Paris, city of romance, croissants, couture, and, of course, the finish line of the Tour de France, just played host to another kind of race. Huawei’s ‘Ride the Wind’ event just unveiled not just a new flagship smartwatch, but an entire wave of devices. Plus, a new brand philosophy called “Now is Yours.”
Leading the pack was the Huawei Watch GT 6 Series. This is no token fitness band. It comes with a full engineering revamp, a great 21-day battery life, and the brand’s new TruSense System for faster, more accurate health tracking.
Whatever your sport, Huawei clearly wants your next adventure mapped out in detail. The GT 6 now dives deeper on four sports in particular:
- Cycling: Complete with a virtual power meter, so you don’t need expensive kit and separate power meters to get pro-level data for you or your coach.
- Trail running: Off-road tracking has pinpoint GPS, altitude trend charts, and real-time grade analysis.
- Golf: This has been upgraded with high-definition fairway maps.
- Skiing: Yep, the slopes aren’t safe from Huawei’s data obsession, either.
Deeper, Bluer, Smarter
Not stopping there, Huawei also revealed its Watch Ultimate 2, the world’s first smartwatch rated for 150-metre dives, just in case you have the urge to message or are separated from your buddy while underwater. Divers can now ping each other watch-to-watch at distances of up to 30 metres. Or fire off an SOS at 60 metres, giving you a rescue plan on any dive. That’s Bond-level kit.
For land lovers, the Watch D2 arrived in a new blue coat, packing expanded blood pressure monitoring, including reminders, single and recurring checks, and full-on ambulatory monitoring.
Phones and Photos, Paris Style
Then came the Huawei Nova 14 Series, aimed at the TikTok/Instagram crowd. It has an Ultra Chroma Camera and XD Portrait Engine that promise portraits so sharp they’ll pick up every pore, unless you use the built-in AI magic. The phone comes loaded with features like AI Best Expression (bye-bye awkward blinks) and uses AI Remove to dispose of random photo-bombers. Oh, and yes, there’s a 50 MP front camera with autofocus and 5x portrait zoom, because we know selfies matter.
Tablets for Creators
On the productivity side, Huawei debuted the MatePad 12 X PaperMatte Edition, designed to feel like paper without the ink smudges. Paired with the new M-Pencil Pro, it includes nifty features like a pinch gesture for quick menus, one-tap access for Notes, and brush tweaks with a simple twist. Handy if you’re an artist or need to alleviate boredom and doodle in meetings.
Huawei also doubled down on its creator push with the announcement of GoPaint 2025, a global art initiative with categories ranging from narrative and sci-fi to the newly added Animation. The aim? To get more people sketching, painting, and imagining. With Huawei hardware, naturally.
Now is Yours
Finally, Huawei used the Paris stage to launch its new global brand mantra: “Now is Yours.” The message is aimed squarely at younger consumers, promising inclusivity, creativity, and a more ‘human’ approach to technology. (Translation: Huawei wants to be the cool kids’ tech brand, not just the one your uncle buys for battery life.)
What It Means for SA
So, when can you actually buy all this? That’s still under wraps; South African launch dates and pricing haven’t been announced. But if Huawei’s track record is anything to go by, it won’t be long before you see the GT 6 on wrists and the Nova 14 in pockets across Mzansi.
