Huawei Watch 5: Leaps Ahead with Innovative Fingertip Health Tracking
Huawei is making waves in the smartwatch world with its latest release, the Watch 5, which boasts a unique twist on health tracking. While most smartwatches rely on sensors pressed against the wrist, the Watch 5 introduces a new fingertip sensor that opens up exciting possibilities.
A Fingertip Full of Sensors
This innovative approach, dubbed ‘multi-sensing X-TAP technology,’ packs a range of sensors into the side of the watch, including a pressure sensor, an EKG electrode, and an optical heart rate sensor. Huawei claims this setup delivers a significant boost in signal quality, potentially 10 to 50 times better than conventional methods. The fingertip, rich in capillaries and blood flow, is known to be an excellent spot for accurate heart rate readings, a fact that’s why medical-grade pulse oximeters often use fingertip sensors.
Faster Readings, More Insights
This fingertip technology translates into some impressive health tracking capabilities. The Watch 5 can now take blood oxygen readings in just 10 seconds, significantly faster than most other spot-check features. It also offers a comprehensive “one-tap health glance” feature that provides a snapshot of your average heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), blood oxygen, skin temperature, stress levels, EKG results, arterial stiffness detection, respiratory overview, and sleep disturbance awareness. While many of these features were present in the Watch 4, HRV is a notable addition.
More Than Just Fingertip Sensors
Beyond the fingertip advancements, the Watch 5 brings some incremental improvements. It features two new gesture controls: double slide and double tap. The display shines brighter with a peak brightness of 3,000 nits and boasts thinner bezels. You’ve got a choice between two sizes, 42mm and 46mm, and materials like titanium and stainless steel. Battery life varies – the 42mm model offers up to three days (two with the always-on display) while the 46mm lasts around 4.5 days (three with AOD enabled). Cellular connectivity and compatibility with both Android and iOS are also on board.
A Purple Pledge (That May Be Misleading)
Huawei proudly highlights the new 46mm titanium model in a “purple” finish. However, the supplied photos suggest this purple might be more of a deep blue-gray.
Availability and Pricing
The Watch 5 is available for preorder starting today in the UK and Europe, priced at £399.99 / €499.99 (approximately $550). It officially launches on March 26th.
