Huawei Watch GT5 Pro review: Style & fitness personified

Huawei’s GT Pro watches are on a two-year cycle, so while we got a Watch GT4 last year, there was no GT4 Pro. Now, the GT5 watches have arrived in both Pro and non-Pro varieties, and there’s a larger and smaller version of each.

I have the larger Pro model in for testing and it certainly looks the part, with a titanium alloy casing and all-metal watch band. Huawei is aiming to offer the best of both worlds, a fashionable timepiece for daily wear and a class-leading fitness tracker all in one.

The question is, how does it fare compared to competition? Huawei devices tend to come with a little more baggage than other wearables, you won’t find the Huawei Health app in the App Store or Play Store, for example.

Is the Watch GT5 Pro good enough to be worth the extra hassle? I’ve been wearing it for the past couple of weeks to find out.

Huawei just launched six new smartwatches

Design & Build

• 42 and 46mm options
• Titanium alloy case and bezel
• Sapphire glass screen

The Watch GT5 Pro, in its 46mm titanium finish, makes an immediate impression. It feels extremely premium, and it looks expensive.

The only downside to this premium construction is that the device has a bit of heft. It weighs around 86g with the metal strap attached (and a couple of links removed). I wouldn’t call it heavy, but you know when you’re wearing it.

This might be what you’re looking for in a premium watch. Tech companies can be too keen to make devices as light as possible which can result in them feeling cheap but that’s certainly not the case here.

Aesthetically, it might be my favourite smartwatch to date

The design carries over elements of previous generations, but the bezel is now flatter and more angular. It has a unique octagonal shape that makes it stand out from a sea of circular competitors. The matte finish feels extremely hardy and resists fingerprints and smudges well, too.

Aesthetically, it might be my favourite smartwatch to date.

There’s a push button and a rotating crown on the right side of the watch, and they’re offset at a 45-degree angle, which means you won’t accidentally press them when leaning on a table. The rotating crown is fully functional, and it can be used to scroll through menus or zoom into maps – take note OnePlus.

The included metal watch band can be adjusted without tools, and there’s a quick-release button for removing the strap entirely. Fluoroelastomer straps are available for those who want something more sporty, and the standard push-pin mounting system means that third-party straps should be easy enough to source, too.

The display is covered with a highly scratch-resistant sapphire glass coating, and there’s a nice two-tone blue and red ceramic interior bezel on the colourway that I’m testing. It’s a small touch, but it gives the watch some extra personality.

If you prefer a smaller watch, Huawei has you covered with the 42mm GT5 Pro. It retains all the same features, it just has a smaller battery, as there’s less room in the casing. Oddly, the 42mm variety has a drastically different design, so much so, that you probably wouldn’t think the two watches are part of the same series at a glance.

The 42mm GT5 Pro is made from ceramic and comes in lighter colours (white or ceramic) with gold and silver accents. It’s a more feminine design, but it’s equally striking. I think Huawei has nailed the styling on both of these options.

Screen & Audio

• 1.43-inch AMOLED
• 466×466 resolution, 326ppi
• Built-in speaker

The 46mm Watch GT5 Pro has a bright and spacious 1.43-inch AMOLED panel with a 466×466 resolution. If you opt for the smaller 42mm watch, you’ll get the exact same resolution, just with a slightly smaller 1.32-inch panel.

It’s more than bright enough to see on sunny days, and it looks vibrant and sharp in all conditions.

The spec sheet doesn’t list an exact brightness output, but it exceeds the range of my light meter, so it’s somewhere above 1200 nits. It’s more than bright enough to see on sunny days, and it looks vibrant and sharp in all conditions.

The touchscreen is highly responsive, and a light spattering of rainwater didn’t seem to change that either. 

There’s a speaker built into the right side of the watch. It’s mainly used for voice calls and audible workout notifications, but you can also use it for listening to music, like the Apple Watch Series 10, if you fancy. It gets louder than I expected and the quality is very decent, by watch standards.

Software & Features

• HarmonyOS
• Colour maps and topography
• There’s a keyboard now

The GT5 Pro runs on Huawei’s proprietary HarmonyOS software and it pairs with the Huawei Health app on your smartphone.

The app works with Android, iOS and Huawei’s EMUI devices alike, but due to US sanctions, you’ll only find it in Huawei’s App Gallery, and it’ll need to be sideloaded on other devices. It’s no big deal for tech-savvy users, but it’s a lot less seamless than the competition.

Once installed, set up is very simple, and with the necessary permissions given (there are quite a lot of them) the watch delivered calls and notifications to my wrist promptly and reliably.

Huawei has caught some flack in previous years for lacking basic features provided by competing smartwatches, but things are getting better. With this generation, there’s now a keyboard for quick replies and you can finally take screenshots, too.

More excitingly, you can now use the watch for navigation, with full-colour maps and topography from Petal Maps. It works very similarly to Google Maps on a Wear OS device, you start navigation on the phone app and it’ll beam directions over to the watch.

Petal Maps wouldn’t be my first choice of navigation service, but it works well enough. At least that’s the experience on Android, this feature is currently unsupported on iOS. 

The Huawei Health app is packed with fitness-related features, including workout plans, calorie tracking and health insights. It also features a watch face store, with plenty of free and paid options to change up the look of your watch, as well as an app store to boost the functionality. Unfortunately, the app store is pretty spartan, and I couldn’t find anything worth installing.

The Watch GT5 Pro supports contactless payments via Huawei Wallet, but this feature isn’t supported in the UK

The Watch GT5 Pro supports contactless payments via Huawei Wallet, but this feature isn’t supported in the UK or the US. It might be the single biggest downside to this device, as it’s something you can do with every similarly priced competitor.

Fitness & Tracking

• Over 100 workout modes
• Advanced golfing features
• TruSense system

The Watch GT5 Pro is one of the first wearables to carry Huawei’s new ‘TruSense’ branding.

It’s a marketing term to describe a certain set of standards for the sensor stack and, in essence, it means the array of sensors work together in a faster, more cohesive manner that’s less prone to environmental interference.

the watch was so accurate that it even correctly mapped which side of the road I was on.

It’s hard to test extra how much of a difference this new system makes, but for what it’s worth, my step count and heart rate readings were about the same as what I’m used to seeing from devices like my OnePlus Watch 2 and TicWatch Pro 5.

Comparatively, this watch takes things further with skin temperature monitoring, anytime accurate ECG collection and sleep apnea detection.

What really impressed me, though, is the GPS accuracy. When looking at my routes after a walk or a bike ride, the watch was so accurate that it even correctly mapped which side of the road I was on. This is thanks to the new ‘Sunflower Antenna’, which Huawei says improves route accuracy by 40% and distance accuracy by 30%, compared to previous generations.

The list of workouts available for tracking is seriously comprehensive, and I was pleased to find that all of my usual activities are included, even slightly more niche activities like skating. The list goes so far as to include things like parachuting, parkour, motorsport and eSports. So, no matter what you’re into, the GT5 Pro can likely track it.

One of the biggest additions to this generation is the golfing mode, which is exclusive to the Pro model and not found on the regular GT5. Unfortunately, I’m not a golfer, so I couldn’t take full advantage of these new features, but if you are, it seems like it could be a game-changer.

The golf mode supports 15,000 courses around the world and it’ll give you a 3D course preview that you can view on your wrist. Then, while you’re playing, it’ll give you precise measurements of the distance to the hole, including important data like wind speed and direction as well as elevation changes.

It’ll also track your swings, recommend clubs, and it’ll even keep score. It’s like a virtual assistant for golfers, it just can’t carry your clubs.

Battery Life & Charging

• Up to 14 days of battery life
• 9 days of battery life typical usage
• Rapid 1-hour charging

Huawei advertises up to 14 days of battery life for the 46mm version and 7 days for the 42mm watch. Of course, battery life varies dramatically depending on which features you have enabled and what you’re doing between charges.

Personally, I like to have most things active all the time, I’m happy to sacrifice some battery if it means getting the most from my watch.

This means all the health monitoring functions were enabled 24/7, and so was the always-on display, for the entirety of my testing period. Even still, I only needed to charge the watch about once a week, it’s very impressive.

I only needed to charge the watch about once a week, it’s very impressive.

When it’s time to charge, you do so with a magnetic puck that comes included in the box. It plugs into a wall adapter or computer with a USB-A cable and charges the watch very quickly.

If it’s fully dead, it’ll only take about an hour to reach 100% charge.

Price & Availability

The Huawei Watch GT 5 Pro is available to buy in the UK and Europe from 19th September 2024, starting from an MSRP of £329.99. As with all other Huawei products, it won’t be launching Stateside, so US readers would have to import to get their hands on it.

From launch until October 22 2024, buyers on Amazon and the Huawei UK website will get a free pair of Huawei Freebuds 5i with their purchase, which normally retail for around £80.

You’ll also get three months of free membership to Huawei Health+, a premium subscription service similar to Fitbit Premium that adds more features to the Huawei Health app like additional workouts, guided meditations and breathing exercises.

The pricing means that the Huawei Watch GT5 Pro is slightly cheaper than the Pixel Watch 3, but it’s slightly more expensive than the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 at MSRP.

If you want to know how these models compare, check out our guide to the best smartwatches in 2024.

Should you buy the Huawei Watch GT5 Pro?

The Huawei Watch GT5 Pro has been a pleasure to live with and has fetched plenty of compliments over the last couple of weeks. I think it’s one of the best-looking smartwatches on the market, and it feels just as premium as it looks.

When it comes to fitness tracking, I have zero complaints, measurements seem accurate and reliable and the GPS positioning is the best that I’ve come across so far. If you’re a golfer, this watch will be even more appealing, as it offers more tools to up your game than any other watch.

Battery performance is similarly excellent, it’s really nice to be able to enable all the features and still only charge around once a week.

Unfortunately, it’s not all perfect. The lack of payment options in the UK is a real downside, and Petal Maps navigation, while nice to have, is still a long way behind Google Maps.

For many people, those aspects could be dealbreakers, but if they’re not, the GT5 Pro is easy to recommend.

Specs

• 1.43-inch, AMOLED always-on display
• IP69K rated for water, dust and corrosion resistance
• Built-in speaker
• Single-band, built-in GPS
• Up to 14 days battery life on 46mm version
• Up to 7 days battery life on 42mm version
• Heart rate sensor
• Blood oxygen sensor
• Skin temperature sensor
• ECG
• Bluetooth calls
• Sleep tracking
• Stress monitoring
• 87g including metal strap