Like a Pro

Review: Huawei Watch D2 - Astonishingly Good, Measures Blood Pressure for Real

Despite this watch having an unrivalled range of health measurements, the built-in blood pressure cuff is of course the most impressive, the watch is both sleek and has most of the other features we look for in a smartwatch.

Erik Mörner

Published 2 April 2025 - 17:18

With a tap on the screen, I activate the watch's blood pressure measurement, and it is indeed the world's first watch certified for this, featuring a real cuff in the strap with air cushions. No calibration is needed to measure blood pressure with the Huawei Watch D2, which is required, for example, with the Samsung Galaxy Watch.

When I start a measurement, I feel the strap slowly squeezing tighter and tighter around my wrist, and a measurement takes about a minute. Considering that all manufacturers have talked for so long about new sensors and more advanced measurements directly on the wrist, it feels exciting that it is now actually here. I can choose to do manual measurements and to continuously measure throughout the day. I then receive recurring reminders to measure myself during the day, and then at night when I sleep, the watch measures on its own without my involvement. During the night when the watch measures at regular intervals, I do not wake up from it, but if I am half-asleep, the watch's measurements definitely make me wake up a bit more. This continuous measurement over a day is not something you would want to do all the time.

Just at night, before testing, I am worried that the watch will be bulky, given that it has so many measurement functions, but that concern proves unfounded. Sure, the Huawei watch is clearly thicker than, for example, the Apple Watch (about 15 mm thick compared to the Apple Watch series 10, which is the thinnest Apple Watch ever measuring 9.7 mm), but it easily slides under the shirt and jumper cuff and does not bother me at all, even when I sleep with it.

The watch has an air cushion in the strap

To test how accurate the measurement actually is, I go to my nearest pharmacy and pay 70 kronor for a professional measurement. The pharmacy's equipment comes in a small bag, and it's fascinating to think that all that technology is in the watch. There, I first sit on a chair and wait for ten minutes, so that it will be a resting measurement, and then both before and after the professional measurement, I measure with the watch. The values match, so my assessment is that the watch does a really professional job. A big advantage of having blood pressure measurement always with you is that you can take measurements whenever you want and often, to get a more accurate picture than from occasional visits to the pharmacy or health centre.

In addition to blood pressure measurement, the Huawei Watch D2 also handles a wide range of other health and fitness data. I naturally measure sleep and both walks and runs with the watch, and with one press, I can take a combined measurement of various health data such as blood oxygen levels, arterial stiffness, pulse, ECG, and more. Then I get a combined health report in the form of a PDF file that I can share, and everything is, of course, compiled in the app on the phone.

Just like Huawei's other watches, this one works with both Android and iPhone. You receive notifications from the phone that you can read on the watch, but the ability to, for example, stream Spotify and make contactless payments in stores is missing. Additionally, the ability to respond to notifications on the watch is limited if you have Android and completely absent if you use an iPhone. Huawei Watch D2 simply excels in other areas.