Huawei Watch GT 5 review

Alongside the Watch GT 5 Pro, Huawei launched a more affordable alternative in the Watch GT 5. It lacks some advanced health sensors but still brings the new TruSense monitoring system.

The Watch GT 5 is all about design and style. The case still has the geometric patterns that Huawei implemented in the Pro and the GT 4 predecessor. We received a 41 mm with a Blue strap, where the geometric shapes are somewhat more subtle.

Our unit weighs just 35 grams, and the blue fluoroelastomer does not add much extra weight. The whole device feels light and unobtrusive, and it feels small on larger wrists. At the front it has a 1.32" AMOLED display with 466 x 466 pixels resolution and offers some watch faces that are impressively detailed even in AOD mode.

The 41 mm supports standard 20 mm straps. There is a rotating crown button on the side and a programmable second button alongside it. The Watch GT 5 does not support ECG measurements though.

Another missing feature is the arterial stiffness measurement. The screen has regular protective glass on top, not sapphire, and the case itself is made from stainless steel, not titanium. These are the features that give the GT 5 Pro an edge, but we don't think they'll be a dealbreaker for many.

Huawei Watch GT 5

The Huawei Watch GT 5 software is powered by HarmonyOS 5.0.0, but the version numbers are unique for the wearable and are not aligned with those on smartphones, where the fifth iteration of HarmonyOS is the entirely new Next, built on an in-house kernel.

Features and apps are working just as well as Harmony OS 4-powered devices, and it is the advanced health tracking from the TruSense system that are new. Huawei decided to omit the golf and trail modes that are available on the GT 5 Pro, and the non-Pro watch is not suitable for diving, although it is IP69K-rated.

Active sportspeople can still enjoy the 100+ sports modes, including the advanced tracking for runners with routes on a map, running form analysis and updated Activity Rings 2.0.

People conscious about their mental health can also enjoy the new Emotional well-being app, which we couldn't test – we are located in the EU, and here the feature is unavailable due to "regulations", according to Huawei officials.

HarmonyOS 5.0 brings some lovely features like typing full replies on a keyboard – something that was missing from Huawei wearables before the GT 5 series.

There is a big library for apps as well, and we personally love the fact that Petal Maps on the phone sends notifications to the watch so you can follow directions without constantly looking at the handset.

Huawei Watch GT 5 screenshots

The 41 mm Huawei Watch GT 5 promises 5-day battery life for regular usage and 3 days with AOD enabled. Our month-long tests went through many scenarios, and we almost always got and frequently surpassed the advertised battery life. The wearable can live up to four days with Always On Display, even with all the extra details visualized on the screen.

Charging from 0 to 100% of the 324 mAh battery takes under one hour with the magnetic charger provided by Huawei. We tried using other wireless chargers, including reverse wireless on a smartphone, but we had pretty sub-optimal experience with those.

Our Blue version of the 41 mm Watch GT 5 costs €249, while the 46 mm variant is about €30 more expensive, with its bigger screen and longer-lasting battery.

Huawei traditionally throws in some gifts and discounts when you purchase a wearable through its online store, effectively lowering the price even more. With that in mind, the vanilla Watch GT 5 makes for an excellent value for money proposition.

It is a device sticking to the roots of what is important in a wearable – good battery life, bright display and reliable health-oriented features.