How, for heart health, new Huawei Watch D beats Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watch

Like some Samsung Galaxy watches, Huawei’s new Watch D can measure blood pressure. Like the latest Apple Watch, it can generate a simple ECG

The Watch D, however, needs no calibration with an external cuff – it has one built in, and its Health App can also connect with Android and iOS smartphones

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The Watch D by Huawei uses a built-in inflatable strap to measure blood pressure. Photo: Huawei

Published: 5:15pm, 6 Jan 2023

What if you had a smartwatch that could measure your blood pressure and generate an electrocardiogram (ECG) too? A ticker for your ticker, so to speak. Well, there is one: Huawei’s new Watch D.

Someone with dangerously high blood pressure normally does not feel it. Left undetected and untreated for years, it can gradually damage blood vessels and increase the risk of a heart attack, stroke and kidney failure.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is most common in adults over age 50, but many younger people also have elevated levels without knowing it. So checking your blood pressure can save your life, doctors say.

For those who would rather use a modern medical wearable device to measure their blood pressure than get themselves a conventional blood-pressure gauge, the China-based telecommunications equipment giant Huawei offers its Watch D. Is it a genuine alternative?

Huawei’s Watch D wearable device can measure your blood pressure. Photo: Huawei

It is not the first smartwatch able to measure blood pressure – some Samsung Galaxy watches can, too. But before their photoplethysmogram (PPG) sensor can accurately detect blood volume changes, the devices must be calibrated with the help of a conventional, cuff-type blood pressure gauge.