In a glitzy product launch in Paris on Friday, Huawei Technologies cemented its growing leadership in wrist-worn wearables by unveiling two new watch models, as well as rolling out an overseas version of a smartphone.
The new Huawei Watch GT 6 is available in two sizes – 46mm and 41 mm in diameter – with the smaller unit delivering a 14-day battery life, double that of the previous generation. The larger watch can last for 21 days, a 50 per cent improvement on its predecessor.
In addition, Huawei updated the GT 6’s positioning accuracy by 20 per cent compared with the previous generation. “We redesigned the antenna, the algorithms and added NavIC (India’s navigation satellite system) as the sixth positioning system,” Andreas Zimmer, Huawei’s head of product in the European Union, said in an interview with the Post ahead of the launch.
The second watch product launched on Friday was the Watch Ultimate 2, which features a “mechanical seal” that protects the speaker and microphone from water at a depth of up to 150 metres. The device is equipped with sonar communication technology to enable underwater watch-to-watch messaging up to 30 meters, mimicking how dolphins communicate underwater.
Huawei remains the world leader in wrist-worn wearables. In the second quarter, it accounted for 20 per cent of the global market with shipments of 9.9 million units, ahead of Xiaomi and Apple, according to research firm IDC. It has maintained its dominance for two consecutive quarters.
The overseas launch of Huawei’s Nova 14 smartphone series, four months after its China debut, stirred up competition internationally on the same day Apple began delivering its iPhone 17 to users worldwide.
