The compact size and the screen developed mainly in height can represent strengths in the use of Huawei Watch Fit during outdoor sports activities ? To answer this question, and to evaluate in the field how much this smartwatch makes available to the user passionate about outdoor activities, we tried Watch Fit in some outdoor running sessions.

We have published a review of this smartwatch in recent weeks, to which we refer for all the features related to daily use for notification tools. In this article we will therefore go into depth on the functional characteristics related to running and to how Watch Fit can be useful to the occasional runner or to the more passionate one .

Thanks to Lite OS the autonomy is very high

The characteristics of this product are the same as those of the other smartwatches that Huawei offers on the market. The use of the Lite OS operating system associates this product with the others of the Asian company: its strong point is the energy efficiency that it can make available, allowing you to use the smartwatch for a long time without the need

Sports activities always put battery autonomy to the test in products of this type and the small overall size of the Huawei Watch Fit leaves no room for a battery large in size. Nevertheless we used Watch Fit for 5 consecutive days on a single charge , including in each of these days a outdoor running session for an average of 50 minutes per day enabling GPS and heart rate detection: an undoubtedly very valid result, difficult to replicate with other smartwatches based on different architecture or operating system.

Watch Fit provides different sensors to detect outdoor activities , starting from the now inevitable GPS combined with optical heart rate sensor . Huawei has also integrated a blood oxygen saturation level meter , which is not so useful for medical diagnosis and to confirm the level of acclimatization once you have moved to altitude.

Simple and intuitive in running use

For the lover of outdoor sports, running in particular, we find in Huawei Watch Fit everything you need like the rest of what is seen with the other most recent smartwatches of the company. A few presses on the touch screen and here it is possible to start the activity , after the few seconds necessary for the GPS integrated to connect to satellites. The APP installed on our smartphone will periodically update the smartwatch providing the updated satellite positions: this allows you to lock the satellites at the start of activity in a few seconds, not forcing you to wait a long time before the smartwatch is ready to record.

The OLED screen has a mainly vertical development: the very high contrast allows you to clearly read the information during use even in the presence of strong ambient lighting, with the possibility of adjusting the brightness automatically or manually. The display provides an indication of the time spent in activity, the average pace per km, the distance and heart rate directly on the main screen; it is then possible to monitor a subsequent screen accessible by scrolling along the touch screen also to the cadence data and to the effect on the performance of the training in terms of aerobic and anaerobic

Watch Fit allows you to select some predefined workouts , which alternate recovery sequences with others at a higher intensity: , however, it is not possible to manually configure a workout with variable intervals , such as a repetition session, by making sure that the various intervals are reported by the smartwatch. This can only be achieved if we keep the km, or its multiples, as a unit of measurement since the automatic lap every km is signaled by the clock: if instead we want to carry out a training with recovery not in km but in time (example: 5x1km recovery 3 minutes jogging) we will not be able to use the watch as a reference for the changes of the various phases.

summary of a training session provided by the Huawei Health APP

Through the Huawei Health APP it is possible, at the end of the training, to have a summary of all the recorded data: the values ​​are graphically expressed in a very clear way and it is possible have the APP generate a summary scheme like the one shown here, containing all the measured values ​​including cadence, heart rate and pace instant by instant.

Heartbeat and GPS always accurately detected

The heart rate sensor and GPS proved to be accurate in use : in comparison with the data detected by a Garmin sportwatch combined with a chest heart rate monitor, no significant differences were highlighted, even with a workout like that of the summary images above reported (a 3x4km session with recovery 2 ‘at the pace and 1’ jog). If for the GPS track generally the differences between different smartwatches tend to be very small, it is not common to find heart rate sensors that are taken during the course of an intense activity, especially if not by companies that have always been involved in the world of sportwatch. Huawei Watch Fit therefore surprises positively in this but similar dynamics we had also experienced in the analysis of other models of the Asian company in similar conditions of use.

The only real limitation of this product remains the one already highlighted with the other proposals based on the Lite OS operating system: the inability to export your training sessions to third-party platforms . Huawei has chosen to keep its ecosystem closed from this point of view, a choice that is limiting only for that group of enthusiasts who want to use other shared platforms (such as Strava) to keep track of their workouts. remaining as offered in Huawei Health, on the other hand there is certainly no lack of clear and complete reports.

The summary metrics are always available. guide us to better understand what our level of post-training condition is : from the indication of the estimate of VO2Max to the effect of training in terms of aerobic condition, up to recovery time required before being able to undergo another demanding session. All this is combined with the stress monitoring and the ) quality of sleep , indispensable parameters to be able to keep your physical condition under control and in this way balance the intensity of the training you will undergo .

Huawei Watch Fit therefore offers a lot to the sports enthusiast too, but it caters for features, design and low cost to the public of those who carry out sports training indoors in the gym but do not disdain , especially during the summer, spending time outdoors training on the go and wanting to continue to reliably and in detail keep track of what has been done. All at a price that is comparable to that of entry level sportwatches on the market, from which it stands out for its design and package of features typical of a modern smartwatch.