Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro review: Long-lasting head-turner

Huawei was on the verge of becoming a true global smartphone force before sanctions against it by the US government put an end to those ambitions in 2019. Huawei phones can no longer natively run Google services such as Gmail, Google Maps and Photos, making them very hard to use in the West, and today the firm doesn’t sell handsets to Brits.

That has meant less of a presence in UK tech buyers’ minds for other Huawei products, including its burgeoning line of smartwatches. But after testing out the Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro, I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find a thoughtfully designed and executed wearable that is, for the most part, unaffected by Huawei’s smartphone ban.

It stands out from rival products such as the Google Pixel Watch 4 or Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic by having much better battery life. Those competing watches run Google’s Wear OS software, which is a miniaturised version of Android and so supports first and third party apps.

If you want tiny versions of Spotify, Strava, Uber and many more on your wrist, they’re the ones to go for. But Wear OS is a power drain, and the latest Google and Samsung smartwatches struggle to last for more than two days on a charge.

Huawei watches run HarmonyOS, the company’s own software that is built on Android but is a much lighter software layer. This means that opting for a Huawei wearable means you don’t get third party apps, but the pay off is outstanding battery life.

The latest Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro I’ve been testing lasts for more than two weeks on a charge. The firm claims up to 21 days, but I’ve seen a little less as I’ve been using the always-on display and GPS tracking for runs and hikes.

You don’t sacrifice features such as GPS, they simply run on a much more energy efficient operating system. The GT 6 Pro has a very premium design with a sapphire glass circular screen and titanium alloy build that looks more like a traditional dress watch than most other obviously smartwatches. I don’t love the odd brown London bus seat cover textures on my review sample’s strap, but otherwise this is a handsome, if enormous, watch.

The premium build somewhat accounts for its £329.99 RRP, but on top of class-leading battery life, you get accurate dual-band GPS, waterproofing to 5ATM (50 metres), the ability to track many different activities, special tracking for trail running, cycling and golf, ECG readings, all day heart rate tracking, blood oxygen levels, skin temperature and sleep tracking.

The software is quite busy but has and does most of the things you could want. Without apps, you still get full notification support from your phone, but with fewer ways to reply or interact with messages. The watch is an advanced activity tracker in the body of a smartwatch, rather than a full smartwatch itself due to the lack of ‘smart’ features.

If that sounds a little harsh, the spectre of Huawei’s Google ban looms when you try to pair the GT 6 Pro with an Android phone. The Huawei Health app needed to do this is not in the Google Play Store. It’s only available on Huawei phones (which you very likely don’t own), Samsung’s standalone Galaxy Store app and the Apple App Store.

In a weird twist, that means the GT 6 Pro is actually easier to connect to an iPhone than a non-Huawei or non-Samsung Android phone. To pair it to, say, a Google Pixel or OnePlus phone, you have to sideload the Huawei Health app via a web browser. This is far from user-friendly, and despite my experience in reviewing Android phones for more than a decade, I didn’t find it straight forward.

Huawei’s Petal Maps app also didn’t work for me on Android or iOS, a frustration then balanced out by the device’s remarkably good offline maps feature. This lets you download maps for any country for free, which then display in the running, hiking, cycling and other outdoor modes when tracking activity. It means even without a cellular connection, you can see where you are thanks to GPS and maps stored on the watch.

But then again the Wallet function doesn’t work, or even appear in the Huawei Health smartphone app, despite the app being on the watch. No mobile payments for you.

And yet, the weather app is well designed and offers accurate data, and the sleep tracking is very informative. The watch can also (it claims) measure air pressure, and you can keep an eye on altitude and other metrics you can’t get on similarly priced competitors.

It makes the Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro an odd proposition. On the one hand I find it difficult to recommend to Android users as the app is hard to install unless you have a Samsung phone, and key apps such as maps and wallet don’t work.

But the battery life is absolutely outstanding, and you don’t have to compromise on many other areas. This is a fully featured exercise and outdoors watch that you can easily connect to upload workouts to Strava.

If you want a premium smartwatch with class-leading longevity and top-tier activity tracking, the GT 6 Pro is one of the best options right now. You just might need a little patience and technical know-how to get it working best for you.