Huawei Watch GT Runner 2 Review: A running watch after Garmin’s crown

Best Prices Today: Huawei Watch GT Runner 2

It’s been a long wait for a successor to Huawei’s running-focused smartwatch, but the Huawei Watch GT Runner 2 is finally here and ready to compete.

Even though Huawei has become a fairly large name in the smartwatch space, I’d imagine that even the most die-hard Huawei fans might have forgotten that the company once had a once aimed specifically at drawing runners away from the likes of Garmin and Apple.

I’ll be honest, as someone who only started properly testing the brand’s wearables from the excellent Huawei Watch GT 4, the original Huawei Watch GT Runner had gone completely under my radar – until now.

Flashforward to the present day and after a four-year delay, we finally have a follow-up in the Huawei Watch GT Runner 2, but as any tech enthusiast will tell you, the competition has never been more fierce than it is now.

Even the entry-level Apple Watch SE 3 works as a budget smartwatch for running, and Garmin’s watches have never felt more competent, even at the lower end. So the question that I’ve been asking myself throughout this review is whether or not the GT Runner 2 does enough to stand out in 2026.

Design & Build

• Sits very comfortably on the wrist
• New titanium alloy chassis
• Only one size option available

Almost any chance I get, I’ll gladly point out (years after its release, mind you), that the green Huawei Watch GT 4 is one of the best-looking smartwatches I’ve ever used, and the moment I saw the GT Runner 2, I knew that Huawei was onto another winner.

Thomas Deehan / Foundry

There are three colour ways this time (Midnight Black, Dawn Orange and Dusk Blue), but I’ve had the Dawn Orange pick, which stands out in a number of ways. The chassis itself adheres to a mostly stainless steel-like aesthetic with just a few touches of orange tastefully scattered around the bezel and bordering the push button. It looks fantastic, and although I wasn’t sure about it at first, I’ve also come to appreciate the flair of the default watch band, which slowly changes colour around the wrist. It has far more of an identity than even the Huawei Watch GT 6.

The updated design isn’t just for show either, as it’s more durable than before – making use of a titanium alloy chassis and a tougher glass on the display, which Huawei calls Kunlun Glass. It’s also IP68 rated for dust and water resistance.

In the two weeks that I’ve had the GT Runner 2, the watch has been worn pretty much around the clock, to bed, the gym and out on runs, and I’ve yet to see any worrisome marks or scratches appear, so you’d really have to go out of your way to make a dent in the watch.

What I’ve appreciated more than the durability, though, is just how comfortable the GT Runner 2 is to wear. One of the reasons why the Garmin Venu X1 has become my go-to smartwatch in between reviews is because of how unobtrusive it feels on my wrist, and the GT Runner 2 isn’t far behind in this regard. At just 43.5g, the watch feels very lightweight and I’ve not seen any marks appear on my skin over prolonged use.

Unlike a lot of other watches, the GT Runner 2 only comes in one 43mm size option, which is definitely a bit smaller than some of the behemoths out there, like the Apple Watch Ultra 3, but I think it’s a good compromise. It’s not big enough to feel cumbersome, but it’s not too small as to leave me squinting at the display.

Thomas Deehan / Foundry

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Screen & Audio

• 3000 nits peak brightness
• Easy to read in all scenarios
• Solid onboard speaker

As with any running watch, the 1.5-inch AMOLED screen is a major factor, as it needs to be bright enough to be easily readable when out and about.

I’ll be honest – after becoming a bit too accustomed the large 2-inch display of the Garmin Venu X1, I did wonder if the GT Runner 2 might feel like a slight downgrade, but thanks to its super bright panel, this never occurred.

The display reaches a peak brightness of 3000 nits, which puts it right up there with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 and the Apple Watch Series 11, and just like with those watches, it looks fantastic. It didn’t matter if I was running through my local park during a sunny morning and checking my heart rate, or trying to read a notification when taking the bins out after dark, it all came through clearly.

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That brightness also means that the always-on display works a treat. Each watch face has a low power state that brings the brightness down and only highlights a few key bits of information, but even then, I had no issue with reading what was onscreen, which has been a huge help while I’ve been carrying my newborn and needed to quickly glance at the time.

There’s a built-in speaker for playing back any audio that you’ve locally stored to the watch in MP3 form, and it sounds pretty decent. It’s not quite as detailed (or as loud) as what I found on the latest Apple Watch, but it can get the job done if you don’t have a pair of headphones to hand.

What’s less impressive is the built-in microphone – after recording a few voice notes, playing them back on the watch felt a bit like listening to myself speaking through a thick layer of mud, so I wouldn’t recommend taking calls on the watch unless you want to hear complaints from the person on the other end.

Sofware & Features

• HarmonyOS is very slick
• NFC now works with Curve
• No offline Spotify really hurts on a running watch

Given how much I love the design and the display of the Watch GT Runner 2, I wish I could keep that sentiment going when moving over to the software, but as anyone who’s used a Huawei watch could no doubt guess, this is exactly where the overall experience is at its worst.

Because Huawei remains locked out of the Google ecosystem (and Wear OS as a result), the GT Runner 2’s capabilities as a smartwatch are severely hampered, and if you’re someone who appreciates having quick access to key apps on your wrist, then you’re far better off checking out the likes of the Pixel Watch 4 or the OnePlus Watch 3.

However, I do think that the impact is lessened here as the GT Runner 2, by its very nature, is being marketed specifically as a fitness watch as opposed to a smartwatch.

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Plus, there is one big feature that the Runner 2 is shipping with from the point of launch and that’s NFC compatibility with Curve Pay. Although I wish you could simply add individual bank cards to the watch, much like how you can with Apple Pay and Google Pay, Curve does at least operate like an aggregate app that gives you access to your various banks via a single card, and you choose which of them foots the bill after the fact.

The feature hasn’t been available to me during this review, but it is good to see Huawei thinking about how to bridge the gap between its wearables and the competition.

Unfortunately, the Runner 2 is still missing a handful of the key features that I want from a running watch. The most important feature of all is offline music playback, as I hate to bring my phone with me during an outdoor run, and although you can technically do this by transferring MP3 files over to the watch, it’s a far more cumbersome process than simply downloading playlists from Spotify, which you can do elsewhere. Another non-negotiable, particularly during these darker months of the year, is a built-in torch.

Most days, I’m only able to go for a run early in the morning or later in the evening, and that’s where the built-in torch found on certain Garmin watches has been a huge help as I try to navigate my local park. I understand why the GT Runner 2 can’t quite match up on the software front, but given just how prolific Garmin’s LED torches have become (you can now get one on the mid-range Garmin Venu 4), I’m surprised that Huawei hasn’t tried to do its own spin on the feature. Sure, you can have the screen turn white, but it’s not the same and nowhere near as powerful.

I will say, however, that HarmonyOS itself looks great and it’s easy to zip from the watch face and into a workout. I’m sure that for those using Huawei watches in the East, the whole experience must be to a level that genuinely rivals Wear OS, but this just isn’t the case in the West, even when the interface is this slick.

Thomas Deehan / Foundry

Fitness & Health Tracking

• Smart Training Plan is great for marathon prep
• Top notch heart rate monitoring
• Sleep tracking is still as detailed as ever

Now we can start diving into the real meat and potatoes of this watch, and here’s the headline – if you want a wearable specifically for improving your running ability, sleeping better and getting plenty of workout inspiration, then the Huawei Watch GT Runner 2 is a great option to go with in 2026.

Even though I’m someone who mostly sticks to running 5K and the occasional 10K if I’ve had a pretty productive time in building up my cardiovascular health, I appreciate how the Huawei Health app makes the concept of running a half or full marathon far more accessible to my brain, and it does so via its Smart Training Plan software.

Thomas Deehan / Foundry

Instead of needing to put in my recent workout records and answer a litany of questions, all the Smart Training Plan wanted to know from me was what goal I had in mind and when I would like to reach it, at which point it would then analyse my recent workouts automatically and draft up a plan based on where it believes my running ability to be.

The plan itself was clearly laid out, and it was even peppered with a handful of weightlifting exercises in between running days to help my overall ability. Those weight sessions also come with little animations showing you exactly how each move needs to be performed.

If I did suddenly feel the urge to train for a marathon, I can tell you now that I’d feel a lot more comfortable about the prospect with the Huawei Watch GT Runner 2 in tow, but for the casual crowd, I’d sooner point them towards a cheaper watch like the Apple Apple Watch SE 3 or the OnePlus Watch Lite.

When it comes to heart rate data, the Watch GT Runner 2 performed admirably compared to a chest-worn Garmin HRM 600. During two treadmill runs, the GT Runner 2 was usually only 1BPM off the mark from Garmin’s tracker, which is negligible as you’re still getting a solid idea of how your body has reacted to a given workout. At one point, that increased to a 2BPM discrepancy when recording my peak heart rate, but I never saw the GT Runner 2 stray any further from that mark.

For keeping tabs on your route when running outdoors, the GT Runner 2 now has a new and improved system with something that Huawei calls a ‘3D Floating Antenna’, the crux of which involves using the raised sections of the bezel (the orange bits for this review unit) to create a stronger signal, one that’s supposedly 3.5x more accurate than the original GT Runner.

While a number like that is hard to quantify, I can say that the GPS performance on the GT Runner 2 has been nothing short of exemplary. On average, it would only take four seconds to establish a signal on my usual route, and when worn alongside the pricier Garmin Venu X1 (which admittedly doesn’t have dual-band GPS), the Runner 2 did a far better job of representing exactly where I had been throughout the run. The tracking only wobbled slightly when I went under a crowd of trees but otherwise it was spot on.

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For sleep tracking, Huawei and Whoop are the only brands that I point to as having done the feature justice, and with regard to the former, Huawei doesn’t miss a beat here either. Diving into the Huawei Health app once more, I’m reminded of how so many other brands fall short as you’re getting detailed analysis into each aspect of your circadian rhythm, including (most crucially) a written explanation of what it all means.

Admittedly, as a new parent, my sleep has been dismal as of late, but it’s been interesting to see it all tracked nonetheless.

Battery Life & Charging

• Up to 14-days of use
• Expect around 5-days with the always-on display toggled
• A full charge takes roughly 50 minutes

Because of its fitness-first approach, you’d think that the Huawei Watch GT Runner 2 would have a longer battery life than the Huawei Watch GT 6 range but this isn’t the case.

Likely a result of the smaller sizing (the GT 6 and GT 6 Pro have larger 46mm options), the Huawei Watch GT Runner 2 can last for up to 14-days between charges, but that duration requires light use to reach.

Curious to see how long the watch could last under more typical conditions, I toggled the always-on display and was able to get through roughly five days before reaching 10%, and this involved a single visit to the gym, sleep tracking each night and the occasional GPS-tracked walk.

Those who plan on running every other day will probably get slightly less in these conditions, but if you keep the always-on display switched off, then I can easily see most people getting at least a week’s worth of juice from the watch.

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What’s great is that, even if you do but the battery through its paces with longer workouts, it doesn’t take long at all to charge the watch up.

From a dead battery, I was able to get the watch back to 100% in roughly 50 minutes, but even more impressive was clawing back 68% after just 30 minutes of being plugged in. It all works brilliantly, but I do wonder why the charger bundled with the watch still uses a USB-A port when practically every other charging solution has moved over to USB-C.

Price & Availability

The Huawei Watch GT Runner 2 is now available to buy now for the price of £349.99, with European pricing yet to be confirmed.

The watch is available in just one size, with three distinct colourways: Midnight Black, Dawn Orange and Dusk Blue.

At its price point, the Huawei Watch GT Runner 2 might be a tough sell for some, as it’s not only more expensive than some smartwatches like the Galaxy Watch 8 and the OnePlus Watch 3, it’s also pricier than Huawei’s own Watch GT 6 and GT 6 Pro.

What this watch has that the others don’t is an absolute dedication to running analysis above all, so if you’re a running obsessive who needs something akin to a wrist-based personal trainer then this is it. And it’s still cheaper than most of Garmin’s flagship wearables, which is crucial.

Thomas Deehan / Foundry

Should you buy the Huawei Watch GT Runner 2?

Because of how single-mindedly focused it is on drawing in those who have more than one marathon on the calendar, I can’t really fault the Huawei Watch GT Runner 2 in its core endeavour.

As a running watch, this is an excellent pick as you can make use of the outstanding Smart Training Plan to reach your goals, and it sits so comfortably on the wrist that you’ll barely know it’s there, even in demanding workouts.

The aesthetic of the GT Runner 2 is what really draws me in, as it proves that Huawei has a better eye for style than most companies working in the smartwatch space today. With the absence of key third-party apps, however, I only wish that the GT Runner 2 could have had a built-in torch like the Garmin Venu 4 to give it an edge against the competition.

If I do plan on ever running a marathon, then the Huawei Watch GT Runner 2 will likely be my first port of call, but in the meantime, when I’m happy just doing a few laps around my local park and having access to Spotify as I go, I’ll find my running companion elsewhere.

Specs

• 43mm case
• Titanium alloy
• Kunlun Glass
• 1.5-inch AMOLED screen
• Colours: Midnight Black, Dawn Orange, Dusk Blue
• iOS and Android compatible
• NFC payments (via Curve)
• Dual-band GPS
• IP68
• 43.5g