Huawei Watch Ultimate review – GSMArena.com news
Introduction
The Watch Ultimate arrived with the declare of being the very best Huawei wearable but. Coming with 100-meter water score, Exploration Mode for the outdoorsy varieties and an extremely sturdy construct.
We acquired to spend near a month with a unit and check all its options, and right here go our findings.
The Watch Ultimate arrives in just one measurement – 1.5″ or 48.5 mm in diagonal. It priced near the Apple Watch Ultra and the Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro, however its person expertise is in contrast to these two, so it’ll cater to a special viewers.
Design and construct
Our unit got here in Voyage Blue shade with a Titanium Strap. The physique is made from a zirconium-primarily based liquid steel case and a ceramic bezel, and the show has sapphire glass safety. We additionally acquired two hydrogenated nitrile rubber bands in our field (one common and one other enabling enabling totally different put on modes). The materials is designed to be extra sturdy and comfy than the fluoroelastomer straps on different smartwatches.
The Titanium Strap is actually a looker and way more fashionable, however the rubber is clearly much better fitted to ourdoor actions and figuring out.
The Watch Ultimate is an computerized eye-grabber – first, due to its huge measurement; and second, it appears to be like nice and washes away the boundaries between a classy traditional watch and a sensible wearable. We did our greatest to check its sturdiness in all components – rain, mud, quick rivers, vivid solar and loads of sweat – it took the beating and by no means confirmed any indicators.
Huawei put an LTPO AMOLED for the primary time on the Ultimate – it permits numerous refresh price, reportedly taking place to 1Hz in particular situations like AOD. Another first was the third button on the highest left facet, which permits even quicker entry to sure performance.
The prime proper button is a traditional crown that rotates and scrolls; the underside acts as a pre-set characteristic shortcut and can be conductive for the ECG performance. The sensors on the again monitor the center price and SpO2 ranges, enabling extra correct exercise logging and sleep monitoring.
Sadly, the Watch Ultrimate has no mobile connectivity choice, which we remorse because it limits your choices of leaving your cellphone at residence when going for a run. The Watch solely helps Bluetooth connectivity, however at the least it has GPS and may retailer its data till the cellphone is in vary.
Huawei designed the Watch Ultimate physique so it enhances the antenna sign to work in denser forests, extra callenging mountain geography and concrete environments, supporting L1 and L5 satellites.
Software
Huawei launched the Watch Ultimate with HarmonyOS 3.0. We beloved that we might obtain some apps from AppGallery into the Huawei Health app after which ship them to the wearable.
We additionally acquired to check the brand new Exploration Mode. The prime left button is an computerized shortcut for the characteristic that allows you to get misplaced and discover your approach again solely with the markers set.
As we talked about, Huawei claims wonderful accuracy with international positioning methods, and we did not have a difficulty coming again for lunch, following solely the markers we set.
That stated, we genuinely consider the Watch Ultimate shouldn’t be the only machine for experiencing the wilderness – all the time take a charged smartphone with you, loads of water and meals, and inform a pal the place you are going earlier than you achieve this.
Another important characteristic is diving. The Watch GT 3 Pro was the primary watch marketed with such capabilities, however was restricted to free diving, primarily carried out in 10 meters depth at round 1 ATM. The Huawei Watch Ultimate goes so much additional and is the primary sensible wearable to be licensed for 10 ATM or 100 meters depth. This is the organized scuba diving with neoprene wetsuits, flippers, air tanks on the again, and many others.
The contact display screen doesn’t work underwater, that means all three buttons have a delegated job when the Diving mode is turned on – mark a timestamp, change the display screen or carry up superior settings like setting air bottle capability.
Battery life
The Watch Ultimate, Huawei’s largest wearable ever clearly comes with an ample battery. The cell capability is 530mAh, and we had been promised 14 days of battery life with typical utilization and 8 days with heavy utilization.
First, we tried to go the coolness approach – no notifications, no stress or blood oxygen assessments, only a fancy band that exhibits the time and appears good. We managed to get our two weeks, and we have now to say we had been fairly impressed with that. Then we charged the wearable – Huawei promised 60 minutes from 0 to 100%, and we achieved it in 63 minutes, which isn’t dangerous in any respect.
Then we went into it with the heavy use – that meant one-hour exercise each day, notifications turned on, all of the sensors turned on. It could not get us by the week – we needed to put the Watch Ultimate on the magnetic puck on Day 6 to cost it. We acquired 64 minutes from 0 to 100% this time.
Trying all these items with AOD ought to’ve meant we get greater than half the interval like different Huawei Watch wearables – in any case, the display screen was speculated to be refreshing much less, thus saving the battery. The actual-life AOD situations confirmed seven days of battery life with common use and 4 days with lively use. We recharged the machine one final time, and once more we acquired a full cost in simply over 63 minutes.
Verdict
The Huawei Watch Ultimate is certainly the very best wearable the corporate has ever produced, and this should not even be a dialogue. Yes, the Exploration Mode and the Scuba Diving options are cool, however the construct and the battery life make the machine stand out.
We already talked about some rivals at the start of this text, however every tries to attraction to a special crowd. The Apple Watch Ultra is a wearable for Apple customers – its battery life is laughable at finest, so it should not be in the identical dialogue as any Huawei Watch.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro is barely an improve over its 2021 siblings. It is a look ahead to individuals who desire a extra minimalistic look; Huawei designed the Watch Ultimate to be way more imposing.
There are additionally extra professionally oriented watches from manufacturers like Suunto, Coros and Garmin. Still, they’re catering to particular sports activities, and it would not be honest to place them towards the Huawei machine for lovers and amateurs (like our resident runner).
Let’s discuss costs now that we all know who this machine is for and who is not. The Chinese launch in late March noticed astronomical costs between $900 and $1,000. In Europe, Huawei priced the Voyager Blue at €800 and the Expedition Black at €750.
Yes, it’s dear, however provides a novel characteristic set and endurance, so the worth is considerably justified. Then once more, Huawei has loads of cheaper wearables in its portfolio, so it’s a matter of the dimensions of the pockets.
If you may have an enormous chunk of money to spend on a wearable the Huawei Watch Ultimate isn’t a purchase order you’re prone to remorse. Plus the corporate throws loads of items with each buy. For instance, the watch in Germany, France or Italy is bundled with free Freebuds 2 Pro that value €170 alone, which helps soften the blow.