Tried and tested: The Huawei Watch 3 is the smartwatch you’ve been waiting for

The Huawei Watch 3 is the smartwatch you’ve been waiting for - and there's a special offer on at Currys you won't want to miss. (Currys/ Yahoo UK)
The Huawei Watch 3 is the smartwatch you’ve been waiting for - and there's a special offer on at Currys you won't want to miss. (Currys/ Yahoo UK)

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Now could be the right time to buy a smartwatch.

On my wrist is the new Watch 3 from Huawei, and it’s an almost perfect mix of style and ease of use. The price is right too. You can pick one up, bundled with a pair of Freebuds 3 earphones, for £379 at Currys PC World - that’s a saving of £149.

There are two good reasons to buy the Watch 3: firstly, it’s drop-dead gorgeous, and secondly, it boasts some of the best health monitoring I’ve seen on a non-Apple watch.

Why we rate it

It’s comfortable to wear. Some smartwatches can feel bulky, almost awkward. If you’re not a gadget freak, there’s little incentive to move from a traditional timepiece - but the Watch 3 is light at just 65g and sits just right.

There’s a variety of straps available (my sample came with a classic tan leather strap). There are also silicon, fabric and metal alternatives. The case is stainless steel, the back ceramic

Battery life is impressive, at up-to 14 days. So there’s no need to panic if you forget to charge it overnight. The Watch 3 is the first smartwatch to run Huawei’s Harmony OS, which isn’t just highly efficient but also proves smooth and responsive.

Usability is good. There’s a rotating crown for navigation, while the 35mm AMOLED touch screen is big and bright. At 1000 nits it’s easy to read, even in relatively bright sunlight.

Depressing the crown opens up an icon grid, while twisting it zooms in or out, allowing you to view more apps at a glance. A secondary button gives you a selectable scrolling list. This makes it a doddle to select apps, features and settings. It’s really intuitive.

Buy it: Huawei Watch 3 Classic & FreeBuds 3 Earphones Bundle | £379 (save £149) from Currys PC World

Huawei Watch 3 Classic & FreeBuds 3 Earphones Bundle
Huawei Watch 3 Classic & FreeBuds 3 Earphones Bundle

When it comes to health monitoring, there’s lots going on: a temperature sensor offers continuous skin monitoring (useful as an indicator of overall health). There’s also continuous Sp02 blood oxygen tracking, heart rate and stress monitoring. It even comes with sleep tracking, which becomes a practical option given the prolonged battery life.

There’s all the usual workout modes, and if you want something more professional take a look at the TruConnect app from TV.Fit.

There’s also built-in fall detection, with SOS calling. You can configure it to call the emergency services or a family member, with or without a prompt.

And of course, you can add more fun stuff by downloading apps from Huawei’s own app gallery.

Finally, the Watch 3 also supports eSIM for independent calling, no smartphone required; you’ll need a separate eSIM contract from your mobile provider to enable this - currently it’s is only available from Vodafone, but other suppliers are coming on-board.

HUAWEI Watch 3 Classic | £379 from Currys PC World

Watch: Smart Watch saves life

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