Discover the Huawei Watch GT Runner review, a fitness smartwatch with a 1.43-inch AMOLED display, GPS, heart rate monitoring, and a lightweight design. Released in November 2021, this wearable is perfect for runners and fitness enthusiasts.
Introduction
The Huawei Watch GT Runner, released in November 2021, is Huawei’s specialized fitness smartwatch aimed primarily at runners and fitness enthusiasts. It features a lightweight design, advanced GPS tracking, a range of health and fitness monitoring features, and the HarmonyOS 2.0 operating system. With its 1.43-inch AMOLED display, 455 mAh battery, and multiple sensors, the Watch GT Runner promises to be a great companion for anyone serious about running and staying fit.
In this comprehensive review, we’ll explore the smartwatch’s design, fitness features, battery life, performance, and overall value, helping you determine if the Huawei Watch GT Runner is the right choice for your fitness needs.
Design and Build
The Huawei Watch GT Runner is designed to be lightweight and durable, making it perfect for athletes and fitness enthusiasts. Weighing just 38.5g, the watch is incredibly comfortable to wear, even during long workouts or runs. With a thickness of 11mm, the watch feels sleek and doesn’t look bulky on the wrist.
Dimensions: The smartwatch measures 46.4 x 46.4 x 11 mm, offering a sizeable yet comfortable design that accommodates a large display. It’s equipped with a plastic frame and a plastic back, which contributes to its lightweight build while maintaining durability.
The Watch GT Runner is water-resistant up to 50m and has an IP68 rating, making it suitable for swimming and other water-related activities. It’s also compatible with standard 22mm straps, allowing users to switch bands for style or comfort.
Available in Black and Gray color options, the watch offers a modern and sporty aesthetic that appeals to athletes.
Display
The Huawei Watch GT Runner features a 1.43-inch AMOLED display, providing sharp and vibrant visuals with a resolution of 466 x 466 pixels and a pixel density of 326 ppi. The AMOLED panel ensures deep blacks and high contrast, which makes reading notifications and viewing workout stats easy even in bright sunlight.
The watch face is fully customizable with a variety of watch face options, allowing users to personalize their experience.
Fitness and Health Features
As the name suggests, the Huawei Watch GT Runner is geared toward runners, and it comes packed with advanced fitness features to support various training regimens. Key fitness and health monitoring features include:
- GPS Tracking: The watch features GPS, GLONASS, and BDS positioning systems, ensuring accurate route tracking for outdoor runs, cycling, and other activities. The watch provides real-time tracking, showing you your pace, distance, and route on the display.
- Heart Rate Monitoring: The watch has 24/7 heart rate monitoring using Huawei’s advanced TruSeen™ 5.0+ technology, which provides accurate heart rate data during workouts and throughout the day.
- SpO2 Monitoring: It also features blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) monitoring, which is essential for understanding your overall respiratory health and performance during intense physical activity.
- VO2 Max and Lactate Threshold: These metrics are specifically useful for runners to track their maximum oxygen uptake and the point at which lactic acid starts to accumulate in the muscles.
- Running Performance Index (RPI): This feature helps runners track and evaluate their performance and progress over time, offering insights into endurance and running efficiency.
- Sleep Tracking: Using Huawei’s TruSleep™ 2.0 technology, the watch provides detailed insights into sleep quality, including deep sleep, light sleep, and REM phases.
- Stress Monitoring: The watch includes stress monitoring, which can provide feedback on how relaxed or stressed you are throughout the day.
- Training Plans and Virtual Coach: The Watch GT Runner offers personalized training plans and virtual coaching to guide you through workouts based on your goals and fitness level. It adapts these plans according to your performance and progress.
Battery Life
One of the standout features of the Huawei Watch GT Runner is its long battery life. The 455 mAh battery ensures up to 14 days of battery life with typical usage, and around 7 days with heavy usage (such as continuous heart rate monitoring, GPS tracking, and workout features). This makes the watch ideal for long-distance runners who don’t want to worry about recharging frequently.
The watch supports wireless charging, making it convenient to top up the battery. However, the charging speed is capped at 5W, so a full charge takes a bit longer than some other smartwatches.
Connectivity
The Huawei Watch GT Runner offers Bluetooth 5.2 with LE (Low Energy) and EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), ensuring stable and efficient connections with your smartphone or other Bluetooth-enabled devices. This allows the watch to sync data with Huawei Health and other compatible fitness apps.
While the watch lacks Wi-Fi connectivity, it comes with NFC, making it possible to use for contactless payments and quick pairing with other NFC devices (depending on region and app support).

The Watch GT Runner does not have cellular connectivity, meaning it relies on Bluetooth connections to your smartphone for notifications and calls.
Sensors
The Huawei Watch GT Runner comes equipped with a variety of sensors to enhance fitness tracking, including:
- Accelerometer
- Gyroscope
- Barometer
- Compass
- Heart rate sensor
- SpO2 sensor
These sensors contribute to the watch’s overall accuracy in tracking workouts, elevation, and environmental conditions.
Software
The Watch GT Runner runs on HarmonyOS 2.0, Huawei’s custom operating system designed for its ecosystem of devices. HarmonyOS is smooth and intuitive, offering a range of apps and customization options for fitness tracking, health monitoring, and notifications.
It syncs with the Huawei Health app, where users can get detailed insights into their health metrics, review workout history, and set fitness goals. However, one limitation is the lack of support for Google services and third-party apps, which could be a drawback for users accustomed to more versatile smartwatch ecosystems.
Storage and Sound
The Huawei Watch GT Runner comes with 4GB of internal storage, which can be used to store music, fitness data, and other essential information. The watch has a built-in loudspeaker, allowing you to take calls directly from your wrist or listen to music without needing headphones (though a Bluetooth headset is recommended for better audio quality).
It lacks a 3.5mm jack, so wireless audio is the only option for music playback.
Pricing
The Huawei Watch GT Runner is priced around €300, making it a mid-to-high-range smartwatch. Its price is justified by the specialized fitness features, advanced tracking capabilities, and premium AMOLED display.
Full Specifications of Huawei Watch GT Runner
Feature | Details |
---|---|
Network | No cellular connectivity |
Dimensions | 46.4 x 46.4 x 11 mm |
Weight | 38.5 g |
SIM | No |
Water Resistance | 50m water-resistant, 5 ATM, IP68 |
Display Type | AMOLED |
Display Size | 1.43 inches |
Resolution | 466 x 466 pixels (~326 ppi density) |
OS | HarmonyOS 2.0 |
Internal Storage | 4GB, no card slot |
GPS | GPS, GLONASS, BDS |
Sensors | Accelerometer, gyro, heart rate, barometer, compass, SpO2 |
Battery | 455 mAh, wireless charging, 5W |
Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, no Wi-Fi |
Colors | Black, Gray |
Conclusion
The Huawei Watch GT Runner is an ideal choice for runners and fitness enthusiasts who want a durable, lightweight, and feature-packed smartwatch. With advanced GPS tracking, heart rate monitoring, and specialized features like the Running Performance Index and VO2 Max tracking, it offers valuable insights for anyone serious about improving their fitness.
While it lacks Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity, the Watch GT Runner excels in its core focus: fitness tracking and battery life. If you’re a runner looking for a reliable and long-lasting fitness companion, the Huawei Watch GT Runner is an excellent option.
Disclaimer: We can not guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct.