Huawei Watch Ultimate

We've reviewed several Huawei smartwatches on this site in the past, and almost every time we've received an overwhelmingly positive response. Not only that, but several of our editors have been saying for years that the Chinese giant is behind some truly masterful smartwatches.

I've now been introduced to Huawei's way of designing and manufacturing smartwatches, experienced HarmonyOS on my wrist and can now speak for myself, and that in itself is exciting. And why is that? Well, because Huawei just makes pretty cool smartwatches, no doubt about it. First and foremost, this is by far the best made and best looking smartwatch on the market, and I have no qualms about stating that with a straight face. While the Apple Watch Ultra and Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra command similar pricing and use fine materials, no other smartwatch I know of comes close in terms of materials and build quality. The entire glass is sapphire crystal, the bezel is ceramic, the front is zirconium, everything oozes exuberance, and little details that you would have missed before keep popping up. The strap length adjustment system is smooth and easy, you get an extra strap for more rigorous workouts, and it's even available in multiple colours. As a piece of hardware, Huawei proves once again that it can deliver genius-after-genius, and again, as a piece of hardware, I have no complaints - absolutely none.

The display is a LTPO AMOLED of a whopping 1.5 inches at 466x466. It's colour saturated, calibrated, responsive and impressive to look at, to say the least. The whole watch is quite large, massive even, and weighs 76 grams. It has a 100-metre water resistant ring and 10ATM and IP68 certification, so as well as being a beautiful watch, it's also a reliable piece of rugged gear made to survive anything.

You already have the most crucial sensors to help you keep track of your health, at least to the extent that you would trust a smartwatch. Accelerometer, gyroscope, heart rate monitor, barometer, compass, SpO2 meter, thermometer to measure body temperature and BDS satellite integration. There's a huge range of training options including offline maps for hiking and much, much more. Everything you want from a versatile smartwatch is here.

Or is it? There are some flaws here, and it's worth mentioning these when Huawei charges well over €750 for an Ultimate. Firstly, there isn't a 4G/5G variant with an eSim, which is a shame when the rest of the watch invites that kind of power user usage, and then there's HarmonyOS.

I agree with our reviewer Marco that Huawei's OS has come a long way in recent times, and while there are still restrictions on how Huawei can integrate their watches into your smartphone-based life, there are limitations here too. For example, while there are some apps that can be downloaded via AppGallery that partially restore parts of typical smartwatch usage, such as controlling Spotify or switching Hue lights on and off, there is a lack of official integration from these providers to ensure more seamless use. For example, I use Spark Email, but Huawei refuses to recognise these notifications as emails (even though AppGallery does offer Spark as an officially supported app), and groups the notifications with no option to reply or just mark it as read.

That said, you'd be surprised how much Huawei actually can offer. Access to the weather, to your calendar, to your contacts, to make and receive calls, to use a wide range of health features like sleep tracking and exercise - and all of these features can be used in a flash while the Ultimate has lasted about eight days on a charge pretty consistently for me. It's pretty wild stuff and almost puts the WearOS and WatchOS manufacturers to shame. Sure, there's a bit with the notifications, but 90% of the functionality you use on a daily basis is here, but you get both the most beautiful smartwatch on the market and a battery life that's in a completely different league.

I personally would have sacrificed this striking look for the much cheaper Watch GT 5 Pro. You get a look that's a bit like the Ultimate, but for significantly cheaper. One thing's for sure though; I understand the whole obsession with Huawei's smartwatches. They've transcended the criticism that they sell glorified track bands by refining their OS and focusing on build quality, and if you're looking for a subtle smartwatch, this is an excellent candidate.