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Huawei Watch 3 goes official with Harmony OS, eSIM, and a rotating crown

By Mariyan Slavov

Updated: Jun 02, 2021, 8:03 AM

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Huawei Wearables

Huawei Watch 3 goes official with Harmony OS, eSIM, and a rotating crown

This is a developing story

The Huawei Watch 2 launched four long years ago, and even though the company subsequently dished out a couple of Watch Fits and GTs, a real successor was nowhere to be found. Well, until now, because today Huawei officially announced its next flagship wearable - the Huawei Watch 3.

Huawei Watch 3: Design

Four years is a long time and unsurprisingly the design of the new Watch 3 drastically differs from that of its predecessor. Gone are the thick bezels and the two-button layout. The Watch 3 steps proudly into the modern world equipped with a multifunctional rotating crown and a sleek 2.5D glass front.

The body of the watch is made of stainless steel but there’s a Pro version that sports some premium materials such as ceramic, titanium, and sapphire glass. The rotating crown is one of the big design (and functional) changes, and it also provides haptic feedback for more intuitive navigation.

There’s a pill-shaped button under the rotating crown, and this layout gives the Watch 3 a unique appearance. The strap connects to the body of the watch via a traditional two-horn hinge mechanism.

Huawei Watch 3: Display

The Watch 3 comes equipped with a 1.43-inch AMOLED display with a 466x466 resolution and a pixel density of 326PPI. This panel can produce up to 1000 nits of brightness, so outdoor visibility shouldn’t be a problem.

The display also sports a 60Hz refresh rate for a smoother experience while navigating around the OS. Huawei was often criticized for using a slow display refresh rate in its wearables in order to save battery, so it’s good to see this rectified in the Watch 3.

Huawei Watch 3: Hardware and connectivity

The Huawei Watch 3 runs on a custom-built LTE-enabled Hi6262 chipset and Harmony OS 2.0. There's 2GB of RAM on board, along with 16GB of native storage. The Watch 3 supports eSIM, LTE, Wi-Fi, and GPS. There are various sensors on board - a heart rate sensor, SpO2, and for the first time in Huawei wearable - a body temperature sensor.

Huawei Watch 3: Software and features

The Huawei Watch 3 is the first wearable equipped with Harmony OS - Huawei’s in-house developed operating system. The first big plus is the App Gallery, which is now on the watch itself. This means you can install apps without the need to transfer them via your smartphone.

There are other cool features baked in the watch - such as the ability to turn it into a remote control for your smartphone camera, unlock your car, or control your smart home appliances. The array of sensors provide quite thorough health tracking - you can monitor your body temperature, heart rate, SpO2, and sleep in real-time. The built-in fitness assistant supports more than 100 workout modes, and can also track your VO2max performance.

Huawei Watch 3: Battery life

Huawei smartwatches are notorious for their long battery life. The eSIM-support and the 60Hz display refresh rate have taken their toll, for sure, but the Watch 3 can still last 3 full days in 4G mode and up to 14 days in what the company calls ultra-long battery life mode.

The Huawei Watch 3 Pro on the other hand features a bigger battery and can stretch those numbers to 5 days of standard 4G use, and 21 days in ultra battery mode respectively.

Huawei Watch 3: Price and availability

The Huawei Watch 3 will be available in different styles - Active (silicone strap), Classic (leather strap), and Elite (metal strap). The Watch 3 Pro will be available in Classic and Elite Edition.

The Huawei Watch 3 Series will be available from June 2021 and the actual availability for specific models and editions may vary by countries and regions. We have the UK pricing for both models at the moment. The Huawei Watch 3 will be available from the Huawei Store from 18th June at a starting price of £349.99. Meanwhile, the Watch 3 Pro will cost £499.99 and will launch on 28th June.

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Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.