Here we have the HUAWEI WATCH FIT 3 for a review, this one is pretty interesting, because again it tried to redefine the boundary between smartwatch and smart band, and this time I would say it’s much like a proper lite smartwatch, more than an enlarged smart band. In this review, you will know the reasons.
Design & Build
Right out of the box, you will notice that it is a thin, squared-off smartwatch. If you have followed up on the last generation, HUAWEI FIT 2, you will know that they are a lot different from each other. The FIT 2 seemed to more target female users with a fine-designed smaller display, while the FIT 3 is more like a sport essential for everyone outside of those smartband products. Combined with a stretchy Nylon strap, the FIT 3 is amazingly lightweight and breathable for sportswear. If you remove the strap, the watch body weighs just 26g. What’s really promising is that even though it’s as light as a smartband, it’s still versatile as a smartwatch.
So this smartwatch has a 1.82″ AMOLED screen on top, covered by a panel that does not have perfect bezels – the top and bottom are slightly wider than the other two sides. The flip side of the watch is a complete plate with no cutout around the sensor area, although the magnetic charging pins have taken a little place on one side. I like this build more than others, because the dirt can be wiped out easily and will not leave anything on it.
The maximum brightness is impressive, especially when having workouts outdoors in the daytime, which is still visible in the sun’s glare.
In between the top and bottom panels, is the aluminum alloy body sandwiched in between to house all the buttons and watch band. On the right, there is a crown that can rotate up and down, and another button to toggle through many functions. The crown is in a typical HUAWEI red hue, it looks and feels really good, and the dampening is very well-calibrated. On the left side, there is the speaker cutout, the sound it produces is very big, loud enough to hear all the instructions and broadcast clearly. The band that comes with the watch is also top quality, the lock mechanism is like the Apple Watch, once the band is bonded with the watch, it is very secure, not wobbling at all. The buttons on the flip side will let the hooks go. One thing to note is that the lock is simpler, so I think there wouldn’t be a common problem that third-party band manufacturers have, which is the compatibility issue.
This time, there are six bands/straps to choose from HUAWEI, four Fluoroelastomer Strap, one White Leather Strap, and one Grey Nylon Strap. It’s clear that this smartwatch is meant more for sports, but once paired with other straps, it can also be a fashionable item. Overall, the watch has a nice design, the square design makes a really good-looking watch, and it is very lightweight.
Function & Features
As a smartwatch, it has a whole package of smart features. But as a new model, it must have some unique ones to make you pay for it, so let’s focus on those you would be more interested in. Basically they are 100+ Workout Modes, Stay Fit, and Sleep apnoea.
During the time of wearing the watch, the watch can detect the workout mode pretty quickly. Take badminton for example, once the workout starts, the watch will start recording every move, and show the essential data on the main screen. And a single swipe up and down, left and right will take me to some other info, it is very convenient. Once the workout has been going for 10 minutes, 20 minutes or so, the speaker will read the data out loud, to make sure you don’t lose focus on those things, and the volume is surprisingly big, quite a useful feature I haven’t experienced on other watches. After the workout, you can have a very clear idea about the calories, heart rate and time, etc. So overall, this watch has the complete package of all the sports tracking.
In addition, the built-in GPS is a great bonus for such a lightweight sports watch. Positioning accuracy is also amazingly reliable on the FIT 3, not at all inferior to other high-end sports watches. You can wear it to independently have the distance calibration and movement tracking.
When you want to keep fit, one essential thing is to keep track of your diet. There is a feature to help you track everything you eat, and the approximate calories you intake from that dish. This feature works really well, because wherever you are from, you can find the local dishes you eat. For example, I can find some egg dishes in the search bar, and some really local way of making the dishes will come out. The only thing you need to do is to figure out how much you eat in that dish, which is a habit you need to develop, but if it is about losing weight, this is a must. To help you form a habit of doing so, the watch will notify you at a certain time of the day, to remind you to do that.
Lastly, the Sleep apnoea detection. Me personally I snore a bit, and I am always worried about having sleep apnoea, because it not only affects your sleep quality, and your facial appearance, but also it affects your partner. So for years, I have been trying to find the solution to that, fortunately, there is one more step forward for me here. So basically, it will detect such activity during sleep. I am lucky enough not to have experienced that until now, but if you are slightly overweight, or getting older, there is a higher chance you would have encountered that, so keeping an eye on that will be very important.
For some other features, like the Activity Records, and 10 Days of battery life, these are all as good as its officially advertised. Following the guides and tutorials in the HUAWEI Health app, it’s becoming a great lifestyle companion as I was able to make full use of those features.
Verdict
So after a week of use, this watch has helped me a lot. The first thing that stands out is the awesome battery use, even with all the health monitoring features up and running, it still lasted more than a week. The three features mentioned in this review really helped with my day-to-day use a lot, a very good experience. So if you are in the market for a slim and light, good-looking, and full-featured smartwatch, this one is perfect for you. Now the FIT 3 is available in various regions. For more purchase information, you can check out the new HUAWEI Watch on their official store.
