Huawei Watch Fit 3: Almost an Apple Watch (Scientific Review)

Summary

The Huawei Watch Fit 3 promises improved health and sports tracking with better battery life at half the price of an Apple Watch. Rob, a postdoctoral scientist, reviews its heart rate tracking, comparing it to the Polar H10 chest strap, and finds it quite accurate, especially for indoor cycling. While sleep stage tracking performance is less reliable, the watch offers good GPS tracking and battery life, making it a solid, affordable alternative for fitness enthusiasts seeking a smartwatch with reliable health tracking.

Takeaways

• 🍏 The Huawei Watch Fit 3 is positioned as an alternative to the Apple Watch with better battery life and at a lower price point.
• 📱 It is compatible with both Android and iOS, addressing common complaints about the Apple Watch's ecosystem limitations.
• 🏃‍♂️ The watch is particularly highlighted for its health and sports tracking capabilities, which are a key focus of the review.
• 📊 In terms of design, the reviewer prefers the new square shape of the Watch Fit 3 over the previous elongated design.
• 📈 Heart rate tracking tests showed generally good agreement with the Polar H10 chest strap, especially in higher heart rate ranges.
• 🔍 There were some deviations in heart rate tracking during lower heart rate ranges and breaks in exercise, indicating areas for potential improvement.
• 🏆 When compared to other watches, the Watch Fit 3 ranks among the top performers in heart rate tracking, closely following the Apple Watch.
• 🚴‍♀️ For outdoor cycling, the watch showed a slightly decreased performance in heart rate tracking but still maintained a good correlation.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Weightlifting tests revealed more significant deviations in heart rate tracking, suggesting the watch struggles with high tension on the arm during such exercises.
• 💤 Sleep stage tracking using Huawei's TruSleep 4.0 algorithm showed lower agreement with the zMAX EEG headband, particularly for deep and REM sleep stages.
• 🌍 GPS tracking performance appears promising based on initial tests, with fast GPS signal acquisition and close signal overlap on the same route.

Q & A

What is the Huawei Watch Fit 3's main promise in comparison to the Apple Watch?

The Huawei Watch Fit 3 promises better battery life and a price that is close to half of the Apple Watch, while also offering compatibility with both Android and iOS.

What are the common complaints about the Apple Watch that the Huawei Watch Fit 3 aims to address?

The common complaints about the Apple Watch that the Huawei Watch Fit 3 aims to address include shorter battery life and higher price.

What is the reviewer's initial impression of the design of the Huawei Watch Fit 3?

The reviewer's initial impression of the design is positive, stating that the new square shape is much nicer than the elongated shape of the previous model.

What exercise did the reviewer use to test the heart rate tracking performance of the Huawei Watch Fit 3?

The reviewer used indoor cycling as the exercise to test the heart rate tracking performance of the Huawei Watch Fit 3.

What device did the reviewer use as a reference for comparing heart rate tracking measurements?

The reviewer used the Polar H10 ECG chest strap as a reference for comparing heart rate tracking measurements.

What was the correlation value between the Huawei Watch Fit 3 and the Polar H10 chest strap during the heart rate tracking test?

The correlation value between the Huawei Watch Fit 3 and the Polar H10 chest strap was 0.98, indicating a high level of agreement.

How does the Huawei Watch Fit 3 perform in comparison to other watches in terms of heart rate tracking during indoor cycling?

The Huawei Watch Fit 3 is among the top performers, with one of the highest correlations compared to the reference device, making it very close to the performance of other Huawei devices and the Apple Watch.

What challenges does the reviewer anticipate in testing the Huawei Watch Fit 3's GPS tracking during cycling?

The reviewer anticipates challenges in testing the GPS tracking due to the need for multiple cycles of the same route to assess signal overlap and consistency, and the potential for the watch to artificially smooth out the results.

How does the reviewer rate the sleep stage tracking performance of the Huawei Watch Fit 3?

The reviewer rates the sleep stage tracking performance of the Huawei Watch Fit 3 as not very good, with low agreement in deep sleep and RAM sleep, and only potentially decent enough for awake time detection.

What is the reviewer's overall rating for the Huawei Watch Fit 3 considering its price and features?

The reviewer's overall rating for the Huawei Watch Fit 3 is 3.5 out of 5 stars, which might be bumped up closer to 4 stars considering the low price, but with the caveat that sleep stage tracking is not reliable enough.