After a week of testing the HUAWEI Watch GT 7, the watch knew that we fall asleep at 2:58 a.m. on average, that we walked 7.16 km at Gamescom, and it classified 76% of our emotions as neutral. Two of these three figures were accurate. Our 41-mm test model in white was with us during the day, tracked our sleep at night, accompanied us on longer walks, and ultimately had to endure a full day at the trade show. What stands out: a display that’s readable even in direct sunlight, reliable notifications, battery life that doesn’t require searching for an outlet, and a wealth of health data. However, when it came to tracking time spent standing and Huawei’s assessment of our emotional well-being, the watch was actually a bit off the mark.
| Model | HUAWEI Watch GT 7 |
| Test version | 41 mm, White, White and Green Composite Leather Strap |
| Dimensions | 41.3 x 41.3 x 9.99 mm |
| Weight | Approx. 37.6 g without strap |
| Display | 1.32-inch AMOLED |
| Resolution | 466 x 466 pixels, 352 ppi |
| Maximum brightness | up to 3,000 nits |
| Housing | Stainless steel |
| Controls | Touchscreen, rotating crown, function button |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, ambient light sensor, optical heart rate sensor, barometer, temperature sensor |
| Satellite navigation | Dual-band GNSS |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 6.0, NFC |
| Speaker / Microphone | Yes / Yes |
| Protection | 5 ATM, IP69 |
| Compatibility | Android version 9 or later, iOS version 13 or later |
| Battery life according to the manufacturer | Up to 14 days with light use, up to 7 days with typical use |
| Price | from 299 € |
What’s Included with the GT 7
Huawei keeps the contents of the box minimal. However, everything you need to get started is included. Additional watch bands or other accessories are not included in the package for our version.
Here’s what’s included with the HUAWEI Watch GT 7:
- HUAWEI Watch GT 7 with composite leather strap
- Wireless charging station with cable
- Quick Start Guide
- Safety and warranty information
The 41 mm model feels larger than expected
At first glance, the white GT 7 looks like a classic wristwatch, not a fitness tracker. The white case, the small green markings around the bezel, and the white-and-green composite leather strap go well together. It’s still a striking combination, just not in the typical black-smartwatch style.
We had no complaints about the build quality during our week of testing. The crown and function button are secure, the case feels high-quality, and even after some rough handling, there were no noticeable signs of wear. We wore the watch while cleaning; it got splashed with water and had to withstand everyday use. It received no special treatment.
We hadn’t anticipated the size, however. 41 mm sounds like a small smartwatch, but on the wrist, the GT 7 appears more prominent due to its shape and the lugs that extend far outward. It was a bit too bulky for our taste, but that’s purely a matter of personal preference. That doesn’t make it heavy or uncomfortable, just less delicate than the millimeter specification would suggest.
The composite leather strap is comfortable to wear and complements the look of this version. For intense sports, sweat, and constant contact with water, we believe a classic sports strap would be the more practical choice. Those who wear the white version primarily in everyday life will enjoy a less technical look.
Setup: Quick Pairing, Then Lots of Dialogs
We tested the Watch GT 7 alongside a Google Pixel 8 Pro. Since we received our device before the official European launch, we used a beta version of the Huawei Health app provided by Huawei. This workaround won’t be necessary for the eventual retail version.
The actual setup was straightforward. Start the watch, pair it with Huawei Health, install the available updates, and go through the initial settings. We didn’t encounter any technical issues during this process.
After that, things get a bit more tedious. As you work your way through heart rate, sleep analysis, workouts, and the other health features, you’re repeatedly presented with new requests for permission to access sensors, health data, or your location. Basically, we like this approach because Huawei doesn’t just unlock everything by default. After the fifth or sixth prompt, though, you’ll briefly think to yourself: “Yes, I want to use this feature—that’s why I just tapped on it.” Once the desired features are set up, these interruptions largely disappear.
The display remains readable even in direct sunlight
The 1.32-inch AMOLED display is, in our opinion, one of the most impressive features of the GT 7. With a resolution of 466 x 466 pixels, the display is detailed enough that even the information-packed workout screens don’t look cramped.
Huawei claims a peak brightness of up to 3,000 nits. Such figures are difficult to verify in everyday use. That’s why something else was crucial for us: Even outdoors in direct sunlight, we could read the display clearly without straining. When you’re on the go or during a workout, you want to glance quickly at your wrist—not have to search for the right angle first.
We had the always-on display turned off during our test. The screen responded reliably enough when we raised our arm, so we didn’t miss AOD in everyday use. If you want to see the time at all times, you can enable it, but you’ll have to expect shorter battery life.
Controls: Touchscreen, Crown, and a Button
Huawei continues to rely on this combination, and it works well after a short period of getting used to it. Scrolling through longer lists is more comfortable using the crown than with multiple swipe gestures; for quick inputs, the touchscreen is faster.
The first few minutes weren’t entirely self-explanatory. Sometimes we ended up in the wrong place or had to check whether a setting was located directly on the watch or in the Huawei Health app. After a few days, we no longer had to think about the basic operation. A smartwatch can have many features, but it shouldn’t demand your attention every time you want to use one of them.
WhatsApp and calls worked seamlessly
Notifications reliably appeared on our wrist throughout our test week, and incoming calls were displayed without noticeable delays.
The round 1.32-inch screen is sufficient for skimming through messages. Eventually, you’ll prefer to reply to longer texts on your smartphone. It works well for deciding whether you even want to take your phone out of your pocket.
You can make calls directly from the watch. Voices are clear through the speaker, which is absolutely sufficient for a short conversation. However, the volume is lacking for music, though in our view this hardly matters: anyone listening to music on the go usually uses headphones anyway.
Apps and notification sources could be managed in Huawei Health without any difficulty.
After a week, Huawei Health knows quite a bit about us
A single heart rate reading isn’t particularly exciting on its own. Huawei Health becomes more interesting once more data has been collected over a few days. Among other things, the GT 7 tracks heart rate, heart rate variability, oxygen saturation, skin temperature, sleep, and various activity metrics. Added to this is the analysis of emotional well-being.
After the first week, our health insights appeared with a readiness score of 71. Huawei classified our physical condition as moderate and linked this score to changes in sleep and activity, among other factors.
At this point, we found the app more interesting than at the beginning. Instead of simply displaying individual charts side by side, Huawei Health attempts to establish connections between them. In our case, the app detected irregular sleep patterns and later addressed them in its general recommendations.
However, that doesn’t mean every interpretation is correct.
The watch was generous with the standing time
Even with the standard activity rings, we noticed that not all automatically tracked values matched our daily routine. In particular, the standing time was higher than we could personally verify.
For a daily motivation ring, this isn’t a major problem. Anyone who just wants a reminder to get up every now and then will hardly be bothered by it. However, such automatically determined values aren’t suitable as an exact record of one’s own movement.
In comparison, steps and longer recorded activities seemed more accurate. The problem lies less in the activity tracking itself than in the interpretation of individual everyday situations.
76 Percent Neutral: The Emotion Analysis
In our weekly overview, Huawei Health classified 76 percent of the detected emotions as neutral. Positive emotions averaged seven percent. We certainly didn’t have the impression that we’d gone through the entire week largely without emotion.
The display is a good example of how to interpret such data. The GT 7 does not recognize mood in the human sense. It attempts to derive patterns from the available physiological signals and assign them a category. This can reveal interesting changes, but it does not replace your own assessment.
In our experience, it was simply often off the mark in this area. As a playful extra, that’s fine. We wouldn’t use the feature as a basis for drawing conclusions about our own mood.
Sleep: 80 points, 6 hours 23 minutes
The GT 7 remained on my wrist continuously throughout the night. This allowed enough data to accumulate over the course of the week to identify not just individual nights but initial trends as well.
Our average sleep score was 80 points, and the average sleep duration was 6 hours and 23 minutes. Huawei divides the night into light sleep, deep sleep, REM phases, and wake times, and also tracks when you typically fall asleep.
In this regard, the app matched our perception better than it did with emotions. The average time to fall asleep was 2:58 a.m., and on five days, the onset of sleep was rated as very late. This was close to our actual sleep rhythm. And the irregular times weren’t limited to the sleep section; they reappeared later in the overall analysis.
Without a reference measurement, we cannot verify the accuracy of the individual sleep stages. However, wake-up and bedtime times seemed plausible in the test, and we didn’t notice any major discrepancies.
Then came Gamescom
For outdoor tracking, we initially recorded a few standard routes. The displayed routes seemed plausible; we didn’t notice any obvious GPS jumps or misaligned route segments. The workout view remained easy to read even in sunlight.
A long day at Gamescom provided a more interesting test. An outdoor recording ran for several hours there and totaled 7.16 km. The average speed displayed does not indicate athletic performance. We weren’t on the move for five hours straight; instead, we stopped at exhibition booths and engaged in conversations in between.
The GT 7 noticed these interruptions. If we stood still for a longer period, it vibrated and asked whether the workout should be paused or ended. Alternatively, the prompt could be ignored. So the watch doesn’t decide on its own that a session is over, but it does remind you if it thinks you might have forgotten to stop the recording. On a day at the trade show, this prompt came up more frequently.
We skipped the cycling mode
The GT 7 features over 110 sport modes, and cycling has seen the biggest leap in this generation: Routes can be imported to the watch via Huawei Health, along with elevation profiles, curve warnings, and an analysis of the climbs. Another new feature is a trail running mode.
Winter sports are also on board, and in greater variety than expected: alpine skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, as well as indoor skiing and indoor snowboarding. The GT 7 Pro retains the Pro Ski mode with trail maps and G-force measurement, which Huawei is heavily promoting in this generation. Golf remains exclusive to the GT 7 Pro.
There were two things we couldn’t test this week. We didn’t go cycling, and a quick lap around the block doesn’t tell us anything about route import or elevation gain analysis. In ski mode, we got as far as selecting the type of ski; after that, the watch patiently searched for satellites in the August heat of Cologne.
We therefore evaluated the features we actually used. During walks and longer outdoor tracking sessions, location tracking, route display, and the workout view all worked seamlessly.
GT 7 battery life: 38 percent in just under 56 hours
According to Huawei, the 41-mm version is supposed to last up to seven days with typical use. We had the always-on display disabled; otherwise, the watch operated without any special power-saving measures. Notifications were enabled, sleep was tracked at night, health data was collected in the background, and extended outdoor tracking sessions were part of the test.
On August 26, the watch was fully charged at 12:15 p.m. By the evening of August 28, the display still showed 62 percent. After just under 56 hours, 38 percent had been used.
A linear extrapolation from this would be tempting, but it says little about the actual total runtime. Days of use vary, and longer GPS tracking sessions drain the battery more than an afternoon at a desk.
What mattered more to us was how the battery life felt in practice. After two days, we still hadn’t had to worry about finding a power outlet. Anyone coming from smartwatches that need charging after just one or two days will notice the difference immediately.
Charging from 30 to 100 percent took 65 minutes
When it came to charging, we didn’t just plop the watch on the charging station at some point—we timed it. At 11:10 a.m., the battery level was at 30 percent; by 12:15 p.m., it had reached 100 percent.
So our test unit took 65 minutes to charge the remaining 70 percent. That’s not exactly fast charging, but with a runtime of several days, it’s not a major concern in everyday use. A quick charge at your desk provides enough power to last quite a while.
Alternatives to the GT 7
The GT 7 occupies an interesting niche. It offers phone calls, notifications, NFC, and additional apps, but its focus is more on battery life, fitness, and health data than on offering as many apps as possible. Depending on what’s most important to you, different alternatives may be worth considering.
| Model | What’s the main focus? | How is it different from the GT 7? |
| Samsung Galaxy Watch9 | Android, apps, smartwatch features | A broader Wear OS ecosystem and tighter integration with Android, but significantly shorter battery life |
| Google Pixel Watch 5 | Google services, Fitbit, apps | Stronger Google integration and a large selection of apps, but needs to be plugged in more often |
| Garmin Venu 4 | Sports, fitness, and health data | More focused on workout analysis, also offers good battery life, but is priced higher |
| Amazfit Balance 3 | Fitness, recovery, and long battery life | Similar basic concept to Huawei, more focused on structured training and featuring its own Zepp ecosystem |
Samsung and Google are the more obvious choices if the watch needs to be tightly integrated with Android and apps play a bigger role right on your wrist. However, the Galaxy Watch9 and Pixel Watch 5 spend more time on the charger. Google claims the Pixel Watch 5 offers up to 40 hours of battery life.
Garmin’s Venu 4 leans more toward a sports watch. Training readiness, fitness level, and comprehensive fitness features are a bigger part of the concept here. Garmin claims the 41-mm version offers up to ten days of battery life in smartwatch mode.
The Amazfit Balance 3 comes closest to the GT 7’s concept. It, too, combines long battery life with health and workout tracking, though it now places a stronger emphasis on structured hybrid training.
Which one is the better choice depends less on a single list of sensors. If you want apps and Android integration, look to Samsung or Google. If you want to analyze your workouts in detail, you’ll likely end up with Garmin. The GT 7 positions itself right in between.
Bottom line: a watch you can leave alone
After the initial setup, the HUAWEI Watch GT 7 simply ran in the background. Messages came through, calls could be answered right from the wrist, the display remained readable outdoors, and the GPS tracking seemed accurate on our routes. For a smartwatch, that’s worth more than it sounds.
With Huawei Health, a more interesting picture emerges only after a few days. Sleep, activity, and other metrics are linked together, rather than just collecting charts. In our test, the sleep tracking was consistent. Still, you shouldn’t blindly trust the automatically generated interpretations: the time spent standing was estimated too generously, and when it came to emotional well-being, the GT 7 identified a significantly more neutral week than we actually experienced.
The 41-mm version is also not as dainty as we had expected based on its size. We found it a tad too bulky on the wrist, though this depends heavily on your own wrist size and personal taste. We had no complaints about the build quality or materials.
What remains is a smartwatch with a clear focus. It doesn’t aim to bring every smartphone app to your wrist. Instead, it lasts for several days, reliably displays notifications, covers a wide range of sports and health features, and—once you get used to it—requires surprisingly little attention. As for the automatically interpreted health data, you’ll only need to correct it every now and then.
PROS
- very bright and sharp AMOLED
- excellent readability in sunlight
- long battery life
- reliable messaging and calls
- comprehensive sleep and health analysis
- Health Insights correlate multiple metrics
- premium build quality
CONS
- 41mm version appears larger on wrist than expected
- standing time tracking not always accurate
- emotion analysis only partially matched actual perception in testing
- smaller app selection compared to Wear OS
Conclusion
Over 110 sport modes, multi-day battery life, a sunlight-readable display, and reliable notifications. However, standing time and emotion analysis should be taken with a grain of salt. A watch that simply runs smoothly after initial setup.
