Review: Huawei Watch Fit 4 Pro 

For most iPhone users, the choice of smartwatch boils down to which Apple Watch variant best suits your needs and budget. But Huawei aims to change that with the WATCH FIT 4 Pro. And while it matches and even beats the Apple Watch on some measures, it falls a little in others. 

Pros and cons

Pros

• Battery life
• Light and comfortable
• Offers both iOS and Android compatibility

Cons

• Limited integration with Apple Health 
• USB-A charger
• Software lacks polish

Price and specifications

There’s no avoiding the obvious comparisons between the WATCH FIT 4 Pro and Apple Watch. In my view, the closest model to compare with is the Apple Watch SE but I’ve included the Apple Watch Series 10 here. The WATCH FIT 4 Pro adds a few features that the Apple Watch SE lacks while missing on a few Series 10 features. 

	HUAWEI WATCH FIT 4 Pro	Apple Watch SE (44mm)	Apple Watch Series 10 (46mm)
Dimensions	44.5 × 40.0 × 9.3 mm	44 x 38 x 10.7mm	49 x 39 x 9.7mm
Weight	30.4g	32.9g	36.4g – 41.7g (varies between models)
Display	1.82 inch AMOLED 480 × 408 pixels, PPI 347, Peak Brightness 3000 nit	368 x 448 pixels, Up to 1000 nits maximum brightness	416 x 496 pixels, Up to 2000 nit maximum brightness
Materials	Mid-frame: Aluminium alloy Bezel: Titanium alloy	Aluminium	Aluminium or titanium depending on model
Sensors	Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer Optical heart rate Barometer Temperature Ambient light ECG Depth SpO2	Optical heart  Compass Altimeter Accelerometer Gyroscope Ambient light	Accelerometer Gyroscope Temperature Heart rate (electrical and optical) Water temperature  Depth ECG SpO2 Altimeter Compass
Charging	Wireless via supplied charger	Wireless via supplied charger	Wireless via supplied charger
Battery life	4 – 10 days depending on use	Up to 18 hours	18-36 hours
System requirements	iOS 13 or later (also Android 8.0 or later)	iPhone Xs or later, including iPhone SE (2nd generation or later), with iOS 18 or later	watchOS 11 requires iPhone Xs or later or iPhone SE (2nd generation or later) with iOS 18 or later
Connectivity	NFC, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS	NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, GPS, Wi-Fi 4, GymKit, NFC	NFC, Bluetooth 5.3, GPS, Wi-Fi 4, GymKit, NFC
Waterproof	5 ATM water resistance, IP6X, Dive up to 40m	Water resistance 50m (swimproof)	Water resistance 50m (swimproof), Dust resistance IP6X
Software	HarmonyOS 5.1.0.15 (as tested)	watchOS 11	watchOS 11
Price	$469	From $399 from 40mm from $449 for 44mm	From $649

Software

The WATCH FIT 4 Pro is a software update or two away from being a really great alternative to the Apple Watch.

The software on the watch was stable in my testing and use. But there were a few annoying features. 

Alerts and notifications were displayed a fine typeface that was not easy to read at a glance. A slightly larger and bolder typeface would make it far easier to quickly glance at the watch face and read alerts and notifications. 

With the default settings, notifications came flying in thick and fast. Fortunately, you can choose what notifications come from the iPhone to the watch but you can’t granularly customise which apps send notifications. You choose whether Messages, Huawei Health (more that app shortly), Calendar, WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook, X and Telegram send notifications to the watch. But all other apps are bundled together as “Other”. That means every other app notifications is either on or off. If I don’t want Reddit notifications on my watch but want to have TripIt send me flight and travel reminders I can’t choose them separately. 

All that configuration is handled through the Huawei Health app that you’re prompted to install when you first set the watch up. While the initial set up was easy to follow, I did find the constant warnings as I launched different apps annoying. Whenever I started any health-related app, I was reminded the WATCH FIT 4 Pro is not a medical device. Perhaps one warning at the start would suffice.

As you’d expect, there are many different watch faces to choose from and, if the options in the app don’t fit the bill, there’s a marketplace where you can purchase more directly in the app. 

The Health section of the Huawei Health is quite nicely designed and easy to use. It offers two different tools for tracking your activity and well-being. Similar to Apple Health, it offers a three-ring models that tracks calorie/kilojoule burn from movement, exercise time and standing time with adjustable goals. But it adds Health Clovers that track the amount of sleep you get, the number of steps you take and your mood. 

You can choose for Huawei Health to send activity data to some third party sources. The supported services are Adidas Running, Komoot and Strava. Finding where to do that was tricky as these are handled through Privacy management settings whereas HealthKit is found under Third-party services.

Notification settings are found by tapping on the watch listed in the Devices section of the app. Bu there’s no way to know that unless you start randomly tapping on the screen to find out that’s a tappable part of the screen.

The entire settings and options parts for the Huawei Health app could use an overhaul to make them easier to find and more intuitive.

Health and exercise

Perhaps the most compelling use-case for a smartwatch is health and fitness tracking. The Activity Rings and Health Clovers are a neat way of representing and tracking various metrics but there’s a lot more to Huawei Health. But if you’re using an iPhone then HealthKit integration is probably high on your list of must-have features. Huawei seems to have chosen an Apple Health adjacent strategy rather than true integration 

Part of the set up process for the WATCH FIT 4 Pro is choosing what data is shared from the device to Apple Health. I chose to share all the data Huawei offered to read from or write to Apple Health. For example, I have a set of scales that connects to an app via Bluetooth and sends my weight and body fat percentage directly to Apple Health. But, while that data is present in Apple Health, Huawei Health is not reading it.

Similarly, the exercise sessions I recorded and added manually to Huawei Health are not appearing in Apple’s Activity app. Interestingly, my sleep data is being shared into Apple Health.

When it comes to exercises sessions, the WATCH FIT 4 Pro does a good job of tracking activity. Interestingly, on routes I’ve taken before, the WATCH FIT 4 Pro seemed to regularly measure them as slightly longer than the Apple Watch Ultra I usually wear. For example, my local Parkrun, a measured 5km course, is usually recorded as 4.94km by my Apple Watch Ultra whereas the WATCH FIT 4 Pro recorded it as 5.03km. Similarly, a bike ride that is usually around 8.85km with Apple Watch came up as just over 9km with the WATCH FIT 4 Pro. 

Those differences aren’t significant and I’ve had similar experiences in the past with different devices measuring distances slightly differently.

One metric that was significantly different was predicted VO2 Max. This is a measure of your cardiovascular fitness that is calculated by using your weight, age, heart rate during exercise, heart rate recovery after exercise and other data. As this is calculated using an algorithm, it’s important to remember that it’s not absolute truth. I’ve always focussed on the trend rather than the specific value. Huawei’s algorithm predicted my VO2 Max has being 25% higher than Apple Health. 

That difference can easily be accounted for Apple and Huawei using different algorithms. And without going to a lab and hooking myself up to a whole bunch of equipment I have no way of knowing which is more accurate. Which is why I think looking at the trend up or down is more useful than the actual number. 

Adding exercise sessions manually was very easy but I did notice something curious. The screens for adding activities look a lot like the screens used by one of the apps I have for some smart lights I have. I suspect there’s a teams of software designers in China cashing in big time!

Battery life

After almost four full days of use the WATCH FIT 4 Pro still has 59% of its full charge left. Over those four days, the WATCH FIT 4 Pro has not been powered off and has been off my wrist for a total of about three hours (during a football match and when showering). That smashes every Apple Watch out of the park. My Apple Watch Ultra  barely makes it to the end of two days. 

In that time, I’ve been on two 5km runs, a 9km bike ride and walked in excess of 50,000 steps.

Battery life is nothing short of outstanding. 

What’s less impressive is that the charger, which looks like a thicker version of the Apple Watch charger, came with a USB-A connector. With the world moving to USB-C this seems a strange choice. 

Strap switching

For those that see their smartwatch as a fashion choice, you can easily remove the strap and swap in another. A quick check on eBay reveals a thriving market for aftermarket straps with silicone, leather, fabric and metal options. Removing the strap is easy – just take the watch off, press the buttons on the underside adjacent to where the strap hooks in and give the strap a gentle tug.

Would I buy the Huawei WATCH FIT 4 Pro?

If you’ve been an Apple Watch user for some time (I’ve been one since the very first model was released before GPS and waterproofing were standard features) then I suspect switching to the Huawei WATCH FIT 4 Pro will represent a challenge. While the device can do almost everything an out-of-the-box Apple Watch can do, it’s not supported by a large number of apps and the software feels like it needs some major enhancements. But that’s when compared to an Apple Watch. 

If you’re new to the world of smartwatches or switch between iOS and Android devices from time to time then the WATCH FIT 4 Pro is a solid choice as it works with both platforms. It’s comfortable to wear, attractive and has enough sensors and smarts to meet the needs of most people at a more attractive price than Apple’s options.