By focusing on a specific niche, Huawei may have found an audience for its latest smartwatch, the Watch GT Runner. It’s a spinoff of Huawei’s classier Watch GT 3 smartwatch, but as the new watch’s name suggests, it’s targeted squarely at runners.
The end result is that the Watch GT Runner is more watch-like than many activity smartwatches or fitness trackers. It’s definitely sporty, and it’s not as classy or expensive-looking as the Watch GT 3, but it sits comfortably on your wrist and doesn’t look out of place when you’re not wearing sporty clothes. It means you can wear it all the time and people won’t look at it and think you must run absolutely everywhere.
Looking at the map from both phones, the route is broadly the same, but when you zoom in, the Watch GT Runner’s map shows where I repeated the route and crossed over several times. The Apple Watch either didn’t capture this, or the Fitness app doesn’t feel the need to show it. Either way, there’s absolutely more — and more accurate — detail in the Watch GT Runner’s map. It really does look like the exact route I took, practically down to the meter.
Previous Next 1 of 3 If the GPS antenna in the GT Runner does offer a speed advantage when connecting, it’s barely noticeable. It’s a beat or two faster than the already lightning-fast Watch GT 3, and because the Apple Watch doesn’t make a fuss about connecting and doesn’t provide signal details at all, it’s impossible to compare speeds and connection stability. But based on the maps both apps show, there doesn’t appear to be any serious concerns about either.
Previous Next 1 of 7 The watch also offers a Lactate Threshold test and VO2Max data, can measure running performance, and has a dynamic running program that adapts to your ability and results. It’s not all about running either, as it can track more than 100 other activities including swimming. However, smartwatches that don’t use Wear OS or WatchOS are all a bit of a pain, so pairing the Huawei Watch GT Runner compared to those isn’t really much different. It is different once you’re up and running, as HarmonyOS 2.1 on the Watch GT Runner is slick and smooth, with big, clear menus and easy navigation using the twist crown and touchscreen.
And sending all your data back to Beijing