For years, probably since the United States vetoed its devices, Huawei has made its smart watches increasingly better and have specific features for a certain audience. That is precisely what happens with the Watch D2, a watch designed with health as its goal.
If we had a “best for blood pressure” category in smartwatches, the Watch D2 would occupy this spot. While the heart rate, something common in smart watches, records the number of times our heart beats per minute, blood pressure measures how forcefully blood moves through blood vessels. And the latter requires much more precise technology.
This makes Blood pressure monitoring on a smartwatch is an incredible achievement. Huawei has made this possible thanks to an “airbag” located in the main strap of the watch. When I saw the profile of the watch, more precisely the strap, I thought it would be a nuisance to have this small addition on the wrist. At all.
When it comes to precision, the Watch D2 is certified by both the EU Medical Device Regulatory Body as by the National Medical Products Administration of China. For personal reasons, I have often measured my blood pressure and the measurements provided by the D2 were consistent with those of conventional medical devices. In fact, in the Huawei Health app, you had the option to transfer the data to a PDF to send to the doctor.
Additionally, Huawei has included a sleep mode including heart rate, SpO2 (blood oxygen measurement), respiratory rate and abnormal breathing tracking. When you wake up in the morning, you can see the detailed results through the app. It also includes white noise, natural soundscapes, and relaxing music to help you fall asleep.
But it is the inclusion of the Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is a world first: the watch measures our pressure for 24 hours, records the data and archives it so that we can send it to family members or healthcare personnel. And that, until now, was almost a dream in a smart watch.
Important details linked to the “smart watch” section: the 1.82-inch AMOLED screen is large and takes up a lot of space on your wrist. Simply put, it is not a discreet watch. The advantage is that the information is clearly seen, both day and night and with high intensity lights.
All technology applied to health has a cost and it is seen in some details that Huawei indicates that they will change in 2025. For example, for now you cannot make payments with the watch (that it has the Wallet app gives us confidence in the future). The controls for music are very basic if we choose Spotify: in the Huawei Health app we select this option and we can do little more than change songs or pause playback.
The same goes for WhatsApp: We cannot listen to voice messages and it is only possible to respond with some default options and emojis. All this is a software issue that time would change and in 2025 we could count on them. It is also compatible with iOS and Android.
The watch is built with top quality materials and is presented with two strap options: black fluorinated elastomer and white composite leather. The first is less elegant, more conventional but slightly more comfortable for sports. The second option is undoubtedly the most elegant.
The good news is that it comes with its own charger, but it’s like it doesn’t: The battery lasts 6 days (something that has become customary in the latest Huawei watches). Taking into account that this watch focuses on sports (more than 70 sports modes and six of them automatically detectable) and health, its long battery life is an extra that few can compete with. Its price is €399.
Verdict:
At this time it is the smart watch with the most advanced health features. The approval of the EU Medical Device Regulatory Body, proof of this, makes it a very important ally for health, even more than for sport. If you are looking for a smart watch with the usual options, for price and features, it is not yours. If what we are looking for is precision when measuring variables linked to our health, it is the right one.