TEST: Samsung Galaxy Watch vs. Huawei Watch GT

TEST: Samsung Galaxy Watch vs. Huawei Watch GT

 Hey guys! The two biggest players in the Android market are now battling also in the watch category. Samsung and Huawei are going at it, and in this video, we'll compare their watches. This is the Samsung Galaxy Watch versus the Huawei Watch GT. Before we start we must acknowledge that comparing these two particular watches isn't 100% fair, because Samsung is both newer and it costs about 40% more, but we'll take that into consideration in the overall judgment. With that said, let's get to it! Starting off with the looks, both watches look stunning. They're also quite similar They both have a classical feel. The Huawei feels a bit more like a plain old dumb watch, as it has this leather-like strap. The Galaxy Watch feels a bit sportier. The two buttons on the side don't stand out like they do on the Watch GT, and one would assume that they won't hook on to stuff as easily either. The frame on the Galaxy Watch is 46 millimeters versus 45 mm on the Watch GT. The latter is a lot slimmer though, and it builds a couple millimeters less on top of your wrists. The Galaxy Watch is heavier, which is normal given the larger size. Full-color AMOLED display on both watches with customizable watch faces. I personally prefer as much information as possible on the watch face, so I'm gonna switch to a digital watch with the heart rate, date, steps, calories burned, etc. Another thing you can customize is the straps. Both watches have a simple click-on mechanism for easy swapping. The strap size is universal, so you won't have any difficulties finding a new one. 

Both watches are equipped with touchscreens. If you haven't had a touchscreen on your wrist before it will take some time to get accustomed to. A positive thing about the watch GT is that you can customize what function the lower button does For example, you can add a shortcut to the training session you do the most, etc. On the Galaxy watch, you navigate primarily using the rotatable bezel, which also takes some practice, but the bezel is great if you have dirty fingers or if you're wearing gloves, it's cold outside, You know... touchscreens... Moving over to the inside and all the fun Smart functionalities. Both watches connect to your phone via Bluetooth. They both let you choose what apps to get notifications from and they both respond pretty quickly. Notifications on the Watch GT lets you see the heading, but you have to bring your phone up to see the actual content. In great contrast, the Galaxy Watch will let you read SMS, mail, and other notifications directly on the watch. MMS messages will even display with a good looking color thumbnail, and you can even reply to messages using the rotatable bezel keyboard, which is pretty cool. Both watches will alert you whenever someone's calling. Where the Watch GT will let you know who's calling and give you the option to reject the call, the Galaxy Watch has a built-in speaker and microphone, and will, therefore, let you answer and have a conversation directly on your watch. 

The sound quality is actually impressive on both ends, but it can feel a bit weird speaking to your watch at first. Connect a Bluetooth headset for a better experience. A quite new feature, something we've only seen on a few smartwatches so far is the eSIM, a built-in SIM card. This opens up a lot of possibilities. The most obvious one is that you don't need to have the watch hooked up with your phone at all times. That's right. You can leave your phone at home without having to worry about missing out. Stay online, receive calls and messages directly on your watch -as long as you're in cell range. Both watches have some internal storage space, but the Galaxy Watch is the only one that lets you store stuff of your own choice. That comes in handy for music, which brings us to the next point: Spotify We're still only talking about the Galaxy Watch. You can use it as a remote for your phone and play music without downloading the Spotify app, but if you do download it, you'll have a full-on Spotify experience streaming music directly on your wrist. No phone needed. Access your playlists, run searches, stream via Wi-Fi or cellular, download, and best of all: Listen to your offline playlists. The interface looks great and the app works perfectly. Combined with a set of wireless headphones, this feature amps up your jogging sessions even more. 

Just remember that streaming music will drain your battery. A lot. A cool feature is the "Find my Phone" function, which you will find on both watches, and it's worth a clap. Just tap "Find my Phone" in the menu, and as long as your phone is within Bluetooth range, it will play a tune to reveal its whereabouts. Practical stuff. Naturally, smartwatches will also track your activity levels. Neither of these two can be directly compared to an all-out sports watch like the Polar Vantage or Garmin Fenix, but one of them isn't too far off. First: both watches are equipped with a heart rate monitor on the back, tracking your pulse from the wrist. They both also have gyro sensors for tracking movement, and will give you a pretty precise step count and sleep measurement. If we go to the training menu, both watches let you choose from a list of activities. The list on the Galaxy Watch is longer. Six auto-tracked exercises and 39 total exercises, including activities like yoga, mountain climbing, rowing, and a whole lot of weightlifting exercises. The Huawei Watch GT has basic programs for running, walking, swimming, and bicycling, which will do just fine, but it doesn't cover more than that. Overall, the Galaxy Watch feels like a sports watch when you're using it for just that. 

It can be compared to dedicated sports watches in many areas but lacks sports like football, handball, golf. The Huawei Watch GT on the other hand feels more like an activity tracker. It measures your vitals and your activity levels, but that's pretty much it. Both watches score high when it comes to battery life. The Galaxy Watch has a battery that will last about four days, strongly dependent on the usage, and it comes with a small wireless charging stand that will not take too long to charge, but remember that this is the only way you can charge this watch. The Watch GT has even more impressive battery life. Huawei's estimates are two weeks with mixed usage, but again, this varies a lot based on the actual usage. For example, if you run the GPS, we're talking about a day or two, which is still impressive for a smartwatch, so Huawei wins this battle. If you're a Samsung person you'll love the Galaxy Watch, because it's a great extension of your Samsung smartphone. It works well with most other Android phones as well, but to iPhone owners: This watch will not support calls, messaging, or email. The watch looks good, it's robust, it's got a four-day battery life and an intuitive operating system. 

The Huawei Watch GT loses the overall comparison battle but taken into consideration that it costs 40% less it does offer a lot. If you're looking to track your fitness and you don't want a plastic armband or sports watch on your wrist, the Huawei Watch GT delivers neat design and good measuring. A huge bonus if choosing this watch is that you don't have to worry about charging it more than a couple times a month, as it has probably the best battery we've ever seen in a smartwatch. Which of these watches would you go for? What do you emphasize when choosing? Please tell us in the comments and be sure to subscribe if you want to see more videos like this. Peace out.