A year later, almost to the day, Huawei unveils its new Watch GT 6 series. The latest smartwatches improve battery life and positioning accuracy, while the updated software offers new and improved sports modes and health tracking features.
There are two models – the Huawei Watch GT 6, coming in 41mm and 46mm, and the Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro, which only comes in 46mm size now (the GT 5 Pro had a 42mm variant).
Let’s start with the battery – the 46mm Pro model can last up to 21 days with light usage or up to 12 days with typical usage. The small 41mm GT 6 model can do up to 14 days of light usage and up to 7 days of typical usage.
Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro (46mm)
Huawei achieved this with the first “high-silicon stacked custom-shaped batteries.” That’s a lot of words, but the GT 6 batteries use 10% more silicon and are a complex shape (instead of the usual rectangle) to better conform to the shape of the watch. This improves space utilization and boosts energy density by 37%.
The other big hardware upgrade is the new antenna design and positioning algorithms, which promise 20% better positioning accuracy with dual-band support for all positioning systems.
There are many other improvements this generation too. The 46mm models have a 1.47” OLED display, which is 5.5% larger than the old 1.43” display. Even better, the display can achieve 3,000 nits peak brightness – that’s more than double what the GT 5 Pro could do (1,200 nits peak). The 41mm GT 6 has a smaller but still fairly large 1.32” OLED display. For comparison, a Galaxy Watch8 Classic (46mm) has a 1.32” display.
Huawei Watch GT 6 (46mm)
Huawei also revamped its TruSense sensor and algorithm suite. Cycling and trail runs are a major focus this generation (more on them in a bit) and heart rate accuracy is up to 98% for cycling and up to 95% for trail running (the watch bouncing on your wrist makes measurements quite difficult).
The Huawei Watch GT 6 models can connect to a variety of third-party sensors: heart rate straps, cadence sensors, power meters and speedometers. If you use a power meter for cycling, the watch can show you your Functional Threshold Power – the power level you can sustain for an hour without fatigue. There are additional cycling metrics enabled by the improved positioning system – the watch can show real-time gradient, average gradient and gradient range stats.
Interestingly, Huawei developed a virtual power meter, a first for a smartwatch. This shows you real-time and average power while cycling, even if you don’t own a power meter. Another cool feature is trackable group rides – you can join a group of cyclists and see real-time location and status for all of them.
The Huawei Watch GT 6 series brings improved outdoor exercise tracking
The Pro model is geared towards trail running and golfing. The new vector maps allow for near-infinite zoom, so you can get as close a look at the golf green as you want.
Huawei added a wheelchair mode to the watches. Various algorithms and metrics have been reworked to be relevant to wheelchair users. For example, the Activity Rings can track wheelchair rotation (i.e. counting wheel rotations instead of steps). Activity calorie and duration algorithms have similarly been changed to accurately track wheelchair usage.
The Watch GT 6 series is made from premium materials like sapphire glass, aircraft-grade titanium alloy (for the body) and nanocrystal ceramics (for the back). They are rated IP69 and 5ATM water resistant and can be used for diving up to 40m.
Huawei Watch GT 6 (41mm)
The Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro (46mm) comes in Titanium (titanium strap), Brown (woven strap) and Black (fluororubber strap). It normally costs £330, but there is a £30 discount for the launch.
The Huawei Watch GT 6 is split into two. The 46mm model comes in Gray (vegan leather strap), Green (woven) and Black (fluororubber). The smaller 41mm model comes in more colors – Black, Purple, White, Brown and Gold – paired with matching straps with different materials, including a Milanese strap. Note that the 41mm model has pivoting loop lugs, for a snug fit on smaller wrists.
Huawei Watch GT 6
The GT 6 model is priced £230 (dropping to £200 with the early bird deal). There’s also an Outdoor Edition bundle for both the GT 6 and GT 6 Pro – for £30 more you get the Huawei FreeArc open ear buds, which normally cost £100.
