The Huawei Watch GT series has been a big hit, both for its impressive design but even more so for its tracking smarts and exceptional two-week battery life. It has spun off some new models along the way and the latest is the most sophisticated yet, in both materials and tech.
The face of the Huawei Watch GT2 Pro is not covered by traditional glass but by sapphire crystal, which is 90% as hard as diamond, so it can take a proper pounding. The body of the watch is titanium, which is far tougher than steel, while the base is ceramic to ensure the least amount of irritation against the skin. Unlike previous versions, this model comes with a leather strap that finishes off the luxurious package. This strap looks fantastic around the office and on the golf course too, but it’s not ideal for sweaty workouts and rough treatment such as trail running.
The tech fundamentals remain the same: a dual processor system for extraordinary battery life, continuous heartrate, sleep- and stress monitoring, and GPS-level tracking of dozens of activities from the conventional running and gymming to surfing, yoga, tennis and even dancing. One interesting addition is detailed analysis of golf strokes, with some light coaching available on the watch.
Like most trackers, the Watch GT2 Pro connects with your phone to display alarms, incoming alerts, text messages and notifications, but it also lets you make and take calls through the watch, using the built-in mic and speaker. It’s a neat idea, but does look a little strange in practice. You can also use the watch as a remote control to snap photos from your phone.
The Watch GT2 Pro retains all our favourite features such as the intuitive two-button operation and the colourful pin-sharp screen that you can swap in any of more than 200 watch faces to suit your mood or match your outfit. You can still store hundreds of songs on the watch to Bluetooth to your workout headphones. Noteworthy upgrades include wireless charging and a new heart-rate sensor. Data can now also be synched to Apple Health and Google Fit.
It’s still one of the best trackers around, but this luxury model seems better suited to golf courses than gritty workouts.
1.39” AMOLED screen, titanium body, sapphire screen, GPS, 5 sensors, 4 GB storage, water resistant, 52 g, R7 000
