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In this post we'll talk about Watch GT Runner, the new smartwatch announced by Huawei as the successor of the award-winning Watch GT 3.
As we can easily expect, the new device has several similarities with its GT 3 predecessor, but there are also some interesting and innovative differences worth discussing: let's see them out in details.
How it looks like
Let's start with a gallery depicting some pictures of the new model.
As we can see, the new model feels lighter than the GT 3, has some visible "stripes" on the rubber strap and a new antenna design - which arguably improves communication with the satellites. The size is 46mm, just like the predecessor, and can accomodate a wrist size between 140 and 210 mm. The new model is also a bit lighter in terms of weight - only 38.5 g (excluding the strap).
What's in the box
The package contains the watch, che charging cradle & cable, and two watch straps (122x22mm and 107x22mm), as well as the User Guide, the Safety Information sheet, and the Warranty Card.
Technical Specifications
- Display Size & type: 1.43 inch AMOLED 466 x 466 HD The AMOLED touchscreen supports slide and touch gestures.
- Watch Case Colours: Grey Durable Polymer Fiber, Black Durable Polymer Fiber
- Material: Durable Polymer Fiber
- Watch Strap: Grey Silicon Strap, Black Silicon Strap
- Sensors: Accelerometer sensor, Gyroscope sensor, Geomagnetic sensor, Optical heart rate sensor, Air pressure sensor
- Memory: 4 GB.
- Buttons: power button, function button
- Charging Port: Magnetic charging thimble
- System Requirements: HarmonyOS 2 or later, Android 6.0 or later, iOS 9.0 or later,
- Waterproof Level: 5 ATM water-resistant
- Connectivity: GNSS, NFC, Bluetooth.
- Speaker: Supported (built-in)
- Microphone: Supported (built-in)
- Charger Voltage: 5V 0.5A/1A/1.5A/2A
- Battery Life: 14 days for typical use (based on user habits).
The OS (Harmony OS 2.0) is the same shipped with the GT3. Regarding the waterproof level, 5 ATM water-resistant means that the device has a water resistance rating of 50 meters under ISO standard 22810:2010. This means that it can be used for shallow-water activities, like swimming in a pool or ocean, but not for scuba diving, waterskiing, or other activities involving high-velocity water or submersion below shallow depth (read here for further details and waterproof precautions).
Battery Life
When talking about smart watches, the battery duration is one of the biggest concerns: the Watch GT Runner offers as much as 14 days of battery life after a full recharge cycle, reduced to 7 days in case of intense usage. Another cool feature is that the smartwatch can be recharged in wireless mode using a smartphone, thus allowing the user to recharge it at any time without worrying about battery autonomy.
The navigation between the various menus is done using the two buttons, both on the right side, or through the touch interface. The top button is the home button and allows you to access the main menu of activities, or to return to the starting point when you are in one of the menus. It is configured with a ring that when rotated allows you to scroll through the menu items as well as adjust the volume. The touch interface works with logics linked to both the click and the lateral and upper swipes to access the various functions.
Huawei has configured the home screen to provide a large number of weather-related information, without missing two quick-access items to start a sports activity or access music: various different main screens are available that can be partially customized. as to the data that are reported. It should be noted that Huawei Watch GT Runner integrates a small speaker that allows you to play music at a fairly high volume taking into account the size, without prejudice to the possibility of pairing bluetooth headphones.
Monitoring Features
Watch GT Runner allows to monitor our behavior with several sports activities, not just the running as suggested by its name. There are built-in profiles available for outdoor running, indoor running, outdoor walking, indoor walking, cycling, stationary bike, pool swimming, and even open water swimming. There are also some configuration settings that can be used to monitor our performance for other activities such as jumping, running, mountain hiking, generic hiking, trail run, skiing, snowboarding, and Triathlon.
That said, our test was mostly done using the running activity template, that allows to configure several advanced settings, such as:
- Defining possible goals to be achieved in terms of distance, duration of activity or calorie consumption.
- Alarm-based notifications for specific distances (for example, every km completed), heart rates, or overall fatigue level generated by the workout.
- Configurable multi-phase repetition workouts, such as: A) warm-up, B) repetitions, C) cool down D) repeat N times.
Like its predecessor, the smartwatch is equipped with an advanced optical heartbeat sensor integrated in the lower part, which is capable of providing realistic information on the progress of our heart during the training session.
Integration features
All the typical connectivity and integration features that we can expect from a smartwatch are also present and implemented through a real-time notification system integrated with our smartphone, both Android and iOS. The smartwatch doesn't need to always be connected to our phone, it will just send and receive data related to our activities.
Presentation Video
Here's the stunning presentation video published with Huawei for the product launch, which shows some of the smartwatch's most distinctive features in a "rather extreme" outside running environment context.
Pricing
Huawei Watch GT Runner is available in EU at a listing price of € 299 including VAT, and can be purchased from most online stores, as well as directly from the Huawei website. Most offers also includes the Huawei FreeBuds 4i headphones and an orange EasyFit type strap that can be used to replace the black one present in the package: the earphones are very useful for those who plan to use the smartwatch for running purposes, since they allows to conveniently listen our favourite music (or podcast) while running.
Conclusion
In our honest opinion, the Huawei Watch GT Runner is one of the best smartwatches available on the market for its price: its large display, the fast and responsive operating system, the state-of-the art integration mechanism based upon notifications, and - most importantly - the great battery duration make it the perfect choice for any user who wants a modern technological gadget to use not only in gym or during a workout session, yet also in any outdoor environment.
