Huawei Watch GT6 Pro test – My full review

Test video summary

My summary

How do I use the Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro?

The Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro is a multi-sport GPS watch with mapping, designed for lovers of a wide range of outdoor activities: running, cycling, trail running, hiking, swimming, as well as skiing and golf. It will suit regular sportswomen as well as users looking for both sports functionalities and day-to-day health monitoring.

The watch also has the many functions of a connected watch (notifications, calls…) but is not a “complete” connected watch in the sense of models integrating a vast ecosystem of apps or payments.

Features

• Dimensions: 45.6 × 45.6 × 11.25 mm
• Weight: 80g on my scale with fluoroelastomer strap
• Display: 1.47-inch AMOLED, resolution 466 × 466 pixels, maximum brightness 3000 nits
• Water resistance: 5ATM and max. diving depth of 40 metres
• Dust protection: IP69 rating
• Colors: black with fluoroelastomer strap, brown with nylon top/fluoroelastomer bottom strap and grey with titanium strap.
• Price: from €379

Our full review of the Watch GT 6 Pro

Design, screen and materials

When you take it out of the box, the Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro immediately stands out for its high-end look and robust finish. With its sober yet assertive lines, I really like it and don’t find it too disproportionate for my feminine wrist.

Its titanium case provides excellent shock resistance while remaining fairly light on the wrist. It is combined with a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal. Control is by means of a rotating crown and a button.

The screen is top-notch, with a high-quality AMOLED panel. The result: excellent legibility in all conditions. The interface is fluid and responsive, colors are vivid and the screen is really pleasant to use. You can choose from a range of screens (a dozen or so free of charge, others for a fee), as well as personalize your watch with a photo, for example.

Getting to grips with the watch and the Huawei Health app

As I already noted in my test of the Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro, getting to grips with the Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro is not without its little (but annoying) teething troubles: every feature requires acceptance of a lengthy user contract, either directly on the watch or via the Huawei Health app, which I found a little tedious. I would have preferred a centralized initial configuration, in the application, with checkboxes to enable or disable each option.

TheHuawei Health app is packed with features, but its ergonomics leave a lot to be desired. There’s plenty of data (sleep tracking, heart rate, training programs, etc.) but the whole thing is rather cluttered and hard to find your way around, I don’t find it intuitive. Some of the translations could also do with a bit of work, not that this is really a problem, but it contrasts with the premium feel of the watch.

It should also be noted that certain functionalities (such as diet analysis or certain training programs) are reserved for Huawei Health+ subscribers.

Health monitoring

Tracked data

The Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro offers rich and precise health tracking. Here are the main data tracked:

• Continuous heart rate
• Oxygen saturation (SpO₂)
• Sleep analysis with phase detection (light, deep, REM) and quality of nocturnal breathing (useful for detecting sleep apnea)
• Stress level
• Wrist skin temperature
• Heart rate variability (HRV)
• In-app menstrual tracking
• Electrocardiogram (ECG)
• Pulse wave arrhythmia analysis
• Detection of arterial stiffness

As for the reliability of these data, it’s always difficult to say, and I don’t know objectively, but in any case it’s interesting to compare trends.

Activity rings and health clovers

The Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro uses a system of three coloured rings to track daily activity:

• Move (calories burned),
• Work out (minutes of moderate to intense activity),
• Get up (hours when you’ve been on your feet for at least a minute, to combat sedentary lifestyles).

The objective is simple: close the three circles every day to stay active and regular. This gamification system works well at the start of the course, to motivate you to move more, although everyone will find their own rhythm over time.

The watch also incorporates a visual called “Health Clover”, a more global widget that tracks three basic pillars: physical activity, sleep and mood. It can be customized according to your own objectives – for example, weight management, relaxation or improved sleep. Each leaf of the cloverleaf represents an objective, which you can tick or untick as the day progresses.

The idea is a good one, especially for those who like to have a synthetic view of their overall well-being. In my opinion, it’s a pity that these two tools aren’t grouped together in a single, more readable interface, which would further enhance the experience.

Sports features

Sports modes and data

The Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro offers over 100 sports modes, from running and cycling to swimming, trail running, skiing, golf and snorkeling. I limited myself to testing on my usual sports: trail, running, cycling and hiking.

Profiles are plentiful but above all comprehensive, with data on pace, cadence, altitude, recovery and even VO₂ max. A good point for those who not only want to record their activity, but also measure their progress with concrete indicators. It’s possible to customize the data displayed during sessions, with 4 possible screens each having up to 6 data fields.

A big new feature on the Watch GT 6 compared to the Series 5 is virtual power for cycling. You can record your bike data on different profiles (bike type and weight), and the watch then calculates the power developed during your outings. Of course, this is inevitably much less precise than if you had a real power sensor installed on your bike, but it doesn’t require the installation of an external sensor and it’s already nice to have an estimate. Once again, even if the raw data isn’t necessarily perfect, it does allow you to follow an evolution, and that’s already nice.

Training

To begin with, Bluetooth allows you to connect third-party sensors such as a cardio belt, power sensor, etc., to your system.

It’s possible to program a workout either by drawing from the library on offer, or directly by building a customized workout. Programming a split workout is easy to do, and synchronization with the watch is very fast, so there’s nothing to say!

The watch automatically detects certain activities, which can be useful for those who sometimes forget to start a recording. However, I’m not sure that it’s really up to scratch. In any case, for walking, I’ve several times had a suggestion made to me long after I’d started walking (like 30 minutes!), just as I was finishing up and heading back to my hotel room.

The automatic pause function can be activated for any activity. I found it very effective on the bike, but not at all on the run, where it paused by itself while I was running (admittedly not at a crazy pace, but 6min/km is still a classic jogging pace!) and conversely didn’t stop when I stopped. I lost 500m on one outing at this game and then deactivated it.

Another point that I find a little regrettable is the lack ofgeneral indicators at a glance type of training load, training status, etc… There’s a running capacity index, training load, training index and recovery level, but you have to search in the watch. I would have preferred this to be easily visible in the app. I also have some to understand the logicAs I write these lines, the watch is telling me on one screen that I’ve recovered perfectly and can continue with high-intensity training, and on the next that I need to train less intensively this week.

The same goes for the recovery heart rate measurement , which I still don’t understand. For example, in the photo below, I understand that the starting HR is 118 and drops to 88, but he tells me that the decrease is only 15bpm. There must be a logic to this, but it needs some explaining!

HR accuracy

HR accuracy is always a big issue with watches: in practical terms, it’s always far less accurate than using a cardio belt or armband, and I don’t think the Watch GT 6 Pro escapes the rule. In my tests, I observed pretty good overall consistency during my workouts, with the exception of split sessions where it was rather random and clearly inaccurate at times. However, other tests seem to have produced better results.

GPS and mapping

The Watch GT 6 Pro is equipped with a dual-frequency multi-GNSS GPS. In my tests, I was really pleased with its accuracy. Localization sometimes takes a little time at first, but that’s acceptable.

It is of course possible to import a route onto your watch, either directly via Komoot or with a GPX, TXL or KML file, but unfortunately not from Strava. Synchronization with the watch is then a breeze.

What’s more, the watch includes cartography, which I really appreciate. To manage the maps, all you have to do is select the regions or countries you want to download from the app, and then it takes a few minutes each time.

This gives you a topographical base map, and it’s easy to guide you around a course inturn-by-turn mode. Unless I haven’t figured out how to do it, however, I don’t think it’s possible to launch a course once the activity has begun, which I find a pity: sometimes you forget to launch the course, and it’s only afterwards that you realize that GPS guidance would have been handy.

Compatibility with Komoot and Strava

It is possible tolink the Watch GT 6 Pro to Komoot and Strava, but not all functionalities are accessible. For example, you can import a route from Komoot but not from Strava, and only certain activities will be exported to Strava (for running and cycling, no problem, but when I tried to synchronize a renfo session, it didn’t work, for example). I’ve also had a few occasions where the running distance on the watch and Strava differed, I don’t know why.

Connected watch features

Calls and notifications

The Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro can receive and make calls directly from the wrist, thanks to its integrated microphone and speaker. Sound quality is adequate for quick conversations, although limited in noisy environments. You can also consult and briefly respond to notifications (SMS, e-mails, applications), but response options remain basic, with predefined answers and emojis rather than free text.

It’s enough to stay connected without constantly taking out your phone, but you can’t expect the richness of an Apple Watch-type connected watch. For my part, I have to say that I don’t miss this aspect at all, since I hate having notifications on my watch. So I tested it, then turned it all off, and I’ m sorry I wasn’t able to prevent the watch from notifying me of calls (except by turning off the Bluetooth).

The same goes for the watch’s notifications, encouraging you to get moving or congratulating you on something… It’s nice and motivating, but it’s too intrusive for me. I wish we could just tell the watch to shut up😛

Other functions

The watch includes other functions, but these are subject to certain limitations depending on your phone:

• miscellaneous utilities: alarm, stopwatch, timer, calculator, compass, flashlight (not very powerful, but useful!), barometer, phone location (make it ring to find it!)
• voice memos (which cannot be synchronized with the phone)
• remote photo trigger (only with Huawei and iOS phones)
• control of music stored on the phone (but no music storage)
• contactless payments limited to certain regions and banks. In France, it doesn’t seem to be working.

It’s also worth noting that there are very few third-party apps on offer (and none from major publishers), unlike an Apple Watch, for example. This is the watch’s main drawback for those looking for a “real” connected watch.

Autonomy and recharging

One of the Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro’s greatest strengths is its battery life. The brand claims up to 21 days’ use in classic mode, and around 14 days in mixed use (GPS, health sensors, notifications…). In continuous active GPS mode, the announced autonomy is up to 40 hours, placing it among the very best on the market for such a complete watch.

In fact, in use, this autonomy proves to be really excellent: on my side, for example, it lasted for 11 days with daily sports activity, without notifications but with quite a lot of data continuously tracked and also a lot of time “geeking” to discover and test features 😉 This autonomy is really appreciable!

Recharging is via the supplied magnetic base. It’s quite heavy and takes around 95 minutes to fully recharge, or rather a little longer according to my tests. As you recharge less often than with other watches, this is not a problem on a daily basis, especially as you can gain precious recharge percentages quickly if you forget to charge it before a sports session!

The only drawback is that the magnetic base plugs in via a USB-A socket. At a time when the idea is to have only USB-C (and therefore stop lugging around cables and plugs!), I find this a bit of a shame.

Conclusion

Even if it doesn’t offer the full experience of a fully connected watch, the Watch GT 6 Pro is a good watch with exceptional autonomy, offering a good compromise between a sports watch and a connected watch, with good health functions in addition to advanced sports functions such as mapping. There are a few things I’d like to see improved in the sports area, in addition to the general ergonomics of the app, before I’d be 100% convinced, but it remains an interesting option.