Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of testing countless devices. The Huawei Watch GT6 Pro was the first one I was able to try for two weeks without needing to charge it. Accustomed to charging my smartwatch daily, this watch is a welcome alternative. Let’s see if it lives up to expectations in other aspects.
Huawei Watch GT6 Pro, an elegant watch with great potential
If you’re used to working with WatchOS or WearOS, the reality is that this watch doesn’t have a huge number of apps. It does have a limited selection of apps available through the Huawei Health app. Currently, there are only 13 apps available.
However, if what we’re interested in is having notifications and a companion for when we exercise, this Huawei Watch GT6 Pro more than delivers. It’s a very comfortable watch that hasn’t bothered my wrist for two weeks, and I’ve worn it during gym sessions, while playing racquetball, walking, and other activities.
Obviously, we can add our credit cards to this smartwatch so we can use it for everyday tasks. It’s a great accessory for our daily lives, it performs exceptionally well, and we don’t have to constantly check its battery.
Notifications arrive very quickly, and if we’re worried about getting a good night’s sleep, there’s a sleep mode to prevent interruptions. Furthermore, Huawei offers the option to keep the microphone always active to detect sleep apnea, a very interesting feature we haven’t seen before.
Screen
The screen activates with a classic wrist flick and allows you to choose from countless watch faces, although some styles are paid, which detracts somewhat from the overall experience. On the chosen watch face, you can see your steps, calories, heart rate, and more. It features large watch faces that offer a wealth of information.
Sensors
This watch is packed with sensors, including an accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, optical heart rate sensor, barometer, temperature sensor, ambient light sensor, ECG sensor, and depth sensor. Yes, that’s a rather long paragraph, but it makes it clear that the Huawei Watch GT6 Pro comes loaded with sensors . And the best part is that they’re not just for show : they work in conjunction with the TruSense measurement system and Huawei Health algorithms to provide continuous heart rate monitoring, oxygen saturation, skin temperature, stress levels, ECG, and even heart rate variability and arrhythmia analysis.
In practice, the heart rate measurements have been very consistent and accurate. There were no unusual spikes or absurd drops, even during gym sessions and fast-paced frontenis matches. Third-party tests have even compared this watch to benchmark heart rate monitors like the Polar H10 and the Apple Watch Ultra, with minimal differences of only 1 bpm on average, which speaks volumes about the sensor’s precision.
Furthermore, the sleep tracking feature doesn’t just tell you «you slept poorly.» TruSleep breaks down sleep stages (light, deep, REM), provides feedback on sleep quality, and includes the option to monitor for potential apneas (fortunately, I don’t have apneas) using the microphone and breathing data—a very useful feature if you snore or suspect nighttime breathing pauses.
Sport and health: much more than counting steps
In everyday use, the Huawei Watch GT6 Pro clearly feels geared towards sports and health. It offers over 100 workout modes, from running and walking to indoor sessions, swimming, cycling, and strength training. The watch automatically detects some activities and records pace, distance (thanks to multi-band GNSS), heart rate zones, estimated VO₂ max, recovery time, and training load. Unfortunately, since I play frontenis, there isn’t a specific mode for it, but it handles tennis well.
During the two weeks of use, the watch has performed well in:
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Gym sessions : repetitions, stable heart rate and good detection of effort/rest phases.
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Frontenis : quick changes of pace without «going crazy» with the pulse.
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Daily walks and commutes : steps and distance aligned with other devices I regularly use. Although perhaps too much information which can be distracting.
For those who want to go a step further, the GT6 Pro adds more «pro» metrics such as arrhythmia analysis, skin temperature monitoring, and an emotional management module that attempts to interpret your mood based on stress, sleep, and heart rate. It’s not an exact science, but it serves as another indicator of how you’re feeling at the end of the day.
Software, apps and compatibility: here are the compromises
Where this watch most clearly shows its limitations is in its software and apps . The Huawei Watch GT6 Pro runs HarmonyOS and relies on the Huawei Health app for Android and iOS. Installation on Android requires going through the AppGallery (via a browser) and downloading the app from there; you won’t find it directly on Google Play. On iOS, you’re subject to the system’s inherent limitations.
That implies several things:
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Few third-party apps : right now there is only a small collection of applications available, far from the Wear OS or watchOS catalog.
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Limited mobile payments : You can use Huawei Wallet, but the best integrations happen when you also have a Huawei phone. If you’re coming from Google Wallet or Apple Pay, this will leave you wanting more.
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Maps and navigation : Petal Maps works, but again you’re tied to the Huawei ecosystem and not to Google Maps or Apple Maps.
On the positive side, notifications arrive quickly and reliably. We can read messages from WhatsApp, email, Telegram, etc., although the ability to reply from the watch is very limited, with few predefined options and lacking the flexibility we’re used to in other systems.
If your priority is a watch loaded with apps and deep integration with your phone, this isn’t the ideal candidate. However, if you see it primarily as a comprehensive sports and health watch with smartwatch extras , then things change considerably.
Autonomy and charging: the star of the show
This is where the Huawei Watch GT6 Pro excels. Huawei promises up to 21 days of battery life with light use , around 12 days with typical use, and about 7 days with the display always on. In GPS-enabled sports mode, it can last up to 40 hours of continuous use.
In our case, we went two weeks without needing to charge it , even with active workouts, notifications, and sleep tracking. This result is very much in line with what we see in external tests, which also mention about two weeks with several GPS-enabled workouts.
Charging is done via a proprietary magnetic base, and while it’s not instantaneous, it takes about an hour and a half to fully charge the watch. It’s not a big deal if you only plug it in once every two weeks, but it’s a good idea to have the specific charger handy when you travel.
Design, comfort and screen
The GT6 Pro is a large, elegant, and very well-built watch . The titanium case and sapphire crystal give it a premium feel that’s noticeable both on the wrist and at first glance. It’s a smartwatch that definitely stands out.
The 1.47-inch AMOLED display (on the 46mm version) reaches up to 3,000 nits of brightness , so it’s perfectly visible even in direct sunlight. The ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the brightness, and the wrist-turn gesture works reliably.
It’s a very comfortable watch to wear all day , even while sleeping. The weight is well-balanced, and the strap, despite being substantial, isn’t bothersome. The only downside is the single 46mm size: it might be too large for smaller wrists, and the alternative of switching to a regular Watch GT 6 means losing features like ECG and depth sensing, as well as some battery life.
Conclusions
The Huawei Watch GT6 Pro is, above all, a health and fitness watch with the soul of a smartwatch , and not the other way around. If you value:
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to have very complete and accurate health and sports metrics,
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autonomy that makes you forget about the charger,
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and an elegant design, with premium materials,
It will suit you much better than an «all apps» watch but with a day and a half battery life.
In return, you’ll have to accept that Huawei’s ecosystem isn’t yet as comprehensive as Google’s or Apple’s. Its available apps are limited, and mobile payments and the use of services like Maps or Spotify aren’t on par with its rivals. That said, you don’t need to worry about the charger, and what it does, it does very well. It’s a great watch that will evolve beautifully. You can find it on Huawei ‘s website at the best price.
