Huawei have released several watches over the last few months based around their well-received wearable platform. We’ve seen, reviewed and mostly loved Watch GT Runner, Watch 3, Watch GT 3 and its Pro sibling. Each saw a different application of the Harmony OS platform in a round case to suit its intended market. Huawei Watch Fit 2 works to the same philosophy but in a rectangular, fitness band style.
Fitness Band Form
Huawei Watch Fit 2 is a fully-equipped smartwatch with mostly the same features as Watch 3 and Watch GT Runner. However, it wears the smaller and rectangular form of a tradition fitness tracker or fitness band.
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The device is a waifish 10.8mm thick and just 33.5mm wide despite that huge 1.76″ display. Though it’s on the larger end of fitness bands in terms of size, Huawei Watch Fit 2 is very light at 30 grams excluding strap.
Huawei Watch Fit 2 feels dense and solid. The all-polymer frame feels rigid without being heavy.
Our Black Active edition is quite muted for a Huawei device. The matte silicon strap offers a nice contrast to the polymer frame and large glass facade. A 72.2% screen-to-body ratio and the searing and colourful AMOLED display helps the face pop.
The device offers three tiers. Active, Classic, and Elegant. Active Edition comes with a silicone strap and all-polymer case. Elegant and Classic Editions come with metal and leather strap respectively, both feature an aluminium front case with a polymer rear.
The Face of Fitness
The oblong screen boasts a large1.76″ AMOLED display at a resolution of 336×480. Huawei Watch Fit 2 gives a crisp, colourful and bright output from the display. Sunlight legibility is excellent while the finest details and smallest fonts are easy to read.
The Harmony OS ‘Chessboard’ update designed for Watch Fit 2 does a good job at realigning everything from its circular counterparts. Though a minor gripe, I would like to be able to zoom out of the icons menu. The applet icons are huge and I wouldn’t mind being able to behold a few more to help find what I am after.
As promising as the UI and hardware chops are, the selection of third-party apps and the app store in its current state still holds the device back a little.
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Huawei App Gallery for Harmony OS 2.0 now has a sizeable library of apps but few are standalone in nature. If you don’t mind a host of companion apps you wouldn’t normally use, the quality is mixed overall but there are some gems on there.
New Face Around the Ecosystem
With a far greater range of round watches in their stable, it’s understandable that there isn’t as great a selection of faces for the rectangular Huawei Watch Fit 2.
While there are dozens of free faces to choose from and a large portion are of very high quality, it pales in comparison to the hundreds, if not thousands of designs available on the Huawei’s circular devices.
Huawei Watch Fit 2 comes with a built-in speaker as well as a mic for full Bluetooth-enabled calling. If you don’t mind hold your wrist up near your face while you walk around, it works very well using that speaker.
The device also features the built-in music player for a standalone groove for your standalone workout. Users can allow notifications on Spotify to allow play/pause, FF/REW and volume.
Fitness Sense
Huawei Watch Fit 2 features a fitness and wellbeing-focused suite of sensors. The device offers all-day heart rate, SpO2 and stress tracking as well as activity tracking for 97 sports modes. TruSleep, steps, water intake and sitting alarm round off an impressive line-up.
The suite of sensors and the apps of Fit 2 offer most of what premium smartwatches offer but in an ultra-light and slimline band-style housing.
Marathon
Impressively, the slender device promises a maximum 10-day battery life with a use-case given by Huawei that they say will deliver that figure. For more regular users, your mileage will vary.
My own mileage is a week of consistent use with an Always-On Display from previous watches that promised a maximum 14 days. Five days from Huawei Watch Fit 2 with a similar use-profile would be impressive.
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Chessboard Launcher rejigs the Harmony OS for Watch experience for better usability in its rectangular form.
Specifications – Huawei Watch Fit 2 Active Edition
| Display: | 1.74 inches AMOLED Colour Screen, 336 x 480 pixels, 336 ppi |
| OS: | Harmony OS 2.0 – Chessboard |
| Sensors: | – 9-axis IMU sensor – Accelerometer sensor, Gyroscope sensor and Geomagnetic sensor – Optical heart rate sensor |
| Connectivity: | 2.4 GHz Bluetooth, BT5.2 and BR+BLE NFC (Active + Elegant Editions Only) A-GPS |
| Dimensions: | 46 x 33.5 x 10.8mm |
| Weight: | Classic Edition – 30 grams, excluding strap |
| Water Resistance: | Up to 5 ATM |
| Charging: | Magnetic charging puck included |
| Colours: | Active Edition – Sakura Pink, Isle Blue, Midnight Black |
| Materials: | All-Polymer chassis |
Price Proposition
Huawei Watch Fit 2’s notifications, canned or emoji replies and array of sensors paired with a solid and attractive slimline frame will entice fitness-conscious buyers.
But starting at €149, you get a lot of tech and utility crammed into something pretty and that price may bag a few outside the fitness realm as well.
Review unit provided by PR; Huawei Watch Fit 2 is available now priced at an MRRP €149 though it is available until 15 September 2022 for €129 as part of Huawei’s Back to School Tech sale
