(Getting started with the Huawei Watch 3e: a first connected watch under Harmony OS that promises a lot)
While waiting for the arrival of Harmony OS in the brand’s smartphones, Huawei’s operating system is investing its new connected watch, simply called Huawei Watch 3e rather high-end product, which we have tried for you. Huawei offers two versions of its Watch 3. The classic model, which was the subject of our handling, and a Pro model which is mainly distinguished by the use of even more premium materials: sapphire crystal to protect the screen, titanium for the case and ceramic for the underside. For the rest, nothing differs between the two models, which resolutely play the high-end card with an attractive technical sheet. It’s high point: the presence of a 4G modem and an eSIM. If you want to buy huawei smart watch gt2 then click on the link and survey our site.
Design and ergonomics
- Accompanied by a standard-size leather strap with its width of 22 mm, the Huawei Watch 3 has an elegant allure that departs, from an aesthetic point of view, from connected watches mainly geared towards monitoring sports performance. But that does not mean, as we will see later, that this model turns its back on running enthusiasts! The Watch 3 is rather imposing with its 46 mm diameter case; it must be said that it offers a circular screen of 1.43 inch for a definition of 454 x 454 pixels and a density of 326 ppi. The OLED panel reaches a maximum brightness of 1000 Nits: we confirm that the menus remain readable in direct sunlight. This screen is simply perfect with beautiful colors and flawless touch responsiveness. The watch weighs 54 grams, or about ten more than its predecessor. Nothing really annoying, and its stainless steel case looks very sturdy.
- The big novelty is on the side, with the adoption of a rotating crown – and of course clickable – which overcomes a discreet button. The immediate interest in terms of ease of use will quickly jump out at you, as will its very successful design.
- Behind this hides a mechanism designed by Huawei: we find a new dual-core in-house processor accompanied by 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage. A technical sheet for the less solid, completed by Bluetooth 5.2, Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz, NFC and 4G. All of this offers 5 ATM water resistances. The watch is recharged through the small USB support provided, which is able to restore 20% of the battery in just 10 minutes. Note that it is also possible to charge your Watch 3 on any QI wireless charging station, including with a smartphone equipped with the reverse charging function – we have experimented with a Huawei Mate 40 Pro. It is very practical in use. The underside of the watch also houses the TruSeen 4 heart rate sensor.
- You will understand, here we are facing a beautiful object. The watch is quickly forgotten once on the wrist despite its XL measurements, and the strap is comfortable. It allows precise adjustment, a sine qua non for the capture of precise data by the various sensors of the watch. The menu navigation is operated by the touch screen and the two buttons already mentioned.
In use
- The Watchs 3 inaugurates, in Europe in any case, the new operating system developed by Huawei, Harmony OS, intended to animate connected objects, but also the brand’s smartphones and tablets. An OS designed for the security of your data and to remain light in order to offer you a smooth experience. While waiting to find out, you have to go through the connection procedure with your smartphone, which is done through the Huawei Health application, available on the brand’s smartphones, on Android, but also on the Apple App Store. .
- The main principles of navigation are ultimately quiet and should not disturb people who have crossed paths with a watch under Wear OS. The others will need a few hours of practice to master them. From the dial, a swipe down brings up the main settings and the opposite movement displays notifications. Horizontal gestures will launch panels linked to the main functions of the watch, including the weather forecast and the home personal assistant, Celia to name it. A quick note on this one: it is clearly still in its infancy and impossible to draw a definitive lesson from it. By pressing the rotating crown, a cloud of icons appears, evoking the Apple Watch. As with this one, a rotation of the crown zooms in or out in this rather rich interface. It is still possible to return to a more classic list view.
- An icon quickly catches our attention: that of the App Gallery. Indeed, it is now possible to directly install an application in the watch without going through the smartphone. The offer is not yet huge, but it is growing rapidly. It is impossible to be exhaustive here in the analysis of all the functions. However, let us try to highlight the most striking. Even if the Watch 3 has a very premium design, it does not forget the monitoring of sports activities with more than a hundred of them listed, and even fifteen, the most common, automatically detected. The GPS chip seemed precise to us, just like the other sensors, by the way. Despite the small originalities, note the control of good hand washing or the recording of voice memos directly from the watch.
- A function which highlights the good quality of the microphones and speakers integrated into the watch, but which at the same time is a little frustrating, because it will be necessary to wait for the arrival of Harmony OS on smartphones so that the memos of the Watch 3 will transfer there automatically. This frustration will appear on other occasions, unfortunately: control of the smartphone camera with a real-time view of the photo taken, creation of personalized video dials…
