Huawei Watch GT Runner 2 hands-on: what makes this a running watch?

The screen on the front has a 1.32-inch size, which is on the small side if you want a show-offy dress watch, but works just fine as an everyday watch. And definitely has enough screen real estate for fitness tracking purposes.

Its GPS is made with urban runners in mind

If you don’t like the super-colorful strap, there’s a black version too | Image by PhoneArena

That’s something I couldn’t test unless I ran laps around MWC with it on (would’ve been double the fun with security chasing me), but apparently the Watch GT Runner 2 has an innovative 3D floating GPS antenna. Two rings — one running around the center of the case and one in the bezel’s watch — ensure dual-band, five-system GNSS support.The two antennas support signals across five major satellite systems: GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, and QZSS.

The goal was to improve tracking accuracy, and specifically so in areas with tall buildings where GPS might lose track of your movements. So, the watch is definitely not just for the stadium runners, but the everyday rise-and-shiners that take a run through the neighbourhood.

In cases where you enter tunnels, the watch will still use inertial positioning algorithms, using internal sensors and your historical data to try and approximate an accurate line of movement.

And, apparently, it can run for 32 hours with continuous tracking enabled.

The software may be a hurdle

There are a lot of watchfaces to pick from, some you might like | Image by PhoneArena

The operating system on the Watch GT Runner 2 is Huawei’s own HarmonyOS, which may be an acquired taste. The app icons are big and colorful, and there aren’t many watchfaces in there that are to my liking.The second problem you might face is that there isn’t a lot of 3rd party support for HarmonyOS.

It’s supposed to work with both iOS and Android, but you need the Huawei Health app. On Android, you need to sideload it, as it’s not on the Play Store. And the version on the App Store has a few less features than the Android version.

The Huawei-made apps and services are pretty fleshed out, don’t hope for a lot of 3rd party apps | Image by PhoneArena

All that said, the 1st party apps and features are pretty solid. You have training plans, you have AI instructions to push you further, you have a sleep tracker that historically has been good on the Huawei watches. The core elements are there, and that’s all that some need.

Price and availability

The Huawei Watch GT Runner 2 is currently available in Europe for the price of €399. So, it’s not trying to undercut the Galaxy Watch 8 or anything — Huawei is confident in the value that’s on offer here. My suggestion would be to find a way to browse the software and see if you are visually OK with it. Otherwise, it looks like a fine everyday watch / accurate sports tracker at a fair-ish price.