Huawei Watch D2 is the latest innovation in the field of smartwatches, devices that today should no longer be considered as wrist notifiers, but embrace much broader use cases. And there is a trend that Huawei has been riding for some time: that of smartwatch to track our health and thus be able to become a support also from a prevention perspective.
Because it is a certified medical device
Certification of an instrument as a medical device is a long and expensive process, and not everyone has the strength or technical capabilities to undertake it. Huawei Watch D2, however, fits into this trend and has obtained certification as a CE medical device, exactly as had already happened for the previous version, the Watch D.
In EuropeWatch D2 is certified for blood pressure measurement and ECGthus confirming that the data collected have medical value. Simply put, it means that your doctor can rely on this data for a diagnosis. Obviously diagnoses are always the responsibility of professionals, but doctors can now have additional support thanks to the smartwatch constantly records our physical conditionand there are two reasons.
The first is the “white coat syndrome” (or “white coat hypertension”): it is that psycho-physical state which, unconsciously, causes anxiety about the examination itself in front of the doctor to alter the measurement due to the influence of the mind on the body. If we have the smartwatch always on the wrist, this can measure our parameters in daily contexts where we feel more relaxed and calm, thus eliminating the psychological component.
The second reason is purely linked to the quantity of measurements taken: a device that we wear every day, and which it can measure our parameters even at night while we sleepcollects a quantity of data that creates, over time, a “clinical history”. And it is precisely this clinical history that can be useful for the doctor, who will analyze what is normal for our body and what instead represents a dangerous variation.
How Huawei Watch D2 works: ABPM and atrial fibrillation
The acronym ABPM perhaps it is not known to everyone: it means ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, or Pressure Holter. This is certainly not a new technique, but useful and prescribed by doctors for evaluate the risks of hypertension precisely because it allows us to measure the trend of our blood pressure over a longer period of time. If the single measurement during a visit, in fact, may not be very indicative for the reasons indicated in the previous paragraph, the use of a machine that can be taken home to record the blood pressure even during the night is useful to avoid hospitalization under observation. The exam has well-defined limits: at least 70% of the measurements must be valid and there must be at least two confirmed hourly measurements during the day and one every hour during the night.
Huawei Watch D2, being a CE medical device, performs precisely this task, and does it with significantly smaller dimensions than traditional Holtersas well as always being on the wrist with the related advantages in terms of flexibility of use. Starting ABPM, during the day it will remind us of blood pressure measurement appointmentswhile during at night he will carry out the task independently. On the smartwatch screen we will see the progress in the measurements in percentage and, via the Huawei Health app on the smartphone, we will be able to download the final report. The difference in the values detected by the Watch D2, compared to a classic blood pressure monitor with an armband, was around 5%.
Parallel to blood pressure, being certified for ECG detection With a 30-second test, the device adds a measurement that can be useful as a wake-up call for irregularities, such as atrial fibrillation. In this case, the notification becomes an extra push to intervene promptly with a medical check-up, perhaps by sending the PDF of the ECG via email and then waiting for a response from the professional that can encourage a check-up in the clinic.
Huawei Watch D2 vs Watch D
Huawei Watch D2 has proven itself really an improvement compared to the Watch D tested in parallel during the tests for this review. The previous generation device, which first introduced pressure measurement, had an air chamber covered with a fabric layer that was very uncomfortable to reposition after washing the strap. And the strap itself captured much more dirt inside it (sweat and dead skin cells that our body regularly replaces), resulting in a greater accumulation of unpleasant odors.
There new Watch D2 inner tube instead it eliminates the covering, it is still soft enough not to irritate the wrist and it can be cleaned much more easily without having to be “reassembled” because it is a single piece. Even the shape then becomes more elegant: Watch D2 is very reminiscent of Apple Watch, while Watch D was bulkier and thicker, with the risk of not being suitable for all occasions.
With Huawei Watch D2, then, comes the latest generation of Huawei sensors and monitoring software, the same ones already promoted in the Watch Ultimate review. So the smartwatch can also accurately read heartbeats, detect the blood oxygen level (SpO2), analyze sleep, monitor sleep apnea (and with the smartphone it can also record the phases in which we snore) and the general stress level. Finally there is a very useful app, a “complete test” which analyzes our health with a measurement of 30 seconds, giving us the results in a practical summary.
A record-breaking battery
The display now changes format, it is more square but the edges are significantly smaller than the previous generation, and the quality and brightness of the 480 x 480 pixel AMOLED screen also improves: with 1,500 nits there are no problems even under direct sunlight .
Staying on the technique, the other strong point is certainly the battery: with average use two weeks of autonomy are reached with one charge, nothing to do with Apple and Samsung. The credit goes to a low-energy operating system and the fact that, even with notifications active, the “smart” part (app) is limited.
However, the part relating to the tracking of sporting activities is not limited. The new generation of TruSense sensors is able to position itself in line with the top of the range of the most famous competitors (Apple, Samsung) for tracking, with a Accurate GPS even when tracking your run in urban contextswhere other models instead overlap the path to the buildings due to imprecision.
Now it’s smarter… but something is missing
Compared to the Watch D, which was very limited in the availability of applications, Huawei Watch D2 takes an important step forward, but It’s not the right smartwatch for everyone. The Android Play Store is missing and, in general, it lacks the availability of applications that Apple Watch has. Among these there are applications for smart home control such as the burglar alarm or cameras, those that transform the clock into a digital key for the car, and so on.
The smart part exists but is limited notifications and the ability to respond to Whatsapp, Telegram and similar chats. To choosetherefore, for those who want a excellent health and physical activity monitoringone good notification management and one limited chat management with predefined responses.
Note that the Watch D2 also displays the Gmail notificationsbut only allows you to show on the screen only the subject of the email: to read the contents you must necessarily use the application on your smartphone. With messages from chat (Whatsapp, Telegram and so on) and with SMSInstead, you can also read the contents and reply using one of the quick replies (or an emoji) without taking your smartphone out of your pocket or bag.
Present utility apps such as calendar or the callswith good performance also as a speakerphone allowing you to reply directly from the watch if your smartphone is in another roomand the one to control music playback. To date, the possibility of paying via the Wallet is missing given that Huawei does not yet support payments in Europe.
In short, one of the best for those who want a wrist-worn “medical assistant”. record-breaking real autonomy (not less than 6 days even with intense use of blood pressure measurements and lots of physical activity) and for those who do not have particular needs in terms of
third-party applications. Not suitable for swimming enthusiasts: it resists rain and sweat very well, but it is not made for diving. The price? Coast €399 and it is already available on the Huawei Store or on Amazon with free Freebuds 5i headphones.