At a glanceExpert’s Score
ProsLooks greatLong battery lifeConsNo third-party appsNo iOS functionalityNo NFCOur Verdict
In the event you’re in search of a smartwatch with an excellent battery life that appears nice, then the Honor Watch GS Three is a strong buy choice. Nevertheless, its lack of NFC and software program restrictions make it way more of a distinct segment alternative if you issue within the wider market.
Value When Reviewed
Unavailable within the US
Finest Costs At this time: Honor Watch GS 3
Honor’s newest smartwatch, the Watch GS 3, is a fitness-focused wearable that’s stuffed with gizmos to trace issues like your coronary heart price and blood-oxygen ranges, all through a big AMOLED display screen that’s excellent for glancing down mid-workout whereas wanting fashionable.
Sadly, although, there are just a few sizeable drawbacks. For one, Honor’s personal OS is missing with the third-party assist provided by WearOS and even Fitbit’s trackers, that means it’s difficult to make use of your well being information in something however Honor’s personal app.
It additionally received’t work with any iPhone, because it’s Android-only, which instantly guidelines out an enormous portion of potential consumers.
Designal & Construct
Analogue-inspired designTwo bodily buttons and touchscreenChoose from a number of watch faces
It’s laborious to not begin this a part of the overview with out saying what a handsome health tracker the Honor Watch GS Three is. It seems nearer to an analogue watch than the rounded corners of a Fitbit Sense or an Apple Watch, with an enormous round AMOLED panel dominating the design, albeit with some bezel on present.
Extra on the show shortly, however regardless of the precise physique being pretty sizeable, it feels mild at 44g (physique solely) and straightforward to put on for lengthy durations. On one aspect, you’ll discover two buttons – one which acts as a customisable launcher (I set this to default to a exercise), whereas the opposite one brings up a menu in no matter a part of the as-yet-untitled OS.
Lloyd Coombes / Foundry
In the event you do use the look ahead to a exercise that requires, for example, a pushup, you’ll end up pushing each buttons with out that means to. With that in thoughts, we’d advise pointing them up your arm versus downward.
Whereas there are many watch faces to select from, there’s no customization of any variety – you merely set it and go.
Lloyd Coombes / Foundry
The straps are swappable, as you’d think about, with the Midnight Black model providing a fluoroelastomer development, whereas the Ocean Blue and Basic Gold variations have a leather-based strap.
Both manner, you get a correct 5ATM waterproof score that means it’ll survive at as much as depths of 50m. Though, Honor says it’s appropriate for “swimming swimming pools, seaside swimming and different shallow-water actions” however not issues like “underwater diving, diving, scorching showers, saunas, scorching springs, and different wading or deep water actions”.
Display & Speaker
1.45in AMOLED displayEasy to learn in sunlightImpressive speaker
The show on the Honor Watch GS Three is an AMOLED panel, that means colors are vibrant towards the black background of the bottom OS. That makes it simple to learn, even in direct daylight, and it actually brings out the color of a number of the watch faces included.
It’s additionally suitably crisp with a decision of 466 x 466 pixels, leading to a pixel density that Apple would approve of – 326ppi.
Lloyd Coombes / Foundry
Maybe most surprisingly, although, the GS Three has a very spectacular speaker that helps Bluetooth calls (there’s a microhphone too), in addition to taking part in music from it. It’ll by no means match your telephone or a devoted speaker for sound depth, however I’m impressed by how clear the audio is from it.
Specs & Efficiency
Untitled OS is nice for well being trackingBarebones for every thing elseOnboard storage for music playback
Maybe the most important indication of the Honor Watch GS Three being a “work in progress” of types is that its working system is untitled. Whereas it lacks a catchy moniker, although, it does supply fast entry to well being metrics – swiping on any given web page will take you to see issues like coronary heart price, stress degree, or blood oxygen monitoring.
Lloyd Coombes / Foundry
All of those relay again to the Honor Well being app, though it’s price mentioning that the branding throughout the Play Retailer stays just like the Huawei Well being app, one thing which might trigger a little bit of confusion. As I’ve talked about earlier than, there isn’t a iOS performance so if in case you have an iPhone you’ll must look elsewhere.
Nonetheless, when you’re in, you’ll be introduced with a useful “dashboard” of types that showcases the Watch’s information. The SpO2 sensor will take common measurements when resting or asleep, whereas coronary heart price is measured all through any given interval. The app additionally presents every day, weekly, or month-to-month views.
Sleep monitoring can also be included, with customers inspired to fill a purple ring by making certain they get sufficient relaxation. There are additionally rings for steps, train, and standing, which will probably be acquainted to anybody that’s ever used an Apple Watch.
Efficiency is strong, with no discernible lag when flicking by means of screens with well being information or when figuring out. Honor doesn’t state what processor is inside however you get 4GB of storage to play with.
Sadly, although, the Honor Watch GS Three is completely tied to its personal app, with no integrations for the likes of Strava, Fitbit, and even Google Match. This will probably be irritating for some customers and even perhaps make the watch a tough go.
Lloyd Coombes / Foundry
If that doesn’t put you off, there are many exercises represented right here, with no fewer than 13 working programs that target every thing from newcomer-centric applications to fat-burning, to long-distance targets. You’ll additionally discover swimming (the watch is 5ATM rated for waterproofing as talked about earlier), mountain climbing, snow sports activities and plenty extra.
It’s a strong listing, and there’s each probability Honor provides to it going ahead, however the siloed nature of working every thing by means of one app means you received’t be capable to set up additional features your self. Whereas an Apple Watch, for instance, can set up extra apps, you received’t have the choice right here.
Which will disappoint people who wish to stream music whereas figuring out, however there’s round 2GB of inside storage (after the OS), in contrast to with the Fitbit Cost or Sense. With no Spotify or Apple Music assist, although, you’ll must manually switch songs or playlists to the watch from throughout the Honor Well being app.
I took the Honor Watch GS Three on some prolonged walks, however GPS monitoring was strong after preliminary use, as was step monitoring. Much less spectacular, although, are obscure notifications which meant I didn’t know who was texting me with out pulling the telephone out.
Arguably the most important oversight, although, is the shortage of an NFC chip for cost utilizing the watch. With nearly each fashionable telephone and the overwhelming majority of health trackers, even cheaper Fitbit fashions, providing the choice to pay on your buying without having to hold a pockets, it looks like an enormous miss right here – and means anybody figuring out might want to take their telephone, too, in the event that they’re heading to the store on the best way house.
Battery Life & Charging
451mAh batteryExcellent battery lifeSome of the perfect fast-charging we’ve seen
The Honor Watch GS Three is a smartwatch that’s not simply worn out, that’s for certain. Usually use – paired to a smartphone, receiving notifications, and figuring out pretty recurrently – I hit six days of cost with ease and that elements within the occasional Sp02 monitoring.
That dwarfs the 24 – 48 hour battery lifetime of an Apple Watch, and matches up fairly constantly with one thing just like the Fitbit Sense. Fewer exercises, although, and also you’ll simply hit seven days.
Lloyd Coombes / Foundry
Even higher, the wi-fi puck that you just use for charging can supply round a day of use with simply 5 minutes of cost. It’s fairly magical to have the ability to drop the Watch GS Three down for a matter of minutes and know that it’s going to be powered for the remainder of the day, particularly if you happen to’re heading on an impromptu run as a result of the rain has stopped.
The puck connects through USB-C, too, so that you’re more likely to have a cable round anyway – though Honor does embody one within the field (with out an adapter).
Value & Availability
The Honor Watch GS Three is available in Midnight Black for £189.99/€199,90, whereas the Ocean Blue and Basic Gold variants retail for £209.99/€199,90 (my overview unit is the Basic Gold). I’d think about that is all the way down to the truth that, in addition to wanting just a little classier, you get a leather-based strap.
At current, the GS Three is accessible within the UK, Europe, China, and Latin America, with no signal of when it might arrive within the US or different territories. You should buy it from Honor in addition to retailers akin to Amazon, Very and AliExpress.
By way of rivals, the Galaxy Watch 4, which presents wearOS and the extra performance that brings, is round £50 greater than the Honor Watch GS 3, whereas the Amazfit GTR 3, which is arguably quite a bit nearer when it comes to performance, is round £30 much less.
Try our chart of the perfect smartwatches and finest health trackers to see extra choices.
Verdict
Whereas the Honor Watch GS Three has aspirations of being the subsequent nice Android smartwatch, its interface falls quick and pushes it into being a strong health tracker that lacks the pliability to supply extra.
You’ll be capable to observe exercises, sleep, and very important metrics, however you’ll invariably really feel considerably annoyed by not with the ability to use that information in different providers, or add extra apps.
For not an excessive amount of extra, I’d argue the Samsung Galaxy Watch Four is a extra fully-featured smartwatch, though it’s not fairly as good-looking.
Specs
Honor Watch OS1.43in AMOLED show, 326ppi4GB inside storageHeart price monitorSp02 monitorBluetooth 5.0GPS451mAh non-removable battery5ATM waterproof score45.9×45.9×10.5mm44g with out strapLaunch colors: Ocean Blue, Basic Gold, Midnight
