The Huawei Watch D3 is an improvement on the D2, but I’m still left wanting more

Huawei Watch D3: One minute review It’s been two years since the release of the Huawei Watch D2, and the Chinese brand has decided it’s time to offer an upgraded model, aptly named the D3.

With the D range, Huawei was the first to introduce blood pressure monitoring capabilities in a smartwatch, providing a simple way to track the important health metric without needing a dedicated monitor.

In my Huawei Watch D2 review I gave the smartwatch an impressive 4.5 stars.

I had high praise for the blood pressure monitoring and clever strap but was left underwhelmed by the bulky design, high price tag, and lack of smartwatch features.

Huawei has gone some way to address these concerns, but not universally and in some ways not enough.

As a result, the D3 isn’t yet one of the best smartwatches around, but as a medical-first device, it approaches and blends the lifestyle and medical aspects well.

The D3 is primarily a medical device rather than one of the best fitness trackers or running watches .

That’s evidenced by its CE-MDR certification that is proudly presented on the watch’s product page.

Its commitment to medical reporting means that at times Huawei is forced to prioritize function over form.

This is the case with the blood pressure monitoring. (Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton) To be able to offer ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, the D3 has to feature a mechanical airbag and pressure sensor.

This is attached to the inside of the strap, and even though Huawei has narrowed the thickness of the airbag compared to the D2, it still lacks the comfort of most other smartwatches that don’t have this onboard hardware.

In testing I didn’t have time to compare the D3 against a dedicated blood pressure cuff, but I was able to check it was in the same range as my expectations.

The watch takes less than a minute to carry out the check, and all you have to do is place the watch at the same height as your heart and remain still.

Because single measurements are insufficient to determine trends, I used the auto-reminder feature to alert me so I didn’t forget to capture regular measurements.