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Huawei GT 3 : Swimming Features And What To Expect

ByOlsen Ia

If you are thinking of buying the Huawei GT3 based purely on its swimming features alone then this article will interest you.  The Huawei GT3 is very equipped to handle the rigours of swimming activities, with a reasonable water resistance level of 5ATM.

In this article I will be discussing the following topics

  • Swimming Modes on Offer
  • Swimming Metrics on Offer
  • Heart Rate Tracking & What To Expect

What Swimming Modes Are On Offer

The Huawei GT 3 offers 2 different swimming modes.  Technically there are 3 if you count triathlon mode, but in this case there are really 2.

First Mode : Pool Swim

Not a lot to this mode other than it’s a standard feature.  In the advanced options before you begin your pool swim workout, you have 3 advanced options. 

Option 1 : Goal Setting

Goal setting is  a nice feature if you are looking to beat your previous record in 3 different categories which is laps, calories burned, number of laps.  Quite a handy option if you are either looking to get a feel how your training is going at the moment, or possibly breaking a personal record.  The option is available if need be.

Option 2 : Set Pool Length

The title says it all really.  In the options you have 2 default pool lengths which are 25 metres and 50 metres.  If the 25 or 50 metre option doesn’t work for you, then you have the option to set a custom pool length.  The custom pool length is a nice option to have.

Option 3 : Sets of Laps

The title says it all really.  In the options you have the choice of setting a set of laps of 1,2,3 4 or custom.

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These are the advanced options that are available to you when you use Pool Swim mode.  It’s very similar to the Polar Pacer and Garmin Forerunner 255 on offer.

Second Mode : Open Water Swim

Open water settings are slightly different.  The advanced options offered are the same as option 1 and 3 as per the pool swim mode.  GPS tracking is available in this mode once you begin your open water swim.  GPS tracking is one of the top battery drainers and unfortunately the Huawei GT3 does not have that option for you.  Just be aware that if you plan to do an open water swim, battery life will drain a little quicker.

I did an article on the Huawei GT3 battery life and if you do around 100 minutes of GPS tracking activities i.e. running, hiking or cycling your battery life is likely to be 2-3 days.  So just be aware of that..

What Swimming Metrics Are On Offer

Apart from tracking the number of calories burned, or the duration of your swimming workout, the Huawei GT 3 can offer a little more insight than that.  It can offer metrics such as 

  • Strokes/minute
  • SWOLF
  • Advanced heart rate tracking
  • Average pace

I have attached some photos so you can get an idea of what to expect.  I’m not a swimmer so my numbers don’t look as impressive, but it was really about gathering intelligence when writing this article.  If you are a person who swims competitively, hopefully this information would be useful to you.

Huawei-GT3-Metrics for swimming

Heart Rate Tracking & What To Expect.

Heart rate tracking during swimming is very hard.  The watch’s heart rate sensors have to deal with 2 types of dynamic movement that can affect the tracking accuracy.  The 2 dynamic movements I’m talking about are arm movement (swimming motion) and the arm movement under water.(dynamic pressure).  For a more accurate reading your arm needs to move less, i.e. indoor cycling, walking.  

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If heart rate accuracy is important to you during swimming, then maybe consider looking at the Polar Pacer, Polar Pacer Pro or the Polar Vantage.  These 3 devices have the patented Polar precision prime sensor.  It’s the only one in the market to incorporate a triple sensor fusion. 

If you are not familiar with sensor fusion, it’s basically the watch collects information from 3 sensors and not 1, therefore a more accurate outcome.  It collects information from your heart rate, skin temperature and the 3 dimensional movement of your arm to determine the accurate heart rate.  Polar is the only smart watch brand that is actively invested in providing a solution to this for at least 5-7 years.  You can take a look at their research papers to see if this would be useful to you.

More On Polar’s Precision Prime Sensor Click Here

Conclusion

For anyone that does a lot of swimming activities, I hope I have provided enough information in this article that will help you decide if the Huawei GT3 is for you. There is enough information here to provide a general idea of your swimming activity. My metrics isn’t the best but it was the only way to provide at least some insight if the watch is a perfect match to you.

Also I forgot to mention that if you use the open water swimming mode, the GPS tracking will consume 12% battery per 1 hour of swimming activity. This number has been consistent when I have tested the GPS tracking battery consumption in trail running mode, hiking and cycling.

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Also from a performance perspective, I hope I have covered enough information here to convince you that the Huawei GT3 is a perfect match for you. There is an alternative with the Polar Pacer or the Garmin Forerunner 255 as they both have provided watch’s for swimmers much longer than other brands.

Thank you so much for reading