Huawei Watch Fit 5 vs Fit 5 Pro Review: The Truth About Going Pro

Why would anyone buy a smartwatch instead of a regular analog watch? Well, for some people, it’s about showing off an expensive Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch on their wrist. For some, it’s simply about having a nice digital screen without necessarily using everything that comes with it.

But there’s another group of users who actually depend on smartwatch features every day like fitness and health tracking, workout guidance, sleep monitoring, notifications, reminders, Bluetooth calls, diet tracking, and even remote camera controls. If you’re one of those people, this review is for you. Because once you start actually using these features, value matters a lot more than just how premium the watch looks.

For the past two weeks, I’ve been testing Huawei’s new Watch Fit 5 and Watch Fit 5 Pro simultaneously, one on each wrist, which probably made me look slightly like a psychopath. But it also gave me plenty of time to understand exactly what you gain by going “Pro”.

So the question I want to answer is simple: Is the Watch Fit 5 Pro really worth spending Rs. 16,000 extra on, or is the regular Watch Fit 5 already the smarter buy? Let’s find out in this review.

Fit 5 Pro vs Fit 5 Specifications

Huawei Fit 5 Series Price: 

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Design and Build Quality

Build Quality

• Watch Fit Pro has a titanium-alloy bezel and sapphire glass.
• Sapphire glass offers better everyday scratch resistance.
• Better suited for long-term and outdoor use.

The first thing that matters to me in a smartwatch is durability, especially if I plan to use it for years. A watch stays exposed on your wrist all day, so scratches and accidental bumps are almost unavoidable. And this is where the Watch Fit 5 Pro has a clear advantage.

The Pro uses an aluminium-alloy body with a titanium-alloy bezel and 2.5D sapphire glass. The sapphire glass is probably the most meaningful upgrade here because it is much more resistant to everyday scratches than the regular glass on the Watch Fit 5.

Both watches also come with IP6X dust resistance and 5 ATM water resistance, so they are well protected for workouts, rain, and swimming. The Pro goes further with dedicated freediving support up to 40 metres. For someone who works out regularly, travels, hikes, or simply wants to keep the same watch for several years, the Pro gives you better peace of mind.

Design and Color Options

• Rounded-square design with rotating crown and secondary side button
• Black, orange-accented, and white finishes available for Pro
• Orange version has a more rugged, Apple Watch Ultra-inspired look on Pro
• Slim and lightweight despite the sporty design

Both watches use Huawei’s familiar rounded-square design, with some clear Apple Watch inspiration in the rotating crown and secondary side button. I don’t see that as a problem. I prefer this rectangular shape because it offers more usable space for notifications, workout data, maps, and health information than a small circular display.

The regular Watch Fit 5 is available in two colour options in Nepal, whereas the Fit 5 Pro gives you three choices: Black, Orange, and White.

I have the full-black Fit 5 Pro with me, and I like how clean and versatile it looks. But personally, I would pick the orange-accented version because it feels sportier and has more character. It also reminds me slightly of the Apple Watch Ultra, only in a much slimmer and lighter form. The white model, meanwhile, offers a cleaner and more elegant look.

Size, Weight and Strap Mechanism

• Watch Fit 5: 42.9 × 38.2 × 9.5mm, 27gram
• Watch Fit 5 Pro: 44.5 × 40.8 × 9.5mm, 30.4gram

The Pro is slightly bigger and heavier, but the difference is barely noticeable in everyday use. Both watches are comfortable enough to wear throughout the day, during workouts, and even while sleeping.

Huawei’s quick-release mechanism also makes swapping straps very easy. However, the proprietary attachment system does not support standard watch straps, which I found a little frustrating. It limits your choices since you cannot simply pick any strap you like from the wider selection available in the market. Overall, the regular Fit 5 already feels lightweight and well-built. 

Display

The display is another important part of a smartwatch because it is something you interact with every single day. And thankfully, both the Watch Fit 5 and Fit 5 Pro have really good AMOLED screens.

Display Specifications

The Pro gets a slightly larger 1.92-inch screen, compared to 1.82 inches on the regular Fit 5. Combined with the slimmer bezels, it gives you noticeably more screen space and makes the watch look a little more premium.

But when it comes to sharpness and colours, there really isn't much to complain about on either one. Text looks crisp, colours are vibrant, and watch faces look great on both. Even though the regular Fit 5 technically has a higher pixel density, I couldn't notice any meaningful difference in everyday use.

Outdoor Visibility

Brightness is another area where the Pro has an advantage:

• Watch Fit 5: 2,500 nits
• Watch Fit 5 Pro: 3,000 nits

But practically, both are already bright enough for outdoor use. I had no problem checking notifications or workout data outdoors on the regular Fit 5. The extra 500 nits on the Pro becomes more useful under really harsh sunlight, especially when running, cycling, hiking, or using maps outdoors. But I wouldn't consider brightness alone a reason to upgrade because the regular Fit 5 is already very good here.

LTPO on the Pro

Another advantage of the Pro is its adaptive 1–60Hz LTPO display. It can go up to 60Hz while you're scrolling through menus and drop down to 1Hz when the screen is mostly static. This is particularly useful with the Always-On Display, where the watch doesn't need to constantly refresh the screen at a high rate and waste battery.

In actual use, both watches feel smooth and responsive. Swiping through widgets, scrolling using the crown, and navigating workout menus all feel polished. Overall, the regular Watch Fit 5 already gives you a sharp, colourful, bright AMOLED display, and I think it will be more than enough for most people.

The Pro mainly improves things with a larger display, slimmer bezels, higher brightness, LTPO refresh rate, and sapphire-glass protection. Out of these, I still value the sapphire glass the most for long-term use; the rest are nice improvements rather than must-have upgrades.

Software and Companion App

Software

• HarmonyOS-based wearable software
• Smooth and responsive interface
• Works with both Android and iPhone
• Limited third-party app ecosystem
• Fit 5 and Fit 5 Pro offer almost the same software experience

Since the Watch Fit 5 series runs Huawei’s HarmonyOS instead of Wear OS, the experience is simpler than something like a Galaxy Watch, but it is also smooth, responsive, and easy to use. During my time with both watches, I rarely noticed any stutters while navigating apps, notifications, health widgets, or workouts.

You also get plenty of watch faces, including minimal, sporty, animated, and custom photo options. More importantly, the Fit 5 Pro doesn’t offer a noticeably better software experience than the regular Fit 5. The interface is essentially the same; the Pro mainly adds hardware-dependent features like ECG, arterial-health assessment, golf, contour maps, and free-diving.

Everyday Smart Features

• Bluetooth calling
• Notifications and quick replies
• Weather, calendar, alarms, and reminders
• Music controls and speaker playback
• Calculator, timer, and stopwatch
• Voice recorder
• Find My Phone
• Remote camera shutter

For everyday use, both watches cover the essentials, including Bluetooth calling, notifications, music controls, alarms, weather, and Find My Phone.

Call quality was good during my testing. The dedicated microphone did not cause any trouble, and the speaker was sufficiently clear for short conversations in normal indoor environments. The built-in speaker can even play music directly from the watch, although there is no native Spotify app.

The remote camera shutter is also useful for group photos or capturing pictures from a distance. Third-party apps are available through Huawei’s Watch AppGallery, but the selection remains limited compared with Wear OS and watchOS.

There is one difference between Android and iPhone. When I connect the watches to an Android phone, I can reply to supported messages directly from my wrist. On an iPhone, I can only read the notifications and cannot reply from the watch. My main complaint is the vibration motor. It works for calls, alarms, and notifications, but the feedback is not as tight or punchy as an Apple Watch.

Huawei Health App and Compatibility

• Supports Android 9 or newer
• Supports iOS 13 or newer
• Huawei Health required for setup and detailed data
• Some features differ between Android and iPhone

Both watches work with Android and iPhone through the Huawei Health app, which handles setup, watch faces, updates, workout routes, and detailed health data. The app itself is clean and easy to understand, with heart rate, SpO₂, sleep, stress, and workout records presented clearly.

Setup is simpler on iPhone because Huawei Health is available directly from the App Store. On Android, you have to install it through Huawei’s website or AppGallery, which is an unnecessary extra step. Huawei Health can also sync supported data with Apple Health on iPhones and Health Connect on Android.

One useful tip for Nepal: selecting Singapore as the service region can enable ECG on the Fit 5 Pro. However, this is a regional workaround, not official ECG support for Nepal, so availability may change with future updates.

Where HarmonyOS Slightly Falls Behind

• No Google Assistant or Gemini
• No native Spotify app
• Limited third-party apps
• Petal Maps doesn't work properly in our region

This is where the biggest compromise comes in. HarmonyOS is excellent for health, fitness, and basic smartwatch features, but its app ecosystem is much more limited than Wear OS or watchOS. There’s no Google Assistant or Gemini, no native Spotify app, and Petal Maps isn’t particularly working in our region. So, I’d describe the Watch Fit 5 series as a very capable fitness watch with useful smartwatch features, rather than a complete smartwatch replacement for something like a Galaxy Watch or Apple Watch.

And importantly, spending the extra Rs. 16,000 on the Fit 5 Pro doesn't make it significantly smarter. You're mainly paying for the better build quality, additional health sensors, and more advanced outdoor and sports features, not a better software ecosystem.

Health and Fitness Tracking

Okay, so if you have reached this point in the review or jumped straight to this section, let me tell you this: the health and fitness tracking is where the Huawei Watch Fit 5 Pro adds the most value. Compared to the regular Fit 5, the Pro brings extra health sensors and more specialized workout features. Most everyday functions, however, remain the same on both watches.

Key Differences

Feature	Watch Fit 5	Watch Fit 5 Pro
Heart-rate tracking	Yes	Yes
SpO₂ tracking	Yes	Yes
HRV and stress tracking	Yes	Yes
Sleep tracking	Yes	Yes
Workout modes	100+	100+
ECG measurements	No	Yes
Skin-temperature tracking	No	Yes
Advanced trail-running tools	No	Yes
Advanced navigation features	Basic	Yes
Golf-course maps	No	Yes
Freediving support	No	Yes, up to 40 metres
Dual-band, five-system GNSS	Yes	Yes

Heart-rate and SpO₂ Tracking

Both watches support continuous heart-rate monitoring, HRV, workout heart rate, and Pulse Wave Arrhythmia Analysis. But in my side-by-side testing, the Fit 5 Pro was noticeably more consistent.

The Pro gave me a more continuous heart-rate graph throughout the day, while the regular Fit 5 occasionally showed some gaps. This can be affected by things like strap tightness, wrist movement, and skin contact, but since I wore both under similar conditions, I found the Pro more dependable.

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Both watches also support Pulse Wave Arrhythmia Analysis for monitoring possible irregular heart rhythms, so this is not a Pro-exclusive feature. Still, the Pro’s more complete TruSense sensor system seems to give it an advantage in consistency.

For SpO₂, however, I didn't notice much difference. Both produced very similar readings during my testing, so blood-oxygen tracking alone isn't a reason to spend extra on the Pro.

Overall, heart-rate tracking is one area where I trust the Pro a little more, while SpO₂ performance is pretty much the same on both.

Sleep Tracking

Sleep tracking was another area where the Pro performed better in my testing.

On one night when I woke up several times, the regular Fit 5 completely messed up my sleep timeline, while the Pro detected those awakenings much more accurately. On other nights, however, both produced fairly similar results. So I wouldn't say the Pro is dramatically better every night, but across my testing, it was more consistent.

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Both watches still give you plenty of useful information, including sleep duration, deep, light and REM sleep, wake-ups, naps, sleep scores, and recommendations.

Workout and GPS Tracking

For normal workouts, there isn't a huge difference.

Both support more than 100+ workout modes and cover everything most people will actually use. Walking, running, cycling, swimming, gym workouts, hiking, yoga, and more.

GPS performance was also good on both. During my walking, running, and cycling tests, the watches tracked routes accurately, and Huawei Health gives you plenty of post-workout information like pace, heart rate, calories, elevation, and route data.

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I also like Huawei's “Dynamic Tracking” feature, which turns your completed route into a short animated video. It's not particularly useful for improving fitness, but it makes workout data more fun to look at and share.

Interestingly, while riding from home to the office, the Pro automatically detected my ride and started tracking it, while the regular Fit 5 missed it. Automatic workout detection exists on both, so this isn't technically a Pro-exclusive feature, but the Pro was more reliable in my test.

Where the Pro Actually Pulls Ahead

ECG and Extra Health Features

The biggest health advantage of the Pro is ECG. You open the ECG app, place your finger on the side electrode, stay still for around 30 seconds, and the watch records a reading. The regular Fit 5 does not have this feature

The Pro also adds skin-temperature tracking, which can monitor changes in your skin temperature over time. Huawei also lists arterial-health assessment on the Pro, but I couldn't access it during my testing. So, especially in Nepal, I wouldn't assume that every health feature advertised globally will work here.

Extra Outdoor Activity Tracking

For regular activities like walking, running, cycling, or gym workouts, the Fit 5 already covers almost everything most people need.

The Pro becomes more useful for serious outdoor users, adding advanced trail-running tools such as contour maps, route guidance, off-course alerts, and more detailed elevation and slope data.

It also adds two very specific sports features:

• Golf: Course maps, distance information, and scoring
• Free-diving: Dedicated depth sensor with support up to 40 metres

These are genuinely useful upgrades for the right person, but they are also very niche. If ECG, hiking, trail running, golf, or freediving are not important to you, most of these Pro-exclusive features probably won't justify the extra cost.

My Take

For everyday health and fitness tracking, the regular Watch Fit 5 already does almost everything I need. The Fit 5 Pro is a bit more consistent and adds extras like ECG, skin-temperature tracking, golf, freediving, and advanced outdoor features, but the core experience is still quite similar. And I still treat smartwatch health data mainly as a reference for trends, workouts, and possible alerts, rather than something I’d rely on for medical decisions.

After all, these are still hybrid devices on your wrist, part smartwatch, part fitness tracker. If health and fitness were my only priority, I’d rather look at a dedicated, screen-less tracker like Google’s Fitbit Air or WHOOP, where the entire experience is built around health, recovery, sleep, and fitness data.

Battery Life Has No Competition

• Real World battery life: Around 7 to 8 days without AOD, 4 to 5 days with AOD

Battery life is easily one of my favorite things about the Watch Fit 5 series. I used to charge my Apple Watch almost every morning, and forgetting to do so often meant ending the day with a dead watch. With the Fit 5 and Fit 5 Pro, battery anxiety was basically never an issue.

With the Always-On Display turned off, both watches consistently gave me around 7 to 8 days of use. And this was with continuous heart-rate monitoring, sleep tracking, notifications, and regular GPS workouts running. Even after turning AOD on, I was still getting around 4 to 5 days, which is excellent for a smartwatch. Once you get used to charging your watch only once a week, going back to something that needs charging every day or two genuinely feels inconvenient.

Charging

• Around one hour for a full charge, matching Huawei’s claim.
• The USB-A charging cable feels outdated, but the excellent battery life makes charging speed less important.

Huawei claims these watches takes about an hour to charge fully, and it met that claim in my testing. The USB-A connector on the charging cable feels slightly outdated, but otherwise, I am happy with the charging experience. And with such excellent battery life, charging speed is hardly something you need to worry about.

Conclusion: Which one should you choose ?

After using both watches side by side, I think the Huawei Watch Fit 5 Pro is an excellent value-for-money smartwatch, especially if health and fitness tracking are your main priorities. It was more consistent in my testing, and the extra features like ECG, skin-temperature tracking, advanced outdoor workout tools, golf, and free-diving make it a much more complete package. You also get excellent battery life, a stronger build with sapphire glass and a titanium-alloy bezel, a bright AMOLED display, and the same smooth overall experience that makes the Watch Fit 5 series easy to recommend.

The main compromise is still Huawei’s limited app ecosystem. You do not get the same third-party app support, Google services, or overall smartwatch flexibility as Wear OS or watchOS.

But that does not mean the regular Watch Fit 5 is a bad choice. In fact, for most people, it will still get around 90% of the job done with reliable health tracking, workouts, GPS, sleep tracking, calls, notifications, and the same excellent battery life.

So, if you just want a capable health and fitness watch, the Fit 5 already offers great value. But if you do not want to miss out on the extra health sensors, more consistent tracking, advanced workout features, and stronger build, then the Watch Fit 5 Pro is absolutely worth the extra money.
 

Huawei Watch Fit 5 and Fit 5 Pro Review: Pros and Cons