The Huawei Watch GT Runner 2 is a terrific specialist running tool, fast and accurate — but it’s hobbled by Huawei’s usual side-loading ecosystem problems

Huawei Watch GT Runner 2: One minute review

The Huawei Watch GT Runner 2 is full of innovative tweaks, making it ideal for running accuracy, and from a design perspective, it’s the best running watch I’ve tried so far in 2026. Because US customers can’t actually buy them, Huawei devices often go under the radar in many lists, which is a shame, as their hardware is stellar.

The GT Runner 2 is another smash hit. It’s light, at 10.7mm thick and just 34.5g in weight, packing a smallish 1.32-inch screen with a 3,000 nit brightness AMOLED display. That’s as bright as the Apple Watch Ultra 3. It fits nicely on my average-sized male wrist and doesn’t move about during runs. It comes in a selection of pretty cool colors and bands. I was partial to the Dawn Orange colorway, but my review unit arrived in Dusk Blue, which also looks nice.

The GPS credentials are where things get interesting. Huawei claims the GT Runner 2 outperforms the Garmin Forerunner 970 (by name) in GPS accuracy for runners, using a new dual-floating GPS antenna structure to improve accuracy. I didn’t have a Garmin Forerunner 970 to hand, but I did have something even better: the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro, perhaps Garmin’s best-ever smartwatch from a hardware perspective, and one that costs three times as much as the GT Runner 2.

On a 10.5 kilometer out-and-back run, the Fenix 8 Pro recorded 10.51km, with 797 calories burned, an average heart rate of 157 bpm, 5.39km average pace. The Huawei GT Runner 2 recorded 10.48km, a difference of 0.03km (or 30 meters) overall, with 785 calories burned, an average heart rate of 167 bpm, and 5.39km average pace. Those are very close results.

Even advanced running metrics were similar, with stride length being recorded as 1.10 meters by both watches. With very little in the way of statistically significant differences, I’m happy that the GT Runner 2 is as accurate as the very top-tier watches in the category. I’d expect nothing less from a watch used by record-breaking marathoner Eliud Kipchoge. You can see the results on the screens below.

Other wellness metrics are good, too: I’ve hyped up Huawei’s TruSense and TruSleep algorithms before as being scarily accurate, and it’s good to see the watch making use of both here. The accuracy of its sleep tracking and the watch’s reduced weight made it easy to wear overnight. Marathon Mode, a little like Garmin’s Event Planner with an intelligent coach, and training plans abound on-watch, allowing you to follow programs imported from the Huawei Health app. Battery life is impressive, while features like Emotional Wellbeing that rely on self-reporting, I consider less useful.

A resounding success for design, performance, and health and fitness features, but smart stuff is more of a mixed bag, albeit through no fault of the watch’s designers. Huawei’s inability to work with either Google or Android’s ecosystem left my watch as a self-contained wellness tool rather than an integrated smart gadget in the same way the best Android watches, or best Apple Watches, are.

Huawei says the watch “runs seamlessly with iOS and Android,” but that’s not entirely true. I could see WhatsApp notifications as part of Huawei’s Message Tool, but everything has to be side-loaded from Huawei’s online AppGallery, so I couldn’t get a native WhatsApp watch app, only notifications. There’s no first-party app for Spotify either, so I had to download Petal Maps on my phone to use instead of Google or Apple Maps. As an extension of my phone, this experience is still frustrating and far from reflective of its excellent wellness credentials.

Huawei Watch GT Runner 2: Specifications

Huawei Watch GT Runner 2: Price and availability

• £349.99 in the UK / Europe
• Not available in US / AU
• Cheaper than most modern Forerunner watches

Huawei’s availability is a far greater issue than its price. Huawei telecomms devices continue to suffer from the ongoing 5G ban, which is a shame for US runners as they’re missing out on some very good hardware. For UK users, the price is pretty reasonable at £349.99, around the same price as the Apple Watch Series 11.

• Value score: 4/5

Huawei Watch GT Runner 2: Scorecard

Huawei Watch GT Runner 2: Should I buy?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider

How I tested

I wore the Huawei Watch GT Runner 2 for a week, taking it on several runs as well as gym sessions, sleeping with it, and draining the battery down. I tested it on a 10.5 km run against the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro to determine accuracy in its metrics.

First reviewed: April 2026