If your decision has come down to Huawei Watch GT 4 vs GT 5, the lack of differences may surprise you. And picking the cheaper GT 4 may be the smarter move.
The Huawei Watch GT 5 is the latest smartwatch in Huawei’s GT series and an excellent follow-up to the Huawei Watch GT 4.
We’re big fans of the Huawei Watch GT range — which mixes excellent sports tracking smarts with top design and screen tech.
But the GT 4 is still receiving software updates to enhance its smart powers — so that begs the question..what exactly is the difference between the GT5 and GT4, and which is right for you?
Here’s our take on how the Huawei Watch GT 5 compares to the older Huawei Watch GT 4 from our extensive testing.
How we tested
We’ve completed extensive in-depth testing of both of these devices in our Huawei Watch GT 5 review and Huawei Watch GT 4 reviews. Both scored an excellent 4-stars. But we’ve continued living with both devices on and off, to long-term test the data and insights. We also used both for our ongoing running and fitness training, gym sessions, sleep, and recovery — and tested alongside market-leading and validated wearables such as the Oura Ring 4 and Whoop 4.0.
Price and versions
The Huawei Watch GT 4 was first on the scene and is available in 41mm and 46mm sizes, with the price ranging depending on the size, finish, and mainly the strap option you opt for. Pricing starts $229/£229, with versions including a leather or woven strap bumping the price to $249/£249. While it’s not
As the GT 4 has been around for longer, it has dropped from its launch price and can be found for £30-£50 less in sales. The smaller 41mm version is more expensive with prices ranging from £249 to £349. If you want a metal strap, that pushes the price up here.
The Watch GT 5 largely sticks to the same pricing as the GT 4. There’s also 41mm and 46mm sizes, with pricing going from £229 to £269. Grabbing it with a metal or leather strap is what will make that price higher once again.
Winner: Huawei Watch GT 4
Specs comparison table
| Product name | Huawei Watch GT 5 | Huawei Watch GT 4 |
| Price | From £229 (US price TBC) | From £229/$229 |
| Display | AMOLED | AMOLED |
| Case size | 41mm and 46mm | 41mm and 46mm |
| Waterproof rating | Up to 50 metres and IP69K | Up to 50 metres |
| Screen size | 1.32-inch or 1.43-inch, 466 x 466 | 1.32-inch or 1.43-inch, 466 x 466 |
| Dual-band GPS | Yes (new Sunflower positioning system) | Yes |
| Heart rate sensor | Optical (new TruSense system) | Optical |
| Battery life | 14 (46mm) or 7 days (41mm) | 14 (46mm) or 7 days (41mm) |
Design, display, and build
Both come in two size models and offer the option to pair them up with fluoroelastomer, leather, woven or metallic removable straps. The designs across those sizes undeniably position the 46mm GT as the option for men, and the 41mm model as a smartwatch for women with the finish and looks on offer in both.
Both Huawei Watch GT models feature stainless steel cases with the version used on the GT 5 slimmer in comparison to the same-sized Watch GT 4 models. The weights are roughly the same, while both GT watches are rated 5ATM in terms of waterproofing. The GT 5 additionally offers an IP69K, giving it added protection against flowing water.
You’re getting the same functional crown and quick shortcut button on the GT 5 and the GT 4 while display sizes and resolutions remain the same across the ranges. It’s a 1.32-inch, 466 x 466 resolution AMOLED on the 41mm model and a larger 1.43-inch, 466 x 466 one on the 46mm GT series.
These are quality AMOLED panels available at this mid-range price that can be kept on at all times and offer sharp, colorful and vibrant surroundings to view fitness stats and those staple smartwatch features.
Winner: Draw
Smart features and OS
Huawei uses its own in-house HarmonyOS operating system which works with Android and iOS.
HarmonyOS enables notifications, downloading apps from the Huawei AppGallery, handling calls over Bluetooth, music controls, and a music player (Android only – via uploaded MP3s) with access to Huawei’s Celia smart assistant.
The GT 5 additionally gives access to a keyboard to reply to messages and the ability to capture screenshots from the watch.
Huawei does have a habit of rolling software features back to older watches and given the software experience is largely similar on the GT watches, it’s fair to think these might not be GT 5-only features forever.
However, both lack the kinds of advanced smart features, such as mobile payments, apps, and music streaming services, that make watchOS and Wear OS leading platforms for wearables.
But when comparing these two, it’s pretty much a dead heat.
Winner: Draw
Battery life
Again, there’s very little to separate the watches in both sizes in terms of battery life. The GT 4 46mm model promises 14 days of maximum battery, which drops to 8 days with more regular use of its onboard smarts and 4 days if you keep the screen on at all times.
The 41mm GT4 sees that maximum number drop to 7 days, which is further reduced to 4 days in that regular usage mode and then 2 days with the screen set to always-on.
Compare that with the battery numbers attached to the Huawei Watch GT 5 and while maximum battery numbers remain the same across the GT 5 and GT4, the regular use and always-on screen mode battery life promises improvements on the newer watch.
The 46mm GT 5 promises 9 days in regular use (up 1 day) and 5 days in always-on mode (up 1 day). It’s a similar story for the 41mm GT 5, which gets an extra day in regular and always-on modes.
How about in our real-world testing? Both watches lasted about 6 days with everything turned on. That’s a good performance but means there’s little to pick between the two.
In our GT5 review, Conor Allison said: “I enjoyed just shy of a week’s worth of battery life from the GT 5 even with the always-on display enabled and all of the health features set to continuous monitoring.”
And in the GT 4 review James Stables said: “I found a daily drop of around 15% – which equals around six days of battery life. That’s with all health metrics turned on, the always-on display enabled, and three hours of workouts.”
Winner: Draw
Tracking performance
We’ve been impressed with what the GT 4 and the GT 5 delivers on the fitness, sports and wellbeing tracking front and they largely match up with some differences that might make the newer GT 5 a better fit for some.
Both watches offer dual-band GNSS modes to boost outdoor tracking accuracy in more challenging environments, though the GT 5 additionally uses its new Sunflower positioning system that leans on an algorithm to boost the dual-band GNSS performance. According to Huawei, route accuracy is boosted by 40% and distance accuracy by 30% compared to its previous watches.
The other big hardware addition on the GT 5 is the introduction of Huawei’s TruSense system, which is essentially an upgrade to the sensor setup delivering metrics like heart rate and blood oxygen with improved accuracy.
It’s doing that by adding more LEDs and changing the glass used around the sensor. We found that the GT 4’s Huawei TruSeen 5.5+ sensor setup performed well in general for continuous and exercise-based monitoring.
Another extra you get on the GT 5 is the ability to view maps offline upload routes and use navigation features to help guide you on your way.
Users also get access to the kind of advanced running metrics we’ve seen crop up on watches from the likes of Apple, and Samsung and have been staples on watches from Garmin for some time. There’s also a new RouteDraw mode, which is a fun outdoor feature to help you draw out images with your trails.
While both the GT 5 and GT 4 offer similar activity and sleep tracking support, the GT 5 gets Huawei’s latest Activity rings widget which makes checking progress and setting target goals easier.
There are a few hardware extras on the GT 5 that you won’t see on the GT 4 with some extra software. They feel fairly minor, but it means the
Winner: Huawei Watch GT 5
Verdict
As you can see, there’s not a huge amount of tangible differences between these two smartwatches. So if you can get a great deal by choosing the Huawei Watch GT 4 — then do it with our blessing.
Buy Huawei Watch GT 5 if…You prefer the design and want slightly improved hardware to boost fitness and sports tracking performance.
Buy Huawei Watch GT 4 if…You want the Huawei GT smartwatch that’s going to offer largely the same core smartwatch and fitness tracking experience as the GT 5 for a bit less money.
Also consider: Huawei Watch GT 5 Pro – The GT 5 Pro will give you higher grade case materials, and richer mapping support for runners and golfers all wrapped up in a recreational dive-friendly design.
