In our review of the Huawei Watch GT2 Pro, we definitely love the watch as it is jam-packed with features and it also sports a long battery life, but the Huawei Watch 3 is a different one as this smartwatch now sports HarmonyOS inside and it now sports a lot of new features inside.

Huawei Watch 3 Review: Sexier Design

Before we get down to the software of the smartwatch, let’s talk about the design of the Huawei Watch 3. First, it’s even more stylish than before as we got here a 2.5D glass on the watch face with thin bezels. This gives the Huawei Watch 3 a less sporty design but with a more premium look that looks perfect whether you’re working out or you are using the Huawei Watch 3 for a stylish look

One of the things that appreciate on the watch is the 1.43-inch AMOLED display of the Watch 3 as it features a bright and vivid display that you can view anytime whether you’re in a room and the lights are off or you’re in direct sunlight. The Huawei Watch 3 is definitely bright and excellent for your eyes. Since this is an AMOLED panel, there’s the always-on display on the smartwatch so you can see the time anytime.

The frame of the Huawei Watch 3 is definitely metal with a fluoroelastomer strap. Unlike the previous watches from Huawei, we now have a rotating crown on this one just like the Apple Watch so you can press it like a button and you can scroll on different apps without touching the display and there’s another button that you can use for shortcuts. There’s the Huawei Watch engraved on the crown too which is a nice touch as it doesn’t distract you from the design.

At the back, we got here the upgraded sensors as we now have a 6-in-1 LED and 4 photodiodes on the watch for more light intake. Since we’re using a sapphire glass on this one, it’s tougher and it has a really good feel compared to other smartwatches. This watch also supports wireless charging and there are no POGO pins for this one.

Going back to the strap, it isn’t as premium as the Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro that we reviewed before but the Huawei Watch 3’s fluoroelastomer band is definitely comfortable to use and it works just like a normal watch band.  You can replace it if you want and it’s adjustable depending on your wrist size.

Huawei Watch 3 Review: A better operating system inside

The biggest upgrade that we got on the Huawei Watch 3 is we now have HarmonyOS running inside this one. Not only that this one comes with a new UI but the HarmonyOS inside it now lets you install third-party applications on the smartphone via the Huawei AppGallery.

The Huawei AppGallery for the Huawei Watch 3 is different from the one on HarmonyOS on smartphones so the app library on this one is still new and there are still only a few apps that are available on the Huawei Watch 3. Some of the apps that are available on the Huawei Watch 3 are Wish 107.5 FM and JoyRide which will be available soon.

But the highlight for this one is the apps that are already built-in on the watch already including the Huawei MeeTime which lets you call other Huawei users as long as you have data. Other apps that are included on the Huawei Watch that are useful to me include a stopwatch, timer, and more.

Of course, the apps that can measure and help our health needs like the barometer, heart rate, blood oxygen, sleep, compass, breathing, and more are here but the newest one is the one that can measure the skin temperature which is really helpful these days in where a lot of us our monitoring our temperatures and also our blood oxygen because of the COVID-19.

The measuring of the skin temperature can only be measured based on where you’re wearing the Huawei Watch 3 so it doesn’t take the same body temperatures of contactless thermometers but this feature definitely helps us in monitoring the temperature of your body if something’s going on.

As for the tracking of your workouts, the Huawei Watch 3 works really well and with its fluoroelastomer band of the Huawei Watch 3, I didn’t have any problems with it despite being sweaty. As for the tracking, it was really good.

For workouts, it was very extensive as you can choose from different workout modes on the Watch and of course, it was accurate and it can give you the results that you want and need on a smartwatch. You can also the outdoor tracking on this one if you’re running outside.

We also got here a better and new launcher on the Huawei Watch 3. You can choose from the list or grid mode. With grid mode, it’s way easier to find apps as long as you know the icons of the applications that you’re using. Using the rotatable crown, you can also zoom in and zoom out of the apps that you have on the Huawei Watch 3.

For the watch faces, the Huawei Watch 3 surprisingly comes with a lot of watch faces already and you can even buy more on the Huawei Health app. They’re customizable too and in my case, I’m using the watch face that comes with the weather widget and I can also customize it to add a shortcut to the notepad app which is basically the voice recorder for the watch.

As for the battery life, the Huawei Watch 3 can last up to 5 days depending on your usage but in my case where the Huawei Watch 3 is always receiving notifications, there’s an always-on display, and sensors are actively running then the Huawei Watch 3 will probably last up to 3 days in your usage.

Another cool feature inside the Huawei Watch 3 is the support for eSim. Basically, you can use your eSim on your smartphone to this watch so even if you don’t bring your phone with you, you can receive calls and text and yes, you can do calls on the watch which is really helpful especially if you’re busy or when you’re driving.

Huawei Watch 3 Review: Verdict

The Huawei Watch 3 is another device that I really love from the company. We got here a really premium design which is even more premium than the previous generation and the display of the smartwatch has also improved as this one is clearer and smoother. I also love the added features on the smartphone especially the continuous usage of the sensors for temperature and blood oxygen in where both are very essential in this time of COVID-19 pandemic.

The Huawei Watch 3 might have a shorter battery life but it does have a lot more to offer. The HarmonyOS is also a big upgrade from the previous generation as it was better in experience and it has more to offer with the availability of the Huawei AppGallery on the watch. They’re still starting but I’m looking forward to their ecosystem growing.

The Huawei Watch 3 is now available for Php18,999.