Huawei is going all-in on luxury with its latest smartwatch, the Huawei Watch Ultimate. This connected timepiece is styled after classic dive watches from the likes of Breitling, Rolex or TAG Heuer, and features up to 14 days of battery life, a bevy of health-tracking features and the ability to survive in the ocean in depths up to 100 meters.
Prices aren’t yet official, but with such high-performance specs and materials including titanium, don’t expect it to come cheap. It’s due to go on sale in the UK and Europe in early April, so we’ll likely hear more over the coming days. A US launch is not planned.
Aesthetically, the watch is designed to mimic technical dive watches, although there are various features specifically for scuba or free divers. It’s waterproof down to 100 meters — or 10 ATM, ISO 22810 or EN 13319, if you’re into your technical pressure standards. It has physical buttons to help navigate features underwater and various software functions for things like diving depth, timing and dive logs.
There are two versions: Voyage Blue, with a blue front and a titanium strap; and Expedition Black, with a black front ring and rubber strap that Huawei promises is especially resistant to water and oils, so is likely the better option for diving and other sports. I expect it’ll also be cheaper than the titanium version.
Huawei
Other key features include a 1.5-inch display, a 2.35mm sapphire glass covering for extra durability, a corrosion-resistant Liquid Metal body and health tracking, including SpO2, stress, sleep and ECG monitoring. Throw in up to 14 days of battery life and the ability to charge from zero to full in 60 minutes, and the new watch does appear to be working hard to earn its Ultimate name.
With purse strings tightened the world over, it’s arguably a risky time to be launching what will likely be a pricey luxury smartwatch, but those of you into diving and other sea sports may well find it worth the money. We’ll be putting it through its paces when we get hold of it in the coming weeks so stay tuned for more.
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