Earlier this week, at its regional ‘Innovative Product Launch’ event in Dubai, Huawei unveiled the Watch Fit 3 — its shiny new affordable fitness tracker. There were a plethora of other devices announced, including a special space-themed edition of the Watch 4 Pro, the new Pura 70 series, refreshes to its MateBook range, and a new tablet.
We’re still waiting for local pricing and availability details on most of those but the Chinese company wasted no time in getting the Watch Fit 3 up on its local site with the option to pre-order already available. Doing that will set you back R3,000 but, to sweeten the deal, Huawei will throw in a set of its FreeBuds SE 2.
The Watch Fit 3 looks familiar
You wouldn’t be the only one if you think the Watch Fit 3 looks rather close to the Fruit Company’s wearable. That was probably the idea although the Watch Fit 2 sported a similar squarish design so this third outing isn’t too far from the norm. Other than the slightly larger boxy body, there’s a rotating crown like the one on its Watch GT 4 to go with the function button.
Internal specs have seen further improvements with a 1.82in AMOLED display replacing the 1.74in display in the Watch Fit 2, with a higher pixel density and peak brightness to boot. All the usual sensors show up in the Fit 3 to monitor and track a user’s heart rate, blood oxygen level, respiratory rate, how well they sleep… you get the idea. Huawei says it has made improvements to the algorithms behind its TruSeen and TruSleep tech but didn’t go further.
This is a fitness tracker so it will, of course, help you track your fitness with built-in GPS and over 100 supported workout modes. Dietary tracking is also available as are a few guided fitness courses if you’re feeling a bit lost.
Shorter-lasting?
With all these improvements, not to mention a larger AMOLED display, it’s no wonder the Fit 3 can’t keep up with the Fit 2 when it comes to battery life. The latter boasted a seven-day battery life under heavy use and up to 14 days under typical use.
Huawei reckons the Fit 3 will only manage a maximum of 10 days on a single charge, seven days under ‘typical conditions’, or as little as four days if you enable the new Always-on Display. According to Huawei’s website, it will also take longer to charge. The Fit 2 could go a whole day on a five-minute charge. The Fit 3 needs double the time for the same feat.
Other features include Bluetooth calling, local music playback control, and integration of notifications and quick replies in third-party apps. Like Huawei’s other recent wearables, the Watch Fit 3 is compatible with Android and iOS smartphones as well as Huawei devices.