We were close, but off by a week, with Huawei today announcing that their 4G enabled Watch 2 will be arriving at Vodafone on August 16th.
The watch is the first native Android Wear 2.0 running device arriving in Australia, with the watch exclusively available from Vodafone for $599, though Vodafone will be announcing plans for the watch ‘soon’. The Huawei Watch 2 has the distinction of being the first available in Australia which will support Android Pay (imports don’t count).
The Watch 2 is a “sporty” watch with a 1.2″ fully circular 390×390 resolution display covered with Corning Gorilla Glass, Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor with 768MB RAM and 4GB of on-board storage and a 420mAh battery. It’s also IP68 Water and Dust resistant so it’s fully life proof.
| Key Specifications: | Huawei Watch 2 |
|---|---|
| Screen size | 1.2-inch |
| Screen technology | — |
| Resolution | 390x390 |
| PPI | — |
| Chipset | Snapdragon Wear 2100 |
| Core config | — |
| RAM | 768MB |
| Storage | 4GB |
| MicroSD | — |
| Battery | 420 mAh |
| Charging method | Magnetic suction base charge |
| Cellular | LTE |
| NFC | Yes |
| Speaker | — |
| Android OS | Wear OS 2.0 |
| Dimensions | 48.9 x 45 x 12.6mm |
| Weight | 42g |
| Colours | — |
| Build materials | — |
| Band colours | — |
| Band materials | — |
| Band swappable | — |
With the built-in SIM slot, microphone and speaker the watch is able to support the full network capabilities of a phone including receiving phone calls and SMS messages, as well as feeding data into all the native Android Wear apps installed on your wrist which means you can go for a run, or a night out on the town while also ensuring you don’t miss out on any social apps, phone calls or text messages.
The fitness tracking includes all the sensors such as heart rate monitor and GPS so you can track distance travelled, speed, steps, heart rate, calories, and gait.
Eric Zhai, Managing Director of Huawei Consumer Business Group Australia said:
Huawei strives to improve life through innovation and connectivity and the Huawei Watch 2 is a product of that work. As the internet of things becomes more fully realised, Smartphones and connected wearables will continue to bring benefit to people’s lives – from medical solutions to paying for public transport with a flick of your wrist. So, we are proud that the Huawei Watch 2 will be the first 4G sim enabled Watch on sale in Australia.
While a full review is coming, if you want you can read up on read Chris’ thoughts on the Huawei Watch 2 from his time with the watch at Mobile World Congress.
$600 seems a bit rich when I can buy one delivered for Amazon for $350. Especially when Vodafone probably won’t sell it outright anyway.
Vodafone are selling outright for $599. Can you link me the $350 version? All I can see is a $399 USD version
YAY! Can finally get my Birthday/Father’s day present (from 2016!)!