Introduction
Huawei introduced the Watch D wearable with blood pressure tracking back at the end of 2021, but it took until the end of 2022 to get the necessary certifications and make it available in Western markets. And now that we’re going to spend a few weeks with it, here’s our verdict.
This is the correct position to take when measuring blood pressure at the wrist
The wearable is the first Huawei device from the Watch series to come with a rectangular screen instead of being circular. But beyond that and the unique blood pressure readings, it shares most of its functionality with its round stablemates.
Design and build
The Huawei Watch D lacks crowns or smart keys, only two flat buttons on the right side of the aluminum case. The company calls it “Graphite Black,” and in reality it’s a shade of dark gray. However, the fluoroelastomer strap is actually black. It is specially designed for this device, which means that swapping with a third-party 22mm strap is not really an option, as it is likely to interfere with the blood pressure measurement.
The 1.64” AMOLED has a resolution of 456 x 280 pixels and is bright and colorful, just like any newer Huawei Watch. On the bottom we have the heart rate monitor, and a small element that seals the port for the blood pressure strap.
The retail box is rich compared to other wearables. There are two straps, size M and L, a nice paper tool to choose the right one with 21 steps for adjustment, as well as the two inflatable straps that allow blood pressure measurement.
Blood pressure
The crowning glory of the Huawei Watch D – while Samsung’s Galaxy Watch series also offers BP tracking, we’re talking actual measurements here rather than estimates that require frequent calibration with an actual tool. Still, Huawei mentions several times that this is not a medical device and its purpose is routine tracking rather than final diagnosis.
Wrist-based BPM units are not as accurate as those on the upper arm. The reason is blood vessels and skin are thinner there, so readings are not 100% accurate – but Watch D is still an additional tool for people to monitor their health.
We compared this device to an actual medical instrument and both the systolic and diastolic (the higher and lower numbers) were 10 mm Hg off on the clock. While not perfect, we find that kind of deviation to be acceptable.
The Watch D measures blood pressure just like a proper wrist-based monitor – it inflates to the point of making the person slightly uncomfortable while feeling their pulse, then slowly deflates to feel the blood pressure.
The extra straps included in the retail box have three contact points to ensure proper attachment. The first and most important is on the back of the watch, the second is on the first hole of the regular strap, and the third is a dedicated elongated hole to ensure that the strap is in place. All the elements are made of rubber and fabric and appear very durable.
Software
Huawei talks a lot about the OS because it’s the slightly older Harmony 2.1 instead of the Harmony OS 3.0 that runs on other international Watch devices. The Huawei Health company app has a smart feature called Healthy Living that monitors a wide range of daily reports and provides an overall picture of your health.
It measures SpO2 (oxygen in the blood), tracks sleep and stress, measures body temperature and informs you if there are drastic changes in your condition. It has nice prompts to drink water, take deep breaths and calm down, even for a minute, when necessary.
The bottom key of the Watch D is metallic and has a conductive surface that allows recording of the EKG (electrocardiogram). In theory, it can read when there are atrial or ventricular premature beats. In practice, we could not find a test subject with this problem – luckily everyone in the office has a healthy sinus rhythm.
The Watch D is not a device for sports, which is why it supports “only” 70+ training modes instead of over 100 like other Huawei wearables. The truth is, it doesn’t make any difference, as wearables only do a decent job of tracking half a dozen outdoor running and cycling workouts. The GNSS positioning tracks outdoor routes with precision, although some of the sports that require heavy tracking were lacking, such as climbing and trail running.
The laptop has Bluetooth 5.1 and also has NFC. You can use the feature for Huawei Wallet (Pay or Access), but the feature is not available in Europe. Charging is standard Qi wireless, but due to the strap with its folding buckle, the Watch D cannot be used on all wireless chargers unless you unhook the strap.
Notifications and controls are pretty easy and on par with any recent Huawei Watch. Voice support only works in the Huawei environment, which means Siri and Google won’t be triggered, which is hardly news.
Battery life
The company promises 7 days of life on a single charge of “typical use”. We always got exactly 7 days of what we saw as pretty heavy use, so you’d even say the Watch D exceeded our expectations. If you only measure EKG or BP once or twice a day, you can definitely add a day or two to the endurance.
However, it’s achieved with the Always On Display feature turned off, relying on the trusty ride to wake up instead. When we enabled AoD with the stamina dropped dramatically. Watch D goes just over 72 hours, or 3 days, before it needs to go back on the charger.
Even this worst case scenario is not terrible endurance, especially if you compare with smartwatches from Samsung, Apple and Google, although they run more complicated apps with deeper system integration, so it’s a bit apples to oranges comparison.
Judgment
The Huawei Watch D stands alone in its niche on the market. It borrows from two categories – smart medical devices and a classic smartwatch, and we’d say the results are amazing for a certain group of users.
If we look at it strictly as a smartwatch, there are clearly arguments for why other Huawei wearables are a better choice. If we consider the wearable as a medical device, it is not completely accurate, so we would not fully recommend it as a replacement for your blood pressure monitor.
Here’s who will love the Huawei Watch D – health-conscious people who need another tool to track their health, but generally have solid vitals. This specific group should disregard the final appearance because Huawei does not offer any customizations or color options for this device.
We think the Watch D is worth €399 if you’re in the small circle. The company is offering specific bundles on its sites across Europe, including free Huawei goods and massive discounts, which would make the price tag even more attractive.
