Huawei Watch Fit Elegant review

This, no doubt, is why Huawei decided to develop a luxe version of the Watch Fit. The Elegant version of the brand’s mid-range wearable swaps out the plastic chassis of the display for gold-coloured stainless steel and brings in two new strap colours. And that’s about it.

It should be no surprise that the Watch Fit Elegant has been given a higher price than that of the standard Watch Fit – but is this Cinderella edition worth the extra spend? Read on to find out what our experts made of the Huawei Watch Fit Elegant.

To see how it compares to the original version, make sure you read our Huawei Watch Fit review. And for expert-curated lists of our favourite wearables, make sure you read our best smartwatch, best Android smartwatch and best budget smartwatch lists.

• What is Huawei Watch Fit Elegant?
• How much is Huawei Watch Fit Elegant?
• Design
• Features
• Huawei Watch Fit Elegant set-up
• Our verdict
• Where to buy

Huawei Watch Fit Elegant review: summary

As promised, the Watch Fit Elegant delivers a more upmarket and fashion-focused design than the standard Watch Fit – but little else besides. That isn’t an issue in itself: we highly doubt anyone at Huawei hopes to convert who already has a Watch Fit. All it means is that we're only steering those who prioritise style towards this: if you're after a reliable fitness tracker, there are plenty of far better (and cheaper) options out there.

The Huawei Watch Fit Elegant is available to buy at retailers including Amazon, Currys and the Huawei UK Store. You'll find the best offers out there listed below.

What is the Huawei Watch Fit Elegant?

Elegant by name, elegant by nature: this is the jazzed-up version of Huawei’s Watch Fit. Where that model has a plastic chassis, this has a gold-coloured, metal alternative along with a couple of new strap designs that ultimately makes it a much seemlier choice.

The Watch Fit is Huawei’s mid-range offering – beneath it in the budget category, you’ll find the Huawei Band 6, and above there’s the Huawei GT2 Pro, which has a higher-resolution, sapphire-glass display and some more advanced fitness metrics. There’s also a new flagship coming very soon in the form of the Huawei Watch 3, which is due for launch in the summer of 2021.

What does the Huawei Watch Fit Elegant do?

In terms of features and functions, the Elegant version of the Huawei Watch Fit doesn’t deviate at all from the standard version. Here’s what you can expect from this wearable:

• It will track a range of health metrics, including heart rate, SpO2 (blood oxygen), stress and sleep quality.
• There are 96 workout modes included, and within them are 12 animated programmes – a personal trainer will appear on the display and guide you through a series of workouts.
• The Watch Fit Elegant has built-in GPS, which means it will both help you with wayfinding and also make a record of your journey if you head out for a run.
• There’s a menstrual tracker which will help you follow your ovulation cycle, sending you periodic reminders.
• Are you a nervous type? The Huawei Watch Fit has a guided breathing feature that should help you with your stress levels.
• The Watch Fit Elegant will deliver all the typical notifications from your phone, including texts, emails and social media alerts. (Since it doesn’t have a built-in cellular unit, it won’t, however, let you receive calls.)
• You can also control the music you’re playing on your phone, though it doesn’t contain any music storage capabilities.
• There are a number of different watch themes and displays to choose from.

How much is the Huawei Watch Fit Elegant?

The Huawei Watch Fit has an RRP of £129.99, but that’s actually been dropped to £109.99 at the Huawei UK store right now. Interestingly, this comes in the wake of the standard Huawei Watch Fit dropping to £79.99 at the UK Huawei Store.

Is Huawei Watch Fit Elegant good value for money?

If, first and foremost, you’re after an attractive smartwatch clear of wallet-stinging flagship prices, then most definitely. There’s no prettier wearable available at this price, and (to not beat around the bush) if you’d like something that resembles an Apple Watch, it’s the best substitute out there.

But if a reliable fitness companion is your top priority, then we’d urge you to steer clear of the Watch Fit Elegant (and the Watch Fit itself, for that matter) in favour of the similarly priced Xiaomi Mi Watch. Dedicated runners should definitely consider the Garmin Forerunner 45, a distinctly old-school affair compared to the shiny, svelte Watch Fit Elegant – but with it comes a host of far superior functions and metrics.

Huawei Watch Fit Elegant design

In matters of design is, of course, where things really matter for the Huawei Watch Fit Elegant.

We won’t argue with the product name: in a market where you often have to go to flagship devices priced over £300 for anything that might be described as stylish, the Elegant does deliver. Without wanting to pigeonhole any of our readers, our guess is that the gold finish and Frosty White (read: tasteful off-grey) will appeal mostly to women.

In looks, the Watch Fit Elegant looks not unlike a slimmed-down gold Apple Watch. The chief difference is that the most affordable latest-gen version of the latter costs twice as much.

There’s also a Midnight Black version, with the strap being the only difference. For our money, we think the white version is the prettier of the two.

With a bezel that’s now stainless steel rather than plastic, the Watch Fit Elegant also feels like it has a superior build quality to the standard version, while the face has a glossier surface. The strap is just as comfortable, and ultimately, it feels like an actual watch on your wrist. The metal bezel does make the Watch Fit Elegant a little heavier than the standard – but at 27g, we’re hardly calling it a burden.

As you can read in our Huawei Band 6 review, we’re not totally sold on Huawei’s wearables UI. We appreciate the inclusion of a push-button on the right-hand side of the display. But the way you tap it once to activate the home screen before tapping it again to call up the list of functions doesn’t feel entirely intuitive.

We’re suckers, however, for Huawei’s range of watch faces. The standard one included here is a rose-gold, analogue-style aesthetic, which is distinctly at odds with the sportier design included in Huawei’s cheaper fitness bands. That’s all part of the appeal of the Watch Fit Elegant: it’s the sort of smartwatch you wouldn’t feel compelled to take off before heading out on a date. An always-on screen remains something of a unicorn at this price point, but you can set it to remain on for five minutes if you want to.

Huawei Watch Fit Elegant features

Now, we get to the functions of the Watch Fit Elegant, which are more of a mixed bag.

We’ll say right now that if fitness metrics are your priority and looks aren’t particularly important, then pick up the Xiaomi Mi Watch instead, which is very close in price. Yes, the Mi Watch’s saucer-like display is going to divide opinion, but behind it is a set of metrics and a corresponding app (Xiaomi Wear) that outstrips that of Huawei Health, which has been dogged by all sorts of compatibility issues.

But if you’re seeking out a stylish smartwatch, the Watch Fit will offer you a solid, but by no means perfect, set of tracking functions. To make full use of the heart rate monitor, make sure you’re wearing the Watch Fit Elegant tightly across the pulse – if not, you may alarm yourself by discovering your heart’s going at 130bpm while you’re sat typing at your computer. (Not that writing product reviews doesn’t come with its thrills, we hasten to add.)

The SpO2 monitor delivers a percentage reading, but we’re still unsure how useful such readings are without some professional medical guidance, and remain pretty sceptical of the stress-tracking function, whose HRV (heartrate variability) algorithm is being superseded by more advanced tech in pricier wearables like the Fitbit Sense.

But we’re just as fond of the animated coach that accompanies 12 of the 96 workouts included in the Watch Fit Elegant as we were when we put the standard Watch Fit to the test. Seasoned gym-goers might find these walkthroughs unnecessary, but if it helps get people off the couch and workout, then all the better.

What should be clear from the above is that the Watch Fit Elegant isn’t a credible sell to anyone considering replacing their current Watch Fit with this jazzier model: with no addition in terms of features, it’s simply not worth the money.

What is the Huawei Watch Fit Elegant battery like?

Huawei advertises the maximum battery life of the Watch Fit Elegant as 10 days, which proved pretty accurate during our three-day test period when we put it under moderate use.

It doesn’t have the stamina of the similarly-priced Xiaomi Mi Watch, mind, which offers an extra four days on top of that. But we think very few people out there will resent charging a device every week and a half or so.

Huawei Watch Fit Elegant set-up: how easy is it to use?

Since we had the Huawei Health app already installed on our phone, we were able to get the Watch Fit Elegant on our wrist within just a couple of minutes. But if you do need to download it, and set up an account with all your details (age, height, weight), then it should take around ten minutes.

The Watch Fit Elegant arrives pre-charged but in a state of dormancy: you’ll need to charge it for a couple of minutes. Ours was at 85% battery. Pairing it with our phone via the Health app went without a hitch, although an (optional) firmware update did put it out of action for five minutes.

Like most devices these days, you’ll need to find your own plug adaptor if you want to charge the Watch Fit Elegant at the wall. It charges via a secure magnetic connection on the rear face of the display.

Our verdict: should you buy the Huawei Watch Fit Elegant?

As we said, if fitness is your priority, then you’re better off spending the same on the Xiaomi Mi Watch or investing more on the Fitbit Versa. But on sheer appearances alone, the Watch Fit Elegant is worth the spend: it’s an attractive wearable that does exactly what we suspect the designers at Huawei wanted it to, which is to look much more expensive than it actually is.

Review scores:

• Design: 4/5
• Features (average) : 3.75/5
  • Functions: 3.5
  • Battery: 4
• Value for money: 3.5/5
• Ease of set-up: 4/5

Overall star rating: 4/5

Where to buy Huawei Watch Fit Elegant watch

The Huawei Watch Fit Elegant is available to buy at retailers including Amazon, Currys and the Huawei UK Store. You'll find the best offers out there listed below.

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