It looks like Huawei might not be done with watch launches in 2021 just yet as packaging allegedly belonging to the Huawei Watch D has surfaced online.
Pictures of the box appear to be of a retail version of the rumored watch and were uploaded onto the Chinese social media website Weibo. It shows off packaging with the Huawei Watch D name along with the Huawei logo and includes a picture of a rectangular designed watch we’ve seen shared in renders previously.
it also suggests perhaps not all that surprisingly, that it’ll be powered by Huawei’s HarmonyOS operating system, which already runs on the Huawei Watch 3 and Huawei Watch GT3 smartwatches.
The writing on the image is in Chinese and shows off what looks like blood pressure readings, which is the key feature rumored to be packed on the Watch D.
Huawei recently received clearance for its blood pressure tracking feature in China and was tipped to debut on the Watch D by a Chinese blogger who claimed to know about the project. That blogger also shared two renders of the device to firm up evidence of its existence.
We first heard about the Huawei Watch D back in September when it was spotted at European regulators. The trademark application listed the watch as a medical device, with “medical analysis; heart rate monitoring apparatus; arterial blood pressure measuring apparatus; blood pressure monitors.”
It’s also alleged that Huawei has had the sign-off from the Chinese government for its “State Drug Administration Class II medical device registration certificate,” which would give the feature the green light.
That’s also joined by reports that Huawei received blood pressure monitoring clearance from the Guangdong Provincial Food and Drug Administration for an ‘ECG blood pressure recorder.’
If the Huawei Watch D does offer an ECG-based blood pressure sensor it would signal a breakthrough for the wearable space.
Currently, few devices promise to offer the ability to monitor blood pressure without a traditional cuff-style monitor. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 offers FDA-cleared blood pressure monitoring support, though it will only correctly work after it’s been calibrated with a blood pressure cuff first. You also need to continue doing that every 3-4 weeks to achieve reliable readings.
If Huawei has managed to take the cuff calibration out of the monitoring equation and still deliver accurate data, it would be a huge deal.
Previous speculation has suggested that the Huawei Watch D could launch in China on 23 December. Given the relationship between Huawei and the US, it seems unlikely it’ll get a launch Stateside anytime soon. It might be a different story in Europe however where Huawei’s watches are still very much available to buy.
We’ll keep you posted if and when the Watch D lands with that killer blood pressure tracking feature.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Technology Express staff and is published from a syndicated feed)
