Huawei Watch Ultimate Review

The Huawei Watch Ultimate promises to be the most sophisticated and technically advanced smart watch made by Huawei yet. We put the new Huawei Watch Ultimate to the test, to give you the verdict of this new high-end wearable. 

The Apple Watch Ultra alternative?

The Huawei Watch Ultimate is obviously trying to compete with the new Apple Watch Ultra. Apple's more extreme (and more expensive!) version of the Watch promises a perfect platform for outdoorsy folks or avid athletes. Can the new Huawei Watch Ultimate compete with Apple’s latest shift in the market?

Just like the Apple Watch Ultra, the Watch Ultimate comes in just one size: 48.5mm. And while the price point is a lot higher than the other Huawei smartwatches, it’s certainly not on the same level as the Apple Watch Ultra. While Huawei hasn’t put a price on the Watch Ultimate just yet, we expect the price point to be: 

• Huawei Watch Ultimate: £ 649,-
• Apple Watch Ultra: £ 999,-
• Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro: £ 399,-

Huawei Watch Ultimate Review: Design

The Huawei Watch Ultimate doesn’t shy away from luxury materials and design features. It’s truly a feast for the eyes, and goes in quite a different direction than the Apple Watch Ultra. Where Apple chose for a more rugged and outdoorsy design ethos, Huawei took a different route and went for a more luxurious and fashionable appearance.

The case is made of a unique material, a so-called ‘liquid metal’ zirconium alloy. The bezel is made of a beautiful ceramic material, blue in our test case. The zirconium case is supposed to be extremely durable and corrosion-resistant, the last one making it perfectly suitable for uses in salty ocean waves. 

The sapphire glass is more than 2mm thick, which gives it an extremely durable display. The Huawei Watch Ultimate will be offered in two colour variants, ‘Voyage Blue’ (silver/blue)  or Black. Both models are supposedly featuring an extra long strap as a bonus, to wear over a diving suit.

There’s one thing about the design that can’t be disputed though: the fact that this thing is very large. At 48,5mm it’s a whopping big watch to have around your wrist. This means it could look very out of place on those with smaller builds. Definitely something to keep in mind before you rush to buy this new behemoth. 

Huawei Watch Ultimate Review: Sports & Diving

As you can guess, the Watch Ultimate is designed quite heavily with diving in mind. The corrosion resistant case makes it suitable for diving in salt water, and the large rubber strap is there for the express purpose of wearing over a diving suit. More Huawei Watch Ultimate straps are available as well.

The Ultimate comes with many different sports modes, and of course a specialised diving mode as well. It keeps track of depth, length, speed, and ascending speeds as well. It can be adjusted to take into account what kind of water you’re in, what mix of gas you’re using, and ensures a safe ascend back to the surface based on these factors.

Huawei certainly looked in Apple’s direction as they were designing this watch, since it also comes with a unique outdoors mode, called the Expedition Mode. It’s used to set waypoints and track your data on a longer track out into the wild. The dual-band GPS will keep you safe even when venturing deeper into the wild.

Huawei Watch Ultimate Review: Things that stayed the same

Some things never change, and of course there’s certain features on the Huawei Watch Ultimate that we’ve seen before on other watches. There’s of course more than 100 sport modes to choose from, together with training programs that adapt to your personal condition and skills. 

Of course it has all the features you can expect from a watch in this price range: ECG heart monitor, sleep tracking, SpO² monitoring, and health management that reminds you when to take your medicine or go to sleep. 

Something that’s severely lacking on the Huawei Watch Ultimate is an NFC feature. This means no contactless payments using your watch. There’s also no LTE-support, so don’t expect to have any cellular options for this watch. A big downside for a watch at such a steep price.

Huawei Watch Ultimate Review: Battery Life

Having all these features surely takes their toll on the energy consumption. And you may want to use it for long expeditions too, given the new modes it’s got. Luckily, the big case allows for a big battery as well.

Although there are no official figures for the capacity of the battery yet, Huawei is promising that even during heavy usage (with GPS) it should last at least 8 days. Normal use is about 14 days. When emptied, the Watch Ultimate will charge in just 60 minutes using a wireless charger.

Huawei Watch Ultimate: Release date and price

The Huawei Watch Ultimate is set to be released at any moment now. The first release date we received was the 3rd of April, but that has passed without any updates. We’re not sure when the Ultimate truly goes on sale, but it can’t be long now. Given earlier releases by Huawei, we’ve guesstimate the release date to be:

Promised release date:	3rd of April 2023
Huawei Watch Ultimate release date:	26th of April 2023

The Watch Ultimate is set to be released in all markets, including Europe and the United Kingdom. We’ve given a rough estimate to the possible price of the Huawei Watch Ultimate, but no official estimates have been leaked. Given the features, the competition, and Huawei prices in general, we think the price will be: 

• Huawei Watch Ultimate price: £ 649,00

Huawei Watch Ultimate Review: In summary

To conclude this interview, the Huawei Watch Ultimate is the new Apple Watch Ultra competitor that’s launching in the spring of 2023. It features a whole host of features, including advanced diving modes, an expedition mode, and of course Dual band GPS. 

The design is very different from the Apple Watch Ultra: going for a far more traditional watch look. It has a ‘liquid metal’ zirconium case, with a ceramic bezel in either blue or black. This round smart watch is a whopping 48,5mm in diameter, something to certainly keep in mind if you’ve got a smaller build or if you don’t like to have a big chunk of metal on your wrist while working out. 

All in all, the Huawei Watch Ultimate looks like a great new addition to the market, but we’ll have to see the price to determine if it’s good value for money as well. In any case, you’ll probably pay a lot less than for an Apple Watch Ultra. 

We’re surely looking to offer a large range of Huawei Watch Ultimate straps too, so keep an eye on our Huawei watch straps page. 

Frequently asked questions about the Watch Ultimate

What is the battery life of Huawei Watch Ultimate?
The battery life will be around 8 days during intense use, and 14 days during regular use. Charging will take just 60 minutes using a wireless charger.

Can I shower with my Huawei Watch?
The Huawei Watch Ultimate is designed to be used while diving, so it can certainly handle a shower too. Make sure your Huawei Watch Ultimate strap is waterproof as well. 

Is Huawei Watch like Apple Watch?
The Huawei Watch Ultimate is designed to be a competitor to the Apple Watch Ultra. There’s certainly overlap in some features, but the design is very different.