Huawei Watch 2

Update: We're putting the finishing touches on our full Huawei Watch 2 review, and in the meantime we've updated our hands on below with our latest findings.

Smartwatches need more features. At least that’s what Huawei told us at CES 2017, and it’s now made good on its word with the arrival of the Huawei Watch 2.

The firm’s second-generation Android Wear smartwatch replaces the original Huawei Watch, which boasted a premium design and modest feature set – its biggest failing was the delay between its launch and release date.

The Huawei Watch 2 looks to up the ante with more connectivity options, Android Wear 2.0 and a sporty new look, but with a smaller display and chunkier build this latest smartwatch feels like it's trying to do too much, and it doesn’t excel in every area. 

So can a smartwatch have too many features for its own good? 

Huawei Watch 2 price and release date

• Huawei Watch 2 release date planned for April: TBC
• Non-4G: €329 (around £280, $345, AU$450)
• 4G model: €379 (around £320, $400, AU$520)

The Huawei Watch 2 release date is scheduled for April, although the exact date is yet to be confirmed for the US, UK and Australia.

When it comes to the Huawei Watch 2 price you can get the non-4G version for €329 (around £280, $345, AU$450), while those looking at the 4G model will have to part with €379 (around £320, $400, AU$520).

That makes the Huawei Watch 2 one of the more expensive Android Wear watches from the smartphone manufacturers, although it is on a par with the 4G-enabled LG Watch Sport.

Design

• Sporty, rugged and chunky design
• Two hardware buttons, but no rotating crown or bezel
• Comfortable and lightweight, but will be too big for some

The original Huawei Watch had a premium metal finish which looked smart on the wrist, but it’s all-change with the Huawei Watch 2.

Instead of premium appeal, Huawei has opted for a rugged, sporty finish on the Watch 2 with a chunky plastic body and sizable bezel surrounding the watch face.

It’s not particularly eye-catching, and it’s unlikely to win any style awards – but it is at least functional. The Huawei Watch 2 has a strong health and fitness angle, and its design means it will survive the rigors of a workout, training session or race.

To that end the silicon strap is sweat-proof, and it can be easily removed, with handy pegs on the underside of the strap making it easy to detach from the watch.

While it uses a standard 20mm strap size, the design means you’ll be limited to Huawei Watch 2-specific straps if you fancy changing the look and material.

At 48.9 x 45 x 12.6mm the Watch 2 is a sizable presence on the wrist – it’s comfortably bigger than its predecessor even though it has a smaller display. Compare it to the LG Watch Sport, though, and the Huawei actually comes out on top with a slimmer frame.

While it may be big, at 57g the Huawei Watch 2 is surprisingly light considering the tech crammed inside. The flat rear to the watch case means it sits comfortably on the arm, with the built-in heart rate monitor almost flush to the metal cover.

You get two buttons on the right side of the watch, with the one at the 2 o’clock position your main navigation key for bringing up the app list and returning to the clock face. The second, at 4 o’clock, is a programmable key which you can assign to the app you want it to launch.

It’s set to launch Workout by default, but for those less actively minded Android Pay is a useful shortcut to have attached to this button for quick contactless payments.

A missing feature we’re disappointed by is the lack of a rotating crown or bezel. With the Huawei Watch running Android Wear 2.0 – an OS which has been developed to play nicely with a rotating input – it feels like Huawei has missed a trick on its latest smartwatch.

Huawei is far from alone though, as Tag Heuer, Mont Blanc, Misfit and LG have also all chosen not to incorporate a spinning bezel or crown into their new Android Wear 2.0 watches as well. Take a look at the Apple Watch and Samsung Gear S3 though – neither of which run Android Wear – and you’ll find a rotating crown and spinning bezel respectively.

For those looking for something more professional-looking there’s always the Huawei Watch 2 Classic, but even though it has fewer features the Classic is the same size, heavier and more expensive. 

Display

• 1.2-inch, 390 x 390 display
• A little too small for some on-screen tasks

We’re disappointed by the display on the Huawei Watch 2. At 1.2 inches it’s small, and feels even smaller when you try to use the on-screen keyboard or some of the more complex apps.

The resolution, at 390 x 390, also isn’t the highest definition we’ve seen on smartwatches, and while it boasts a higher pixel density than the original Huawei Watch the latter was larger at 1.4 inches, giving you more space on screen.

The display is bright enough to read everything, and is generally responsive to the touch, but it’s not a standout feature that really gets you engaged with the watch.

Specs and interface

• Sluggish performance
• Useful security PIN feature
• On-watch app store

The Huawei Watch 2 packs a Snapdragon Wear 2100 chipset which has been specifically made for wearables, along with 768MB of RAM.

In short, it’s not enough. The Huawei Watch 2 feels sluggish, with slow transitions between watch faces and menus. 

The main issue here though is the lag in opening apps. You can program the lower physical key on the right of the watch to launch a specific app – a handy shortcut if there’s one feature you frequently use, as it saves you from navigating the still slightly clunky Android Wear 2.0 menu.

This hardware key is set to the Workout fitness app by default, but we chose to change this to Android Pay as we’re suckers for convenient contactless payments… trouble is, on the Huawei Watch 2 it’s not always that convenient.

There’s a noticeable delay between you pressing the button and Android Pay loading up on screen, and this becomes troublesome if you’re in a queue of people trying to pay for a coffee or get through barriers at a train statio – morning commuters are unforgiving, and the Huawei Watch 2’s stuttering performance will win you no friends.

This issue can in theory be overcome with a little bit of pre-planning – so you’d hit the button in advance of reaching the payment point – but this didn’t always solve our problems.

On several occasions Android Pay refused to work at all. We haven’t experienced the same issue with our phone or contactless bank card, and the fact the Huawei Watch 2 refused to play ball on a number of occasions during our review period does raise some questions.

Hopefully this intermittent bug can be ironed out with a software update, but coupled with the less-than-slick operation it makes for a frustrating experience.

The fact there’s no rotating bezel (as on the Samsung Gear S3) or rotating crown (as on the LG Watch Sport) makes scrolling through things like menus a little trickier, as your finger spends most of the time covering the screen.

Considering that Google has designed Android Wear 2.0 to play nicely with these rotating elements it’s a shame Huawei hasn’t included something on the Watch 2.

It’s good to see Google’s latest operating system in action on another smartwatch though, and its self-locking mode when you remove your device from your wrist is useful. It means that if someone was to steal your watch they’d need your PIN to use it, so they couldn’t go on a spending spree with Android Pay – assuming it actually worked, that is.

Another big feature of the Android Wear 2.0 update is the dedicated app store on the watch itself. This means you can download apps directly to the watch, without the need to go to your smartphone and download it on there first.

Big hitters such as Spotify, Uber, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger feature in the watch-based Play Store, but as with all Android Wear devices there’s still a limited number of apps to choose from.

As with other interactions, navigating the Play Store is tricky on the small screen of the Huawei Watch 2, which again makes us wish for a larger display and physical rotating input.

There’s 4GB of storage on the Watch 2, allowing you to download a number of applications. 

Annoyingly there’s no obvious way to check how much space you have left, although we managed to comfortably download 10 apps onto the Huawei Watch 2 from the Play Store – on top of the pre-loaded offerings – without issue.

4G features

• Make/receive calls, send messages, using web without phone
• Second SIM contract required
• Limited use-cases for the price you pay

The Huawei Watch 2 functions perfectly well without a SIM card, using either your smartphone’s internet connection or that of a local Wi-Fi network to provide you with your news, Ubers, music and more.

It’s for the rare occasions when you’re 1) not with your phone and 2) not around a Wi-Fi network that the Huawei Watch 2 comes into its own. 

In these situations most smartwatches are far less useful, but the Huawei Watch 2 is here to help, with a nanoSIM slot hiding behind one of the straps (you’ll have to remove the strap to access the port) providing you with that all-important connection.

This can be useful if you’re into fitness and outdoor activities where you wouldn’t want to take your phone with you. The SIM card allows you to make and receive calls, send and receive text messages and mess around with all your web-dependent apps.

Thing is, a second SIM means a second payment plan, which will likely put many people off – especially if they’re never that far from their phone. You’ll also have a second number for your watch, which isn’t particularly convenient for anyone trying to get in contact with you.

Make a call when you’re connected via Bluetooth to your phone, though, and your calls will use your main number, rather than the secondary one linked to the SIM in the Huawei Watch 2.

Compatibility

• Works with any Android phone running Android 4.3 and up
• Limited functionality with iPhones running iOS 9 and up

The Huawei Watch 2 works with all Android smartphones running Android 4.3 and above, with the full compliment of features available to you whether it’s a budget phone or premium flagship in your pocket.

It’s not just the Android Army that can use the Huawei Watch 2, though, with the Android Wear app also available on iPhone – although here you get a greatly reduced offering. You’ll also need an iPhone 5 or newer running at least iOS 9.

Notifications don’t have as many actions, which means you’ll find yourself unable to respond to things such as WhatsApp messages, and you’ll find some apps won’t play ball. 

There’s no iMessage support, while email and calendar syncing can prove tricky. In short, an Apple Watch will likely cover your needs better than the Huawei Watch 2. 

Early verdict

The Huawei Watch 2 does something bold: it shakes up a winning formula for something that looks nothing like what made it popular and beloved in the first place.

But that’s certainly not all bad. For those who love to sport, this may be the best choice around. It’s got a full waterproofing and a suite of sensors that cover a swath of physical activities. So long as you can swallow the design, the Huawei Watch 2 could very well be the smartwatch you’ve been waiting for. But then again, maybe it’s not. We’ll see shortly in the full review. 

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