Some of the most well-known smartwatches in the market like Garmin, Suunto, and Polar do offer excellent features but can be quite heavy on the pocket. I’ve been on the lookout for an affordable yet efficient smartwatch for quite a while now, and the launch of the Huawei Watch GT 2e could not have come at a better time. The original Watch GT 2e did offer plenty of excellent features, so I was quite curious to see if the advanced version would impress me. Turns out, this smartwatch is better than I imagined. Read on to know more about my first impressions on the Huawei Watch GT 2e.

Minimal design – appeals to a wider group of people

Huawei made an interesting choice to keep the design of the Watch GT 2e as simple and minimalistic as possible. Don’t get me wrong – the watch still looks great, but it may not be favoured by those who prefer chunkier and bolder designs. Nevertheless, the Watch GT 2e feels comfortable to wear, and is light on the wrist.

The watch comes with high-quality silicone straps that don’t tug at your skin – which is definitely a plus for many people. The watch in itself has just two physical buttons on the side (one for your app list and the other remains customizable) that lay thin and flat, keeping with the minimalistic vibe.

If you’re someone who’s constantly on the go and prefers to keep things neutral, the Watch GT 2e’s design will surely appeal to you. It sure won’t get in the way of your physical activities, which is often a problem that comes with chunkier designs.

Performance features – not extraordinary, but still packs a punch

When I first checked out the GT 2e’s features, I was pretty disappointed to find out that the watch doesn’t run on Android Wear OS, which means that I wouldn’t be able to access any apps of my liking. More so, the watch doesn’t let you make or receive phone calls, and you would have to connect to Bluetooth headphones to listen to music.

With that said, there are still plenty of other excellent features on the Huawei Watch GT 2e. This smartwatch was designed to appeal to fitness enthusiasts who like to track their daily activity levels. Also, looking at the highly reasonable cost, the watch does come with health features that go above and beyond its price range.

First off, I noticed that the basic tracking features like step/heart rate/sleep work seamlessly well. The watch also comes with new activity options like parkour, skateboarding, street dancing, and the usual running or swimming. 

The Huawei health app also offers focused and detailed reports on your activity levels. You can expect to find out more about how your heart rate fluctuates during workout sessions, how many calories you’ve burned, and also how long your body has been in a fat-burning zone!

Interestingly, what appealed the most to me was the addition of a built-in stress test, which is calculated by checking your resting heart rate. Considering how busy our lives are getting, such a feature will surely help us keep our stress levels in check.

As for its performance, I was quite happy to see how smooth and fast the watch functions on a daily basis. The features do not lag or freeze at any point, credits for which have to be given to Huawei’s Kirin A1 chip.

Bright and engaging screen

Many smartwatches in the market look attractive and fancy, but rarely offer the kind of visibility required when you’re out and about. This is where I was truly impressed with the Watch GT 2e. The 1.39-inch AMOLED display is quite big, and comes with dive watch-like markers on the outer edges, which add to the appeal of the screen. The resolution is crisp and is comparable to some of the higher-end smartwatches available in the market.

There are absolutely no issues with outdoor visibility, as the screen remains bright and bold even on the sunniest of days. I haven’t had any issues with reading the screen in any type of lighting.

Come for the features, stay for the incredible battery life

Undoubtedly, one of the most rejoiced advantages of owning the Huawei GT 2e was the excellent battery life offered by this smartwatch. A lot of the competitors can only promise a maximum of a few days of wear without charging, but Huawei boldly claims that you can obtain up to two weeks of use from just a single charge.

I tested it out for myself, and I was truly stunned! I used the watch for 10 whole days before it died out, which, I know, is short of the claim, but considering that I was taking long walks almost every day (listening to my favorite music) and had the GPS on, it sure is impressive for the battery to last for so long.

Final Verdict: Hit or miss?

Overall, I am genuinely very pleased with the Huawei GT 2e smartwatch. Sure, the makers were unable to offer many of the common smartwatch features like access to apps and Wear OS, but as a fitness tracker, the GT 2e really impresses. If you’re simply looking for a fitness tracker that allows you access some of the basic smartwatch features, the GT 2e will definitely appeal to you. Moreover, the incredible battery life makes this reasonably-priced smartwatch quite a steal!