Huawei has been keeping itself busy in India with a string of smartwatch launches. Just two months after introducing the Huawei Fit 3, the OEM has now launched the latest iteration of its Fit-series lineup in the country, the Huawei Fit 4 series. The series includes two variants, Huawei Fit 4 and Fit 4 Pro. Both boast a similar premium-looking design; however, corners have been cut in both durability and specifications to make the Fit 4 more affordable than the Pro model.
I’ve been wearing the Huawei Fit 4 on my wrist for over a week now, and despite its relatively affordable price tag, it proves to be a surprisingly capable smartwatch. Read on for my full experience with the device in this review.
Table of Contents
Design and display
The Huawei Watch Fit 4 features a squircle design, with a crown and a function button on the right spine. While the crown is rotatable to quickly pull up notifications and drop down the quick settings menu, its haptic feedback is not impressive.
Notably, the area between the crown and the button is subtly raised, preventing any awkward protrusion that might dig into the wrist. While the overall design language is reminiscent of many other smartwatches on the market, I particularly appreciate the smooth glass panel on the back of the dial. Unlike wearables with plastic backs, which often cause discomfort or irritation when mixed with sweat, the glossy surface has remained comfortable throughout extended wear.
My only gripe with the Watch Fit 4 is the silicone straps. Although smooth and skin-friendly, the hard buckles can dig into your wrist after extended usage. I was often troubled by this, and had to take the smartwatch off my wrist at least once after 4-5 hours of usage. That said, the overall wearing experience is quite pleasant. Weighing just 26 grams, the Watch Fit 4 feels exceptionally light on the wrist, and the anodised aluminium frame sits comfortably against the skin.
The Watch Fit 4 is also built to be durable, boasting a 5ATM water resistance rating, meaning it can withstand water pressure at depths of up to 50 metres for up to 10 minutes. The dial measures 43mm × 38mm × 9.5mm, making it particularly suitable for users with slender wrists, especially women. Making it more feminine is this Purple colour variant, which we received for review. The wearable also comes in Grey, White, and Black colour options, catering to a broad range of style preferences and demographics.
For viewing, the Watch Fit 4 sports a 1.82-inch display of the AMOLED variety with 408x408p resolution and even bezels on all four sides. The bezels might not be razor thin, but they don’t take away much from the overall viewing experience. The display supports 2,000 nits peak brightness, making it crisp and legible outdoors even under direct sunlight. The display supports a raise-to-wake gesture, which worked reliably during my testing, activating correctly about nine times out of ten. This feature can be disabled or scheduled to turn off during specific hours, ensuring the display doesn’t light up and disturb you while sleeping or in low-light environments.
Features
The Huawei Watch Fit 4 comes equipped with a range of features, including customisable watch faces, a barometer for altitude and air pressure readings, and support for global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). Notably, it is the first smartwatch to offer water sport route tracking, allowing users to monitor routes, speed, and distance for activities like sailing, rafting, motorboating, and rowing. In addition to these, the wearable supports a wide array of workouts such as outdoor walking, track running, cycling, stair climbing, hiking, skiing, and other common fitness activities.
For functionality, the Huawei Watch Fit 4 supports Bluetooth Calling, Quick Message Reply, Watch Screenshots, Remote Shutter, and Voice Notepad. To take a screenshot, simply press the crown and the function button simultaneously. The captured screenshot is automatically saved to the paired smartphone’s gallery. This feature is especially useful when you hit a fitness milestone and want to save or share the moment instantly.
App connectivity
I used the Huawei Watch Fit 4 exclusively with my iPhone, which requires you to download the Huawei Health app via the App Store. The wearable is also compatible with Android 8 or later devices, but users will have to sideload the app using an APK file, which comes with its own set of challenges.
I have found the app pretty intuitive, with all the health metrics right on the home screen, aka Health tab, in the card format. These cards are interactive and can be used to compare data over the week, month, and year. The app is compatible with your smartphone’s native Apple Health and Google Fit apps, allowing users to share data across platforms. The app also features an Exercise tab, which lets you ‘Plan’ activity based on your level: Beginner, Lifestyle, and Competitive. The Competitive plan lets you train for a marathon. A few questions are asked before preparing a training programme. Users have the option to skip the training program and jump directly to activities, namely Outdoor run, Indoor run, Walk, Outdoor Cycling, and Golf.
Then there’s the Devices tab, which offers control over the smartwatch’s settings, like selecting from a range of free watch faces, downloading offline maps, locating your device, adjusting health tracking features, and more. It also lets you pair and other Huawei devices, such as a weighing scale and a multi-function sports sensor. Lastly, the app features a Profile tab that includes your account details, workout achievements, fitness plans, and more. Do note that users are required to create an account before using the app.
My only qualm with the app, v15.1.6.305, is its long sync time. Ideally, you would want a smartwatch, at least in the premium space, to sync within seconds of the app launch to access all your data. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case during my usage.
Usage and performance
The Huawei Watch Fit 4 has proven to be a reliable companion, leaving no room for doubt when it comes to its tracking capabilities. However, before diving into the details, it’s important to note that this smartwatch is not medically certified and should not be used for diagnostic purposes. Instead, the Fit 4 is best suited for offering a general overview of your health and wellness.
The wearable actively tracked my vitals, including steps, heart rate, calories burned, and stand duration. Users can customise daily targets for steps, calories, and stand time either from the watch or the companion app, and also set activity reminders. The smartwatch validates progress and provides milestone alerts once goals are achieved. While I wasn’t able to verify the heart rate accuracy, the step count remained fairly reliable. There were occasional instances where the recorded steps were slightly under the actual count, typically around 5 steps fewer for every 100 taken, but the difference wasn’t significant.
Similarly, the Huawei Watch Fit 4’s sleep tracking was also a bit off, but quite consistent in measurement. The wearable records the entire duration of the sleep, which I noticed was 20-30 minutes off, along with different stages: deep, light, and REM. Based on the data, a sleep score is generated; the higher the score, the better the quality of sleep. However, to receive a score, the sleep session must last at least three hours with minimal movement. The wearable also features ‘Health Clovers’, which help you develop healthy habits and lifestyle with timely reminders for drinking water, taking vitamins, exercising, and even smiling.
While I didn’t explore any of the adventurous outdoor activities, except for the walk, during my time with the watch, I did use it to track my strength training sessions at the gym. Aside from tracking, I was impressed by the durability of the wearable; it didn’t pick up any scratches or suffer paint chipping, even during intense weightlifting routines. Similar to other wearables, the Huawei Watch Fit 4 monitors duration, heart rate, active calories, and intensity during exercise. However, once the workout has ended, the smartwatch analyses the heart rate for a minute to find out how quickly it drops and gets back to normal. This process, known as Heart Rate Recovery (HRR), is a key indicator of cardiovascular health. The faster your heart rate recovers, the healthier your heart is likely to be.
As for outdoor walks, the Huawei Watch Fit 4 uses its built-in GPS tracker to measure route, distance, and pace accurately. That said, it does take a bit of time to lock onto your location initially, but once connected, the tracking is highly precise. I also appreciate how the data is presented in the companion app. It maps your route clearly, includes kilometre markers, and even offers a 3D view with animated playback of your movements along the path. You can further interact with the map, get a recording of your walk using a screen recorder for sharing it on social media.
In addition to activities, the Watch Fit 4 can also monitor stress level, blood oxygen level for SpO2, and breathing. However, it is worth noting that for most of these things, users will have to agree to Huawei Health service terms and conditions, and if you are a minor, obtain a guardian’s consent to use the app. Fret not, there is an option to disable the service.
The overall UI of the smartwatch is user-friendly and bereft of bugs, except for one. For some reason, the Fit 4 would occasionally buzz with old notifications, which proved to be quite irritating. That said, it seems to be a software issue and can be fixed with an update like the one the company rolled out during my usage for stability and to enhance the overall experience. My review unit was running HarmonyOS 5.1. The OS aims to provide an interconnected experience across proprietary devices, but sadly, Huawei has a limited product portfolio in India.
Most of the controls and functions, if not all, are compatible with third-party smartphones out there. While I wasn’t able to send quick replies to messages on my iPhone, the wearable did allow me to take photos remotely (as long as the camera app was open), control music, make calls, and accept or reject incoming calls, among other features. Moreover, unlike wearOS-powered smartwatches, the Huawei Watch Fit 4 lacks support for watch faces.
Battery and calling
Huawei claims the Watch Fit 4 can deliver up to 10 days of battery life on a single charge. However, that figure is likely based on ideal usage conditions. In my experience, the watch lasted around 8 days with typical daily use, including continuous health tracking, workout logging, sleep monitoring, and smartphone notifications. If you happen to use the wearable for other tracking, such as SpO2, stress, Blood Pressure, and more daily, expect a lower battery life. This can be further reduced with the Always-on display. Per Huawei, the watch will last a maximum of four days with heavy usage, which is standard. Speaking of the charging, the wearable takes roughly an hour and a half with its relatively bulky charger.
The Bluetooth calling is typical of what you expect from affordable smartwatches. The wearable speakers and microphone on the left spine are alright for quick calls in a moderately loud environment. Users have the option to access call logs and sync contacts from their smartphone to the smartwatch using the Huawei Health app.
Verdict
The Huawei Watch Fit 4 comes quite close to the Apple Watch in terms of design. It also boasts a few features found on the Apple smartwatch, but that’s that. The Huawei smartwatch is much more affordable. While it may not match the experience, the Fit 4 remains a decent alternative for iPhone users seeking a budget-friendly smartwatch. Android users can consider it, too, though the need to sideload the Huawei Health app may be a deterrent for some.
Huawei’s latest smartwatch strikes a balance between its price and performance. The device boasts a wide range of features typically found in more expensive wearables, including precise GPS tracking, detailed health metrics, and a user-friendly app interface. Its lightweight build, vibrant AMOLED display, and solid battery life make it a great everyday companion, especially for casual fitness enthusiasts and beginners. While it does have a few limitations, such as minor syncing delays, limited message interaction on iOS, and slightly uncomfortable straps, it more than makes up for them with functionality and value.
The Huawei Watch Fit 4 is priced at Rs 12,999, which is Rs 8,000 less than its Pro model. However, the smartwatch is pricier than the Huawei Watch Fit 3 (review), with which it shares quite a few traits. That said, the Huawei Watch Fit 4 comes with subtle refinements in the design and boasts a barometer for incline activities such as stair climbing, skiing, and hiking. If these additions align with your needs, the Fit 4 remains a worthy buy. Moreover, the grey variant of the smartwatch supports digital tap and pay payments with NFC support.
Editor’s rating: 8/10
Pros
- Aesthetically-pleasing design
- Vivid AMOLED display
- Accurate GPS tracking
- Comprehensive health tracking
Cons
- Limited third-party apps
- Slow sync time with the app
- No Huawei Health app on the Google Play Store
