Huawei recently launched its latest wearable, the HUAWEI WATCH FIT 2 in our shores. It is apparent that the HUAWEI WATCH FIT 2 isn’t just an iteration of the previous version, but it keeps up with the latest premium wearable tech and then some.
Screen can scream
The 1.74 inch AMOLED display is 18.6% larger with 28.5% narrower watch bezel than the previous version which in practical terms equals more lines of text without sacrificing style.
Bigger isn’t necessarily better, but in this case, it’s worth mentioning that the rectangular 72.2% screen to body ratio looks good even on a thin wrist. The black silicone straps have a matte feel and can be easily swapped with other sporty colors like Sakura Pink and Isle Blue. If you don’t fancy these colors, HUAWEI WATCH FIT 2 also comes in Classic Edition with 2 colorways – Nebula Gray and Moon White.
Dubbed as Full View Display, the screen is superb for reading short messages. You can scroll down for more lines but for most short messages, the 1.74-inch Full View Display has the real estate to display several lines of text.
Scrolling up and down with a fingertip is quite a revelation in that you can still see most of the text while your fingertip covers part of the screen. This is a more pleasant experience as compared to say, a smartwatch with a smaller square screen.
We got our hands on the Midnight Black color of the Active Edition which came with black silicone straps.
The 40g watch body is polymer encased which makes it light without sacrificing durability. It certainly held up its own with no visible signs of wear and tear after two rigorous boxing sessions. Its 10.8mm thickness is certainly thin enough to go inside adult size boxing gloves.
So the screen is great and the build quality is as tough as it can be. But are the apps as good as advertised? The HUAWEI WATCH FIT 2 comes with Healthy Living Shamrock + All Day Health Management which prompts users to conduct self-disciplined workouts and active health management.
The All Day Health Management is a holistic approach to targeted wellness. The Health Plan narrows down goals to the following: feel more relaxed and at ease, improve sleep and daytime productivity, gain control of my weight, boost my immune system, manage my blood pressure and try something new. I picked improve sleep and daytime productivity.
The app then provided me with basic check-in tasks like hitting a daily step count, doing controlled breathing once a day, and waking up at 7 am every day. There are optional check-in tasks like Daily Smile, Drinking Water, Medication Reminders, Blood Pressure Reminder, and Weight Measurement.
The past 6 days, I’ve hit it only once since I’ve forgotten to do the breathing exercises as the default option to remind me was off. However, looking at my achievements when I completed all tasks does make me feel that my well-being is better than the previous day.
It helps that there’s a record of the healthy activities you’ve done for the day and the fact that it’s sustainable just means that there’s a better you each day you tick all the tasks. I won’t go as far as saying that it’s transformative or life-changing but it won’t be a stretch either to say that doing the healthy tasks will eventually make your future self a better version.
Besides reminders for sleep, workout, and drink, the HUAWEI WATCH FIT 2 also has an all-day SPO2 monitoring. Based on the Huawei TruSeenTM 5.0, its SPO2 monitoring further improves the accuracy of heart rate and SPO2 monitoring. Huawei also claims that its SPO2 Monitoring can ensure the accuracy of monitoring under special conditions like low temperature and high altitude. Good to know that wearing the watch on a plane trip won’t mess up the measurements.
The HUAWEI WATCH FIT 2 can also measure stress levels 24/7. If too high, the HUAWEI WATCH FIT 2 will remind the user. Since individual stress levels vary, there is an option to calibrate. So far, in the past week that I’ve tested the watch, my stress levels were in the low to normal range. It goes without saying that I wouldn’t want to be in a situation where my stress level might go off the charts. If I do get in one, I’ll be sure to check if the HUAWEI WATCH FIT 2 records it.
Sleep Monitoring is one of the features that I personally was looking to test. I’ve had some trouble keeping to a regular bedtime while waking up earlier than usual. The past week was an eye-opener in that the watch recorded that I did not get enough sleep for 4 days. The app also gamified sleep by comparing your scores with other users. Never would I have thought that I’d be competing vs. others on shut-eye quality but Huawei figured it out. Still, the competition is with yourself, and improving one’s sleep quality vs. the night before is, like other tasks, doable.
Rounding off the health management app is menstrual cycle management. I am unable to test this feature due to gender incompatibility (ha!) but since the same tools are used like heart rate, skin temperature, breathing rate, and sleep quality, I can surmise that this feature could be good as advertised.
Working out with the HUAWEI WATCH FIT 2
Skip Rope: I’m not one to count the jumps but having a wearable as a counter sure is nifty. It even counted the average jumps per minute, the fastest per minute, the number of times I tripped, and the longest streak before tripping. I would say a good 80% to 90% of the jumps were recorded. The HUAWEI WATCH FIT 2 was able to tell that I recorded 6 minutes of aerobic activity and 4 minutes of fat-burning activity.
Boxing: Unlike jump rope, the watch is not able to record punches thrown (that would have been cool though). But like any fitness activity, it recorded my heart rate, aerobic and anaerobic levels. Based on the watch data, I found out that my workout was too intense, logging 21 minutes on the Extreme scale. It also recommended that I should rest for 58 hours before I exercise again. Its data like this helps keep one from overdoing things and I appreciate the HUAWEI WATCH FIT 2s capability in doing that.
As for productivity, the HUAWEI WATCH FIT 2 supports Bluetooth calling support. I have had the chance to use the feature while boxing. If not for the watch I would have missed an important call from my missus to order dinner for the entire household. The speaker was quite capable since it was loud enough to not be drowned by the thumping sounds in the gym.
Overall, The HUAWEI WATCH FIT 2 is an all-rounder for the active and stylish of the lot. Its 1.74 inch display runs circles around the smaller displays in terms of readability. The Huawei Health App ticks the boxes of what most premium wearables have: All-day SPO2, stress level tracking, sleep monitoring, and recommendations on post-work-out rest duration are just all seamlessly integrated into its health management app. It doesn’t hurt that it gets style points for having a big screen while looking right at home on wrists thin or thick. This is one watch where the whole package is way more than the sum of its integrated parts.
Where to buy
If you fancy rocking this affordable smartwatch by Huawei, you can buy one through the following links:
Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.
