Building on the success and beautiful design of the HUAWEI Watch GT 3 Pro, the company unveiled the successor, the HUAWEI Watch GT 4 series. The new smartwatch lineup consist of a smaller 41mm and a larger 46mm model, each featuring their own unique aesthetics.
HUAWEI is a leading wearable maker, and the company’s smartwatches are undoubtedly some of the most unique and stylish wearable gadgets that users can buy worldwide. The Watch GT 4 improves on its predecessor in every way possible, and it features a new design, improved hardware, and several enhancements that promise a bold new intersection between technology and a timeless piece. Without further ado, here’s my review of the HUAWEI Watch GT 4 after having used it for over three weeks.
Huawei Watch GT 4
One of the Best Smartwatches in 2023
The new HUAWEI WATCH GT 4 series comes in two sizes, 41mm and 46mm. It’s available in eight different colors with various stylish straps. The watches feature improved fitness and location tracking and can last for up to two weeks on a single charge.
HUAWEI WATCH GT 4: Price & Availability
The HUAWEI Watch GT 4 series was officially unveiled on September 14, and the smartwatches became available for pre-order on the same day in the UK and across Europe. The Watch GT 4 series are available from October 4 and sold at HUAWEI’s website and selected retailers, including Amazon, Argos, Boots, and Currys in the UK.
Both the HUAWEI Watch GT 4 (41mm) with White Leather and the WATCH GT 4 (46mm) with Black Rubber will start at £229.99. The Milanese (41mm), Brown Leather (46mm), and Rainforest Green GMT (46mm) will go for £249.99, while the Two-Tone Piano Key (41mm) will set you back £349.99. The Steel WATCH GT 4 will retail for £299.99 in the UK.
Users who purchase from the HUAWEI Store before October 15 will receive a free pair of the HUAWEI FreeBuds SE 2.
What’s in the box
HUAWEI WATCH GT 4, Roland Udvarlaki / Pocketnow
HUAWEI provided the WATCH GT 4 (46mm) Rainforest Green GMT smartwatch for review.
The packaging looks clean, compact, and elegant. The small box contains everything you need to get started. The watch came in a small black box, with the device imprinted on the front. The box contained the watch itself, the braided composite band, and a USB-A to magnetic proprietary charging cradle. The rest of the box contained a user manual, and a warranty card.
Hardware & Design
HUAWEI WATCH GT 4, Roland Udvarlaki / Pocketnow
High-Quality Stainless Steel Unique octagonal design with a spin on a timeless piece Large, beautiful and sharp AMOLED display Excellent sunlight visibility
The HUAWEI Watch GT 4 comes in 46mm and 41mm sizes. Here, I’m reviewing the 46mm model. It’s fairly large, but it doesn’t feel chunky and bulky, and it fits perfectly on my wrists despite its size. Keep in mind that my wrists are fairly large, but for those with smaller wrists, the 41mm model will do a great job. The watch weighs just 48 grams without the band, making it lightweight and comfortable to wear during the day and night.
HUAWEI sells four different models of the Watch GT 4, each with the same casing but different bands. The case itself is made of Stainless Steel, and it feels premium and elegant. My review unit also came with a braided composite green strap, and the watch supports 22mm straps.
The case features an octagonal design with gentle curves all around, making the watch feel rounded with smooth edges. The bezel is seamless, and there are no gaps or indentations as your finger moves toward the display, and unless you have a bright watch face, you’ll have difficulty noticing the bezels as they’re slimmed down and go nearly edge-to-edge.
HUAWEI WATCH GT 4, Roland Udvarlaki / Pocketnow
The left side of the watch contains nothing but a microphone hole, and the right side retains the speaker, the crown button, and a dedicated shortcut button that takes you to the workouts and activities.
The Watch GT 4 (46mm) has a 1.43-inch AMOLED display. It’s a 466 x 466 resolution panel with 326 PPI (Pixel-Per-Inch) which makes it sharp. The viewing angles are excellent, and I found the screen a joy to use regardless of the lighting conditions around me. The display was always visible inside, and bright enough even in direct sunlight. The watch was also comfortable in bed, and it was dim enough that it wasn’t dazzling in a dark room.
Specifications
HUAWEI WATCH GT 4, Roland Udvarlaki / Pocketnow
Fast and responsive TrueSeen 5.5+ optical heart rate sensor It lacks support for ECG
The HUAWEI Watch GT 4 is equipped with an unknown chip and memory. I never experienced anything out of ordinary and the watch was always smooth and quick to respond to touches and button presses. The screen also reacted swiftly when I twisted my wrist. There were no delays or slowdowns, and the watch worked perfectly as you’d expect.
While we don’t know the chip and a few key specifications about the watch, we know that it’s equipped with HUAWEI’s latest TrueSeen 5.5+ optical heart rate sensor and an upgraded dual-band, five-system GNSS radio (Global Navigation Satellite System). Additionally, the GT 4 is more accurate at measuring sleep, heart rate, and menstrual cycles. When it comes to the other sensors, you get all of the essential features. What this means is that features like ECG is missing, but SpO2 remains available on the device.
Heart Rate Monitor Yes
Operating System HarmonyOS 4.0
Case Material Stainless Steel
Display 46mm: 1.43-inch, 466 x 466, AMOLED | 41mm: 1.32-inch, 466 x 466, AMOLED
Battery 46mm: 524 mAh | 41mm: 325 mAh
Connectivity Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
Health sensors Accelerometer sensor, Gyroscope sensor, Magnetometer sensor, Optical heart rate sensor, Barometer sensor, Temperature sensor
Strap size 46mm: 22mm bands | 41mm: 20mm bands
Dimensions 46mm: 46 x 46 x 10.9 mm | 41mm: 41.3 x 41.3 x 9.8 mm
Weight 46mm: 48 g | 41mm: 37 g
Mobile payments Yes (HUAWEI Wallet)
Water resistance 50m water resistant
GPS GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSS
Software & Fitness Features
Smooth and reliable software running the latest HarmonyOS 4.0 GNSS tracking Refined OS and user interface Region-locked features
The GT 4 runs HarmonyOS 4.0, and the watch is compatible with Android 8+ or later, and iOS 13.0 or later smartphones. The watch requires users to download the HUAWEI Health app to get the device paired and set up. The process only took a few minutes, after which I was ready to go about my day, start tracking my activities, and personalize the watch interface and settings.
The operating system was always pleasantly fast, and it didn’t hang once. It works just like you’d expect. You can scroll left to see the “Smart Assistance” section, where it shows you the weather and music controls, long press on the watch face to select another design, or scroll right to see various health metrics, heart rate, sleep, and other data that you can customize and choose. Swiping down on the watch face brings up the notifications, while swiping up gives you the usual notification panel to toggle Do Not Disturb, Sleep mode, Flashlight, shortcut to settings, and more.
HUAWEI has an app store that offers more than 25,000 unique watch faces. There are plenty of designs and styles to choose from, and while there’s a large library of paid watch faces, there’s another section for completely free designs.
The smartwatch lets you export health data and sync stats with other third-party apps like Adidas Running or Strava. Still, many other applications are not supported, nor are they compatible. The App Gallery still lacks support for many popular applications, which could be a dealbreaker for many, especially for those who rely on specific apps. That said, there are a few bonus apps, such as a Spotify controller, that let you change music. The watch also lets you upload your own songs, so you can take your music wherever you go.
The GT 4 has all the features as its predecessor, and various improvements to enhance health tracking. HUAWEI also brought menstrual cycle management, and improved sleep, and heart rate tracking using the new TruSeenTM 5.5+ system. The watch can also analyze you using the body temperature sensor. Breathing, and menstrual periods can also be calculated more precisely.
Sleep tracking has also received a healthy dose of improvements, and the new TruSleepTPM 3.0 is said to be more accurate. During my use, I noticed that the watch provided more in-depth information. This appeared to be more precise, especially when compared to the Apple Watch Series 8. HUAWEI has always been good at tracking these metrics, and the new GT 4 doesn’t fall short in this category.
The watch also contains many sports modes that can either be automatically recognized, or turned on manually. Running and various other activities benefit from the new GPS setup that relies on GNSS signals using the dual-band five-system positioning to improve tracking.
Haptics
The haptics of the Watch GT 4 are quite good. It provides semi-firm feedback, giving you a gentle vibration on your wrist to notify you of an incoming call or a notification. Using the crown, you also get some feedback while navigating around, and I’ve been very pleased with it in general. The haptics are generally great, and while it doesn’t feel cheap by any stretch of the imagination, I wish it was a little firmer at times as it could’ve made the experience slightly more enjoyable.
Speakers
The Watch has two speaker holes on the right, and a microphone on the left. If you receive a call or start a workout, it could come in handy as it can let you talk from your wrist – assuming your phone is near you and connected to the watch, it can act as a loudspeaker and enable you to make calls.
People are usually loud and clear, and I received positive feedback from family members and friends. Everyone confirmed that it was easy to hear and understand speech, and the background noise was also filtered out without any harsh effects.
Battery
HUAWEI WATCH GT 4, Roland Udvarlaki / Pocketnow
Excellent two-week battery life with general use Week-long battery for power users Relatively fast charging
The HUAWEI Watch GT 4 (46mm) is advertised to last for up to 14 days on a single charge, eight days with regular usage, or four days with the Always-On Display enabled. These numbers are impressive when compared to smartwatches from other large manufacturers, but it’s also worth noting that the WATCH GT 4 offers fewer customizable options, and it has fewer built-in integrations and access to applications.
Depending on who you ask, this might be a limitation or an advantage. Overall, I was happy with the compromises, and while I wished for even more free watch faces, there is a large selection of both premium and free choices available in the store that enable you to match your style without killing the battery.
With continuous heart rate and sleep monitoring enabled, the watch could last 10-14 days on a single charge, which aligns with HUAWEI’s claims. I regularly saw 5% to 10% drop in battery each day, which is excellent for those who don’t want to worry about charging their smartwatch every single day.
The HUAWEI Watch GT 4 delivers on the 14-day battery promise, and provides an outstanding experience.
I didn’t push the watch to its limits, and I had very little exercise during this time. That said, the watch performed as expected, accurately recognizing workouts and activities. More intensive workouts will drain the battery more, but even that should provide a comfortable 3 to 7 days of use depending on the intensity and reliance on GPS and the health sensors.
The charging experience was practically in line with other competing smartwatches. Putting the watch on the charging cradle for an hour provided more than 70% of charge, which is enough for several days, if not more. Still, if you’re someone who only wants to get charged when doing morning or evening routines, the watch will serve you well. A quick 20-minute charge could provide more than a day’s worth of power, and multiple charges over a day could easily net you more than a week’s worth of power in less than an hour, depending how heavily you rely on some of the more advanced features. The Watch GT 4 is an excellent smartwatch that you can trust and rely on when it comes to tracking and long battery life.
HUAWEI WATCH GT 4: Should you buy it?
HUAWEI WATCH GT 4, Roland Udvarlaki / Pocketnow
Buy it if…
You’re looking for a beautifully crafted smartwatch with a large and stunning display You care about precise and accurate health tracking You want a stylish smartwatch with all the essential features You’re after a smartwatch that can actually last for up to 14 days on a single charge
Don’t buy it if…
You want to use custom third-party apps to track sports and fitness activities Contactless payment is a must-have
The HUAWEI Watch GT 4 is a stunning smartwatch with a beautiful design, bright display, plenty of great features, and accurate tracking. The GT 4 supports all the must-have features that most users are looking for, and I’m happy to report that it’s quite reliable and the results appear to be precise. If you’re looking for a smartwatch that nails all essentials in a superb form factor, the HUAWEI Watch GT 4 is worth considering.
There are lots of things to love about the GT 4, and the accurate sleep tracking, heart rate, sports activities are excellent for general users and sports fanatics. If you’re looking to get in shape, or you simply just want to track the calories you burn daily, the Watch GT 4 will deliver on all of its promises.
However, there are some ups and downs. Various software features are locked away, such as the contactless payment option and the third-party app integration is also a hit-and-miss. Many popular apps are missing from the App Gallery, which could be a dealbreaker for many. Aside from these, the GT 4 is an excellent smartwatch, and if you don’t mind relying on HUAWEI’s apps and services, it will be a great choice for you at a price that undercuts many competitors.
The new HUAWEI WATCH GT 4 series comes in two sizes, 41mm and 46mm. It’s available in eight different colors with various stylish straps. The watches feature improved fitness and location tracking and can last for up to two weeks on a single charge.
