We've been talking about it for more than a year and we're finally here: Huawei has finally presented its new one Huawei Watch GT 4. And, I'll tell you right away: the brand's new smartwatch is a bit of a confirmation, a bit of a revolution from a software point of view. Be careful though, the software has not been revolutionized, but the brand has solved one of the most impactful problems on the user experience.
Huawei, for as long as I can remember, has always been very attentive to the feedback of its customers and this Watch GT 4 It really seems to me like a product born from listening to criticism: it's cheap, it maintains almost the same design as its bigger brother, and it's very light. But it doesn't end here: finally the problem relating to the display of notifications has been solved and now, hallelujah, when multiple notifications arrive from a certain application (such as WhatsApp or Telegram) they can all be viewed without any problem.
Index
Huawei Watch GT 4 review: the best alternative to the Apple Watch, both for iPhone and Android
Design and materials
Huawei Watch GT 4 it is among the most elegant smartwatches around. The design is modern, refined and is available in a huge amount of variations between sizes, colors and straps. The cases are 46 mm (more masculine) and 41 mm (more feminine), obviously the one we received for testing is the 46 mm with steel strap and steel case: and considering the selling price, being able to take home a produced with a metal bezel, stainless steel body and strap and polymer fiber back is something not for every day. From this point of view, Huawei has done an excellent job, which no other brand has managed to do in terms of quality/price ratio.
In any case, what each variant of the smartwatch has in common is the extreme care taken in assembly: the rotating aluminum bezel is quite robust, and details such as the silk-screened brand on the bezel make us understand how the company cares about take care of the smallest details.
Despite this, the smartwatch weighs only 48 grams (without the strap) and is very light on the wrist. Furthermore, the shape of the case changes greatly from that seen in the Huawei Watch GT3 (here the review): now follows that of the wrist and combined with a thickness of approximately 11 millimeters it makes Huawei Watch GT 4 very comfortable to wear.
It is IP68 certified and can be submerged up to 5 ATM, but one of the details that I liked most from the point of view of design and construction process is the system used to release the links in case you need to adjust the size of the strap in aluminum: in fact, each link integrates a small lever that allows you to release each individual element, greatly simplifying the procedure.
Display
One of the peculiarities of the Huawei Watch GT 4 it's definitely the screen, even if compared to the previous generation the differences are very few. It is 1,43" large and has a resolution of 466 x 466 pixels which makes the images always well defined, with the right saturated colors and deep blacks, which can be seen very well even in direct light conditions.
Nothing new compared to the GT3, you may say, but in reality there is a good news: compared to the previous generation, with which we complained about the poor oleophobic treatment, with the Huawei Watch GT 4 the brand has solved the problem and now the fingerprints on the glass covering the panel are just a distant memory.
Hardware and Performance
At the hardware level, however, the difference with the superior model is more evident; Huawei GT4 has to deal with some sacrifices, among all the Wi-Fi or even NFC. Compromises that may not affect the daily use of most users but which, especially with regards to NFC, I think the time has come to resolve especially because Huawei Pay is now becoming supported by more and more banking institutions.
As regards the SoC what drives this watch, Huawei has made very little information and details public. Poco bad though, because the whole user experience is always fast and fluid and slowdowns are practically non-existent.
What I can tell you, however, is that from a hardware point of view, those at Huawei must have done a little magic with the GPS: in the 46 mm model Huawei has used a new intelligent GNSS directional satellite localization technology, which automatically adjusts the satellite fix following the movement of satellites in orbit. In a nutshell, not only has positioning precision improved by 30%, but locking onto satellites is practically lightning-fast thanks to five dual-band systems.
You can answer calls directly from the Watch GT 3 e speak hands-free; the audio coming from the speaker is of excellent quality, the sound is clear and the voice is perfectly clear and audible.
Software and sensors
Huawei GT4 It arrives with Harmony OS in version 4.0 and is compatible with both Android smartphones and iPhones. To be honest, considering the build quality and, as we will see, some software improvements and battery life, the brand's new smartwatch is to be considered the only real alternative to the Apple Watch for users who have an iPhone and don't want spend excessive amounts of money to purchase such a device.
We have now talked enough about Huawei's software, and even if the brand has included interesting graphic innovations (which we will talk about shortly), in my opinion the most important thing is something else: finally now you can view all the notifications coming from from a certain messaging application, so that you can read the entire conversation in case of multiple incoming messages.
And it may seem strange to you, but from my point of view this was one of the biggest limitations related to the user experience with Huawei smartwatches.
The Launcher V2.0 improves the management of widgets and introduces a "checkerboard" design in the list of applications, now allows you to insert up to 7 customized tabs which can be accessed via horizontal swipes starting from the dial and also improves multitasking, displaying in a floating window all active applications which, among other things, continue to run in the background.
From a "wellbeing" point of view, three new features arrive: the monitoring of the menstrual cycle has improved, sleep detection has become even more precise and it integrates the "sleep breathing awareness" item which detects any irregularities in breathing during sleep, providing further information on the state of respiratory health.
Finally, the "stay fit" mode was introduced: a pre-installed app that can also be used as a dial, which uses real-time data useful for managing calorie needs and provides complete and personalized advice depending on specific needs. helping the user in weight management, considering the foods ingested and calories burned.
As always, the fitness app is excellent as it records a lot of data in real time and also allows you to create a training plan for your workout. running complete with a voice training assistant and is also able to detect skin temperature, but with less than perfect precision.
In short, if only Huawei improved the general appearance of its dials (which are many, but all still too oriental) and enriched the offer of third-party apps to download via the App Gallery, its OS would border on perfection.
Battery life
The battery of Huawei GT4 46 mm has 524 mAh, while in the 41 mm model we find a 323 mAh. And, I'll tell you one thing: since I received it as a trial I've only charged it once.
In fact, without using the Always On display, you could get well beyond 10 days on a single charge, which becomes around 6 if the always-on screen was activated.
Selling price and considerations
HUAWEI WATCH GT4 it is available in Italy on the Huawei Store starting today. On the occasion of the launch, from
14 September to 15 October, with the purchase of HUAWEI WATCH GT 4 you will automatically receive 1 year
of extension of the commercial guarantee and of HUAWEI FreeBuds SE 2 free.
Here are all the prices for the variants of the HUAWEI WATCH GT4
- Black 46mm with fluoroelastomer strap at the price of €249,90
- Brown 46mm with leather strap priced at €269,90
- Steel 46mm with stainless steel strap priced at €369,90
- Rainforest Green GMT 46mm with composite material strap priced at €249,90
- White 41mm with leather strap priced at €249,90
- Light Gold 41mm with golden Milanese mesh strap at the price of €299,90
- Silver 41mm with stainless steel strap with gold finishing at the price of €399,90
Now, without a doubt we are not talking about very low figures, but there is an important aspect to evaluate: the competitors in the same price range do not offer assembly and construction at the levels of this Watch GT 4.
Summing this up HUAWEI WATCH GT4 is promoted. It is light and comfortable, has an excellent display, the software is very complete and above all the sports and health part is very well looked after. Of course, compared to WearOS it loses a store full of applications and doesn't allow payments via NFC, but the battery life is crazy. And now you can also view all notifications without any problems whatsoever. It's a shame, however, that you still can't reply except with pre-established messages.
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