Huawei takes a bold new direction with its latest wearable model, the Watch Fit 3, ditching the rectangular form factor of its predecessors for a look that’s undeniably reminiscent of a certain fruit-branded smartwatch.

But beyond the surface similarities, the Huawei Watch Fit 3 packs a surprising punch when it comes to fitness tracking and health monitoring. This isn’t just a stylishly cool square on your wrist — it’s a workout companion with features borrowed from the company’s more premium smartwatches, boasting a large OLED display, an ultra-thin body, and a battery that doesn’t quickly lose its charge despite heavy use.

In the Philippines, the Huawei Watch Fit 3 has a suggested retail price of P6,499 (around $113). Local preorders until May 23 come with a nice bundle of goodies, including a pair of Huawei FreeBuds SE 2 wireless earbuds worth P1,599 (around $28) and a gift box valued at P1,999 ($36).

A familiar (square) face

The design of the Huawei Watch Fit 3 can be described as both bold and deliberate. By ditching the rectangular case of previous models, Huawei has obviously taken a new direction with the third iteration of the Watch Fit, one that also distinguishes it from the brand’s other affordable wearable line, the Watch Band, with a taller rectangle-shaped screen.

And yes, the Watch Fit 3 is also an Apple Watch lookalike, with its sleek metallic case, square OLED touch display, and a rotating crown on the right side that takes you to the app drawer or back to the home screen if you’re anywhere else in the software with a single press. Plus, you can rotate the crown to zoom in and out in the app drawer, scroll through menus, and play around with a few built-in watch faces, and feel a tight vibration as you turn it. The haptics are quite impressive.

The variant with gray-colored body and a Velcro fastener goes a step further, sporting a bright-red crown that might make you do a double take if you own or are familiar with the Apple Watch Ultra. The slightly more expensive model that we’re using for this review pairs a gold case with a white leather band. It comes with NFC for quick and easy contactless payments and other NFC-enabled features, too, although it also bears noting that the standard Watch Fit 3 models with a fluoroelastomer strap don’t support it. That’s definitely something to keep in mind if NFC is important to you.

The Huawei Watch Fit 3 ditches the traditional smartwatch size options in favor of a one-size-fits-most approach. Thankfully, the design leans towards an ultra-slim and comfortable build that should accommodate most wrists. Our unit comes with a 20mm leather band that you can easily remove using the quick-release pins found at each end.

The square display measures 1.82 inches, and it’s sharp enough for messages and notifications to be legible without squinting. With a peak brightness of 1,500 nits, it’s plenty bright for outdoor use as well. We never had any issues seeing the screen under the bright sun during a recent trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to attend Huawei’s Innovative Product Launch event, where new products like the Watch Fit 3 were officially announced in the region.

The OLED touchscreen delivers good contrast and viewing angles. It includes always-on functionality, too, which is a pleasant surprise given its price. And though the screen bezels are rather thick for a modern smartwatch, this can be overlooked given the price point. The display takes up around 77% of the casing, according to Huawei, but if you really want to hide the bezels, we recommend switching to a watch face with a pitch-black background, like the one with a blooming flower at the center.

Track your workouts, not the charger

Huawei says the Watch Fit 3 has been designed and optimized to deliver a 10-day battery life. The claim is spot on, considering we’ve been wearing the watch for about two weeks now and only got to charge its 400mAh cell once. That’s after taking the Watch Fit 3 on a number of long walks with GPS enabled, along with heart-rate and blood-oxygen-saturation monitoring turned on.

There’s no support for dual-band GPS, however, so the tracking might not be as accurate as you’d like for running and cycling, especially in areas with many tall buildings. In ideal scenarios, the Huawei Watch Fit 3 locks quickly onto a GPS signal. We can say the same about the device’s ability to track your heart rate and general activity.

You’ll be able to use the Watch Fit 3 to make and receive calls via Bluetooth. The quality of the built-in speaker and mic is surprisingly above average.

On the other hand, sleep tracking isn’t the best out there. During testing in Malaysia, it logged a relaxing evening of couch potato-ing and Netflix binging as part of a healthy sleep session. Let’s just say that isn’t our idea of a restful slumber. But in all fairness, sleep tracking isn’t always perfect on other affordable wearables, either, and the Watch Fit 3 isn’t the only device guilty of misinterpreting late-night streaming binges for REM cycles.

Charging is done via a proprietary magnetic cable included in the box. Based on our tests, it takes roughly 70 minutes to recharge the battery from zero to full. Again, not bad for the price. However, we wish Huawei opted for the same magnetic charging puck the company ships with its round smartwatches, so losing it won’t be that terrible if you own a Watch or Watch GT.

We think fitness-focused wearables only make sense if you can use them for days at a time without nightly charging pit stops, and that’s exactly what you can look forward to if you purchase the Huawei Watch Fit 3.

From steps to esports

The Huawei Watch Fit 3 runs on a proprietary operating system and connects to an Android or iOS device via the Huawei Health app. This offers a selection of pre-built training plans to guide you towards your fitness goals, whatever they may be. It syncs with third-party fitness-tracking apps such as Strava as well.

But it doesn’t stop there. The Watch Fit 3 even provides you with analytical tools like load analysis and recovery monitoring. Curious about your Running Ability Index or RAI? A simple tap in the Workout Status section reveals this, alongside training load and recovery estimates. It’s like having a pocket-sized coach showing you key insights on your wrist. Powered by AI, the Huawei Health app also lets you create custom workouts based on what you need to work on and how long you need to work.

TruSport, the company’s fitness suite, has been improved with four new tracking modes, including a surprising one: esports. Yes, you can now track your competitive gaming sessions alongside an existing library of over 100 indoor and outdoor activities.

The latest TruSeen 5.5 sensor, on the other hand, promises more precise cardiovascular readings. This is thanks to a combination of AI algorithms and collaborations with different health organizations, resulting in a deeper understanding of your workout performance and overall daily health.

Final thoughts

We’ve been wearing and testing the Huawei Watch Fit 3 for roughly two weeks, and it looks pretty great so far. There’s a lot to like about this wearable, especially on the hardware front. It’s a doppelganger for one of the most recognizable watch designs ever. The OLED screen is amazing. The body is ultra-thin. The battery life actually lives up to expectations. And the watch delivers accurate fitness-tracking, health-monitoring, and GPS results most of the time.

Huawei Watch Fit 3 specs

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