can notably add altitude and a metronome.
We found, on routes we knew well, the Watch GT 4 to be impeccably precise, even more responsive than our Apple Watch worn at the same time.
This Huawei watch lasted precisely 12 days after a full charge, which definitely beats the competition. It then took almost an hour to fully recharge it with its supplied magnetic base.
Finally, at $328.99, this is a steal compared to the Apple Series 9 or Galaxy Watch6, both at $549.
Availability of third-party applications is limited. No way to control Spotify or have Nike Run Club, you have to make do with in-house Huawei interfaces.
Surprisingly, it’s easier to install the Huawei Health app, which controls the watch, on iOS than on Android. Available in the official App Store, this application must be downloaded outside of the Google Play Store, an unfamiliar operation for many users.
We will not resolve here the thorny issue of the use of data obtained by Huawei, which worries many readers. Technically, this is an excellent smartwatch, which adapts quite well to an iPhone and easily competes with the best brands for Android.
However, it’s difficult to beat the Apple Watch and its total integration into the Apple ecosystem. The autonomy, software reliability and versatility of the Watch GT 4, however, make it a very interesting alternative, at a lower price.
