HUAWEI WATCH 5 review: Elegant, accurate, and imperfect!

HUAWEI has a strong performance in the global smartwatch market, thanks to its diverse range of devices that cater to various health and sports tracking needs at different price points. The company aims to build upon this success by launching several new products, including the HUAWEI WATCH 5. This smartwatch stands out with its classic design, high-quality materials, and innovative X-TAP sensor, which promises more accurate health readings compared to traditional wrist sensors. After wearing it daily, tracking my workouts despite a recent meniscus surgery, and comparing some of its measurements with medical-grade equipment, I’ve found a mix of impressive capabilities and a few limitations. Does this titanium-crafted smartwatch strike the right balance between elegance and functionality for you and your particular requirements? Read this review to find out:

HUAWEI WATCH 5: Who is it good for?

This smartwatch is a great choice for:

• People looking for an elegant watch made with durable materials
• Fitness enthusiasts who track their workouts
• People intending to keep an eye on their overall health
• Those seeking a smartwatch that can make accurate ECGs

Pros and cons

Here are the things I like about the HUAWEI WATCH 5:

• Useful health and sleep tracking features
• Introduces Heart Rate Variability (HRV) metrics
• Fast and accurate ECG measurements
• It can be used to track a large number of physical activities
• Has eSIM and Wi-Fi 6 support

As for downsides:

• Limited third-party app ecosystem
• It can’t be connected to other fitness gear
• Too many prompts for agreeing to terms and conditions

Verdict

The HUAWEI WATCH 5 looks like a premium smartwatch and comes with a price to match. While its design is similar to the previous model, the WATCH 5 features a new X-TAP sensor, which helps provide more accurate health readings that nearly match medical-grade equipment. This is great for keeping an eye on your heart health. Its battery lasts about four and a half days of regular use, and it tracks health metrics well, now including Heart Rate Variability (HRV). However, if you do a lot of indoor sports, it may not be the best choice since it can’t connect with gym equipment or let you edit your workout details. The HUAWEI WATCH 5 is ideal for those who care about style and are focused on health and outdoor activities. It is particularly useful for anyone worried about heart health, thanks to its medical certified ECG feature. If you don’t need to use many third-party apps (HUAWEI’s ecosystem isn’t as varied as the ones of its competitors) and aren’t looking for compatibility with various fitness devices, the HUAWEI WATCH 5 offers an attractive combination of sleek design, durable materials, and reliable health tracking, making it a good option for many users.

Unboxing the HUAWEI WATCH 5

HUAWEI WATCH 5 comes in a black cardboard box featuring a big picture of the smartwatch on the top cover. Its design is elegant and minimalistic, promoting only the key brands related to this product. On the sides, you find little printed information. Only details such as the model number, the materials used for the case and the strap, and the device’s serial number. When you open the box, you find other, smaller boxes inside, holding all the accessories that come with this smartwatch, each in its protective packaging.

HUAWEI WATCH 5 comes in an elegant black cardboard box

Taking everything out reveals the WATCH 5, its charging cradle, which features improved fast charging compared to previous models from the same company, the quick start guide, product safety information, and the warranty card. The version I received for testing also has a small box with spare elements that allow you to lengthen the bracelet if your wrist is thicker than average. These elements are available for all the HUAWEI WATCH 5 versions with a titanium or steel strap.

All the items you find inside the box

I enjoyed the unboxing experience offered by the HUAWEI WATCH 5. It comes in a stylish package that makes you feel good about the product you’ve just bought. However, before using it, you should charge the smartwatch.

Design and hardware specifications

Design-wise, the HUAWEI WATCH 5 isn’t much different from its predecessor. It has a similar circular design, featuring a rotating crown on its left side and a side button. However, compared to the prior model, it includes a new X-TAP sensor that can accurately record electrocardiograms (ECG or EKG) and measure blood oxygen levels (SpO2).

The new X-TAP sensor is on the left side

HUAWEI WATCH 5 features a bright AMOLED display with a resolution of 466 × 466 pixels and a local peak brightness of up to 3000 nits. Its size is 1.5 inches on the 46mm variant, and 1.38 inches on the 42mm variant. Thanks to the LTPO 2.0 tech inside it, the display’s refresh rate can adjust dynamically based on usage, dropping as low as 1 Hz when necessary to extend battery life. The display is protected by sapphire glass, offering greater scratch resistance than other types of glass. HUAWEI has made the display border thinner than on the Watch 4 and increased the screen-to-body ratio to 82.5%.

Do you like the new display?

There are no buttons on its right side. However, if you look carefully, there’s a speaker under the frame that you can use for phone calls. The HUAWEI WATCH 5 also features a microphone and eSIM support, so you can answer calls on it without your smartphone around. We also get Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and NFC. A welcome improvement is that the WATCH 5 provides both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz wireless connectivity. Most smartwatches can use only the 2.4 GHz frequency band.

There are no buttons on the right side

On the back of the smartwatch, you find the other sensors, which can now measure your heart rate variability (HRV), alongside your average heart rate, blood oxygen level (SpO2), skin temperature, stress level, sleep quality, and respiratory health.

Most of the sensors are on the bottom of the smartwatch

For those curious to know the complete list of sensors available on the HUAWEI WATCH 5, this smartwatch also features an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a compass, an ambient light sensor, a barometer, a temperature sensor, and a depth sensor. An important upgrade over its predecessor is that the WATCH 5 features IP68 dust and water resistance, and it can be used underwater up to 5 ATM and dives up to 30 meters in depth.

On the software side, you should know that the WATCH 5 is powered by HUAWEI’s HarmonyOS version 5.1, which works with Android, iOS, and HUAWEI devices. To use this smartwatch, you must install and configure the latest version of the HUAWEI Health app.

Design-wise, HUAWEI has a tradition of offering the same smartwatch in multiple sizes and materials. This time, they didn’t make versions for men and women. Instead, they opted for different sizes and materials. As a result, the WATCH 5 is available in the following versions:

• Larger 46 mm versions:
  • With a titanium case: brown, silver, and purple
  • With a steel case: black
• Smaller 42 mm versions:
  • With a stronger 904L stainless steel (the same material used by Rolex) case: beige and sand gold
  • With a lighter 316L stainless steel case: white and green

All the sizes and color options for the HUAWEI WATCH 5

All these models have the same features and hardware. However, their battery capacity differs based on their size (867 mAh for the 46mm variant and 540 mAh for the 42mm variant), while the pricing varies based on the materials used in their manufacturing. As a result, the most expensive model is the 46 mm silver version, which uses titanium for both the smartwatch case and the strap. The cheapest versions use a fluoroelastomer strap (black and green).

I’m testing the HUAWEI WATCH 5 46 mm silver version, which uses titanium for both the case and the strap. The WATCH 5 weighs 58 grams without the strap, and 102 grams with it. Models without a titanium or steel strap are lighter. For example, the purple 46mm version with a composite strap weighs just 83 grams. According to HUAWEI, the 42mm variants weigh just 48 grams without the strap.

HUAWEI WATCH 5 has a stylish design inspired by classic watches. The materials used for this smartwatch are of excellent quality, and the new fingertip sensor is an interesting addition. After looking at it and reading its specifications, it’s evident that this smartwatch is created for people who care about an active lifestyle and want an elegant fitness device made from durable, high-quality materials. If you want to know more about its specifications, visit its official product page: HUAWEI WATCH 5.

Setting up and using the HUAWEI WATCH 5

You can set up the HUAWEI WATCH 5 with the help of the HUAWEI Health app, which is available for iPhone, HUAWEI devices, and Android devices. The app is available in Apple’s App Store, HUAWEI’s AppGallery, and Samsung’s Galaxy Store. Unfortunately, Android users who don’t own a Samsung or HUAWEI smartphone need to download the APK file for HUAWEI Health and install it manually. Luckily, the procedure isn’t difficult, and anyone can do it.

When you open HUAWEI Health, sign in with your account (or create one, if needed) and add your smartwatch. The app detects it in a few seconds and asks you to pair it with your smartphone, give it the required permissions, set up notifications, and more.

Pairing the HUAWEI WATCH 5 with your smartphone

After the initial setup, you should check for firmware updates and install those available. HUAWEI has a good track record of fixing bugs through early post-launch updates. During my testing, using a beta version of HUAWEI Health and a prerelease firmware, I noticed that the SpO2 tracking during sleep didn’t work for a couple of nights, and I had to restart the smartwatch to get it working. Bugs like this one are likely to be fixed soon after the product is available in stores.

The HUAWEI Health is well organized into sections and focuses on presenting a lot of data in a friendly visual manner. Most of your time will be spent in its Health section, where you see detailed metrics about your health and activities. You also have a dedicated Discover section where you can explore the features included in the premium HUAWEI Health+ subscription.

The HUAWEI Health app is easy to use

You can manage your smartwatch, install watch faces, and configure its tracking sensors in the Devices section. The options you get are easy to understand, and the level of personalization is excellent. Many users are going to appreciate the multitude of watch faces available. There are several good-looking ones preinstalled on the HUAWEI WATCH 5, and you can access a wide variety of free and paid watch faces through the HUAWEI Health app.

You get plenty of watch faces for the HUAWEI WATCH 5

The apps preinstalled on the HUAWEI WATCH 5 are varied and work reasonably well. One aspect I didn’t like is that many of them require you to agree to their privacy terms manually. You don’t have a global terms and privacy policy that you can accept or refuse; you have individual policies for each of the smartwatch’s most important apps and features. Therefore, the first few days of using the WATCH 5 involved going through way too many prompts about privacy terms and conditions.

You’ll encounter many prompts

While HUAWEI’s third-party app ecosystem remains inferior to alternatives from Apple and Google, it has seen some improvements. For example, the company is actively working on adding NFC payments to its smartwatches. With the HUAWEI WATCH 5, people should be able to make NFC payments in European countries like Poland and Germany, with the list slowly extending over time.

HUAWEI WATCH 5 comes with many useful apps preinstalled

There are two features I appreciated a lot about the HUAWEI WATCH 5: its ability to work with Wi-Fi 6 networks, which allows for much faster updates and less time waiting to install a new watch face or app, and its eSIM support. You can use this smartwatch to make phone calls without your smartphone, and that’s quite useful. However, you won’t be able to enjoy good quality conversations unless you are in a quiet environment. Its speaker and microphone can’t handle noisy environments well. But that’s to be expected from a smartwatch.

You can take calls on the HUAWEI WATCH 5 due to its eSIM support

The smartwatch is easy to use and navigate, and the screen visibility is awesome even outdoors, in direct sunlight. HUAWEI has introduced smart gesture support in a couple of its preinstalled apps. While they can be handy, I didn’t feel the need to use them regularly. The touchscreen and the side buttons should be enough for most people.

Those who enjoy outdoor activities will be happy to learn that the HUAWEI WATCH 5 provides offline map support. They can download maps before going out, and then use them to track their routes, draw routes they want to use, and so on. I found that Petal Maps is a well-designed app that has no trouble competing with alternatives from Google and Apple.

HUAWEI WATCH 5 offers support for offline maps

According to HUAWEI, the 42 mm version of the WATCH 5 can last up to 3 days on a single charge (without using the always-on display) when operated in standard mode. The 46 mm version can last up to 4.5 days. HUAWEI’s new fast charger is designed to charge the 42 mm version in 60 minutes, while the 46 mm model can be fully charged in 90 minutes.

The 46 mm version lasted 4 days and 15 hours during my testing, which is slightly better than the company’s promises. While this kind of autonomy isn’t bad, other smartwatches, including many from HUAWEI, can deliver more.

Battery life is reasonable

Fortunately, the charging speed has improved thanks to HUAWEI’s new wireless charger. I used a 33W smartphone charger, plugged the cradle in, and measured the time it took to charge the HUAWEI WATCH 5 from 0% to 100%. In just 20 minutes, the smartwatch charged up to 25%, and it took 86 minutes to reach a full charge. This is a positive result, and I’m glad to see advancements in smartwatch charging technology.

How long it takes to charge the HUAWEI WATCH 5

Using the HUAWEI WATCH 5 is a generally enjoyable experience. The preinstalled apps are sufficient for most users. However, the smartwatch experience and app ecosystem are not particular strengths of HUAWEI devices. Fortunately, the company offsets these weaknesses by providing excellent health tracking features. But more on that on the second page of this review.🙂