Two renders depicting what’s said to be the Huawei Watch 2 (2018) leaked online earlier today, having been shared by established industry insider Evan Blass. Much like its name implies, the device in question is a refresh of the Huawei Watch 2 released just over a year ago, with even the orange variant seen above already being offered as part of the previous wearable lineup. The main difference between the two models is that the new one will run Wear OS out of the box, whereas the 2017 device shipped with Android Wear 2.0, i.e. a pre-rebranding build of Google’s operating system. The Wear OS update is also set to hit the Huawei Watch 2 (2017) in the coming weeks.
Outside of a different pre-installed OS version and some new colors, the Huawei Watch 2 (2018) has identical specs to the previous model, according to the source. It’s hence powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 2100 and 768MB of RAM, in addition to sporting 4GB of storage space and a 420mAh battery. A circular 1.2-inch AMOLED display panel with a resolution of 390 by 390 pixels is still part of the package, offering an image density of 326 pixels per inch. The Huawei Watch 2 (2018) will support Bluetooth 4.1, eSIM-enabled cellular connectivity, GPS, and Wi-Fi (b/g/n), much like its predecessor. Likewise, the wearable will be IP68-certified for resistance to dust particles and a degree of water submersion, as per the same report. A heart rate monitor, ambient light sensor, barometer, accelerometer, and gyroscope will all be included as well, together with a geomagnetic module.
The source made no mention of NFC, though its inclusion is implied given how similar the Huawei Watch 2 (2018) is to the previous wearable from the Chinese company which supported that capability. The newly leaked device is unlikely to be the Huawei Watch 3 that the tech giant recently talked about, especially given how it confirmed that particular gadget won’t be released anytime soon despite already being in the works. The true successor to the Huawei Watch 2 is expected to debut with a new system-on-chip and Qualcomm is now looking to release such an offering later this year, reportedly advertised as the Snapdragon Wear 3100.