Huawei Watch 2 Classic
The Huawei Watch 2 Classic is a smart sports watch with a built-in heart rate monitor and GPS. It uses cutting-edge technology and a classic look and can work as a standalone watch or as a companion to a smartphone. It has a stainless steel body, ceramic bezel, and a comfortable strap that is either rubber or has leather on the top and rubber on the underside.
The band is replaceable with any 22mm watch strap. In addition to the heart rate tracking and GPS for maps, the Watch 2 Classic has built-in WiFi, as well as a barometer, gyroscope, compass, and photo viewer. The Watch has an MP3 player that can play music offline so that the wearer does not need an Internet connection when going on their daily runs.
Its near field communication allows Android Pay to work, which can make credit card payments using the watch. The watch is IP68 water and dust resistant for better durability and has a long lasting and fast charging battery. To help wearers reach their goals, a Workout Coach will evaluate their performance, set recovery periods, and help them set goals.
There is also a Smart Assistant for smartphone notifications, calls, and texts, and its Android Wear 2.0 operating system allows the watch to run apps for a variety of activities without needing to stay connected with a smartphone. If you are looking for a nice-looking fitness watch with lots of built-in functionality that can track all your different activities, read on to see if the Huawei Watch 2 Classic is the right watch for you.
- Long lasting battery with power saving settings
- Built-in WiFi, GPS, heart-rate monitor, and NFC for Android Pay
- Screen is sharp and easy to read
- Great accuracy
- Lots of compatible apps to choose from
- Comfortable to wear
- Slightly expensive
- Some people found that it does not work well with iOS
- Some testers thought that the user interface could be more intuitive or customizable
- A few reviewers had durability issues with the bezel and band
Activities
The apps can track gym workouts, indoor and outdoor cycling, golf, sports, and more.
Basic Features
Advanced Features
The gyroscope and compass help the watch detect the direction and the GPS helps the apps that use maps work properly for finding directions or tracking hikes. It has built-in Near Field Communication (NFC) for credit card payments.
The Huawei Watch 2 Classic is IP68 dust and water resistant and can go up to 1.5 meters below the surface for up to 30 minutes. It also has an MP3 player and speaker for listening to music offline, a photo viewer, voice commands, a Smart Assistant for smartphone calls, texts, and notifications, and a Workout Coach for setting goals.
Accuracy
The voice recognition is also very accurate and easily recognizes voice commands. The GPS and maps work well and correctly detect and track the wearer's current location. The clock and stopwatch keep time correctly.
Connectivity
It has Bluetooth, but reviewers suggested using the iOS or Android smartphone's Android Wear app instead of Bluetooth for watch pairing. Android users did not have problems, but some iOS testers reported that the Huawei Watch 2 Classic did not work well with their smartphone.
Apps
Some of the most popular apps include Strava for cycling, Runtastic, Foursquare City Guide, Uber, Android Pay, Facebook Messenger, Google Maps, Google Messenger, Google Music, Google Translate, and game apps.
When asked, be sure to choose the Heartbeat app (not the Fit app) for heartbeat detection. The watch tends to lag if too many apps are installed, so users should choose a few apps that seem the most useful and stick with those.
Comfort
Depending on the color chosen, the band has rubber on the underside (Titanium Grey) or the entire band is rubber (Carbon Black, Concrete Grey), so it feels comfortable against the skin.
Style
Around the ceramic bezel are dashed for the clock numbers that end in 5 and numbers for the ones that end in 0. There are two buttons on the ride side of the watch. The Corning Gorilla Glass-covered screen is slightly smaller than the previous version, so it looks good on smaller wrists as well as larger ones.
The band that comes with the Titanium Grey watch is leather on the front so that it looks stylish yet professional, and the other colors come with a rubber band that matches the color of the watch. The band can be swapped with another style that matches a different outfit. Some reviewers thought that it looked slightly masculine and wanted Huawei to make a ladies' version.
Durability
The frame is made of sterling silver, which can withstand being dropped, and the face display is protected by durable Gorilla Glass.
The ceramic bezel and leather/rubber strap both look high end and similar to what is used in luxury watches, although a few testers had problems with them chipping or breaking. The charging cradle and cable have mediocre durability, so users will need to be careful not to break or pull on them.
Face
Some reviewers felt that the faces that come with the watch clash with the design, but there are lots of third-party watch faces to choose from if you want to customize the look of the watch. There are faces for the clock, stats, different apps, message notifications, finding the GPS, and more.
Band
For people with different preferences, it can be swapped out for any 22mm band. It adjustable to get a more exact fit and testers found that it naturally goes back to the wearer's wrist shape if it is taken off and put back on again after charging.
Sizes Available
Ease of Use
The top button launches apps work as a back button and launch the Assistant. The bottom button is customizable to launch whichever app you choose. The buttons do not scroll, so a few previous smartwatch owners took some time to get used to that.
The watch can lag if too many apps are installed, so it is better to have a few favorites than to keep installing apps until the 4 GB of disk space is full.
Power Source
There are ways to make the battery last longer, such as dimming the brightness, disabling the always-on feature, and disabling tilt to wake. In watch mode, by disabling everything except the clock and pedometer, it can last around three weeks.
The watch comes with a charging cradle that makes it easy to line up the pins in order to charge it, and the battery is fast charging.
Price
Making up for this cost are its many features that are built into the watch (heart rate monitor, GPS, WiFi, NFC, accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, MP3 player) so that it does not need to stay connected to a smartphone to work properly.
Also, a plus is its Android Wear 2.0 operating system, which makes it compatible with an ever-growing number of apps for just about any activity except those that involve swimming. The full price is a bit high for a lot of people, but it is reasonable for all of its included features. Current prices range from 11% off to 26% off the original price.
Accessories
Screen protectors protect the glass against things like fingerprint smudges and scratches. There are also replacement charger cradles and cables in case the one that comes with it gets lost or breaks, and USB wall adapters so the Huawei Watch 2 Classic can quickly charge in the wall instead of needing to be plugged into a computer.
Key Features
- Built-in barometer, heart rate monitor, WiFi, and GPS
- NFC Android Pay for making credit card payments with the watch
- Stainless steel body with a ceramic bezel for a classic look
- Leather outer and rubber underside strap for style and comfort
- Replaceable 22mm band
- Offline music playing
- Workout coach evaluates performance and recovery, and helps the wearer achieve their fitness goals
- Smart Assistant receives notifications for apps, calls, and texts
- Water and dust resistant
- Android Wear 2.0 gives compatibility with many Google Play store apps
Bottom Line
It has many connectivity options including WiFi, 4G, GPS, NFC, and Bluetooth. The watch also has a built-in heart rate monitor, so no chest strap heart rate monitor is not needed.
Things to improve including better iOS compatibility, a more intuitive interface, and better durability on the bezel and leather-and-rubber band.
Overall, the Huawei Watch 2 Classic is a good investment for someone who is planning to use all of its built-in features, but less expensive options are available for people who only want some of those features