Huawei Watch 4 Pro Review: A Companion of Time and Health
Introduction: A Recovering Writer
I am Vath Antilochas, an optician, the main writer for HelloExpress.net, and a recovering depression and anxiety patient. I work for over 18 hours per day, and managing my time between work is crucial to keep up with my deadlines. At the same time, I am doing everything I can to maintain my mental health. It is crucial for me to be highly effective in my time management.
This keeps me from missing out on my tasks and allows me to allocate time for relaxation. However, despite utilizing calendar apps, timekeepers, and task reminders, I still occasionally deviate from the intended schedule and miss tasks. This recurring problem is something I often attempt to fix, relapse, and then fix again.
While I received the Huawei Watch 4 Pro for review, initially it seemed like just another product to review. However, upon closer examination, I realized the significant potential it holds to solve my problem. On the surface, it can assist me in tracking work and time effectively with its powerful notification functions. Simultaneously, it can monitor my health and sleep habits through its fitness tracking features. The Huawei Watch 4 appears to be the answer to my problem, yet little did I know that getting everything right would prove to be challenging. The more I delved into it, the clearer it became that it’s not as simple as it seems.
The Solution to My Problem: Huawei Watch 4
Premium Look with Robust Build
The Huawei Watch 4 Pro boasts a sophisticated appearance, featuring a titanium frame, a large spherically curved cover, and a leather strap. Huawei has incorporated aerospace-grade titanium for extra strength while maintaining a lightweight design. The crystal is crafted from spherical sapphire glass, providing durability against scratches and impacts. The spherical elements add an extra touch of magnificence to its display.
Unlike the Watch 3 Pro, Huawei no longer attempts to emphasize a coexistence between straight and curved lines. Instead, the casing has a harmonious design, where all its supposed edges have been chamfered off to create a continuous flow of lines.
The Watch 4 Pro comes only with a vegan leather straps variant, giving it a classy look when paired together. However, observing how the watch case is built, I believe Huawei does have a strap specially designed for it. Checking on Huawei China’s site confirms this. Not only is there a classy vegan leather option, but there are also elegant aluminum, as well as younger styles with fluororubber and nylon strap designs.
Setting Up The Watch 4 Pro
Setting up and connecting the Huawei Watch 4 is simple and straightforward. If you have a device already signed in to your Huawei account, simply scan the QR code displayed on the watch when you first power it up with the Huawei Health app, and you’re ready to go. However, unlocking the Watch 4’s full potential requires additional setup and permissions to enable real-time ECG graphs, pulse wave arrhythmia analysis, and arterial stiffness detection.
Overall, this process is straightforward and relatively easy. With the basic connection set up, I feel one step closer to a more efficient work life and a healthier lifestyle.
Productivity Improvements with the Watch 4 Pro
Syncing Calendar
This is where things start to get complicated. Like many others, I save all my planned tasks and activities on Google Calendar, which is easy to access, convenient, and likely the most straightforward task management system available. However, due to the absence of Google Mobile Services (GMS), I turned to Outlook to sync with my Google Calendar. With some tinkering, this setup works flawlessly.
Alarms & Other Notifications
Setting up alarms with the Watch 4 Pro is quite straightforward. Any alarms set on the phone will also trigger alarms on the watch. Furthermore, notifications are sent to the watch by default, making messenger and other communication app notifications visible on the watch.
Taking Notes on the Watch 4 Pro
While the Watch 4 Pro features a mini keyboard, I won’t be using it for typing. However, it does offer users the capability to record voice notes. Once recorded, these voice notes are synchronized with the Note app on the smartphone, which can then be further synced with other cloud services. Voice notes prove to be highly valuable for on-the-fly note-taking when writing is not feasible, and they also serve as a beneficial tool for summarizing the day’s progress.
A Phone by Itself
Similar to the Huawei Watch 3 series, the Huawei Watch 4 series supports eSIM and VoLTE, allowing it to establish its own cellular network and receive calls independently. This significantly enhances its potential for work productivity and transforms it into an independent sports tracker that also serves as a communication device. Users can confidently carry just the watch into activities that may not be smartphone-friendly or when they need to travel light.
Health Tracking with the Watch 4 Pro
Overall, health tracking on the Huawei Watch 4 is similar to that of the Huawei Watch 3, but with notable improvements. The Watch 4 introduces two additional sensors: a standalone compass and an ECG sensor. These join the existing sensors, including the Acceleration sensor, Gyro, Geomagnetic sensor, Optical heart rate sensor, Ambient light sensor, Barometric pressure sensor, and Temperature sensor found in the Watch 3 series.
The ECG Revolution
The Watch 4 Pro’s ECG sensor module enables the watch to conduct single-lead ECG measurements on the wearer. It provides real-time analysis, detecting sinus rhythm, atrial fibrillation, and premature atrial and ventricular beats. After the reading is complete, it generates a straightforward report to inform the user of the results. Furthermore, it offers explanations of the readings, detailing their significance and suggesting appropriate actions.
Condensing Readings into an Understandable Report
What sets the Watch 4 series apart from other wearables is how Huawei compiles all the readings into a useful report. One of the standout features of the Huawei Watch 4 series is the Health Glance app, which gathers readings from the user’s heart rate, SpO2, stress level, skin temperature, ECG, and respiratory recordings, and compiles them into a comprehensive report. This report not only explains the readings but also provides valuable insights, serving as a first line of defense for users to identify any abnormalities and take necessary actions.
As someone who used to be a heavy smoker and suffered from a pneumonia infection that caused permanent lung damage, running a respiratory test with the Watch 4 revealed that my lung capacity is below optimal levels. It served as a warning about the dangers of smoking and suggested adopting healthier habits.
Sleep Monitoring
Huawei wearables feature a similar sleep monitoring software, namely Huawei TruSleep. Since its functionality remains consistent across devices, readers can refer to our Huawei Watch Fit SE’s review for the technology of it, and Huawei Band 8 review for our experience with it.
We also took some time to understand deeper on what TruSleep is and the history of it, check out the article here.
Missing Feature
The China version of the Watch 4 Pro includes a blood sugar algorithm calculation. Unlike traditional blood sugar level tests, Huawei takes the gathered readings and calculates them based on correlations to provide a viable result. Initial reviews suggest that the results are reasonably accurate. Unfortunately, since this feature is absent in global devices, further investigation is not possible, and hopefully, Huawei will consider adding it in future updates.
Watch 4 Pro Conclusion: Building Habits, a Life-Changing Experience
…Watch 4 Pro incorporated into my scheduling system, I’ve noticed improvements in both my work and health…
Following the teachings of atomic habits, setting reminders is a great way to build positive habits and reinforce them. With the Watch 4 Pro’s simple yet effective calendar reminder syncing system and note-taking feature, it greatly aids me in keeping track of work and events.
Additionally, with the advanced health tracking system, it helps users monitor their health on the go. While it should not be considered a final decision-making report, it serves as a valuable reference point. The absence of blood sugar detection is a significant loss for users, and hopefully, Huawei will consider adding it in future updates.
Ultimately, with the Watch 4 Pro incorporated into my scheduling system, I’ve noticed improvements in both my work and health. I now keep myself on track with my tasks while also vigilantly monitoring my health.
Priced at RM2499, the Huawei 4 Pro placed it self at the higher end of smart wearable. It combines productivity functions typical of all smartwatches with exceptional health tracking features. If you are on the HMS system, there is no reason why you shouldn’t consider the Huawei Watch 4 Pro series as your next smartwatch.
