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Huawei has made great quality products for a long time and while we do not see any of their smartphones here anymore we have seen them launch various watches here.
Now is one of those times, with the recent release of the Huawei Watch Fit 4 series of fitness and smart watches in the Australian market.
In Australia, the Watch Fit 4 series comprises the Watch Fit 4 Pro and the Watch Fit 4. For more information on the standard version, refer to the release article here. However, for the purpose of this review, I will focus on the Watch Fit 4 Pro that was sent to me.
The Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro looks suspiciously like the Apple Watch, and although I prefer a more traditional watch shape, the rectangular design is not a bad thing as folks are used to that by now.
Far from being a standard rectangle, Huawei has added some nice curves and flourishes to the watch, along with a coloured crown (more noticeable on the green version). I like the look of this, actually, and it fits nicely onto the wrist.
The display is a 1.82-inch AMOLED display with a peak brightness of 3000 nits, protected by sapphire glass. The display is very easy to see in daylight, once you manage to get it to turn on. For those who don’t want to have to flick their wrist up all the time to have the display show up the time, there is an always-on display setting, but keep in mind this will use more battery. For what it’s worth, I always have this on, on all watches.
The strap that arrived with the review Watch Fit 4 Pro was the ‘blue’ version. I say ‘blue’ because it looks incredibly grey to me but that is neither here nor there as you can swap out the bands if you prefer a different colour – although the watch case itself stays the same colour.
The band on the review unit is a fluoroelastomer band, which is surprisingly comfortable, offering some give and allowing for the flex of your wrist without the watch digging into you. You may have trouble finding official bands here in Australia, but Aliexpress is your friend with hundreds of different colours available for cheap there.
The right-hand side of the watch features a digital crown for navigation and a shortcut button that you can map to whatever you want – mine is to quickly start a workout.
The watch features a variety of sensors, including an air pressure sensor that is displayed in Barometric Tracking and a deep diving feature. All the usual health sensors, including heart rate and SpO2, are also included – the Watch Fit 4 Pro is great as a fitness watch.
As someone who is used to using Wear OS by Google, the Harmony OS that the Watch Fit 4 Pro runs on, is very different. It is more like the generic fitness watches you see for sale at Big W etc. In saying that though, it may look like those but it does not behave like them.
It works with both Android and iOS and works well. The transitions from one app or screen to another are fluid and quick but the operation is different from Wear OS or an Apple Watch. You do not swipe notifications away; instead, you swipe them to the side and then tap on the trash can to delete that notification – one tap or movement too many, in my opinion.
Using the apps on the watch though is relatively easy and the more you use it the more you will get used to its little idiosyncrasies. In the end though there are not many apps you can really use on the watch, making it one step below one of the true smartwatches we see available on the market.
For me, though, and so many others, I’m sure, just how many third-party apps do you actually use on your smartwatch? I use very few, so it’s not a massive issue for me. The Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro includes a lot of its own widgets, including weather, full health details and more so there is pretty much everything covered. You can also control your music and smartphone camera from the watch if you wish.
The Watch Fit 4 Pro does not support NFC payments, which is disappointing, considering it does have NFC and a Wallet app but no way on your phone to add cards.
In my youth, I used to be a fairly handy golfer so the golfing app functionality is something that really interests me. It INCLUDES the maps and GPS for over 15,000 golf courses worldwide – for free. As a test, I downloaded my home course from when I was a teenager, (which I know quite well having won a club championship there — not-so humble brag) and it was available for download. The map included all the bunkers and hazards and all the required yardage, which is impressive given that this is a relatively small course on the outskirts of Lara, near Geelong.
Now it has been a long time since I’ve hit a ball in anger on an actual course, but if this is the state of golf GPS these days, it’s not fair! The watch is able to give you the distance from the tee to various bunkers or hazards (and to carry them), and then how far to the green from each location – in real time. It also gives you the wind and the slope of the green – now if only it would hit the ball for me!
Within the app, you can also keep your own stats regarding not just the score but also how many putts per hole, whether you went left or right off the tee and more. I love it. Maybe I need to get into golf again?
I’m sure other smartwatches can do this as well, but the Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro includes this, for no extra cost and with no ongoing subscription or fees. As for what courses it includes, there isn’t a course I knew about that I couldn’t find in the database.
By default, the distances are in yards but that is easily changeable by opening Golf on your watch, tapping on the two dots to the right of Course Mode, and then changing yards to metres.
The Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro connects to your smartphone using the Huawei Health app – which you’ll have to download from Huawei’s link rather than the Play Store.
The Huawei Health app includes all the data tracked by your watch, including any exercises done that day, HR throughout the day, your sleep stages/quality/length, your SpO2 and more.
The app appears to be limited to recording only a few different activities, despite the watch’s ability to record a significantly larger number. For me, with my current injuries, indoor cycling is my mode of cardiovascular exercise and it was not easy to find the data in the app.
For those wondering, you go into the Exercise Records on the front page, then dig down into all records and then find the workout you want. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be any specific analysis of these workouts, only a record of heart rate variation, calories burned, and time.
Overall, the app is good, but it’s not as in-depth as some of the more advanced fitness apps that are available. For most people though, this is easily good enough, especially if you golf.
There is some running planning/coaching available in the app if you want to build up to a certain distance or goal so for those after that it is available.
Compared to Whoop MG and Ultrahuman, which are currently on the EFTM review bench, the Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro’s fitness data was extremely similar. What was different was the insights each device showed.
The fitness data on the Watch Fit 4 Pro was not analysed as deeply as the other two devices, with just the data obtained and then you have to analyse it yourself. The others have more smarts to them and analyse the data better, offering suggestions for better workouts and more.
The Watch Fit 4 Pro does deliver a LOT of data, though in various graphs and charts.
The sleep data on the Watch Fit 4 Pro was incredibly detailed, but it seemed to mostly just display the information to me without much in the way of recommendations on how to improve sleep and what is actually required to recover fully before your next workout. Does the average person need that? No, but for the active athlete, it is very handy.
For those who love the outdoors, however, there are downloadable maps for offline use, including contour line maps. Additionally, for divers, there is support for free diving, although I’m not sure just how many of those individuals will be purchasing a Huawei watch with their lives on the line.
The heart monitoring is accurate, with it within a beat or two of the WHOOP MG measurements so you can be sure the measurements on the Watch Fit 4 Pro are as accurate as one of the more advanced fitness trackers on the market. In other countries, we have seen watches offer ECG, but that is not enabled here in Australia (yet; however, approval is currently in the works).
The battery life of the Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro is exceptional. I had all types of sensors running because I figured why would you buy the top fitness watch from Huawei and then not use it to its fullest?
I was able to get around a week of battery life for the watch without the always-on display turned on, which is pretty impressive. The AOD mode drops it to just over three days for me but in the grand scheme of things and how long the battery on smartwatches usually lasts that is easily good enough.
The watch is charged using Qi charging. I was able to charge it using my own Qi chargers but also using the magnetic Qi charger included in the box by Huawei.
While the Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro does not run an operating system from either Google or Apple it should not be discounted. Harmony OS from Huawei has been in the works for a while now and with the backing of one of China’s biggest smartphone companies in Huawei, you can be sure it will work well.
The operating system looks and behaves similarly to both of those other operating systems but with a few of its own idiosyncrasies. Huawei do offer the ability to install third-party apps, and while the big names aren’t there, there are still a lot of options for other apps that do the same thing. The only downside is the notifications from your smartphone to the watch are simplified and are just that — notifications.
The health data collected by the Watch Fit 4 Pro is extensive with some insights given into the analysis of the data but not as much as the more dedicated devices such as the WHOOP band (which has no other function but health — no time, notifications etc).
Golfing with the watch is amazing, as it features over 15,000 golf courses available for download for free. The data provided by the maps is extensive and will undoubtedly help you get the best out of your game.
Finally the watch well built and designed, and is comfortable to wear. You can purchase other bands for the watch if you prefer. If you’re looking for a smartwatch that primarily serves as a fitness and health tracker, and especially if you golf frequently, then you should seriously consider this all-in-one fitness watch.
The HUAWEI WATCH FIT 4 Pro is available in Black and Blue with a 3D sculpting strap made from Fluoroelastomer. The Green sports a 3D wind brush woven nylon. It is available now from JB Hi-Fi and Amazon AU for $469.
Scott is our resident open technology expert. If you can mod it, or want to use it your way, Scott has probably done it. From Laptops to phones, headphones and game consoles, he’s played with it and wants to see the next generation.
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