Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro review: Fits like a glove
The Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro ticks a lot of boxes and comes with an impressive set of sensors and features. Plus it has one of the brightest screens in its price class.
Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro Intro
The Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro is the latest member of the Watch Fit family, a spiritual successor to the Huawei Watch Fit 3, and the first wearable from that particular series to sport the "Pro" moniker in its name.
This is not just a marketing trick either, because the watch comes with an impressive set of features, rivaling more premium and high-end models both in Huawei's own GT series and also among the competitors.
Along with a new tweaked design, the Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro comes with deep health tracking capabilities, such as ECG, arterial stiffness detection, SpO2 measurements, sleep tracking, temperature readings, and the robust battery life Huawei's wearables are known for.
All these goodies come at a price, as the Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro now starts at £249.99. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Without further ado, let's dive into the review.
This is not just a marketing trick either, because the watch comes with an impressive set of features, rivaling more premium and high-end models both in Huawei's own GT series and also among the competitors.
All these goodies come at a price, as the Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro now starts at £249.99. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Without further ado, let's dive into the review.
What’s new:
- New design
- 1.82-inch AMOLED screen 3000 nits peak brightness
- Sapphire glass
- Titanium alloy bezel
- ECG readings
- Arterial stiffness detection
- Temperature sensor
- HRV tracking
- Double band GPS/GLONASS/BeiDou/Galileo/QZSS
- NFC
- Wireless charging
- Sleep breathing awareness
Table of Contents:
Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro Specs, Models and Prices
In terms of different variants and models, there's only one variant of the Pro version (there's also a non-Pro model), and it's a Bluetooth-only device with no size options and no LTE or Wi-Fi connectivity.
Here's a quick look at the Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro specs:
| Specs | Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro |
|---|---|
| Models (Size, Weight, Prices) | 44.5 x 40 x 9.3mm, 30 grams, Bluetooth only |
| Processor, RAM, Storage | Undisclosed chip and RAM |
| Software | Harmony OS |
| Battery and Charging | 400 mAh 7 days battery life (regular use) 10 days max Magnetic charger, 0-100% in 60 min |
| Sensors | HR, blood oxygen, altimeter, ECG, air pressure sensor Double band GPS/GLONASS/BeiDou/Galileo/QZSS |
| New features | New design ECG readings Arterial stiffness detection Temperature sensor NFC Wireless charging Sleep breathing awareness Gold mode 40-meter freediving mode Terrain map Trail running Offline maps HRV tracking |
Huawei really went all in with the Watch Fit 4 Pro, adding a bunch of features that were normally reserved for the GT Pro series. The watch can now take your ECG, measure arterial stiffness, has a temperature sensor, features a new HRV (heart rate variability) feature, and comes with a new air pressure sensor to measure altitude more accurately.
There's no word on the exact silicon used inside, nor do we have info about the RAM on board, but what we've observed is that after the initial boot-up, there's a slight lag until everything is fully loaded into the watch's RAM. After a minute, though, everything starts to run smoothly, and we haven't experienced anything like that since.
There's about 1.5GB of storage available for music on the watch, which lets you upload around 300 songs in MP3 format with decent quality. You can then connect Bluetooth earbuds and spice up your training sessions with some beats without the need to carry your phone with you.
There's no word on the exact silicon used inside, nor do we have info about the RAM on board, but what we've observed is that after the initial boot-up, there's a slight lag until everything is fully loaded into the watch's RAM. After a minute, though, everything starts to run smoothly, and we haven't experienced anything like that since.
Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro Design, Sizes and Bands
Carving its own identity
The Watch Fit 4 Pro tweaks the design in comparison to its predecessor. It's a welcome change, as the Watch Fit 3 was often criticized for looking too similar to another popular brand. Huawei has introduced a titanium bezel around the screen, and there are industrial-looking elements on the watch, such as the protruding microphone placed between the rotating crown and the quick access button.
The sides are flat, and the Watch 4 Pro now looks and feels like it has its own identity. In terms of materials, there are some surprises—along with the titanium bezel around the screen, we have a sapphire crystal glass on top of the gorgeous 1.82-inch AMOLED. It's a great quality of life improvement, as this synthetic sapphire material is very hard and almost unscratchable.
The sides are flat, and the Watch 4 Pro now looks and feels like it has its own identity. In terms of materials, there are some surprises—along with the titanium bezel around the screen, we have a sapphire crystal glass on top of the gorgeous 1.82-inch AMOLED. It's a great quality of life improvement, as this synthetic sapphire material is very hard and almost unscratchable.
Compared to the previous model, the Watch 4 Pro is a tad thinner (9.3 vs 9.9 mm) but also a few grams heavier at 30 grams (without the strap). It's a comfortable watch to wear, the ceramic bottom is smooth and doesn't irritate your skin, and the overall weight feels decent on the hand, not feather-light but not heavy by any means.
The 1.82-inch AMOLED display has been upgraded and can now output up to 3000 nits of peak brightness, which on a sunny day does wonders, and it is on par with much more expensive smartwatches. The resolution of 480x408 pixels results in around 350 PPI, which is pretty crisp. Overall, the screen is a pleasure to lay your eyes on, and there are really no downsides.
The Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro comes in three color options, and each one goes with a different strap. The Black and Blue models feature sports fluoroelastomer straps in matching colors, while the Green variant comes equipped with a woven nylon strap.
The first two options feature a proprietary mechanism to attach to the body of the watch, and the Green one comes with lugs attached to the watch via the same mechanism. You can swap the bands on that model easily with standard 20mm ones, but the first two require an adapter bought separately.
The first two options feature a proprietary mechanism to attach to the body of the watch, and the Green one comes with lugs attached to the watch via the same mechanism. You can swap the bands on that model easily with standard 20mm ones, but the first two require an adapter bought separately.
Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro Software & Features
Smart Harmony
The Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro runs on HarmonyOS version 5.1. It requires the Huawei Health app, but it will work with both Android- and iOS-based phones once you have the app installed. The pairing process is simple enough; you scan a QR code with your phone and follow the steps afterward.
The apps you can install are still limited, but there are some third-party ones you can use through AppGallery, such as Petal Maps, Navigation (G-Maps Viewer), Voice Recorder, camera control app, an app that syncs with your Google Calendar, Spotify controls, etc.
There's a decent variety of watch faces, most of which are free, and you can add, arrange, and customize different widgets to show you important info with just a left swipe. Another cool thing is the QWERTY keyboard you can use to answer messages. It supports some of the popular apps, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Viber, and it's a great step up from predefined answers.
One drawback worth mentioning is that Huawei Health can't talk to Google Fit, so if you want the data to be synchronized with other apps through Google Fit, that's not possible at the moment. With that out of the way, let's go through all the features available.
The apps you can install are still limited, but there are some third-party ones you can use through AppGallery, such as Petal Maps, Navigation (G-Maps Viewer), Voice Recorder, camera control app, an app that syncs with your Google Calendar, Spotify controls, etc.
There's a decent variety of watch faces, most of which are free, and you can add, arrange, and customize different widgets to show you important info with just a left swipe. Another cool thing is the QWERTY keyboard you can use to answer messages. It supports some of the popular apps, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Viber, and it's a great step up from predefined answers.
Workout features
In terms of workouts, the Watch Fit 4 Pro supports a robust set of activities, including outdoor run, indoor run, outdoor cycle, indoor cycle, pool swim, open water swim, skipping, trail run, skiing, and many more. The list includes over 100 activities, and there are exotic ones as well, such as ballet, e-Sports, laser tag, kite flying, and more.
Running aficionados will be pleased, as special care has been taken to elevate their experience. There are running courses and plans you can use to get your 5k times where you want them or finally do that half-marathon. There are useful tools on tap, such as the metronome that lets you run to a beat and keep a steady tempo, a smart companion with a customizable pace you can set, and you can also listen to music while you run or work out.
Running aficionados will be pleased, as special care has been taken to elevate their experience. There are running courses and plans you can use to get your 5k times where you want them or finally do that half-marathon. There are useful tools on tap, such as the metronome that lets you run to a beat and keep a steady tempo, a smart companion with a customizable pace you can set, and you can also listen to music while you run or work out.
There are some advanced metrics now regarding running. Along with the normal splits, average heart rate, average pace, elevation, and descent, you now get asymmetry readings between your right and left foot, vertical oscillation, and ground contact time.
You can link the Komoot app and import courses you want to run or hike, or draw your own. Huawei Health can also talk to Strava, so for serious runners, that's a nice bonus feature. The dual-band GPS is also pretty accurate; we've tested it against a reference Garmin bike GPS system and a smartphone as well, and it was on par.
Sleep tracking
Health tracking uses Huawei's TruSense technology, and this applies to sleep tracking as well. You get the usual sleep duration broken down into the different sleep zones (deep, light, REM) and an overall sleep score with recommendations for improvements.
There's one new feature called Sleep Breathing Awareness, aimed at tracking abnormalities tied to sleep apnea. This uses metrics such as HRV (heart rate variability) and SpO2 to recognize breathing problems during your sleep.
There's one new feature called Sleep Breathing Awareness, aimed at tracking abnormalities tied to sleep apnea. This uses metrics such as HRV (heart rate variability) and SpO2 to recognize breathing problems during your sleep.
Sleep tracking is always an approximation when we talk about smartwatches. It uses your heart rate, blood oxygen readings, your movement during the night, and noises you make to paint a picture of what your sleep was. It's good to get an overall picture, but you shouldn't rely on it too much.
Health features
Along with your usual heart rate tracking, the Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro offers ECG readings (for the first time in a device from the Fit lineup). Another cool feature that has been brought from the upper echelon of models is the arterial stiffness detection. Both of these features use electrical signals through your upper body (left arm through right arm) and record heart activity and estimate arterial stiffness based on resistance.
The results of these measurements are for reference only and shouldn't be used as a base for any diagnosis or treatment, as you are constantly reminded when you use the services. But it's a nice addition that can help you with the overall assessment of your health. You can also easily download and send these to your GP if the need arises.
There's also SpO2 tracking on board, and a couple of years into training these algorithms, it's pretty accurate and on par with dedicated devices. You also get stress tracking and evaluation, but that's much more subjective, and it's based on metrics such as heart rate variability.
Finally, there's a temperature sensor on the Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro, giving you wrist temperature readings, which are generally not very useful, as human temperature on that particular spot can vary a lot. But it's there and semi-useful during sleep when it can detect abnormalities and sudden changes that can be an indicator of a problem.
Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro Battery and Charging
A carefree week
The battery inside the Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro is rated at 400 mAh. The company advertises seven days on a single charge with regular use and up to ten days max. What we've been able to achieve was around five full days with two hours of GPS-tracked exercise each day, every tracking sensor turned to real-time, a couple of calls, and a couple of sessions where we listened to music from the watch for an hour or two.
That's a pretty decent result, and even though it falls a bit short of the advertised seven days, we used the watch with the AOD on all the time and with tracking frequency maxed out on all sensors, so that's pretty much the minimum you can expect. If you switch to smart tracking and auto-brightness, you can easily stretch that to seven days, we reckon.
That's a pretty decent result, and even though it falls a bit short of the advertised seven days, we used the watch with the AOD on all the time and with tracking frequency maxed out on all sensors, so that's pretty much the minimum you can expect. If you switch to smart tracking and auto-brightness, you can easily stretch that to seven days, we reckon.
A huge quality of life improvement is the wireless charging capabilities. The previous model used a two-pin magnetic clip charger, and it was very fiddly. Now you can just place it on a Qi charger (it works with most of the big brands) or use the wireless charger included in the retail box. The watch charges to full in a tad less than one hour.
Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro Voice Calls and Haptics
There's a loudspeaker on the Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro along with a mic, which means you can use it for voice calls. The quality is surprisingly good; we managed to fool a lot of people that we were using a regular phone to make the call.
Of course, there's no LTE connectivity, so you need to have your phone nearby, paired with the watch and connected via Bluetooth. Nevertheless, it's a nice feature to have, and you can also use the loudspeaker to play music.
The rotating crown supports haptic feedback, and you can choose the level of vibration from three settings: strong, soft, and off completely. It's nice and tight, but not super strong. You won't miss a notification or an alarm, though.
The rotating crown supports haptic feedback, and you can choose the level of vibration from three settings: strong, soft, and off completely. It's nice and tight, but not super strong. You won't miss a notification or an alarm, though.
Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro Competitors
The obvious ones are your Apple Watch SE devices and base models of Galaxy Watches, as they have been immensely popular among the general public. You can use the Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro as an alternative to both, as it doesn't suffer the same limitations as Huawei smartphones after the US ban. The Galaxy Watch models have one additional metric that the Huawei device can't do: body composition. So if you're into that, you'd probably be better off getting a Galaxy Watch 7.
Now the Apple Watch SE situation is much more difficult. Huawei offers more features both in the health department and in terms of workouts. The battery life on the Watch Fit 4 Pro is much better than both the Apple Watch SE and the Galaxy Watch 7, and the screen is also brighter (at the level of the Apple Watch Ultra).
There's a consideration regarding Huawei Health and how it communicates with other services on your phone. If you want your data shared through other services and apps, you might have troubles, but if you're okay getting everything in the Huawei Health app, then it can absolutely be an alternative to the aforementioned models.
Now the Apple Watch SE situation is much more difficult. Huawei offers more features both in the health department and in terms of workouts. The battery life on the Watch Fit 4 Pro is much better than both the Apple Watch SE and the Galaxy Watch 7, and the screen is also brighter (at the level of the Apple Watch Ultra).
There's a consideration regarding Huawei Health and how it communicates with other services on your phone. If you want your data shared through other services and apps, you might have troubles, but if you're okay getting everything in the Huawei Health app, then it can absolutely be an alternative to the aforementioned models.
Should you buy it?
We can definitely recommend the Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro. It ticks a lot of boxes. It has a very bright and crisp AMOLED screen, high-end building materials such as titanium and sapphire glass, amazing battery life, and new health and fitness tracking features that rival much more expensive models.
The drawbacks aren't that many, and they're all tied to the software. HarmonyOS is still limited when it comes to third-party apps, and Huawei Health can't communicate well with other apps due to security limitations. Speaking of drawback, we should mention the price, as the watch now matches the aforementioned Galaxy Watch 7 and Apple Watch SE when it comes to starting price.
But if you want a comfortable, stylish, and potent all-around smartwatch that finds itself outside the usual wearable suspects, so to speak, and you're prepared to deal with the aforementioned limitations, the Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro is a great choice.
But if you want a comfortable, stylish, and potent all-around smartwatch that finds itself outside the usual wearable suspects, so to speak, and you're prepared to deal with the aforementioned limitations, the Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro is a great choice.
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed: