Huawei is after the Apple Watch with the Watch Fit 2 – but does this fitness tracker deliver?

Huawei Watch Fit 2 review TL;DR: A fitness tracker that's also a bit of a multisport watch with a gigantic AMOLED display, built-in GPS, nearly 100 sports modes and an updated heart rate sensor.

I'm a big fan of the Huawei Band series of fitness bands; in my opinion, they are the best fitness trackers for people who can't afford an Apple Watch or a Fitbit Charge 5 and need a dainty fitness band for tracking everyday activities. They won't provide super accurate heart rate readings, nor have built-in GPS, but for checking how many steps you took and how well you slept, the Huawei Band 6 is more than okay.

The Huawei Watch Fit 2 is a different story altogether. This beast of a wearable has a bigger AMOLED display than most running watches and features nearly as many sports modes as a multisport watch. You can think of it as a cheap Apple Watch alternative for Android users; it even has a square watch face!

To some degree, the Watch Fit 2 is a bit much for a fitness tracker, something I'll detail below in-depth. As an example, it has an open water swimming workout and mode and can track heart rate underwater – not a feature fitness band owners often ask for. It's also too big, which might make it harder for people with small wrists to find the fit.

Should you buy a Huawei Watch Fit 2? Read the full Huawei Watch Fit 2 review below to find out.

Huawei Watch Fit 2 review – Price and availability

The Huawei Watch Fit 2 was announced in May 2022 and is available to buy now in the UK directly from Huawei, with prices from £130. The Watch Fit 2 is available in three versions, the Active being the cheapest.

The next step up is the Classic Edition (RRP £160), which has a leather strap and features an aluminium watch case at the front. The top-tier Huawei Watch Fit 2 is called Elegant Edition (£190), which comes with either a Premium Gold Milanese Strap or a Silver Frost Milanese Strap. The watch case for both the Classic and Elegant versions is slightly heavier than the all-polymer Active version.

The original Huawei Watch Fit (retailer link) is still available. This model is much closer to the Band series and comes in two versions. Currently, the standard edition is half the price of the Watch Fit 2, probably until stocks last.

US and AU prices and availability TBC.

[PLEASE NOTE: I tested the Huawei Watch Fit 2 Active Edition.]

Huawei Watch Fit 2 review – Design and build quality

The first thing you'll notice when you take the Huawei Watch Fit 2 out of its box is its size. It's miles bigger than the Charge 5 or most other fitness trackers you might have come across before.

The 1.74" AMOLED display dazzles with its 336 x 480 pixels resolution. The watch case is a polymer (a.k.a plastic) but feels well put together and sturdy; after all, the Watch Fit 2 has an open water swimming mode, so it would be weird if the case wouldn't be watertight. On paper, the Watch Fit 2 is water-rated to 5 ATM.

According to Huawei, "This means that [the Watch Fit 2] may be used for shallow-water activities like swimming in a pool or ocean. However, they should not be used for scuba diving, waterskiing, or other activities involving high-velocity water or submersion below shallow depth."

The Huawei Watch Fit 2 weighs 26 grams without and 40 grams with the strap.

There is one button on the edge of the case, but the Huawei Watch Fit 2 is fully touch-operated, so you won't need to use the button too much unless you want to return to the watch face quickly, in which case, it'll come in handy.

The fitness tracker also features a 9-axis IMU sensor that incorporates an accelerometer sensor, gyroscope sensor and Geomagnetic sensor. Although I couldn't find any info on this on the website, I'm pretty sure the Watch Fit 2 uses the new Huawei TruSeen 5.0 optical heart rate sensor, albeit a simpler version on the Watch GT 3 Pro.

Huawei Watch Fit 2 review – Features

As a flagship fitness tracker, the Huawei Watch Fit 2 is chock a block with health and fitness features.

You have the TrueSeen 5.0 heart rate sensor mentioned above that tracks heart rate 24/7 and also built-in GPS. The Watch Fit 2 can measure blood oxygen (SpO2), and just like other Huawei wearables, it has robust sleep tracking capabilities. It can also measure stress and respiration rate with relative accuracy. If you get too stressed, the watch recommends breathing exercises, another feature included in the Watch Fit 2.

You can access smart notifications – weather reports, moon phases, incoming messages etc. – and the Watch Fit 2 supports quick replies and even Bluetooth calling. The wearable can be used to track menstrual cycles.

Pretty good for such a cheap wearable!

Huawei Watch Fit 2 review – Battery life

The Huawei Watch Fit 2 has a very decent battery life for a wearable with so many features and such a large display, The battery will last 10 days if you don't abuse GPS/Bluetooth, but even if you do, you can squeeze out seven days from the battery.

Sadly, Huawei doesn't provide GPS and smartwatch battery life information for its wearables, so it's impossible to tell how the Watch Fit 2 compares to other wearables. In my experience, battery life was good enough, so I didn't have to charge the watch more often than once a week. I took it out for at least one run a day (with GPS on) and checked it occasionally, but I think even all that considered, my usage would fall under the 'average usage' category.

I couldn't find a battery saver mode in the settings, and the GPS can't be adjusted either, unlike on running watches, where you can choose different GPS settings to optimise battery usage and accuracy. I guess the Watch Fit 2 is not quite as hardcore as full-blown running watches, after all.

Huawei Watch Fit 2 review – Workout performance

The Huawei Watch Fit 2 has a robust workout mode that mainly focuses on running as I assume that's the most popular type of exercise people do who wear fitness trackers. The Watch Fit will not only recommend pre-and post-run exercises and stretches but you can also monitor plenty of your running stats in real-time on the watch such as pace, heart rate zone, etc.

Speaking of running: the watch can recognise seven types of workouts automatically, these are Outdoor run, Indoor run, Outdoor cycle, Indoor cycle, Pool swim, Open water swim, and Jump rope. Runners will also benefit from the AI Running Coach feature – first used in the Huawei Watch GT 3 – and they will also be provided with a Running Ability Index (borrowed from the Huawei Watch GT Runner).

Open water swimming is an interesting choice and one that might look odd for a fitness tracker but this is a mode that's being pushed by Huawei so it's understandable that it's featured among the auto-workouts.

As well as the seven mentioned above, there are 90 more workout modes on the Huawei Watch Fit 2 so I'm sure you'll find one that closely matches whatever workout you do the most often.

Long story short, the Watch Fit 2 is a capable workout partner and if you're after a comparatively accurate fitness tracker to monitor your workouts, this is a really good option.

Huawei Watch Fit 2 review – Verdict

The Huawei Watch Fit 2 is one part fitness tracker, one part smartwatch and one part running watch.

It's a significant upgrade from the original Watch Fit and offers a lot more functionality, including various sports modes, Bluetooth calling, built-in GPS etc. It's also more expensive than its predecessor, which is not all that surprising if you consider how much more functional this wearable is.

The big question is: were the new features necessary? It feels that Huawei tried to move the Watch Fit 2 away from the rest of the fitness tracker crowd to play with the big dogs in the smartwatch category.

The Watch Fit 2 is closer to the Apple Watch than the Fitbit Charge 5 both in terms of looks and functionality, yet I'm not sure if anyone would buy a Watch Fit 2 instead of an Apple Watch, no matter how much cheaper it is.

That said, it makes sense for Huawei to have Watch Fit 2 in its lineup as it also has a more accessibly priced fitness tracker line (the Band series), so having a wearable between the Band and Watch GT line feels natural. I wonder if the Watch Fit 2 will end up stuck in the middle between fitness trackers and smartwatches, though.

The price is on point, and if you're after a competent fitness tracker/smartwatch, you'll like the Huawei Watch Fit 2. The larger size might make it less appealing to people with smaller wrists than – let's say – the Fitbit Luxe, but you get a lot of functionality in return.

Huawei Watch Fit 2 review – Also consider

If you're after a basic fitness band, the Samsung Galaxy Fit2 offers some good, basic health tracking capabilities wrapped up in a compact and sleek design at a great price. It's nothing to write home about but decent enough to track everyday activities.

Small, cheap and cheerful, the Garmin Venu Sq is a great Fitbit Versa 3 and Apple Watch alternative fitness tracker for people on a tight budget. It's roughly the same price as the Huawei Watch Fit 2 and grants access to premium Garmin sports features and the broader Garmin ecosystem which is worth every penny.