The turbulent times at Huawei have led to a shift in consumer business strategy, and the company has invested heavily in wearables over the past three years.
We’ve seen an all-ceramic flagship of the company, we’re also testing a smartwatch with earphones inside, and now at the MWC in Barcelona we got to handle the Watch GT Cyber, a smartwatch with replaceable shells that include both the body that straps.
The Watch GT Cyber has a 1.32 inch circular AMOLED with 466 x 466 resolution and quite high 352 PPI. The little circular gadget that goes in the shell has a thick black bezel, and we weren’t impressed with that. However, when we put it into the shell, the bezel magically hid behind the case, making the whole viewing experience much better than previous Huawei Watch devices.
We got to handle two versions of shells: Urban in Golden Black and Sport in Space Gray which looked beige under the bright lights of the Huawei stand at Fira de Barcelona. The former weighs 78 grams, while the latter weighs 58 grams, i.e. both the watch and the case. Despite the huge relative difference between the two, the two variants feel good on the wrist.
The Urban is much more flashy and we believe it would compliment official attire given the gold accents, which are subject to personal preference. The Sportsy version feels slightly lighter and would be useful during workouts with a lot of movement.
We have to mention that both variants are on the larger side of the spectrum and Huawei does not plan to offer a variant with a smaller screen diameter. People with smaller wrists might find this wearable bulky.
The Watch GT Cyber is meant to detach from the case, so we tested how it fits into the mechanism. It needs a simple push against the shell and falls perfectly into place without any effort staying in place. It can’t fall because it’s constantly against the wrist. Removing the wearable for charging is no problem for the mechanism.
In real life, the wearable device should only be taken out of the shell for occasional cleaning or if the shell is replaced. Huawei has not provided any data on sales of different shells or how often users would like to change them, and one of the main reasons is limited availability.
Speaking of availability, Huawei confirmed with us that the Watch GT Cyber will be sold in Latin America and the Middle East, as well as China. It won’t be sold in Europe, which is generally a large market for Huawei wearables, and the US is obviously a terra incognita at this point.
This modular type of wearable is a one-of-a-kind watch aimed at fashion-conscious people who want more than just a new strap – the entire wearable should be the accent of the outfit. We didn’t have enough time with the device to test battery life or performance, but Huawei has proven its place in the world of wearables.
With all of that in mind, we believe the Huawei Watch GT Cyber is definitely worth it. The company is currently selling it for CNY 1,088 (about $155) in China, and each new case costs CNY 199 ($28) more; for just $200, you can actually get two watches for two different occasions.
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