Huawei Watch 6 and Watch 6 Pro: What Makes Huawei’s New Smartwatches Different?

Smartwatches have come a long way from simply counting steps. Now, the tiny device on your wrist wants to track your sleep, analyze your workouts, tell you when to recover and basically keep an eye on your entire routine. At this point, your smartwatch might know you better than some of your friends.

The Huawei Watch 6 and Watch 6 Pro are built around that growing idea. Huawei is focusing on smarter health tracking, AI-powered workout insights, standalone connectivity and features that go beyond the usual smartwatch experience.

So, instead of giving you another boring list of specifications, let’s look at what actually makes the Huawei Watch 6 and Watch 6 Pro different and which new features could genuinely matter to everyday users.

Huawei Watch 6 and Watch 6 Pro: What Are They About?#

The Huawei Watch 6 and Watch 6 Pro are the newest generation of flagship watches that are built to be the companion for your wrist. Rather than building something entirely new from the ground up, they have taken their time and concentrated on improving the areas of health tracking, fitness metrics and being an independent connected watch.

Huawei’s GT-series, on the other hand, has traditionally focused more on long battery life and fitness tracking, making it worth understanding how Huawei’s different smartwatch lineups are positioned. You can also explore our coverage of the Huawei GT-series to learn more about the range. 

The Watch 6 and Watch 6 Pro are both meant to be aimed at people who are looking for an advanced yet regular watch that will do everything from receiving notifications to health and fitness tracking. The difference comes from the additional features like better materials and dedicated outdoor functionality. Today, we will be concentrating on all of that and not the usual press release events.

The X-TAP Sensor Is Still Huawei’s Biggest Health Differentiator#

When it comes to the health features of the Huawei Watch 6 and Watch 6 Pro, the one thing that stands out the most is the X-TAP sensor. 

But, what is X-TAP? As per Huawei’s statement, it uses a significantly improved 12-channel PPG sensor together with an advanced pressure sensor. All you need to do is press the X-TAP button for three seconds and the device will conduct a Health Glance within 60 seconds, which provides you with up to 14 metrics on the Watch 6 Pro.

Aside from the health metrics, the Huawei Watch 6 and Watch 6 Pro depend much on the Health Insights. If applicable in the certain region of use, then the device will help you evaluate the health risks related to hypertension, diabetes and coronary heart disease. It is crucial to differentiate this health risk analysis from the real medical diagnostics.

Advanced health monitoring has become a major focus across the wearable industry. You can also explore our guide to health-tracking wearables to see how different devices are approaching this space. 

Huawei Is Putting More AI Into Fitness Tracking#

AI may be the tech buzzword of the decade, but the Huawei Watch 6 and 6 Pro are attempting to implement that technology in practice within fitness monitoring. Instead of simply recording your miles, the AI-powered analysis of workouts actively analyzes your history to detect shifts in your abilities.   

This is described by Huawei as a personal trainer and recovery system. Your watch will analyze your historical data and tell you whether it’s time to start pushing yourself harder or whether today is the day for a rest day. Runners can benefit from the actionable insight of the Huawei Watch 6 and 6 Pro beyond simple data collection.

Even if it’s not an autonomous AI trainer, this intelligent assistance will make the Huawei Watch 6 and 6 Pro substantially more competitive against entrenched fitness systems like those offered by Apple, Garmin, Samsung and Google.

The Watch 6 Is Becoming More of a Standalone Smartwatch#

A big change in terms of the Huawei Watch 6 and Watch 6 Pro is the aim towards making them full-fledged stand-alone devices. With the embedded eSIM, you can have a run without carrying your phone and remain in touch with everyone.

In other words, you can make calls without using your smartphone, take turns with a navigation service and use the payment features with tap and go function. In addition, it is possible to use the feature of Safety Check in order to inform your friends about your current location and status when you are alone.

The Huawei Watch 6 and 6 Pro are compatible with iOS and Android operating systems and this is an important advantage for many customers. It should be pointed out that the limitation applies to the fact that there are some regions where not all providers of eSIM or cellular bands or payment gateways works the same globally, so U.S. buyers and others need to verify local support. 

What Does Watch 6 Pro Add?#

When it comes to the commonality in the software between these two watches, then what’s the deal with the Pro version of the Watch 6? I’d say the Pro mainly adds different materials, configurations and outdoor-focused features.

The Pro variant opts for using materials such as titanium and nano-tech ceramic along with spherical sapphire glass instead of regular ones. In terms of sizes, there are two: 43 mm and 46 mm and the Pro version features 3,500 nit LTPO AMOLED screen, which is very bright even when exposed to direct sunlight. 

Since the size difference inevitably means the difference in battery life, these changes in the materials used do matter for people who spend a lot of time outside.

Expedition Mode Could Make the Watch 6 Pro More Interesting to Outdoor Users#

For thrill-seekers and adventurers, the Expedition Mode is a key differentiator that makes the Watch 6 Pro stand out for what it offers. Expedition Mode turns the Watch 6 Pro into an effective outdoor device.

The watch lets its user pre-load routes, navigate using waypoints and use smart backtracking. When a person gets lost on the hiking path, the backtracking feature will assist in navigating him or her back to their initial position. The mentioned features could be useful in outdoor applications such as trail running and hiking. From a conceptual standpoint, it is a similar solution to Garmin and other outdoor capabilities found in Apple or Samsung devices, but one that needs to be tested before declaring itself a full Garmin alternative.

How Long Does Huawei Watch 6 Battery Last?#

Battery life usually decides whether to buy a smartwatch or not. While assessing the Huawei Watch 6 and Watch 6 Pro models, it is necessary to convert the information provided by the company in its official laboratory tests into practical expectations.

Thus, in the case of the standard 42mm Huawei Watch 6, it will work for 3 days of normal usage, 2 days with the Always-On Display (AOD) or 7 days with the battery saving mode. With the larger 46mm watch, the battery will last up to 4.5 days normally, 3 days with AOD or 11 days in battery saving.

The endurance of Huawei Watch 6 Pro versions is similar, although their intensive features such as a 3,500 nit screen and Expedition Mode will certainly consume more energy. Please note that the battery life provided by Huawei is based on laboratory tests rather than on intensive usage.

Huawei Watch 6 and Watch 6 Pro: What Is Actually New?#

In order to weed out all the marketing hype, here are some actual innovations of the Huawei Watch 6 and Watch 6 Pro.

Most noteworthy innovations:#

• AI analysis of your workouts giving you recovery advice and helping you with your training regimen.

• New health tracking features based on the new X-TAP sensor.

• Standalone connected features such as eSIM and more.

• Expedition mode on the Pro model which provides route navigation, waypoints and backtracking.

• High-quality build materials like titanium, ceramic and sapphire glass.

Things that aren’t necessarily revolutionary:#

• Smartwatch functionality stays pretty much the same.

• X-TAP sensor suite for health is a very worthy evolution of existing technology and not a revolution.

• Basic fitness tracking and support for smartphones is nothing new.

Who Is Huawei Watch 6 and Huawei Watch 6 Pro For?#

Select Huawei Watch 6 if #

• You would like to have a smartwatch with all health, fitness and connected capabilities.

• You are intrigued by the possibility of X-TAP health monitoring, Health Glance and custom health insights.

• You train regularly and require AI-based workout history analysis.

• You desire a smarter watch that is lighter.

• You need eSIM compatibility without the necessity of having your smartphone with you at all times.

• You need a smartwatch compatible with both iOS and Android phones.

Choose Huawei Watch 6 Pro if#

• You need all the features that the regular Watch 6 provides plus some extra ones.

• You hike, trail run or venture on new routes more often than usual.

• You want to use Expedition Mode with its route navigation and backtracking.

• You like high-end materials such as titanium alloy, nano-tech ceramic and sapphire glass.

• You need a brighter screen.

• You don’t mind spending a bit more money for a premium smartwatch with some extra outdoor capabilities.

If you are still comparing different smartwatch options, our best smartwatch buyer guide can help you understand which features matter most before choosing one. 

Wrap Up#

The Huawei Watch 6 and Watch 6 Pro show that Huawei is looking beyond the usual smartwatch upgrade. With smarter health insights, AI-powered workout analysis, standalone connectivity and new outdoor features, the series is trying to make the information on your wrist more useful.

The standard Watch 6 looks like the better fit for everyday users, while the Pro adds premium materials and Expedition mode for those who want a little more adventure. Whether these features perform as well in real-world use remains to be seen, but Huawei’s latest watches are clearly bringing more to the table than just another step counter.

FAQs#