Huawei Watch Fit 2 review: Solid sequel – Can Buy or Not
The Huawei Watch Fit 2 straddles the divide between fitness trackers and smartwatches. It is a bit more capable than a standard fitness tracker, but lacks the full features of a smartwatch. As a sequel, it manages to add more features, while retaining the same 10-day battery life. The launch price, though, has also gone up slightly. The Watch Fit 2 is selling at S$168, up from the previous model (S$148).
Quick specs
- 1.74-inch AMOLED screen (336 x 480 pixels)
- Around 26g (strap excluded)
- Requires smartphone with Android 6.0+ or iOS 9+
The Watch Fit 2 looks similar to its predecessor. The rectangular display is slightly larger now at 1.74 inches, but it’s bright and vibrant as you’d expect from an AMOLED. The device itself is rather light — my plastic-clad Active Edition review unit is just 26g. Switching its silicone watch straps is also much easier than before. Simply press the tiny buttons at the back (like the ones on the Apple Watch) and pull the straps out. Unavailable here are the Classic and Elegant editions that have aluminium fronts and plastic backs. The watch can be worn while swimming (up to 50m depth). You can also expect the usual fitness and health monitoring features, including sleep tracking and blood oxygen measurement. New features include the ability to take phone calls via Bluetooth Dick Tracy style.
Credit: Vincent Chang/Can Buy or Not
As any fitness trainer will tell you, a good warm-up routine before exercising goes a long way towards preventing injuries. Here’s where the Watch Fit 2 comes in. Huawei has added guides that show you how to warm up and stretch before and after your workout. A tiny animated figure will execute the moves, which lasts several minutes. I find it helpful as a reminder to warm up. The Watch Fit 2 itself has plenty of workout modes — 97 to be exact. But an average user will probably just use the common ones like swimming and running. For the latter, the watch also reads aloud key metrics like the pace and heart rate after completing a kilometre. I usually turn it off or lower the volume because it can draw unwanted attention. This is easier to do so compared to older Huawei smartwatches.
Credit: Vincent Chang/Can Buy or Not
Unlike the Huawei Watch 3, the Watch Fit 2, despite running HarmonyOS, doesn’t come with the Huawei AppGallery store preloaded. However, you can still load apps to the watch via the Huawei Health app. But last I checked, there were just six apps available. The Huawei Assistant (press and hold the side button) also requires a Huawei smartphone (EMUI 10.1 and above), which I lacked. In my testing, the Watch Fit 2 acquired a faster GPS signal than older Huawei wearables. The distance tracking and heart rate monitoring were spot-on and comparable to other smartwatches. You can also get notifications on the Watch Fit 2 from your phone apps like WhatsApp and Gmail. But you can’t reply to WhatsApp except with preset (albeit customisable) quick replies, and not even that for emails.
The Huawei Watch Fit 2 comfortably lasted over a week for me with light to moderate use. It will probably last the 10 days claimed by Huawei, though heavy users may find it only good for a week. That’s still impressive for a smartwatch, albeit one with fewer features than the Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy Watch 4. At S$168, the Watch Fit 2 has gotten a small price bump from its predecessor, but you get a better experience, and it’s still more affordable than a regular smartwatch. If you can accept its limited but focused features, the Watch Fit 2 is a solid alternative. It’s available now on Lazada and Shopee.
Review unit provided by Huawei.
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