Watch Fit 2 review: a camel on the wrist

New season, new connected watches. In the assortment presented in May in Milan by Huawei, there was notably the Watch GT 3 Pro, resolutely located at the top of the range, but also the Watch Fit 2, the model that we were given to test.

The watch is an evolution of the Watch Fit, first of the name, and is differentiated by a slightly larger screen. You would have to put the two generations side by side to see that. Among the things that are really invisible, it now includes a speaker and a microphone, which allows you to use it for a telephone conversation without taking your smartphone out of your pocket. It is dispensable for us, we do not prejudge for others. It also allows you to hear aloud, if you dare say so, the statistics of a virtual sports coach when you go jogging, for a short recreational walk or a bike ride. He talks English the bugger, that’s his limit.

It goes without saying that its screen is touch-sensitive, that the object stores various styles of dials in memory (stocked as standard or downloadable from the “Huawei Health” application on the smartphone). They vary from sleek urban to sporty utility and are selected with the swipe of your fingers. The screen remains off when idle and is activated by rotating the wrist before quickly returning to black once the time or the various information has been consulted.

Although more entry-level than its counterparts, the object is not perishable junk, the materials used and the finish leave a favorable impression as to its robustness and longevity. The sensors of the Watch Fit 2 do the expected job and monitor our heartbeats, body temperature, oxygenation of our blood (witchcraft all that!). They also control stress and the quality of sleep, as long as the watch is kept on the wrist during the night.

If the integrated compass only inspires us with moderate confidence, the same is true for the digital compass that equips various other electronic devices. But in general we remain impressed by the functions offered by this small daily object. At most, we sometimes tick when we discover an application that has forgotten to translate Chinese ideograms well hidden in a corner into French or that persists in offering only English.

On a daily basis, we think about it, we forget it, then the watch comes back to our memory when a notification pops up (to be configured well if you don’t want to be bothered more than reason) and when the need to supervise and memorize sports activity occurs.

Beyond its discreet know-how and its versatility (the watch can be paired by Bluetooth with almost all smartphones available in the West, including the iPhone), it is the longevity of a battery charge that has the most seduced. More than a week, up to 10 days claims Huawei for moderate use. A little less otherwise. In our case, we did not actually start worrying about the need to plug in the watch until after a good seven days. It’s very comfortable, especially when you know that the luxurious Apple Watch cries famine well before the 48 hours.

On the other hand, we are not crazy about the charging method chosen by Huawei: a USB cable with a kind of small magnetic plug at the other end. Why not in principle, but the relative rigidity of the cable means that the slightest movement of the object on a piece of furniture risks causing an accidental loss of contact. The connection therefore requires more sustained attention.

The Watch Fit 2 with its polymer bracelet is generally offered in Switzerland for a price oscillating around 150 francs. The models with more “noble” bracelets exceed 200 francs.