Huawei GT3 PRO vs Galaxy Watch 5 : Which Will You Choose
Two of the most popular smart watch brands in the market to date which is the Huawei GT3 PRO and Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5. This would make a great comparison article because they are like for like devices.
When ever I test a device, I test it through six different categories through my own testing system that allows you to see how a device performs against other devices from a unbiased perspective, which is perfect for you if you are deciding to buy either device.
In the end the final score between both devices in comparison is 2-2-2. If I was to choose a winner, I would consider the device with the superior battery life because it dictates your overall experience, and therefore the Huawei GT3 PRO would be the device that takes it out. Here is a summary of the final scores.
| Sector | Winner |
| Smart Features | Galaxy Watch 5 |
| Health Features | Draw |
| Third Party Apps | Galaxy Watch 5 |
| Workout Mode Ability | GT3 PRO |
| GPS Tracking | Draw |
| Battery Life | GT3 PRO |
I will go into detail as to how I go about declaring a winner for each category. I have already written a full article with testing results for each device so I will provide those links, with full testing criteria, so you get an idea of what I look out for when I test a device.
In this article I will provide a quick summary of facts, which will be a list of advantages that one device has over the other. I think this is critical to know if you are deciding to buy either device, because both devices isn’t so cheap (from a New Zealand perspective).
Lastly, if you are not familiar with my comparison articles, I do not provide comparisons based on specifications. The comparison data that you will see are based off my own testing data that gives you a true picture of what to expect before you buy.
1. Smart Features : Winner Galaxy Watch 5
| Level | Watch 5 | GT3 PRO |
| Strength | Strong | Strong |
| Beginner | 5/5 | 5/5 |
| Intermediate | 5/5 | 4/5 |
| Advanced | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Final Score | 14/15 | 12/15 |
I have given both devices a very strong rating in this category and is one of the most important categories as because people have grown to trust these features over the years. If you dont know what smart feature ability is, it’s the ability to provide some form of automation into your day to day lives. If you want to see how I got the final scores for each device check out the following articles Huawei GT3 : Smart feature ability is very strong and Galaxy Watch 5 : Smart feature ability is absolutely fantastic .
As far as advantages go, the Galaxy Watch 5 have a whole list of features that gives it the advantage, however the Huawei GT3 has one thing that matters in this category and why I declared it the winner. Here is a list of features that the Galaxy Watch 5 has over the Huawei GT3 PRO.
| Galaxy Watch 5 | Huawei GT3 PRO |
| NFC pay | Battery economy |
| SOS messaging | |
| Digital assistant | |
| Better call experience | |
| Gesture control | |
| Connect to Smart home |
Huawei GT3 PRO Advantages
The one thing that the GT3 PRO has that really matters is a far better battery economy. If you didn’t know, smart features can have a heavy toll on your battery life. When it comes to battery economy for smart features, the Galaxy Watch 5 is very weak and you will have to charge your watch every day, some times
In my experience I have to plan my usage which is a hassle. I like to use the GPS tracking (which is another battery burner) for my workouts, so I have to manage the battery life and have at least 50% remaining before I train. If not, I miss out on tracking which is frustrating, because I would burn 40% battery while using GPS tracking.
With GT3 PRO, I dont have these issues, and go about my day normally without the hassle of constantly looking at my watch if I have enough battery life for my workouts.
Galaxy Watch 5 Advantages
NFC pay : Huawei GT3 PRO does have a NFC chip built in, which means it does have the ability to NFC pay. But you need to check with your bank if Huawei pay is supported in your country. Google pay and Apple pay are the most trusted NFC pay systems around the world.
SOS messaging : The Huawei GT3 PRO does not have this feature so if you are someone that always take precautions when you are doing outdoor activities, the Galaxy Watch 5 has it. It’s very good, and it has fall detection as well which is a great advantage if you dont have the ability to not activate a SOS manually. I do have a article sharing my experience using this feature Galaxy Watch 5 : what to expect when sending a SOS message. I give tutorials on how to set it up, and show you what your emergency contact would see when you activate a SOS message.
Digital Assistant : One of the most handy features, I keep this down to a minimum as it can burn your battery life, but is very useful when voice activating features or call upon the device if you require any information.
Better call experience : The GT3 PRO does have this feature as both devices can make calls and answer calls directly from the device. I guess the only limitation that the GT3 PRO has is you can only have 20 favourite contacts, whereas the Galaxy Watch 5 you can connect to all you contacts.
Gesture control : Is another way to activate your smart watch features but in my experience you have to really practise the gesture in order to for the apps to launch or answering or ending a phone call. Check out my article Galaxy Watch 5 : what to expect when using gesture control, It will explain some of things to look out for.
Connect to smart home : This is where you download the smart things app and connect to smart home device using your watch. You have to look at the list of devices within the smart things app, so you know what devices by brand you can connect or stream to. I will be doing a full article on this pretty soon.
2. Health Features : Draw
When it comes to health features I think, both devices are fairly even but they each have an advantage over each other. Both devices can provide your daily health metrics like all day heart rate tracking, blood oxygen, stress management and women’s health and sleep tracking.
| Galaxy Watch 5 | Huawei GT3 PRO |
| Snore detection | ECG analysis |
| Blood pressure | Skin temperature |
Galaxy Watch 5 Advantages
Snore detection : The Huawei GT3 PRO does have this feature but the Galaxy Watch is far better. The Watch can provide a time line when you snored, the number of times your snored and the total time snored during sleep. You can also record your sleep as well by using your phones microphone. If you want to know more, check out my article Galaxy Watch : what you need to know about snore detection. You must have the phone charging because the microphone recording can burn your phones battery life.
Blood pressure : This is a new feature, and the Huawei GT3 PRO does have this feature but is unavailable yet here in New Zealand. You have to download the Samsung Health blood pressure app, and you have to have a blood pressure monitor with you to calibrate the device and correlate data.
Huawei GT3 PRO Advantages
ECG Analysis : The Galaxy Watch has the feature also, but the only difference, is that the GT3 PRO is medically graded, which means this device goes through a vigorous test regime to earn the label medically graded. The device seems to alert you when the best time to do a ECG test, or you can do manually. In my experience the device always alert me after a workout when I reach a training stress level of 3. It checks to see if my heart rhythm may possibly skip during cool down.
Skin Temperature : You can opt to take skin temperature readings manually or continuously. Your skin is the largest organ of the body and monitoring it’s temperature can tell you a lot about your health. Unfortunately the device does not offer anything else for example Fitbit devices use skin temperature to improve your sleep as your core needs to be low enough to have a deep sleep, or stress as electro currents run through your skin that is typically related to anxiety, so please just be aware of that.
3. Third Party App Ability : Winner Galaxy Watch 5
| Feature | Watch 5 | GT3 PRO |
| Strength | Very Strong | Strong |
| Connection Type | Bluetooth | Bluetooth |
| App Stores | 5/5 | 2/5 |
| In Direct Ability | 5/5 | 5/5 |
| Direct Ability | 4/5 | 4/5 |
| Final Score | 14/15 | 11/15 |
Third party integration is probably the Galaxy Watch’s strongest category with a near perfect score, whereas the GT3 PRO does hold it’s own. The GT3 PRO does match the Galaxy Watch 5 when it comes to indirect ability. Here is the list of advantages that each device has over each other.
| Watch 5 | GT3 PRO |
| Stronger app store | In direct ability |
| Direct ability | Ecosystems |
Galaxy Watch 5 Advantages
Stronger app store : Huawei app store doesn’t quite offer you the same experience as the Google play store can offer.
Direct Ability : Direct ability is where you can control a third party app directly from your watch. The only hassle with this is you must carry your phone with you, so if you dont mind that then you can do that. The other advantages is that you can control some of the more popular third party apps from your device, like Strava, Adidas running or Komoot.
Huawei GT3 PRO Advantages
In direct ability : This is where you can share your Huawei Health tracking data with a third party app as a partnership. The GT3 PRO can match the experience of the Galaxy Watch. It’s my favourite way to connect to third party apps and if you want to know more about how I test the device check out my article Huawei GT3 PRO : Third party app ability is reasonably good.
Ecosystems : With the Galaxy Watch, you can only use one Ecosystem and that is the android operating system. Huawei on the other hand can work with android and Harmony OS which is Huawei’s operating system. Here in New Zealand the app gallery is very limited so some apps only work with Harmony OS only. If you have a apple device, Im afraid it wont work.
4. Workout Mode Ability : Winner Huawei GT3 PRO
| Criteria | Watch 5 | GT3 PRO |
| Strength | Average | Very Strong |
| Speciality | Smart Apps | Activity |
| Basic Level | 5/5 | 5/5 |
| Intermediate Level | 1/5 | 5/5 |
| Advanced Level | 1/5 | 3/5 |
| Final Score | 7/15 | 13/15 |
There is only one clear winner in this category and that is the Huawei GT3 PRO, and it’s far beyond a basic fitness tracker as it can provide training information at intermediate and advanced level but more specifically for a runner. If you want to know more check out my article Huawei GT3 PRO : Workout mode ability is very strong. It will give you an idea of what I test for when I rate a device.
In regards to the Galaxy Watch 5, it’s a basic level fitness tracker at best. When it comes to intermediate or advanced level fitness tracking, you would need to use a third party app, which is probably why the Galaxy Watch 5 has a strong third party app ability. But it does tell you that Samsung Health doesn’t quite have the same depth of fitness tracking as Huawei Health, which reflects in the final scores.
| Watch 5 | GT3 PRO |
| Training load management | |
| Determine fitness levels | |
| Recovery times | |
| Improve running | |
| Prepare you for a race | |
| Improve golf swing |
Huawei GT3 PRO Advatages
Training load management : Very useful tool to manage your training stress. Training load accounts for your sleep quality, training intensity, and your level of stress and computes a easy to read score. If your training load is low, you can train at high intensities, if your training load is too high, you can do recovery workouts such as walking or stretching.
Determine fitness levels : The device can do this in two ways, first is V02 max, which is a measure of how much your body can absorb oxygen efficiently. This feature is really part of the built in running program only, very useful feature. The second method is through heart rate recovery, which is where you take your heart rate 2 minutes after your workout. The goal is to have your heart rate as close to resting heart rate. Basically what it means is your body’s ability to recovery after a training session.
Recovery times : A very useful tool to allow enough time to recover. For example, if your heart rate is in zone 3 or higher for long periods, then your body will undergo a high level of training stress therefore require a longer rest period to recover. The device does provide a timer so you get an idea when you can train next.
Improve running : If you are someone that is looking to improve your running or wanting to start running then the GT3 PRO can do a great job. Its got features like metronome, which can help improve your cadence, connect to Bluetooth motion sensors, and it’s got it’s own running program.
Prepare you for a race : This is more for runners, as the device has race predictor for a marathon or half marathon. Also the device has lactic threshold, where you do a series of running test’s that last’s for at least 25 minutes. Once you have complete your test, you would be able to determine your ideal running pace before lactic acid generates at a rapid rate.
Improve golf swing : If you are someone that wants to improve your swing then the GT3 PRO can give you some feed back about your swing
5. GPS Tracking : Draw
| Criteria | Watch 5 | GT3 PRO |
| Strength | Strong | Strong |
| No of Sensors | 5 | 5 |
| Extra’s | Assisted GPS | Dual band |
| Basic test | 5/5 | 5/5 |
| Hard test | 1/5 | 1/5 |
| Very hard test | 4/5 | 4/5 |
| Final Score | 10/15 | 10/15 |
Both devices are very reliable when it comes to GPS tracking, but the only issue is the hard test I did where both device’s performed poorly. In the hard test, I planned my route where 80% of the route is through a township, and the main GPS obstruction is tall buildings.
To be fair I did not get to connect to all GPS systems because of my location in the world. I cannot connect to BeiDou (only covers Chinese territories) and QZSS (pacific territories). I dont know if that had an impact on my results, so I just wanted you to know that in case you may have different results.
If you want to see how I go about measuring the accuracy of each device check out articles Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 : GPS tracking is very good and also check out Huawei GT3 PRO : Is GPS tracking accurate? . Both articles have images and test scenarios that you should look into if GPS tracking is important to you.
6. Battery Life : Winner Huawei GT3 PRO
| Tests | Watch 5 | GT3 PRO |
| Strength | Weak | Very Strong |
| Battery economy without GPS Tracking | 1/5 | 4/5 |
| GPS Battery consumption | 4/5 | 5/5 |
| Final Score | 5/10 | 9/10 |
The Huawei GT3 PRO is the clear winner in this category and the final score speaks for it’s self. With the latest updates with the Galaxy Watch 5, there was improvements to the GPS battery consumption. When I first got the device, it was a one star, now it’s improved to a 4 star.
When I do a battery life test, I do two types of test’s, the first test is based on my typical usage without GPS tracking, and the second test is GPS battery consumption per hour, which is very important to those that do a lot of GPS tracking for long periods of time.
If you want to know more about how I got my final results check out my articles Huawei GT3 PRO : Has a absolutely amazing battery life and also check out Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 : Battery life isn’t the greatest
Battery Life Economy Without GPS Tracking
- battery life test ends once 90% has been consumed
- test results are based on my typical usage
- Huawei GT3 PRO is 48% more efficient than the Galaxy Watch 5
| Criteria | Watch 5 | GT3 PRO |
| Battery economy without GPS Tracking | 35% | 10% |
| No of days | 2.5 | 9 |
| Star rating | 1/5 | 4/5 |
GPS Battery Consumption
- Battery life test ends once 90% has been consumed
- test results is based on my typical usage
- The Huawei GT3 PRO is three times more efficient than the Galaxy Watch 5 when it comes to GPS battery consumption
| Criteria | Watch 5 | GT3 PRO |
| Battery economy without GPS Tracking | 35% | 10% |
| GPS Battery consumption per hour | 9% | 6% |
| Total battery consumption per day | 44% | 16% |
| No of days | 2 | 6 |
7. Final Conclusion
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have learnt a lot about both devices in comparison. I tried to keep the article short enough, but my hope is that I have pinpointed the areas that really matter to you. If you need to know more information please do take the time to check out the other articles that I highlighted in each category, because you will get to see what I test for and how I go about rating a device for each category.
I know that the comparison ended in a draw, so it goes to show that this match up is very good and not so lopsided like my previous articles. I did also mention that I chose the Huawei GT3 PRO as the winner, not because of it’s price, but instead it’s superior battery life.
Im really sharing my testing experience with you guy’s because I did find the Galaxy Watch 5 battery life a bit of a hassle. I mentioned earlier that I would have to manage my usage so I have enough battery life to do GPS tracking at the end of the day, then recharge the device again so I can track my sleep before I go to sleep.
I do use watch only mode to conserve battery life, but it comes at a cost which is shutting the device off for most of the day and switching it back on when needed. If only it had a better battery life like the Huawei GT3 PRO then the Galaxy Watch 5 would be the best device on the market. Thank you for reading.
