Comfortable and long-lasting

Review: Huawei Watch GT Runner 2 - Marathon and more

Huawei wants to create the conditions for marathon performances with its updated smartwatch for runners from beginners to world-class.

Published 2 April 2026 - 10:46

A light, compact and smooth design is combined with an improved GPS where the watch, which is entirely made of titanium, itself acts as an antenna. When Huawei now updates its running watch, they do several things right. The first thing I appreciate is the woven strap. That it fastens seamlessly, is light and fits well, and also dries quickly is good when you run, but it also makes the watch comfortable in other contexts and above all does not disturb much when you sleep and want to measure sleep. Yes, in addition to being specialised and optimised for running, the watch can do everything that Huawei's other watches can. It measures ECG and heart health, shows notifications from the phone, syncs the calendar, has navigation and a range of sports modes beyond running, such as Huawei's golf features with detailed maps of the course you are playing on.

The design of the watch itself gives a sporty and durable impression, which is confirmed by the fact that the watch is made of light and durable titanium. In addition to the woven strap, there is also an extra rubber one, and my test sample of the watch has orange details that are reflected in both straps. There is also a colour-matched blue variant and a more discreet black. The design makes the watch suitable and practical in most contexts, both in everyday life and when you train. Titanium is durable and practical in many contexts, possibly I think the sharp edges and the thickness of the watch can be in the way and get in the way a bit when I sleep with the watch. Then a more streamlined design would have been preferable. At the same time, we should not exaggerate how small and smooth the watch is. It is more compact and lighter than its predecessor, but still heavier, more expensive and thicker than, for example, the Apple Watch, which also has apps, esim and other things Huawei lacks.

Good positioning

During the test period of a few weeks, I manage to complete about thirty training sessions, around fifty kilometres of running and more than double that in walks. When I start a training session on the watch for the first time, it takes only about two seconds before the watch signals that it has found the GPS position and is ready. This is something that Huawei themselves highlight, that the watch should have improved GPS that both finds the position faster and then provides a more accurate distance and mapped route for your training, even in tunnels actually. I have no complaints at all about the accuracy of the position, and even when I travel to San Francisco and run among skyscrapers, the watch manages to indicate the position well in the challenging environment.

A couple of times when I have travelled between countries and am training for the first time on a new continent, the watch has a bit of trouble finding the position at the start, but once I have found and fixed it, it goes smoothly, and the watch finds the position in between 2 and at most maybe 10 seconds.

The function to get the right position even in tunnels is a bit difficult for me to test, simply because I find very few tunnels when I run. Huawei exemplifies the function with a tunnel in a curve, where the watch's sensors provide the correct route, but the few tunnels I run in are both straight and short, so even other watches get the right position without problems. It is simply not a particularly decisive function to focus on. The marathon planning that the watch offers is also not crucial. It allows me to search for races, but the selection is limited, and even if I can manually enter the race I have as a goal, the training plan that is set up is quite weakly linked to my form and performance, so there are better ways to get guidance than via the watch.

Detailed information

More important is what the watch provides me with in terms of information during and after the training sessions I have completed. I have already mentioned that the positioning is accurate and that distance, heart rate, and other metrics such as power, average pace, step frequency, and so on are on par with other watches. I test several watches in roughly the same price range, and it is very rare for any watch to deviate in the data they provide. If I have a watch on each arm and they signal a new kilometre, there is often only a few steps difference. This is also the case here, and the Huawei Watch GT Runner 2 is among the best in its class, but without being extreme.

Huawei's watches, including this one, work with either Android or iPhone. You connect the watch to the Huawei Health app, which you first download to your phone, and in that app, everything from connection to settings and reporting and analysis of training and health data is managed. After completing a session, I can see a long list of values measured during the run. The watch measures, for example, in addition to the obvious pace, distance, and heart rate, also rhythm, power, and contact time with the ground. The app also gathers insights based on recent data collected and alerts you to trends, such as whether your resting heart rate, training volume, blood oxygen level, or steps are increasing or decreasing. In the app, you can add family and close friends and share your health data with each other, but this requires that they also have Huawei Health. If you want to share your training sessions with more casual acquaintances, you can ensure that Huawei Health sends the sessions to Adidas Running, Komoot, or Strava. And in this way, you can share successes and cheer each other on even if those you share with have, for example, a Garmin or Apple Watch.

Depends on the phone

As a smartwatch, the Huawei Watch GT Runner 2 has somewhat varying functionality depending on which phone it is connected to. This also applies to Huawei's other watches and is partly due to limitations in what a watch paired with an iPhone can access according to Apple. However, this may change as the EU forces Apple to open up its system more to third-party watches from companies other than Apple itself. Currently, you receive notifications from the phone regardless of which phone you have, but you can only respond to notifications from the watch if you have connected it to an Android. The same applies to music; with Android, you can transfer music files and play them to headphones without having the phone with you, but this is not possible if you have the watch connected to an iPhone.

Compared to other watches, Huawei stands out primarily with good battery life. Many days pass between the occasions when I have to charge it, and I use the watch around the clock with about an hour of recorded training per day, including GPS. When it needs to be charged, both the included charging puck and any wireless charger work, so no special connection is required as many others do.

A new feature is that you can now tap to pay in stores with the watch, thanks to a collaboration with the Curve service, so it requires you to sign up with them and that your existing payment card that you link is supported by the service.

In short, the Huawei Watch GT Runner 2 provides an updated experience for running, with several advantages that are useful in other contexts as well.

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