Huawei has joined the 2017 Mobile World Congress brouhaha with two new smartwatches. The Huawei Watch 2 and Watch 2 Classic's most interesting tidbit is their ability to last for 25 days on just one charge.
Both Huawei smartwatches come with a power-saving mode that greatly increases their batteries' lives. The Huawei Watch 2 comes with a 420mAh battery that normally lasts for two days but the low-power "watch mode" greatly extends the battery life. According to The Verge, the other main features of the Huawei Watch 2 include LTE connectivity, heart rate sensors, GPS, and NFC.
The Huawei Watch 2 comes with the latest Android Wear 2.0 operating system. Huawei is the first company to utilize the new smartwatch OS after LG. The Android Wear 2.0 initially came with LG two smartwatches, the LG Watch Sport and LG Watch Classic, after Google partnered with the Korean company for the project. With the latest Android OS for smartwatches, the Huawei Watch 2 now has support for Play Store app and Google Assistant.
One feature that may not suit well for some users is its rather large and bulky design. While the sporty design of the smartwatch is good by itself, it may not look that great on skinny wrists. At least that's what Phone Arena thinks so. The 12.6mm thick smartwatch, which comes with a 1.2-inch circular display, is around 2mm chunkier than its predecessor. However, thanks to being lightweight, users may eventually get used to wearing such a chunky watch.
Another issue that Phone Arena had with the Huawei Watch 2 is its primary control method. The reporter noted that fingerprint smudges were visible even after swiping and tapping the display a few times. While they were easy to clean, it would have been better if the smartwatch also had a rotating bezel to lessen the use of the touch screen.
Huawei also released the Watch 2 Classic version which is basically the same with the Watch 2 except that the former utilizes a metal chassis instead of the latter's plastic build. The Classic variant also has a hybrid strap made up of leather and rubber.
The Huawei Watch 2 will be available in China and select countries in Europe in March for $350. It will drop in U.S. and U.K. stores in April.
