Huawei GT3 aspiring to set a new smartwatch benchmark

Probably you already know how boring and tasking it can be to own a smartwatch. They need to be charged almost on daily basis, their operating systems are too heavy and complicated, probably because they want to dethrone smartphones by aspiring to do everything their older and more capable folks do.

The biggest disadvantage smartwatches have for owners and collectors is the fact that their lives are short-lived. In just a few years, their manufacturers will stop updating them, or their batteries will die after experiencing too many charge cycles.

Smartwatches come with too many complicated and colourful watch faces, with the intention of pleasing everyone. Many of the faces ends up unused, occupying valuable storage space.

Huawei with its Harmony OS attempts to set a new smartwatch benchmark. The start-up process is fast. With Bluetooth connecting even before the Huawei start-up screen gets out of the way. The updates are tiny, just a few megabytes; the storage space is also modest. Huawei is also one of the few our there in the year 2022 with skin temperature sensor, a crucial feature since COVID-19 ruined our lives.

The display is large and bright. It does not cheat on its size with unnecessary bezels. The health monitoring features work like a Swiss clock, and its mobile Health app is nimble in usability and modest in design, with no compromise on features.

The star feature of Huawei smartwatches is the battery life. Unless you are on Always on Display, the battery will last a minimum of one week with continuous use day and night. The long battery life translates to fewer charge cycles in a year, and ultimately a much longer watch shelf life.

One major missing piece of information for collectors, minimalists, and frugal owners is on how long Huawei will keep updating their watches. To make collectors happy, Huawei should come out in the open and guarantee at least ten years of firmware updates.

When I first laid my hands on the GT3's Harmony OS, I was disappointed on its inability to allow deep customisations of its watch faces. My disappointment was short-lived when I challenged myself with the following questions: How many times does an average user customise watch faces, and how many watch faces does an average user use regularly. Do we need all those heavy background applications sucking the tiny batteries? Does an average user need constant Wi-Fi connectivity on their smartwatch?

If I was to update Harmony OS, I would add a watch only feature. A feature where the smartwatch will just behave like a traditional watch. With such a feature, the watch should be able to operate with colourful analogue watch faces, and not just a digital numbered clock similar to Huawei GT3's main competitor. Above all the watch only feature should not require setting up Harmony OS smartwatches with unnecessary ecosystem accounts or accompanying mobile phone applications.

I am convinced watch collectors would wish for the day when users will be able to switch off smartwatch features. When that day comes, a new eternal benchmark will be set, because a single battery charge will be able to last for a month or more of continuous use. Such features will make smartwatches to be able to operate independently from their ecosystem, long after the last firmware update. And watch collectors will be extremely happy, to be able to own smart watches that can last for generations.

Disclaimer: This is a personal opinion on how smartwatches should innovate in the future. This article makes reference to an un-sponsored review of the Huawei GT3 Smartwatch. I am in no way affiliated to Huawei or its suppliers and contractors.