Huawei debuts €329 Watch 2, €379 Watch 2 with 4G, €399 Watch 2 Classic; all models have Android Wear 2, NFC, GPS, IP68 water resistance, 1.2" screen, 45mm case
The original Huawei Watch is perhaps one of the most popular Android Wear devices to ever exist.
Context & Ripple Effects
Huawei's first smartwatch, launched in 2015 at $350-$800, became one of the most popular Android Wear devices (the original Huawei Watch sold on its classic design alone). The Watch 2 family announced here extends that into a three-tier lineup — €329, €379 with 4G, and €399 Classic — all standardizing on Android Wear 2, NFC, GPS and IP68.
The significance only becomes clear downstream: a month later reviewers called the Watch 2 overpriced and cheap-feeling, and within two years Huawei had abandoned Google's wearable OS entirely for its own LiteOS and eventually HarmonyOS. This launch is the last major Huawei watch built on someone else's platform.
First-order effects
- Buyers get a cellular option for the first time in the lineup — the €379 4G model untethers the watch from the phone — while all three tiers carry identical 1.2-inch screens and 45mm cases, making connectivity rather than hardware the differentiator.
Second-order effects
- Android Central's verdict that the Watch 2 feels cheap and is priced too high undercuts the premium three-tier strategy, leaving Huawei competing on Google's software while charging more than the experience delivers.
Third-order effects
- The weak Watch 2 reception sets up Huawei's decisive pivot: the fitness-focused Watch GT ships on proprietary LiteOS at €199-€249, and by 2021 the flagship Watch 3 line runs HarmonyOS — a complete exit from licensed Google wearable software years before US chip restrictions made self-reliance an existential imperative.
The trend: Huawei's wearables trace the company's broader decoupling from Google's software stack, moving from Android Wear in 2017 to wholly proprietary LiteOS and HarmonyOS platforms within four years.