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

The Quantified Scientist
26 May 202421:44

Summary

TLDRThe 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.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Introduction to Huawei Watch Fit 3 Review

The video script begins with an introduction to the Huawei Watch Fit 3, which promises better battery life and a competitive price compared to the Apple Watch, along with compatibility with both Android and iOS. The reviewer expresses excitement about the watch's potential in health and sports tracking, and shares initial impressions on the design, favoring the new square shape over the previous model. The script then transitions into discussing heart rate tracking performance, comparing the watch's accuracy to a Polar H10 chest strap during indoor cycling exercises. The reviewer notes challenges in obtaining raw data from the Huawei app but provides a preliminary comparison, highlighting the watch's high correlation value with the chest strap, placing it among top-performing devices.

05:02

🚴‍♂️ Heart Rate Tracking Performance in Outdoor Cycling

This paragraph delves into the heart rate tracking capabilities of the Huawei Watch Fit 3 during outdoor cycling, a more challenging scenario due to increased arm movement and bumpiness. The correlation value slightly decreases to 0.93, indicating a minor loss in accuracy, particularly in the lower heart rate range. The reviewer analyzes individual rides, noting that while the watch performs well in high heart rate zones, there is noticeable deviation in lower zones. A comparison with other watches shows the Watch Fit 3 remains among the top performers, closely matching the performance of the Watch Fit 2 and other Huawei devices, but still lagging behind the Apple Watch in terms of accuracy.

10:02

🏋️‍♂️ Weightlifting Heart Rate Tracking Challenges

The script moves on to discuss the watch's performance during weightlifting, a high-intensity exercise that typically poses difficulties for heart rate tracking due to the physical tension involved. The Watch Fit 3 shows a significant deviation from the reference heart rate, with a lower correlation value of 0.81. The individual weightlifting sessions reveal a mixed performance, with some peaks accurately captured and others missed entirely. When compared to other devices, the Watch Fit 3 is placed in the upper middle class, not among the top performers, indicating that while it may be suitable for some exercises, it struggles with the dynamic nature of weightlifting.

15:03

💤 Sleep Stage Tracking Evaluation

The reviewer introduces the new TruSleep 4.0 algorithm for sleep tracking and compares the Watch Fit 3's sleep stage detection against a zMAX EG headband, which measures brain waves. The results show low agreement percentages for deep and REM sleep stages, with only the awake time detection appearing to be potentially reliable. The script provides a detailed analysis of individual sleep patterns, revealing discrepancies between the watch's readings and the EG device's data. The overall assessment suggests that while the watch may be used to track total sleep time, its sleep stage tracking is not accurate enough to be dependable.

20:04

🌍 GPS Tracking and Overall Device Evaluation

The script concludes with initial impressions of the Watch Fit 3's GPS tracking during cycling, showing promising results with fast GPS signal acquisition and close signal overlap, indicating potential for accurate tracking. However, the reviewer cautions that these are preliminary findings and more data is needed for a definitive assessment. The overall evaluation of the device highlights its strengths in heart rate tracking and GPS, but notes the sleep stage tracking's inadequacies. The reviewer expresses a personal preference for the watch's design and recommends it as a cost-effective alternative to the Apple Watch, particularly for users on Android or those seeking better battery life, while acknowledging potential challenges for US customers to obtain the device.

📊 Final Thoughts and Recommendations

In the final paragraph, the reviewer summarizes the Huawei Watch Fit 3's performance, giving it a tentative rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, which could be raised to nearly 4 stars considering its affordable price. The watch is praised for its heart rate tracking and GPS capabilities but criticized for its unreliable sleep stage tracking. The reviewer also mentions a minor aesthetic issue with the watch's screen bezels. The script ends with a suggestion to check out other reviews for a more comprehensive understanding and a reminder of the reviewer's top recommendations for sleep tracking devices.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Huawei Watch Fit 3

The Huawei Watch Fit 3 is the central subject of the video, a smartwatch designed to compete with the Apple Watch by offering better battery life and a lower price point. The video's theme revolves around evaluating its performance in health and sports tracking. It is mentioned as having a new square shape design and being compatible with both Android and iOS systems.

💡Battery Life

Battery life is a critical feature for smartwatches and a key selling point for the Huawei Watch Fit 3, as it promises longer battery life compared to the Apple Watch. The script discusses how this feature, along with the price, makes the Watch Fit 3 an attractive alternative to the Apple Watch.

💡Health Tracking

Health tracking is a significant theme in the video, with a focus on the Watch Fit 3's capabilities in this area. The script details tests conducted to evaluate the accuracy of heart rate tracking and sleep stage tracking, which are essential health monitoring features of the smartwatch.

💡Sports Tracking

Sports tracking is another major theme, as the video investigates how well the Watch Fit 3 performs in tracking various physical activities. Examples given in the script include indoor cycling, outdoor cycling, and weightlifting, where the watch's heart rate tracking accuracy is compared to other devices.

💡Heart Rate Tracking

Heart rate tracking is a specific aspect of health tracking that the video scrutinizes. The script describes how the Watch Fit 3's heart rate measurements are compared against a polar H10 ECG chest strap, a device known for accurate heart rate recording, to assess its performance in different activities.

💡Correlation

Correlation is a statistical term used in the video to measure how well the Watch Fit 3's tracking performance aligns with that of the reference devices. The higher the correlation value (closer to one), the better the agreement between the devices, indicating more accurate tracking.

💡Sleep Stage Tracking

Sleep stage tracking is evaluated as part of the health tracking capabilities of the Watch Fit 3. The script compares the watch's sleep tracking to that of a zMAX EG headband, which measures brain waves, to determine the accuracy of sleep stage detection.

💡GPS Tracking

GPS tracking is mentioned in the context of the Watch Fit 3's ability to track outdoor activities like cycling. The script provides initial impressions of the GPS performance, noting the consistency and potential smoothing of the GPS signal.

💡Price Point

The price point of the Huawei Watch Fit 3 is highlighted as a competitive advantage in the script. It is positioned as a more affordable alternative to the Apple Watch without compromising on key features like health and sports tracking.

💡Rob

Rob is the presenter and postdoctoral scientist specializing in biological data analysis who is conducting the tests and providing insights in the video. His expertise lends credibility to the testing and analysis of the Watch Fit 3's features.

💡Affiliate Links

Affiliate links are mentioned in the script as a way for viewers to potentially save money and support the channel when purchasing products like the Huawei Watch Fit 3 or other items on Amazon. These links provide a small commission to the channel without extra cost to the buyer.

Highlights

The Huawei Watch Fit 3 promises improved battery life and health tracking at nearly half the price of an Apple Watch.

The watch is compatible with both Android and iOS, addressing common complaints about the Apple Watch.

The new square shape design of the Watch Fit 3 is favored over the previous elongated shape.

Heart rate tracking performance is tested against the Polar H10 ECG chest strap for accuracy.

The Watch Fit 3 shows a high correlation of 0.98 for heart rate tracking during indoor cycling.

During lower heart rate ranges, the Watch Fit 3 shows some deviation from the reference device.

The Watch Fit 3 is compared to other watches, showing it among the top performers in heart rate tracking.

Outdoor cycling tests reveal a slightly decreased performance in heart rate tracking with a correlation of 0.93.

The watch struggles with weightlifting heart rate tracking, missing many peaks in comparison to the reference device.

Sleep stage tracking with the new Huawei TruSleep 4.0 algorithm shows low agreement with the zMAX EG headband.

Deep sleep and REM sleep tracking on the Watch Fit 3 do not align well with the EG device's readings.

The Watch Fit 3's sleep stage tracking is not recommended for reliable use based on initial tests.

GPS tracking during cycling shows promising initial results with fast signal acquisition and close signal overlap.

The Watch Fit 3's GPS tracking might be artificially smoothing results, requiring more data for confirmation.

The Watch Fit 3 is a solid choice for heart rate tracking and sports tracking at an affordable price.

The device could be an Apple Watch alternative for those valuing battery life and sports tracking.

The Watch Fit 3's screen design has a slight aesthetic issue with uneven bezels, which may bother some users.

Overall, the Watch Fit 3 receives a tentative recommendation with the caveat of unreliable sleep stage tracking.

Transcripts

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imagine an Apple Watch but with better

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battery life and close to half the price

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tag well that's what the Huawei watch

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fit 3 promises to be and it's also

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compatible with both Android and iOS on

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paper it seems to address many of the

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common complaints people have about the

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Apple watch but that's not why many of

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you have been urging me to review it the

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bus is all about huawei's claims of

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improved health and sports tracking So

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today we're diving into my initial test

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of the Huawei watchfit 3 and I have to

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say in terms of design at least this is

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my favorite Huawei product in a while I

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think the new square shape is just so

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much nicer than the elongated shape that

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the previous Huawei watch fit had but

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enough about the Statics and

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specifications let's jump straight into

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the testing and see how the Smartwatch

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really performs as always I want to

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start off with a heart rate tracking

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performance and here you can see an

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overview of that performance for one of

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the easiest exercises for a watch the

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track indoor cycling which I tested

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myself for three sessions now I already

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did more testing but one reason this

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review took longer than normal because

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I'm having issues getting to the raw

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data from the Huawei app so I have to

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rely on a limited data set for now

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however I still think the data is good

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enough for some solid First Impressions

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now to test the heart rate tracking

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performance I'll compare the

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measurements against the polar h10 ECG

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chest trap which can generally record my

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heart rate very accurately each dot in

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this plot is a single heart rate

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measurement with long the horizontal AIS

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the value according to the polar H and

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HG chest strap and on the vertical AIS

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the value according to the watch fit 3

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now the closer the points are to this

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blue line the better the agreement and

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the darker black the color the more dots

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that there are and as you can see this

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generally looks pretty good actually

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most points are on or close to the blue

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line at least interestingly mostly in

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the lower heart rate range right here do

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we see a bit more deviation both below

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the blue line but especially above it

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also here in the medium heart rate range

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still this looks really good and the

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correlation is quite high at 0.98 so

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that's this R value up here and this

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value cannot be higher than one so a

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correlation of 0.98 is pretty good but

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let's take a look at the individual

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spinning sessions to see why we have a

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deviation especially here in the lower

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heart rate range and here we have the

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first example interval spinning session

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where we actually see a pretty decent

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agreement between the watch fit 3 and

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the ECG chest trap in the higher heart

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rate range is almost spot on but in the

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breaks between my segments there's a bit

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more deviation we can see some right

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here and also right here there's a tiny

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bit more deviation but overall honestly

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this looks really good and for this

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spinning session it looks even better

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honestly every time I took a break it

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caught it almost perfectly so that looks

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really good and for this final short

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example we see some deviation for

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instance right here and a little bit

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right here but again overall this would

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be good enough for me next let's compare

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this performance that of other watches

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because at least looking at the results

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so far it seems quite good but another

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watch might actually perform better by

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the way for those of you that are new to

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the channel my name is Rob and I'm a

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postdoctoral scientist specializing in

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biological data analysis I should also

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note that Huawei sent me the watchfit 3

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to test but it will go back to them

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after I'm done testing but okay back to

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the results and the testing and that

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overview is displayed right here now a

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correlation value I was talking about

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before is the metric I'll use for this

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which is displayed along the horizontal

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axis and we want that value to be as

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close to one as possible and on the

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vertical axis I order the watches from

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worst to best so the further to the

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right and the higher devices the better

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is its correlation with the reference

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device and here I marked the huawe watch

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fit 3 and red and as you can see it's

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amongst the top performers it has one of

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the highest correlations out there and

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most watches are performing more poorly

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but let's zoom in a bit so we can

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actually read these labels and here we

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have that zoomed in view with just the

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watches of a correlation of 0.90 or

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higher so just a better performing

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watches and even amongst these the

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Huawei watch fit 3 is one of the better

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performers it's actually super close to

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the Huawei watch Fit 2 so I suspect they

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perform more or less similarly and it's

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in between the 41 and 46 mm versions of

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the Huawei watch GT4 so overall very

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similar in performance to other Huawei

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devices not better or worse I would say

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only the Apple watch is still clearly

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outperforming the Huawei watches they're

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really a lot better than the rest but I

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suspect the Huawei watch F 3 is good

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enough in performance for most people

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and if you're curious other watches that

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are close are for instance the pixel

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Watch 2 which is also a good performer

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on Android but with poor battery life

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and also the polar Varity sense a

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dedicated heart rate monitor so the Hua

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watch 3 is doing quite well compared to

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the competition ition overall the watch

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fit 3 is doing really well for the price

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at least for indoor cycling it's not

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quite as good as the Apple watch but

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it's super close and given the

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difference in battery life and price

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that's quite impressive honestly a

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cycling indoors is a relatively easy

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exercise for watch your track so let's

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make things much more difficult and

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let's see how the huawe watchfit 3 did

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for cycling outside this is a lot more

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difficult because of the increased

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bumpiness and increased tension on my

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arm let's have a look and as you can see

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for cycling outside we do have a

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slightly decreased perform performance

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compared to cycling indoors but honestly

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it still looks pretty good the

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correlation is now 0.93 so not quite as

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high as the 0.98 from before but still

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pretty good and we again see that in the

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higher heart rate range the device is

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really accurate so most points are on or

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close to the blue line and most

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deviation is here in the lower heart

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rate range this is actually opposite to

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what we see for many other devices where

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many other devices tend to be better in

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the lower heart rate range for cycling

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outside it appears to be the opposite

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for the Huawei watchfit 3 but let's take

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a look at the individual rides to see

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why this could be now as I said in total

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I did six different rides and this was

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the longest one by far so over 2 hours

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and you can see here that in the higher

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heart rate range it seems almost spot on

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only in the lower heart rate range do we

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see a bit more deviation so again this

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explains what we saw in the overview

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plot but because this ride took so long

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it did have a relatively big

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contribution to the overview plot we

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were looking at before and I do have to

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say the second ride I wanted to share

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was the worst one out of all six rides

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so here in the beginning it had quite a

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big deviation from the reference

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detecting a way too low heart rate later

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on it's actually a lot better but most

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rides are luckily a lot better this one

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still struggled a little bit as you can

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see right here but also here near the

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peaks of my heart rate but this R for

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instance in general looks a lot better

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though there's a bit of deviation right

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here and in this final example we see

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pretty decent agreement this is a lot

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better than what most watches do so it's

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not perfect but it might be good enough

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but to answer that question let's see

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how it performed compared to other

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watches out there and here we have a

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similar overview to before but not for

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cycling outside and again we want the

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watches to be as far to the top right as

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possible and as you can see the Huawei

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watch fit 3 in red is again amongst the

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top performers which is really good and

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again it's really close to the Huawei

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watch Fit 2 but we need to zoom in to R

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those labels and here we have that

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zoomed in view within this case just the

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watches of a correlation of 0.7 or

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higher and as you can see even amongst

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these better performing watches the

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Huawei watch fit 3 is doing really well

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it is doing a tiny bit worse in this

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overview than the hu watch Fit 2 the we

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can in no way claim this difference is

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significant since they only have a

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limited set of data for the watchfit 3

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still overall both the watchfit 2 and

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watchfit 3 are some of the top

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performers out there even seemingly a

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little bit better than some of the other

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bigger Huawei devices that could have to

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do with their weight or again it could

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be random chance but we actually see

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that the GT3 Pro is doing a bit better

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so I wouldn't be so sure of that I think

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again that many Huawei watches are

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performing more or less similarly the

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only one again outperforming them is the

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Apple watch so if you want the best hard

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rare tracking on the wrist the Apple

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watch really seems to be best at that

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but different Huawei watches are close

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second other good devices include for

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instance the similarly priced fibit

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charge 6 the pixel Watch 2 which is more

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expensive and has a poorer battery life

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and the coral Space 3 might also be good

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enough still overall the W watchfit 3 is

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doing really well so I'm not

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disappointed so far so also for cycling

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outside the watch fit 3 is doing really

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well it seems to be amongst the top

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performers though I would like to see

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some more data to be sure that what

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we're seeing is reproducible in the long

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r run especially given the relatively

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easy longer ride that was included next

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let's take a look at one of the hardest

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exercises for watch the track however

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before showing you those results I'm

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hoping that my diligent testing has

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earned a subscribe from you and it also

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really helps me to get access to devices

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sooner if you leave a like or a comment

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but enough self-promotion let's take a

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look at the performance of the huawe

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watch fit 3 for weightlifting

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weightlifting is one of those exercises

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that most watches struggle with because

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there's so much tension on my arm and

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the same is true to degree for the Hua

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watch three we can indeed see that

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there's more deviation from the Blue

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Line than before and especially many

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more points below the blue line right

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here but still overall compared to other

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watches this isn't as bad the

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correlation is a lot lower now at 0.81

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but again compared to other watches it

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could be a lot worse but here we really

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need to take a look at the individual

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weightlifting sessions to see how big

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the problem actually is and here we have

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the first weightlifting session I wanted

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to share with you with again the polar

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h10 in blue green and the Hua watch fit

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3 in red and as you can see only some

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Peaks were fully captured by the Huawei

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watchfit 3 some were partially captured

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and some were not captured at all so

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it's a bit of a mix some parts of the

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training were really good whereas others

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weren't so good and we see something

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similar for this second weightlifting

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session it's far from perfect missing

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many of the peaks in my heart rate and

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that's also what we see for this final

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example I wanted to show you right here

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especially here in the beginning it

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struggled here in the middle it's a bit

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better and near the end there it's a bit

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of a mix but let's compare it to many of

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the other devices out there and here we

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have a similar overiew to before but now

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for weightlifting and in this case the

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watch fit 3 is in the upper middle class

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of watches but not amongst the actual

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top performers and the why watch Fit 2

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is and I'm not sure why that is I'm not

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sure if this is just random chance with

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a better data collection for the

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watchfit 2 or if there's actually

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something better about it so I really

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need to collect more data the watch fit

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3 is close to some other Huawei devices

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the GT4 in this case also the Huawei

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band 7 but some other Huawei devices are

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seemingly doing a bit better so the

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watchfit 2 we were looking at before but

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also the GT3 Pro but again I don't know

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if this is because of the type of

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exercises I did or what's going on here

play10:08

it could for instance be that I did more

play10:09

lower body exercises for some of these

play10:11

tests and I did actually no lower body

play10:13

exercise with the watchfit 3 and lower

play10:15

body exercises are generally easier for

play10:17

a watchfit track so I have to collect

play10:19

more data and see overall the heart rate

play10:21

tracking performance of the huawe

play10:23

watchfit 3 is quite good in my opinion

play10:25

it's not quite as good as the Apple

play10:27

watch but given the increased battery

play10:29

life it's doing really well actually we

play10:31

also potentially saw some slight

play10:33

differences in performance compared to

play10:34

the previous Huawei watchfit 2 but I

play10:36

don't dare to call those different

play10:37

significant based on the limited data

play10:39

set I collected so far and for those of

play10:41

you that are wondering unfortunately I

play10:43

couldn't do a test for running outside

play10:44

because of an injury still overall I'm

play10:47

quite happy with the performance of the

play10:48

yat fit 3 so far only for weightlifting

play10:51

I cannot recommend it but for the other

play10:52

sports so far it's doing quite well

play10:54

therefore overall I'd give the heart

play10:56

rate tracking performance four to maybe

play10:59

even four and a half out of five stars

play11:01

but that's considering the price but

play11:03

what about the Sleep stage tracking H

play11:05

introduced the new huawe creu sleep 4.0

play11:08

algorithm for their sleep tracking but

play11:09

is it any better than the previous

play11:11

generations let's take a look to test

play11:13

the Sleep stage tracking performance

play11:14

I'll compare the Huawei watchfit 3

play11:16

against the zMAX EG headband which can

play11:18

actually measure my brain waves now this

play11:20

device also has its limitations

play11:22

especially when it comes to detecting

play11:23

awake time but they give us a rough

play11:25

impression of the Sleep stage tracking

play11:27

performance of the watchfit 3 and here

play11:29

are show an overview of the results for

play11:30

a total of four nights now on top are

play11:33

the sleep stages as recorded by the zMAX

play11:35

EG device and the left are the sleep

play11:37

stages as recorded by the watchfit 3 and

play11:40

each column here sums to 100% meaning

play11:42

that we can see what percentage of each

play11:44

of the sleep stages according to the

play11:45

zMAX was predicted as each sleep stage

play11:47

by the watchfit 3 and if they perfectly

play11:50

agree all values on the diagonal should

play11:52

be 100% now first of all we see that

play11:55

only about 36% of what was deep sleep

play11:58

according to the EG device was also

play12:00

detected as deep sleep by the W watch

play12:02

fit 3 so that's not very good more of it

play12:04

was actually predicted as being light

play12:06

sleep instead at about

play12:08

45% now light sleep agreement is also

play12:10

not that great at about 45% and a lot of

play12:13

the light sleep detected by the EG

play12:15

device was actually predicted as being

play12:17

deep sleep or Ram sleep by the watch fit

play12:19

3 RAM sleep agreement is similar at

play12:21

about 44% agreement and about the same

play12:24

amount was actually predicted as being

play12:25

light sleep instead at about 40% so

play12:28

overall not looking very good for the

play12:30

watch fit 3 now awake time is something

play12:32

we will definitely not be focusing on

play12:34

because the zMAX s detect a lot of awake

play12:36

moments some of which I think are not

play12:38

really awake moments or just short

play12:39

arousals and those are not interesting

play12:41

for us but just for completeness about

play12:43

29% of what was awake time according to

play12:46

the EG device was also detected as a

play12:48

wake Time by The W watch fit 3 now

play12:50

looking at the Knights themselves will

play12:51

help us understand that even better and

play12:53

here you can see the first night I

play12:54

wanted to share with you on top we have

play12:56

the sleep stages according to the zMAX

play12:58

EG headb with along the horizontal axis

play13:01

the clock time and my sleep stag is on

play13:03

the vertical axis and on the bottom we

play13:05

have a similar plot but now for the

play13:06

huawe watchfit 3 and in purple right

play13:09

here I highlighted the deep sleep as

play13:11

recorded by the EG device and as you can

play13:13

see there's marginal agreement with the

play13:15

watch fit 3 some of the Deep Sleep has

play13:17

at least some agreement but later on the

play13:19

Deep Sleep detected by the watch fit 3

play13:21

differs a lot it detects a lot of deep

play13:24

sleep right here later in the night and

play13:25

this is not what a typical night of

play13:27

sleep should look like you have most

play13:29

most deep sleep in the first half of

play13:30

your night and you have most R sleep in

play13:32

the second half of your night and for

play13:34

the watchfit 3 it appears to be opposite

play13:36

in this case so this is not looking that

play13:38

great now the general patterns might

play13:39

look a bit better for this second

play13:41

example night so with more deep sleep in

play13:43

the first half of the night and more R

play13:45

sleep in the second half but the overall

play13:47

agreement with the EG device is still

play13:49

not very good though arguably a bit

play13:51

better but overall this isn't looking

play13:52

very good and also the ram sleep

play13:54

agreement isn't very good so here I

play13:56

marked the ram sleep as detected by the

play13:57

EG device in red and as you can see this

play14:00

doesn't match very well with the

play14:01

watchfit 3 but some of the ramley

play14:03

patterns might slightly match so this

play14:06

first second and fourth R sleep segment

play14:08

show at least some overlap but the

play14:10

duration is different and this third one

play14:12

is completely missed and for this second

play14:14

example night it looks arguably even a

play14:16

bit worse so in the beginning there's

play14:18

basically no overlap later in the night

play14:20

it might be a bit better still generally

play14:22

I wouldn't rely on the ram sleep

play14:24

tracking of the watch fit 3 and again I

play14:26

said we wouldn't focus on awake moments

play14:27

but just to show you that the General

play14:29

pattern shows some agreement the longer

play14:31

awake moments sometimes agree between

play14:33

the EEG device and the watchfit 3 so I

play14:35

wouldn't really trust the EEG device

play14:37

here but if we just look at the longer

play14:39

awake moment so this is the longest one

play14:40

right here this was also detected by the

play14:42

watch fit 3 and looking at this second

play14:44

night we see por agreement but the

play14:46

moment I fell asleep and moment I woke

play14:48

up at least roughly match and for this

play14:50

third example night I wanted to show you

play14:51

we see that the two longest awake

play14:53

moments agree between the watch Fit 2

play14:55

and the EG device and also the moment I

play14:57

fell asleep and woke up are pretty much

play14:59

much in line so though we cannot really

play15:01

judge the awake moments detected by the

play15:02

watch fit 3 this might actually be the

play15:05

best out of all the sleep stages so the

play15:07

Sleep stage tracking performance of the

play15:08

watch fit 3 just doesn't seem that great

play15:11

both the deep sleep and RAM sleep

play15:12

agreement are quite low and only the

play15:14

awake detection seems potentially decent

play15:17

enough so my first instinct is that you

play15:19

can use the watch fit 3 to detect your

play15:21

total time and bed and maybe your total

play15:23

sleep time but even with the new true

play15:26

sleep 4.0 algorithm you cannot really

play15:28

rely on the sleep deep stage tracking

play15:30

however let's put these results into

play15:31

context and let's compare them against

play15:33

the performance of many other devices

play15:34

out there and that is exactly what we

play15:36

can see right here so this graph shows

play15:38

an overview of the agreement of

play15:40

different watches with different

play15:41

reference devices along the horizontal

play15:43

axis we have the average agreement over

play15:45

the individual sleep stages and on the

play15:47

vertical axis we have the agreement of

play15:48

the worst sleep stage so the better the

play15:51

agreement the more to the top right the

play15:52

devices now this overview is slightly

play15:55

complicated because they use different

play15:56

reference devices the device is not

play15:58

marked in any color were tested against

play16:00

the dream 2 EG headband my normal

play16:02

reference but dream band bankrupt so I

play16:03

cannot use it anymore the devices marked

play16:05

in green were tested against the zMAX EG

play16:08

device so the one we used in this video

play16:10

and the devic is marked in blue purple

play16:11

were tested against polography or phsg

play16:14

so the gold standard in sleep stage

play16:15

tracking and you can see the Huawei

play16:17

watchfit 3 right here so it's actually

play16:20

really close to some other Huawei

play16:22

devices so for instance the Huawei

play16:24

watchi D4 both the 46 and 41 mm versions

play16:28

but also the Huawei watch Fit 2 tested

play16:30

with a different reference device though

play16:32

but overall it seems to be in the same

play16:34

area as I always find Huawei devices so

play16:36

in the lower half right here so really

play16:38

among some of the poor performing

play16:40

watches if you want some of the best

play16:42

sleep stage tracking out there on me

play16:44

Apple watches perform very well but in a

play16:46

recent video I made we saw that aura

play16:48

ring and apple are some of the top

play16:49

performers out there if we also include

play16:50

the scientific literature other devices

play16:52

that are doing really well include the

play16:54

eight S pod so both the three and four

play16:56

are performing about the same I would

play16:57

say and in the group of second tier

play16:59

devices we have different Fitbit and

play17:01

Google devices so Google owns Fitbit and

play17:03

likely use this same algorithm across

play17:04

all its devices and also the strap

play17:07

is quite good not quite as well as for

play17:09

instance Apple Aura and eight S but

play17:11

still doing really well and whoop is a

play17:13

better Sports Tracker than Aura for

play17:14

instance so it really depends on what

play17:16

you're looking for but both Aura and

play17:18

woop require a subscription which is not

play17:20

so nice there are different FIB devices

play17:22

out there though that have decent sleep

play17:23

stage tracking and for now at least it

play17:25

doesn't require a subscription for the

play17:26

Sleep stage tracking so overall the

play17:28

sleep stage tracking performance of the

play17:30

watch fit 3 just isn't very good at

play17:32

least it doesn't seem to be on me if you

play17:34

just want to know roughly how much time

play17:35

you spent in bed or time with sleep it

play17:37

might be good enough however this first

play17:39

testing seems to indicate you might not

play17:41

want to rely on the actual sleep stages

play17:43

therefore overall I'd give this sleep

play17:45

stage tracking performance of the Wu

play17:46

wfit 3 two out of five stars next I

play17:50

would normally do a complete test of the

play17:51

GPS tracking during cycling but

play17:53

unfortunately I don't have enough data

play17:55

for that as of yet however I do want to

play17:57

share my first impressions but but

play17:58

before doing that I'm planning to start

play18:00

back up with my newsletter after the

play18:01

summer to share my first results with

play18:03

you sooner and if you're interested

play18:05

check out the link up here now the way I

play18:07

normally test these devices is that I

play18:09

cycle the same route maybe four or five

play18:11

times to see how well the signals

play18:12

overlap and if it watch is good at GPS

play18:14

track and you'd expect the signal to be

play18:16

very close however so far I only tracked

play18:18

the same route twice and those results

play18:20

are displayed right here I want to warn

play18:22

you though to take these results with a

play18:23

very large grain of salt now I never

play18:25

give watches any extra time to acquire

play18:27

the GPS signal and in this case I

play18:29

started one right right here and one

play18:31

right here so one time it maybe took

play18:33

half a minute for it to acquire a GPS

play18:35

signal but overall this is very fast and

play18:38

if we then look at the consistency

play18:39

between the signals this is actually

play18:41

quite good the signals are very close

play18:44

together showing very little deviation

play18:46

maybe a little of deviation right here

play18:48

and right here a bit more right here but

play18:51

the overall track is looking really good

play18:54

now we only have two signals so we don't

play18:56

want to over interpret these results but

play18:58

generally the signals seem to be quite

play19:00

close together so that's looking really

play19:01

good they might deviate a bit from the

play19:03

road but it could even be that this map

play19:05

overlay isn't perfect so overall this

play19:08

just hints at potential good GPS

play19:10

tracking by the Huawei watch fit 3 the

play19:12

one thing I did notice though is that

play19:14

the signal seem to be a bit smooth

play19:16

potentially so when I go around the

play19:17

corner it seems to be a bit smooth out

play19:19

so it might be artificially smoothing

play19:21

the result making the consistency

play19:23

artificially seeming a bit better and it

play19:25

might even be using the map data to push

play19:27

the signals on top of the road so even a

play19:29

further artificial Improvement but we

play19:31

cannot really be sure of this still

play19:33

overall this is a good first impression

play19:35

I don't have enough data yet to draw any

play19:37

definitive conclusions about the GPS

play19:39

tracking performance of the huawe

play19:40

watchfit 3 however at first glance it

play19:42

does look promising overall the watchfit

play19:45

3 seems like a solid device for about

play19:47

€60 or dollars you get good quality

play19:50

heart rate tracking and what seems to be

play19:52

decent GPS tracking however the Sleep

play19:54

stage tracking just isn't very good so

play19:56

it's only used to track my total time in

play19:58

bed considering the price point and the

play20:00

good battery life it is a solid choice

play20:02

and it could be an Apple Watch

play20:04

alternative for those people on Android

play20:05

focusing on Sports tracking or even for

play20:07

people on iOS that don't like the

play20:09

limited battery life of the Apple watch

play20:11

I should note though that it might be

play20:12

difficult for people in the US to get

play20:14

any Huawei device and also this hu

play20:15

watchfit 3 and it might take a while for

play20:17

it to be listed on Amazon additionally

play20:19

there's also one small thing that bugs

play20:21

me personally about this screen of the

play20:23

watch fit 3 now this might be my slight

play20:25

OCD wearing its head because overall

play20:27

it's a beautiful display but see it

play20:29

every time I look at it and that is that

play20:31

at least optically the bezels on top and

play20:33

bottom seem to be slightly bigger than

play20:35

those on the sides again this is a super

play20:37

small thing and really quite personal

play20:39

but for me it does take away from some

play20:40

of the beauty of this device all in all

play20:43

though I do like the huawe watch fit 3

play20:45

and I have no problem recommending it to

play20:46

people that want a well-priced

play20:48

SmartWatch with good hard rate tracking

play20:50

therefore overall I'd likely give it

play20:52

about 3 and a half out of five stars

play20:53

generally but given the low price I

play20:56

might just bump it up closer to four

play20:58

stars with the caveat that the Sleep

play21:00

Sage tracking just isn't reliable enough

play21:02

now of course the results I showed you

play21:03

today might vary from person to person

play21:05

so please also check out some other

play21:07

reviewers if you do decide to get a

play21:09

Huawei watch a whoop strap an aura ring

play21:11

an ACB 3 another device or anything at

play21:14

all on Amazon for that matter even

play21:15

something as small as toilet paper want

play21:17

to potentially save some money and at

play21:19

the same time support the channel there

play21:21

are different affiliate and

play21:22

non-affiliate links in description below

play21:23

do not cost you any extra and some even

play21:25

provide a discount now given that you

play21:27

watch this whole video on the Huawei

play21:28

watchfit 3 check out this video on the

play21:31

previous generation the watchfit 2 or

play21:33

this video on my top recommendations for

play21:35

sleep tracking thank you so much for

play21:37

watching and catch you in the next video

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