Occasionally, I come across a product that almost immediately enhances my life.
The Huawei Watch D2 is such a product. In a very short space of time, it has persuaded me to only wear my previous favourite smartwatch, the Apple Watch Series 10, during activities associated with greater wear and tear (think, strenuous sport or gardening).
The reason for my enthusiasm? This smartwatch can do something that no other wearable can do, including the £799/$799 Apple Watch Ultra 2: measure my blood pressure.
Mike Sawh
We’re not talking about a setup like Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 7 here, where you have to first calibrate it using a cuff-based monitor.
No, this is a full blood pressure monitor in its own right, complete with a built-in inflating cuff. While not quite the gold standard position of the upper arm, testing in our full review suggested impressive accuracy.
As a Huawei device, the Watch D2 isn’t available in the US. But UK buyers can buy one from Amazon for £349.99 – an impressively low price when you consider the tech that’s on board.
And the importance of keeping an eye on your blood pressure can’t be overstated. High blood pressure is one of the biggest risk factors when it comes our long-term health. Recognising any changes that occur over the course of our lives is crucial.
Ingeniously simple blood pressure measurements
The watch takes the measurement completely unobtrusively. The blood pressure measurement is quiet and only takes a few seconds. I don’t have to unpack and put on a blood pressure monitor, but simply hold my wrist-mounted smartwatch over my heart.
It’s ingeniously simple and discreet. And actually relatively accurate!
Mike Sawh
When our sister site PC-Welt tested the original Huawei Watch D, which uses the same technology as the D2, they quoted a German cardiologist who said he used the watch privately and was “satisfied” with the results.
While it’s not a medical device, the Watch D2 is a great way to keep an eye on your blood pressure without the need to use a dedicated device all the time.
The Watch D2 can even monitor blood pressure 24 hours a day and automatically record it at night, without you needing to do anything.
This ABPM (Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring) measurement provides an objective picture of my blood pressure that is not distorted by short-term influences. It works really impressively well. I feel really good the next day when I look at the blood pressure readings from the previous night and know that my blood pressure is within the normal range.
Mike Sawh
Excellent battery life
Inflating the cuff naturally consumes battery power. But even though I measure my blood pressure several times a day and take a 24-hour ABPM measurement twice a week, a full charge easily lasts for a whole week. That’s something Apple Watch users can’t even dream of.
What’s more, the battery can be charged relatively quickly. We went from 0-100% in just under an hour.
that. And the long-lasting battery can also be charged very quickly.
To make sure that my Huawei Watch D2 actually delivers realistic value, I regularly take comparative measurements with high-quality blood pressure monitors from Beurer.
Mike Sawh
It turns out that the Watch D2 usually displays slightly different values. But that’s not a problem because, firstly, I can memorise the difference to the values of the Beurer upper arm blood pressure monitor and, secondly, the values of the Huawei Watch D2 are close enough to reliably assess my blood pressure.
Whether I have 117 to 81 or 122 to 77 is not important. It’s just important to know that it’s not 140 to 90 or even higher. And unlike the Beurer upper arm measuring device, the nightly measurement during sleep gives me values that are not impacted by acute stress or excitement.
Don’t want a watch with blood pressure monitoring? See our guide to the top 10 best smartwatches you can buy.
This article originally appeared on our sister publication PC-WELT and was translated and adapted from German.
Read the full article here
