Huawei Watch Ultimate 2 review: Painfully close to perfection

Huawei has been edging closer to smartwatch perfection for years, and with the Watch Ultimate 2, it’s finally brushing against it. This is the brand’s most ambitious wearable to date, a high-end adventure companion that looks like a luxury timepiece and performs like a rugged sports tracker.

You immediately feel the difference on your wrist. The zirconium-based Liquid Metal case and sapphire crystal screen scream premium quality, while the octagonal design channels the geometry of classic dive watches. It’s unapologetically bold and engineered to take a beating, yet somehow manages to feel sophisticated too.

It boasts 150 m dive certification, a sonar-based underwater communication feature, and an arsenal of advanced health and fitness sensors powered by the brand’s TruSense and Distributed Super-Sensing Module.

It’s not flawless, and a few design and software choices hold it back from outright greatness, but in many ways, this is Huawei’s closest rival yet to the Apple Watch Ultra 3, both in capability and craftsmanship.

Huawei Watch Ultimate 2 review

Price and availability

The Huawei Watch Ultimate 2 is available now in two finishes: Ocean Blue and Compass Black, priced at £799.99/ €899/ AU$1,299 (~$899; official U.S. availability remains limited).

At this price, it sits squarely in Apple Watch Ultra/ Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra territory. Both watches are aimed at explorers and fitness enthusiasts who demand the best of both form and function.

The difference is that Huawei leans harder into the luxury watch aesthetic, pairing its advanced hardware with a distinctive octagonal design and a reassuring sense of heft.

Early buyers through the Huawei Store received a complimentary pair of FreeBuds Pro 4 earbuds, but even without that bonus, the Ultimate 2 justifies its premium positioning with craftsmanship that feels comparable to mechanical divers from Omega or TAG Heuer.

Design and build quality

The Watch Ultimate 2 is an evolution of the brand’s most luxurious design yet. Compared to the original Huawei Watch Ultimate, which already impressed with its titanium-like durability, the new model feels even more refined while retaining its commanding presence.

The 48.5 mm zirconium-based Liquid Metal case (47.8 mm for the Ocean Blue model) is beautifully machined and rated to 20 ATM and 150 m of diving depth, certified under ISO 22810, ISO 6425, and EN 13319 standards.

It weighs 81 g without the strap (111 g with the fluoroelastomer band), so it’s no lightweight. It feels reassuringly solid, though, and not bulky. The zirconium alloy is said to be 8.7× more corrosion-resistant and 300% harder than stainless steel, and it absolutely feels it.

On the wrist, the watch gives off a genuine luxury-diver vibe, and the 1.5-inch LTPO AMOLED 2.0 display steals the show: vibrant, pin-sharp at 466 × 466 resolution, and blindingly bright at up to 3,500 nits. It’s protected by sapphire crystal glass and framed by a nano-ceramic bezel and rear housing, all of which contribute to a watch that looks and feels like it costs every penny of its £799.

That said, Huawei’s decision to colour-match the bezel with the case softens its visual punch. The octagonal silhouette deserves to stand out more; a darker, contrasting bezel (in brushed steel or black) would add depth and better showcase the craftsmanship.

Still, strap options remain strong: the fluoroelastomer band feels athletic and premium, while the metallic alternatives give it boardroom appeal.

Software, health, and fitness tracking

Huawei’s software has always favoured consistency over radical reinvention, and that’s true here, too. The Watch Ultimate 2 runs the latest version of HarmonyOS, which looks and feels familiar if you’ve used the Huawei Watch 5 or Watch GT 6 Pro.

It’s intuitive enough, with responsive animations and polished transitions, though the single-colour app drawer doesn’t make navigation particularly easy. Fortunately, Huawei now lets you add labels to app icons, which helps, and scrolling through notifications or workout menus feels fluid and natural.

In terms of sensors, Huawei’s new TruSense system and Distributed Super-Sensing Module use multiple sensors working in tandem to improve the accuracy of heart rate, ECG, and blood oxygen readings.

The fingertip-based X-TAP sensor delivers faster, more stable results than traditional wrist-based readings, but it requires you to actively take measurements by placing your finger on the sensor. The result is more dependable health tracking, especially for continuous SpO₂, stress, and temperature data.

The Health Glance feature remains a highlight, compiling up to 11 indicators, including ECG, HRV, blood oxygen, body temperature, stress, sleep apnoea detection, and even arterial stiffness, into a single, easy-to-read report.

Huawei also continues to track emotional well-being, sleep stages, and respiratory health in a more holistic way than most rivals.

Add in the comprehensive exercise suite, and the Watch Ultimate 2 comfortably stands shoulder to shoulder with the best Garmin watches and Apple’s best for fitness coverage.

I haven’t tested the new sonar-based underwater communication feature, which lets two Watch Ultimate 2s exchange short messages and SOS signals up to 30 metres apart, but it’s a clever, if niche, showcase of Huawei’s engineering depth.

It’s the kind of feature that makes you wonder what else Huawei could do with that technology in future updates. Partially because, for now, only five people in the world will be able to utilise it.

And while it certainly isn't a make-or-break feature on the Watch Ultimate 2, the tech is intriguing, and shows that the Chinese brand is keen on building on its tech in each successive generation.

Performance and accuracy

Huawei has quietly built one of the most dependable tracking systems in the smartwatch world, and the Watch Ultimate 2 pushes that even further.

The upgraded Sunflower dual-band, five-system GPS (covering GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, and QZSS) delivers impressive route precision, even when running through dense urban streets or wooded trails.

Huawei claims a 30% improvement in route accuracy and 20% better distance and pace accuracy, and that feels about right in testing. It locks on quickly and rarely wobbles, even compared to premium multisport watches, such as the Garmin Forerunner 970.

Thanks to the TruSense system and improved optical sensors, readings are now closer to chest heart rate monitor accuracy, particularly during strength training, interval sessions or hill repeats, where older Huawei watches could struggle.

Sleep tracking remains excellent: it's detailed, consistent, and paired with meaningful insights in the Huawei Health app. The stress and temperature metrics add genuinely useful context.

Exercise monitoring covers almost every conceivable activity, from marathons and triathlons to golf and diving. The watch automatically detects and categorises many workouts accurately, and the data fields are clear and customisable. During long sessions, GPS and heart rate performance remained stable, with no noticeable drift or connection loss.

In day-to-day use, the Watch Ultimate 2 feels fast and confident, juggling notifications, calls (via eSIM or Bluetooth), and health readings without lag.

Battery life and charging

One of Huawei’s biggest advantages over its rivals continues to be battery life, and the Watch Ultimate 2 doesn’t disappoint. Even with the brighter 1.5-inch AMOLED display, dual-band GPS, and continuous health tracking enabled, it consistently delivers around two weeks of mixed use on a single charge, and that’s without switching to Power Saver mode.

Huawei’s dual battery management system, introduced in its previous generation, has been refined here. You can toggle between All-around mode (for full feature access) and Power-saving mode, which still supports eSIM calling, GPS tracking, and basic health features, something even Apple’s Ultra series can’t match in its low-power setting.

Switching between the two takes just a few seconds and gives you genuine flexibility between endurance and performance. And honestly, you'll hardly see the difference in performance, even in Power Saving mode.

Heavy training with GPS, heart rate, and SpO₂ monitoring drains the battery faster, of course, but I still managed five to six days of active use before needing to top up. Charging is done wirelessly via Huawei’s familiar magnetic puck and is pleasantly quick: expect to go from empty to full in under 60 minutes!

Verdict

The Huawei Watch Ultimate 2 is a serious piece of kit, one that looks, feels, and performs like it belongs in the same conversation as the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin’s most rugged multisport models. It’s also the clearest sign yet that Huawei has fully mastered the balance between luxury design and athletic functionality.

The hardware, like the zirconium Liquid Metal case, sapphire glass, and nano-ceramic components, exudes premium craftsmanship and is exceptional, while the TruSense and Distributed Super-Sensing systems make its health and fitness tracking impressively precise. GPS accuracy, heart rate consistency, and dive-grade durability all inspire confidence, and the beautiful 1.5-inch display is one of the best on any smartwatch.

That said, a few details stop it from perfection. The colour-matched bezel makes the watch look flatter than it deserves, and the UI could be more intuitive, especially the single-colour app drawer. The lack of NFC (for payment) or deeper app integration also feels like a missed opportunity at this price, even if they’re not deal-breakers for most people.

Still, this is Huawei’s closest attempt yet at smartwatch greatness. It’s a luxury adventure watch that can genuinely rival Apple and Garmin in hardware and health features, while lasting nearly two weeks on a single charge. If Huawei fine-tunes the design and software, the next iteration could easily be a five-star product.