Launched alongside the Huawei Watch Ultimate 2, the Huawei Watch GT 6 series epitomises their stylish approach to smartwatch design and crams in a veritable cornucopia of enhanced fitness and activity tracking tech with battery life that puts much of the competition to shame.
We’ve spent the past week testing the Huawei Watch GT 6 in green, and if there’s one thing that immediately stands out, it’s how effortless this smartwatch gels in with my daily routine. From morning workouts to late night wind downs, it quietly keeps track of health, fitness, sleep, and stress without needing constant charging or fiddling with the settings throughout the week.
After putting it through its paces as my daily companion from dusk to dawn through my usual work week and weekend, here’s my Huawei Watch GT 6 review where I share if it’s worth what you pay for.
Huawei Watch GT 6 Review (46mm) – Build and Design
Intended as the slightly more affordable variant of the Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro, the Huawei Watch GT 6 shaves down a few specialised features and uses different strap materials to keep the price down.
The Huawei Watch GT 6 comes in 46mm and 41mm sizes. Unlike the Pro model, it isn’t officially rated for 40M dives in water and lacks the ability to capture electrocardiogram readings (ECG) but otherwise has a similar feature set of sleep, emotional wellbeing, Sp02, heart rate as well as sports tracking for close to a hundred sports modes.
Our Huawei Watch GT 6 review sample is the 46mm model done up in a shade of khaki green that encompasses the watch case and its matching composite woven straps. The straps are made of fluoroelastomer and have a strip of sweat-wicking woven fabric in the middle to offer a blend function and comfort.
The stainless steel case looks stylish in the fashion of a premium timepiece, with its rounded 1.47-inch AMOLED display sheathed in sapphire glass and polished stainless steel case with a rotating steel crown lending it a tactility and look akin to a classic timepiece rather than a smartwatch. What gives it away though is the small side button on the case but it’s something that can’t be noticed with a casual glance.
The watch itself isn’t just light and good looking, it’s also built tough too with 5 ATM water resistance as well as IP68 dust and water resistance. This combination of features enables it to easily survive getting caught in the rain and even lets it track laps in the pool.
The round 1.47-inch AMOLED display is of note, offering excellent brightness and clarity from the get-go, offering up to 3,000 nits peak brightness. I had no trouble reading it outdoors even under Malaysia’s glaring sunlight.
Its comparably brighter and more vibrant than many competing watches in the same price range, enabling me to make out notifications without having to squint or walk off into the shade to see the screen.
Responsiveness was top notch as well and the touchscreen in combination with the rotating crown on the side made navigating between apps and menus smooth and effortless.
What really impressed us was its comfort and lightness. Our Huawei Watch GT 6 review sample with a 46mm case weighed just 51.3g minus the strap, making for comfortable all-day usage.
At times, I even forgot I was wearing it. The matching woven straps also lend the design a premium look and feel. The overall look is versatile enough to match my office wear and still not look out of place when I head off for a workout.
Huawei Watch GT 6 Review (46mm) – Setup and Performance
On paper, the Huawei Watch GT 6 is able to offer 24/7 heart rate and Sp02 readings, offer full sleep tracking capabilities including sleep quality as well as improved TruSense monitoring.
It also has access to the improved Sunflower GPS positioning system, the ability to track 100 sports modes and, of particular value to the elderly, built-in fall detection. However, it lacks the ECG reading capabilities of the Pro model which is a minor quibble but not a deal breaker.
What takes the cake though is that the Huawei Watch GT 6 series all offer Touch ‘n Go ewallet payment support via QR code scanning as well as Huawei Wallets via NFC which allows you to scan in access cards for now.
The Huawei Watch GT 6 offers particular value to professional cyclists and runners. The design itself can offer data to a paired phone in the fashion of a bike computer for tracking route, heart rate, time and cadence during a cycling session thanks to the more accurate Sunflower GPS system. The watch is also able to offer turn-by-turn voice navigation via a pair of paired earbuds.
Running under the hood of the watch is their own Harmony OS 6.0.0.153 and the device got an immediate update after it got connected to WiFi.
However, there is no official mention of what processor our Huawei Watch GT 6 review sample uses nor the amount of RAM available but it does offer 64GB of onboard storage which is plenty for a smartwatch by any measure of the word. It also features a more accurate TruSeen 5.5+ sensor and algorithm that offers more accurate heart rate and SP02 tracking.
Getting our Huawei Watch GT 6 review sample up and running was an easy task. In addition to Huawei’s own EMUI, the smartwatch is also able to support iOS devices and Android phones too without issue and has Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity to ensure a stable connection.
It paired easily with an Android phone that I was using for review in seconds and prompted me to download the Huawei Health app to get additional context and finetune its settings
Getting about the menus on the watch itself is a smooth affair and notifications synced reliably with my phone with the various apps available in a clean and efficient layout – exactly what you’d want from a smartwatch that doesn’t overcomplicate things.
Best of all, the chessboard menu layout where you can see every app installed on the watch itself makes getting to the app you want a cinch.
After a week of wearing the Huawei Watch GT 6, it became clear that Huawei has taken health tracking to a more accurate, personal level.
The TruSeen 5.5+ sensor was able to deliver consistently accurate heart rate and SP02 readings throughout the day across different activities when compared to a control watch from a competing brand with with variations well within standard deviation.
Huawei Watch GT 6 Review (46mm) – the stainless steel cash and crown lend it a look and feel akin to a traditional premium timepiece
It was also able to track my workouts when I was going for walks and jogs and also when testing out a few racket sports with friends.
Unfortunately, I’m not a cyclist so I wasn’t able to test that aspect of its design but its IP69 and ATM 5 water resistance meant that I could confidently take it for a swim in a pool. I was also able to wear it in the shower without worry.
Sleep tracking was also impressively detailed and it offered deep insights into my sleep quality. It told me how long I slept, broke down my sleep stages into detailed charts and showed me just how much quality sleep (or lack thereof) I was getting.
The Emotional Wellbeing feature is of particular value this time. A quick tap enabled me to check my mood through an adorable pet-themed watch face.
The Huawei Health app helped me to visualise my daily mood trends and offers personalised advice to help me manage stress and remain in a positive mood. Bonus points for the Emotional Wellbeing watchface that depicts an insanely cute animated panda that reflected my well being.
The over 100 workout modes are also of value for athletes and those looking to stay in shape though many of these features need to be manually set to start tracking. Fortunately, the watch offers automatic exercise detection for the usuals like walking and jogging.
But what truly sets the Huawei Watch GT 6 apart is how its AI-driven insights translate data into meaningful guidance. Instead of just flashing stats, it offers smart suggestions like when to hydrate, slow your pace, or take a much needed mental health break.
A particular quibble is that several features like the more exotic breathing exercises require a subscription fee to Huawei Health which costs a substantial RM156.90 per year or RM15.90 per month at the time of writing. Fortunately, it’s not necessary and nearly all of our Huawei Watch GT 6’ review sample’s features and modes remain free to access.
There’s also quite a few free watch faces to swap out too though the best looking ones still require purchase which is separate from the Huawei Health+ subscription.
Honestly, the battery life is, hands down, the Huawei Watch GT 6’s biggest win. After a full week of testing, including GPS workouts, constant heart-rate tracking, and sleep monitoring as well as constant incoming notifications from a paired Android phone, my Huawei Watch GT6 review sample still had nearly 50% charge left.
Huawei claims up to 21 days on light use, and based on my experience, that’s an entirely realistic figure. This means you can ditch the charger and take it with you on a weekend out of town without worry and neglecting to charge it midweek in a given work week isn’t going to bork your battery life.
Charging is effortless with the provided magnetic fast charger. However, the cable issued with the watch uses a USB-A port which feels a bit dated seeing as an increasing number of chargers have already shifted to USB-C ports.
Should you buy the Huawei Watch GT 6 46mm?
After a week of extensive testing, it’s clear that the Huawei Watch GT 6 covers the essentials really well. The exceptional battery life and excellent health tracking make it one of the most practical wearables available in Malaysia right now.
Add in its durable design and support for Touch N Go payments and this makes it one of the most effective and practical smart wearables that are currently available in Malaysia.
If you’re looking for a good looking smartwatch with reliable performance, a bright display and long battery life the Huawei Watch GT 6 needs to be on your shortlist. If you need a more premium looking design with ECG, the Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro is also a viable, if pricier choice.
Specifications
Price RM999 (41mm), RM1,099 (46mm)
Display 1.47-inch circular AMOLED, 466 x 466 pixels, 317ppi, up to 3,000 nits peak brightness
Processor Unspecified
OS Harmony OS 6.0
Memory RAM unspecified/ 64GB storage
Battery Up to 21 days
Size/Weight 46 x 46 x 10.95mm / 51.3g (excluding strap)
Huawei Watch GT 6 review (46mm) sample courtesy of Huawei Malaysia. For more details, please visit https://consumer.huawei.com/my/wearables/watch-gt6/
Huawei Watch GT 6 (46mm)
- Display
- Design
- Performance
- Battery Life
- Value
Huawei Watch GT 6 (46mm)
If you’re looking for a good looking smartwatch with reliable performance, a bright display and long battery life the Huawei Watch Gt 6 should definitely be on your shortlist.
Pros
Fantastic battery life
Stylish yet rugged design
Features Touch ‘n Go eWallet payments
Vibrant and large display that’s viewable under sunlight
Cons
46mm can feels bulky on a smaller wrist
Limited third-party app support
Some Huawei Health+ features need a subscription