Huawei Watch Fit 5 Pro Review
Huawei Watch Fit 5 Pro pros and cons
Exceptional battery life, spanning days rather than hours.
Professional-grade sports and cycling metrics.
Display brightness excels outdoors.
No NFC payment support (yet) in UK.
Limitations to smartwatch app ecosystem.
Bulky profile for dainty wrists.
Echoing the rugged design cues of the Apple Watch Ultra series, the Huawei Watch Fit 5 Pro emerges as an affordable alternative with a comprehensive suite of health metrics, striking design cues, as well as support for iPhone and Android devices alike.
Does it have what it takes to make you feel the burn? Read on to find out in our Huawei Watch Fit 5 Pro review!
Design and specifications
With the UK market facing a Summer deluge of smart bands, watches and fitness trackers, the Huawei Watch Fit 5 Pro manages to carve out a strong initial impression with its combination of the new and familiar.
This robust smartwatch presents a slender profile that more than matches current favourites, with subtle curves and design accents that lift it out of the basic fitness band category that its entry-level price point suggests.
Build quality is excellent, focussing squarely on longevity and active use, without compromising on aesthetics.
The main chassis is crafted from lightweight aerospace-grade aluminium, while the raised bezel features a premium titanium alloy capped with 2.5D sapphire glass, making it perfect for defence against dings and scrapes.
With precise physical dimensions measuring 44.5mm by 40.8mm by 9.5 mm, it really does lend a sleek profile on the wrist, which is a testament to the pace of innovation that persists in the smartwatch arena. The Watch Fit 5 Pro is certainly sport-coded in terms of looks, but equally won’t embarrass your wrist on a night out.
Weighing just 30.4g without the strap, the meticulously balanced weight distribution ensures comfort during intense workouts, but also an incredibly important aspect for effective overnight sleep tracking.
Navigation through the Fit 5 Pro’s interface is a joy, thanks to the physical rotating crown on the right side of the device. This tactile dial allows users to effortlessly scroll through lengthy daily health reports or seamlessly navigate around the customisable app grid.
Once again, there is a hint of familiarity to both the interface and method of interaction for anyone who is the least bit accustomed with Apple’s wristwear, but it is still a great experience.
Each rotation is accompanied by subtle, satisfying haptic feedback from the internal linear motor, guaranteeing precise selection without overshooting your target. This physical control method proves exceptionally useful after a hectic workout or even whilst wearing gloves, providing a highly reliable alternative to standard touchscreen swipes.
The internal vibration more generally lends clear and tactile feedback to incoming notifications, alerts or morning alarms, with gentle, firm buzzes.
Comparing the aesthetics directly to the wider market, the Watch Fit 5 Pro’s styling leans heavily into the rugged, premium territory of the Apple Watch Ultra 3, which is particularly striking on the model reviewed.
This variant unapologetically evokes the gold-accented case and distinctive, vibrant orange nylon strap that has been popularised by the mega-brand. Huawei notes this updated woven material is 2.5 times more breathable than its previous straps, making it exceptionally well-suited for heavy training sessions.
Huawei's take on it still delivers much of that high-end look and feel, with many interested colleagues outside of the iOS ecosystem taking an avid interest in this novel spin on the popular smartwatch.
The two other colour variants of the device, black or white, arrive with a body-coloured fluoroelastomer strap more akin to traditional digital watches. These are no less functional, but certainly a tad more pedestrian.
When pitted against its own predecessor, the Watch Fit 4 Pro, this diminutive device trims the screen’s borders down to a razor-thin 1.8mm to achieve an impressive 83 per cent screen-to-body ratio, with less than 1cm added to its width and only 0.2mm to the thickness, despite improvements in battery and display alike.
These are essential builds when it comes to both comfort and legibility of the Watch Fit 5 Pro, and even more impressive to have done so without adding bulkiness or heft to a device where every gram counts.
Indeed, when compared to the 4 Pro's dimensions of 44.5mm by 40.0mm by 9.3mm, the 5 Pro is a mere 0.8mm wider and 0.2mm thicker, all at the exact same weight.
One particularly smart detail is the dual quick-release button system located on the underbelly of the casing, which is often a bugbear on devices of this nature.
This feature makes the process of removing and swapping the straps incredibly easy, allowing users to switch seamlessly from a sweaty, breathable workout band to an alternative in mere seconds. There is a welcome array of options, with more than 25 available to purchase.
Furthermore, the watch boasts some decent durability credentials, featuring IP6X dust protection and 5 ATM water resistance alongside a formal EN13319 certification for free-diving down to a depth of 40 metres.
However, these durability specifications come with notable limitations, namely that the baseline water rating stops short of high-velocity water impact, alongside caveats around vulnerabilities against extreme heat. This is a consideration for those who like to take their smartwatches into the sauna, but broadly speaking the Watch Fit 5 Pro is built to withstand the elements.
Lastly, if you do opt for one of the many nylon straps, it is advised to manually swap to a rubber strap before swimming, as the woven material is less suited to heavy water exposure.
These are understandable drawbacks in this price bracket and serve as guidance over hard-and-fast mandates, but it is important to note that this fitness band does have a couple of asterisks when it comes to wear and tear.
Display and audio
The 1.92-inch flexible AMOLED screen is arguably the sharpest panel in its weight class. It provides a discernible upgrade over the 1.82-inch display found on the previous generation, and once again offers more all-important real estate for swiping through features and functions.
This roomy, rectangular display also hits a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, ensuring excellent visibility even under direct, intense sunlight. This is a massive boon for the kinds of conditions this smartwatch excels in, and places it head-and-shoulders above others in this price bracket.
The Watch Fit 5 Pro’s panel also benefits from advanced LTPO technology, allowing the refresh rate to dynamically scale from a smooth 60Hz during active use down to a highly efficient 1Hz to conserve battery when using the always-on display. This is perfect for the vibrant watch faces and detailed metrics that glide across its face.
The device is equipped with a built-in microphone and speaker, making it simple to easily take Bluetooth calls directly from the wrist, record quick voice memos on the go and manage local music playback. The latter is surprisingly loud, especially when utilising the voice-assisted workout tracker with its piercingly booming voice!
It is important to note that the Watch Fit 5 Pro is exclusively Bluetooth-only, meaning that your mobile needs to come on any trips for communication capabilities, as there is no 5G or eSIM support here.
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Performance and software
Running on Huawei's proprietary HarmonyOS platform, the Watch Fit 5 Pro’s software still delivers an incredibly smooth, vivid, yet power-efficient user experience.
A major advantage of this operating system is its broad platform agnosticism, happily connecting to both iOS or Android devices with the relevant Huawei Health app.
However, iOS users will encounter some specific limitations, such as the inability to send quick replies to incoming text messages directly from the wrist.
Another massive software advancement is the inclusion of NFC payments. The lack of reliable contactless payment support was a persistent issue on prior devices in this range, including when we reviewed the Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro, so its appearance here is welcome, albeit with caveats.
Huawei's own contactless solution does lack direct integration with standard UK high street banks, requiring users to set up and link a Curve Pay digital wallet to make any wrist-based transactions.
Prospective buyers should also be prepared for a rather tedious initial setup. It is a little bit fraught and requires navigating a mountain of terms and conditions before you can get started.
It is entirely understandable given the health-related nature of this device, and one can only imagine the degree to which Huawei needs to adhere to rules and regulations to deliver some of this more granular functionality, but it is a bit of a frustration to find a key feature hasn’t been working as intended due to not having scrolled through miles of red tape.
On that note, the mandatory Huawei Health companion app demands a particularly extensive amount of smartphone integration to work as intended, requiring extensive permissions for notifications, location tracking and continuous background operation.
Once again the reasons make complete sense, but a degree of smoothing over or streamlining this process would certainly make onboarding to the Watch Fit 5 Pro less turbulent.
Additionally, users will find the restricted AppGallery significantly smaller than the extensive app stores available on Google’s WearOS or Apple watchOS. For example, while it is easy to reply to messages on WhatsApp, complete with a cosy keyboard, there is no dedicated way to view your inbox.
Similarly, whilst there is a third-party solution for controlling Spotify, there isn’t a dedicated application to navigate your music selection, although it is very possible via the Bluetooth Music menu on the device once started on your phone.
It is certainly fiddly. Curve Pay for contactless payments is a development here and is installed via Huawei’s app store alternative, but given this is the first time we have got functionality for iOS device installs at all, we have got to respect the progress and resourcefulness for Huawei to evolve the integration for the Watch Fit 5 Pro here.
Sports and fitness tracking
Once you clear the administrative red tape, fitness tracking is where the Watch Fit 5 Pro really finds its stride. The upgraded TruSense sensor system features a new 6-LED and 6-PD module, offering a noticeable improvement in accuracy over the sensors found on the Watch Fit 4 Pro.
It delivers highly consistent heart rate monitoring, SpO2 tracking and stress analysis that easily rivals premium competitors.
Crucially, the Pro model differentiates itself from the standard Fit 5 by introducing a CE-certified ECG sensor. By simply touching the side button beneath the crown for 30 seconds, users can take a medical-grade electrocardiogram to check for signs of atrial fibrillation. It also features arterial stiffness measurement, providing a comprehensive suite of cardiovascular tools that are rarely found at this price point, which is a huge plus point for this device.
Beyond basic metrics, the watch supports over 100 dedicated workout modes, catering to an incredibly diverse range of activities. While it covers staples like strength training, yoga and swimming, it also includes profiles for more niche pursuits such as ballet, laser tag and kite flying.
For dedicated athletes, the depth of tracking data on specific pursuits is genuinely impressive, from VO2Max, capturing ground contact time and grade-adjusted pace for avid runners, as well as zoomable maps and elevation profiles for those venturing off the beaten track.
When it comes to cycling, virtual power and cadence readouts are available, as well as all-important fall detection if you come a cropper.
A great value addition, as well as one exclusive to this Pro variant, is for golf. Pre-loaded with an incredible 17,000 course maps, a dedicated Driving Range mode and the ability to view green undulation and keep score, this device is perfect for the links and fairways.
Lastly, thanks to its EN13319 certification, the watch is suitable for free diving down to 40 metres, including water type identification, specialised Apnoea tests and hypoxic training modes to help improve breath-holding capabilities to unleash your inner Aquaman (or Aquawoman).
For those leading a more sedentary lifestyle, the Watch Fit 5 Pro also has you covered.
A cleverly motivating feature is the addition of panda-guided mini-workouts, which effectively transforms the device into a wearable Tamagotchi, where an interactive panda watch face actively monitors your physical movement, and spurs you to get off the couch if you sit still for too long.
Do so and 60-second animated stretching routines appear, where as you exercise, the panda levels up, unlocking new animations and backgrounds for it to jaunt through, adding a satisfying layer of gamification upon hitting daily movement goals.
While you cannot manage things natively with a dedicated app, you can seamlessly transfer and upload your running data into platforms like Strava, Komoot and Adidas Running directly via the Health app.
Sleep tracking is particularly impressive, providing a comprehensive breakdown of overnight recovery stages, and even moods and wellbeing are approximated by constant analysis of stress levels - complemented by a wealth of mindfulness courses and exercises within the app to aid your disposition.
While the upgraded Sunflower antenna and dual-band GPS are highly reliable for standard pavement pounding, trail runners navigating dense tree cover might still find dedicated outdoor hardware from Garmin to have a slight edge in complex topographical accuracy.
For those looking to significantly expand the device's capabilities, Huawei offers its Health+ VIP subscription service, a recurring cost that ought to be factored into the Fit 5 Pro’s overall value proposition.
Priced at £7.99 per month - or £59.99 annually - in the UK, this premium membership unlocks features such as advanced sleep breathing awareness analysis, exclusive guided video workouts, and a vast library of premium VIP watch faces that otherwise require individual microtransactions.
While the watch remains entirely functional without it, gating these advanced health insights and customisation options behind a paywall does somewhat dilute the hardware's initial budget appeal, and prospective buyers ought to consider the commitment to a recurring fee to access the complete Fit 5 Pro experience.
Battery life and charging
Stamina remains a core strength for this device, serving as a key pillar of its daily usability. Huawei has managed to squeeze in a more dense 471mAh cell, marking a robust 18 per cent improvement on the previous model.
The battery reliably delivers up to seven days of use under typical operational conditions as a consequence, easily handling frequent GPS tracking routines, continuous heart rate monitoring and sleep analysis.
When the always-on display is disabled, light users can comfortably stretch that longevity to a full ten days, a stamina level which gives the Watch Fit 5 Pro a distinct advantage over WearOS competitors like the Google Pixel Watch 4, which essentially requires daily charging.
A welcome modern refinement also arrives in the form of universal wireless charging support. Users can drop the watch onto the bundled magnetic charging cradle or any standard Qi-compatible wireless charging pad, delivering a hassle-free, wire-free refill that takes approximately one hour to fully replenish the battery.
These additions make the Watch Fit 5 Pro a capable companion at any price point, but even more so given the competition costing £100 more not being able to keep up, showing a strong effort from Huawei for an essential wearable feature.
Huawei Watch Fit 5 Pro UK pricing and availability
The Huawei Watch Fit 5 Pro is priced at £249.99 in the United Kingdom.
As ever, we love launch incentives and early buyers can receive both a free HUAWEI Scale 3 worth £59.99 and an additional strap worth up to £39.99 on the Huawei store, the latter varying depending on the type selected at purchase.
These bundled extras provide excellent added value, as well as an introduction to the Chinese manufacturer’s impressive ecosystem of connected products.
Potential buyers can secure an even better deal directly through the official Huawei store by utilizing the active promotional code A30FIT5NEW at checkout to save £30.
Resourceful individuals can scour the internet to find discount vouchers taking as much as £50 off the RRP, taking the price down to a frankly ridiculous value of £199.99 until 21st June 2026.
Final verdict
The Huawei Watch Fit 5 Pro is a great, keenly priced wearable that routinely exceeds expectations.
By combining a bright and bold display, intuitive crown navigation, rugged titanium durability, robust ECG tracking and a full week of battery life, it provides an exceptionally polished user experience, despite not running on Android.
For anyone seeking a highly capable fitness companion that requires minimal charging and delivers maximum utility, Huawei’s latest is an outstanding choice of smartwatch.
Provided you are comfortable navigating its third-party app limitations and payment hurdles, as well as a willingness to potentially shell out for a subscription to Health+, the Watch Fit 5 Pro is a stellar choice to manage, monitor and maximise your fitness journey.
