[WATCH] Huawei reveals new smart watches and tablets in Barcelona

Wearable technology has an important role to play in people’s health and the health of an athlete particularly in South Africa.

South Africa’s golden girl and most decorated Olympian, Tatiana Smith. Photo: Faizel Patel

With many tech companies across the globe laying emphasis on wearable technology, Olympic gold medallist Tatjana Smith said the benefits of a smart watch has an important role to play in people’s health and the health of an athlete particularly in South Africa. 

Smith was speaking to the media during the Huawei innovative product launch in Barcelona, Spain on Thursday. 

The company  introduced a range of highly anticipated products, highlighting its ‘Fashion Forward’ approach to wearables. 

Watch Tatjana Smith speaking about the advancement of wearable technology

The new line-up of wearables includes the Huawei Watch GT 5 Series, Watch D2, and the Watch Ultimate Green. 

Huawei also unveiled the MatePad Pro 12.2-inch and MatePad 12 X. 

High-tech equipment 

Smith who recently joined Huawei as an ambassador said it was her first time wearing a smart watch. 

“I am really enjoying it, because now I can actually see the benefits of it because unfortunately for us in South Africa we don’t have those high tech data equipment, we can’t afford it, so we’re just on the basic bare minimum. 

“The weeks that I have been using it, I realised how in detail you can go in small things and those things do contribute to my health…When I was still swimming, I was just going with feeling, just feeling how my body is. Now it’s cool to understand, If I am feeling I just see my watch and I realise okay, that’s why my sleep was really bad. 

Innovation 

Other wearable ambassadors included Sir Mo Farah and Pamela Reif, with Farah sharing his expertise on running and advanced sports techniques, while Reif focused on watch design and app fitness courses, showcasing the ‘Light Up Your Rings’ experience.

Alex Huang, Chief Marketing Officer of Huawei Consumer BG, emphasised the brand’s global impact and commitment to innovation.

It’s this innovation that has propelled Huawei to be ahead of the competition like Apple, Samsung and Oppo which have dismal battery life and is critical to ensuring that the user experiences the full benefits of the wearable.

Apple, Samsung and Oppo wearables do not pair with some other smartphones which can be disappointing even though their designs may be striking. 

Huawei Watch GT 5 Series

The wearable is available in two editions—the GT 5 Pro and GT 5—with three sizes and 12 colourways. It introduces a major leap in health and fitness tracking with the debut of the TruSense System. 

It leads other brands and the industry in tracking vital signs such as heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and respiratory rate. The new Emotional Wellbeing Assistant allows the watch to infer the user’s emotional state. 

Battery life remains impressive, boasting up to 14 days on the 46mm model and 7 days on the 41mm version. The watch is compatible with Android and iOS smartphones.

The Huawei Watch GT 5 Series will be available in South Africa on 7 October 2024.

Huawei Watch D2 

The Huawei Watch D2 introduces Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM), offering 24-hour blood pressure tracking throughout a full sleep-wake cycle. 

For individuals with hypertension, the watch helps identify their blood pressure circadian rhythms and detect abnormal night-time blood pressure decline rates. For those without hypertension, the watch can help assess their risk. 

Additionally, the Huawei Watch D2 offers comprehensive health monitoring capabilities, including heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen, stress, skin temperature, ECG, vascular elasticity, pulse wave arrhythmia, and sleep apnoea detection. 

With a single tap, users can measure nine body indicators and generate a Health Glance report to identify potential health risks. 

Huawei Watch Ultimate 

If you love golf, than the Ultimate introduces the new Advanced Golf Course Features and the enhanced Expedition Mode, along with a new green edition. 

The wearable boasts a Zirconium-based liquid metal body and a high-strength sapphire glass cover, ensuring maximum durability and wear resistance. Additionally, it offers a 100-meter diving mode with audio functions. 

The Huawei Watch Ultimate will be available in South Africa early October 2024.

Huawei MatePad Pro 12.2”

The new Huawei MatePad Pro 12.2” features an innovative Tandem OLED PaperMatte screen capable of reaching an astounding 2000 nits of brightness. 

This display incorporates anti-sparkle and nanoscale anti-glare etching technologies, alongside magnetron nano optical layers to reduce light interference and glare offering a paper-like viewing. 

The GoPaint app on the new tablet introduces Splatter and Fluid brushes, delivering pro-level tools for digital painting. 

MatePad 12 X

The Huawei MatePad 12 X is available in Greenery, Sakura Pink and White. 

They all have a 12-inch PaperMatte display which simulates the texture of paper using nano-level etching making it the most suitable screen for paperless creation. 

Paired with the Huawei M-Pencil, it delivers a writing experience that feels natural, improving precision by 47% compared with traditional tablets from other brands.

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