{"id":506631,"date":"2026-02-27T02:44:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T02:44:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/506631\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T02:44:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T02:44:30","slug":"huawei-gt-runner-2-accuracy-review-the-next-best-gps-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/506631\/","title":{"rendered":"Huawei GT Runner 2 Accuracy Review: The Next Best GPS Design?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" data-perfmatters-preload=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772160252_628_hqdefault.jpg\" alt=\"YouTube video\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" nopin=\"nopin\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Huawei has launched the new GT Runner 2 watch to pretty strong fanfare: A dedicated running-focused event with Eliud Kipchoge in Madrid, a slate of new features, and a new GPS\/GNSS antenna design that they are saying is the headliner feature, and beating what they defined as the gold-standard GPS watch. As part of this, they held media briefings at a fascinating level of detail into how this new system is supposed to work, including side-by-side labeled comparisons with other benchmark competitors, such as the Garmin Forerunner 970 and the Apple Watch Ultra 3. As a side note, it\u2019s pretty rare for companies to actually label the competitors in these media briefings.<\/p>\n<p>Obviously, with this much GPS-focused fanfare, I\u2019m here for it. And more specifically, here to validate (or debunk) these claims in the real world. Thus, welcome to this post.<\/p>\n<p>Now, to be clear, there are lots of other software-focused features that make this watch interesting. From expanded training load metrics, to expanded training plan pieces, to smart re-fueling reminders, and more. Though, as we\u2019ve seen the trend recently, these features, in and of themselves, are no longer category-leading, but just the category baseline. Of course, it\u2019s cool to see Huawei pushing deeper into the running side \u2013 with an acknowledgment during the briefing that this is the sport they\u2019ll be tackling first, in terms of feature depth.<\/p>\n<p>That said, the cornerstone of this newly announced watch is the GPS antenna design being revolutionary, and thus, I wanted to focus on that.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s New:<\/p>\n<p><img data-perfmatters-preload=\"\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167338\" title=\"DSC06214.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DSC06214.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\"  \/><\/p>\n<p>Now, before we talk about the most highlighted feature (GPS Accuracy), let\u2019s just briefly run through some of the changes in the watch (and platform). Here\u2019s the quick and dirty:<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Added optimal training load widget\/tracking (e.g., low\/medium\/high load)<br \/>\u2013 Added historical trend line for optimal load (aka \u2019the tunnel\u2019)<br \/>\u2013 Added RAI (Running Ability Index)<br \/>\u2013 Added running power<br \/>\u2013 Added running power curve<br \/>\u2013 Added dynamic recovery guidance (accounting for factors like sleep, stress, etc\u2026)<br \/>\u2013 Added smart training plans (specify goal race, and will populate rest and dynamically change)<br \/>\u2013 Added in-race marathon guidance data pages (showing progress towards goal, and specified targets on HR or Pace)<br \/>\u2013 Added support for free-diving to 40m<br \/>\u2013 Adding upcoming NFC payment support with Curve<br \/>\u2013 Added new breathable fabric strap (dries far quicker than other straps), also silicon one in box too<br \/>\u2013 Contains full metal case (titanium alloy)<br \/>\u2013 Display is 3,000 nit display with Kunlun glass<br \/>\u2013 Battery claim is 32-hours of GPS time, and 14-days smartwatch (gesture-based)<br \/>\u2013 Watch weight is 43.5g (lighter than most watches in its class, claimed as the lightest metal GPS watch)<br \/>\u2013 Watch thickness is 10.7mm (most watches in this class are in the 12mm range)<br \/>\u2013 Case diameter is 43.5mm (roughly the same ballpark as others in the 43-47mm range)<\/p>\n<p>Note that it comes in three case colors\/combos:<\/p>\n<p><img data-perfmatters-preload=\"\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167337\" title=\"Models.png\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Models.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"365\" border=\"0\"   fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The price is 399EUR\/349GBP.<\/p>\n<p>As always, Huawei watches are available outside the US, but not officially available inside the US (due to the US Government blockages of Huawei products). Huawei did make some interesting notables in their presentation around sales numbers, which I figured were worthwhile pointing out:<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 No 1 global wearable wrist-worn unit sales in Q1-Q3 2025 (expected to hold full 2025)<br \/>Shipped 200 million wearables thus far (till 2025)<br \/>\u2013 Shipped 55 million+ Watch GT Series units<\/p>\n<p>They did preemptively counter-claim that while it might be easy to say that \u201cthose are mostly in China\u201d, they noted that they are number #1 in their home market, but often #3 in many other markets as well. Obviously, you can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.idc.com\/promo\/wearablevendor\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">validate\/invalidate those claims with IDC<\/a> if you have a subscription.<\/p>\n<p>      The New GPS Antenna Design:<\/p>\n<p><img data-perfmatters-preload=\"\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167341\" title=\"IMG_0126.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_0126.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"719\" height=\"470\" border=\"0\"   fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<p>While the watch received other hardware styling changes, the biggest ticket item by far is the new GPS antenna design. Back in the 2010\u2019s, the main focus when it came to GPS accuracy was often the GPS chipset itself (e.g., from Sony, MediaTek, etc). But by the end of the decade, that shifted more towards the actual GPS antenna portion, which is basically the tiny wire that\u2019s typically embedded into some portion of the bezel. Every single watch needed a different GPS antenna design (since every single watch had different bezel shapes, materials, sizes, etc\u2026). The difference between success and failure was measured in fractions of a millimeter. While the actual chipset and the firmware customizations certainly still mattered, the antenna was make or break.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a lesson that many companies had to learn the hard way, notably COROS and Polar, both of which previously openly discussed their GPS antenna design failures after first attempts (in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dcrainmaker.com\/2022\/11\/coros-apex-depth-review.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">COROS APEX 2 series<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dcrainmaker.com\/2022\/11\/ignite3-display-multiband.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Polar in the Ignite 3<\/a>). Generally speaking in this area, Garmin is considered the leader in GPS antenna design since roughly the Fenix 7 era (and carried over to virtually all of Garmin\u2019s other devices), though Suunto is mostly seen as equal here in recent hardware as well. Others may be close, but never quite being as perfect.<\/p>\n<p>Which is likely why in Huawei\u2019s media presentation, they consistently refer to the Garmin Forerunner 970, which they specifically noted as being a \u201cgold standard\u201d device (their exact words, not mine).<\/p>\n<p>So with that backstory, let\u2019s talk about what Huawei is doing. Below is a slide from their presentation. Essentially, they have not one, but *two* GNSS antennas here. The first antenna is built into the case itself, whereas the second antenna is built into the titanium bezel. That aqua-colored ring is an isolation ring that keeps the upper antenna floating there, ungrounded (whereas the lower antenna is grounded).<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167316 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"UntitledImage.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"377\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/UntitledImage-2.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>The idea here is that they can use the two antennas operating in opposite directions to match the polarization of the satellite transmission. Here, in this little animated GIF, you can see the rotation (electrically, not physically):<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-167355 perfmatters-lazy\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"404\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GNSSAntennaDesign.gif\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Within this, they talked a lot about how this would handle tough GPS conditions better than their competitors. Here\u2019s a slide they had showing the downtown business district in Frankfurt, along a tight street in between tall buildings:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167317 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"UntitledImage.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"719\" height=\"422\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/UntitledImage-3.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>And another, more interesting one, talking about how they were combining this with algorithms to figure out where you\u2019re going, even when no GPS exists. They do this by blending GPS data with mapping data. In the case below, the title says \u201cTrack Running\u201d, but you can see it\u2019s actually the outside perimeter of the track, where it goes under a stadium in a very neat-looking tunnel. Here, because the Huawei watch has the actual running path details, it locks onto that once it loses GPS signal. It\u2019s a creative solution, and something we\u2019ve seen Apple dabble with a bit over the last few years (though, not quite to this level).<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167318 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"UntitledImage.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"719\" height=\"400\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/UntitledImage-4.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>As a result of all of this, they noted very high accuracy levels for distance and pace, including this slide where they are testing against a <a href=\"https:\/\/novatel.com\/products\/gnss-inertial-navigation-systems\/combined-systems\/cpt7\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NovAtel CPT7 GNSS reference device<\/a> in a backpack (which has centimeter-level accuracy).<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167319 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"UntitledImage.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"718\" height=\"402\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/UntitledImage-5.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>I will note that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 result there seems highly unusual. I\u2019m not saying Huawei did anything purposefully wrong, but equally, that kind of error simply isn\u2019t the norm for any devices these days (I don\u2019t have any more track detail to understand what happened).<\/p>\n<p>All of which gets us to their claims about being incredibly precise, and substantial improvements over past devices:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167320 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"UntitledImage.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"719\" height=\"405\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/UntitledImage-6.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>And doing so while having really solid battery numbers\u2026at least with a gesture-based display. Here\u2019s a comparison chart they did:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167321 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"UntitledImage.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"718\" height=\"420\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/UntitledImage-7.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>For some real-world data, though, on my 2.5-hour run yesterday, devices in always-on configuration burned as follows in *always-on* display mode (no route loaded on either):<\/p>\n<p>Garmin Forerunner 970 (forced multi-band on): From 94% to 83% (thus an estimate of 23.5hrs battery life)<br \/>Huawei GT Runner 2 (multi-band on): From 85% to 70% (thus an estimate of 16.7hrs of battery life)<\/p>\n<p>These Huawei battery burn numbers are consistent with all my other runs.<\/p>\n<p>Is It Actually Accurate?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167344 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"photo-6713_singular_display_fullPicture.jpg\" alt=\"Photo-6713 singular display fullPicture.\" width=\"720\" height=\"556\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/photo-6713_singular_display_fullPicture-1.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>In short, no, it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n<p>At least not in my testing, and I think other reviewers as well. To be clear, there are some brief spots, but more critically, it struggled in both relatively easy and moderate scenarios alike. In my tests, I compared against multiple other units from Garmin, Amazfit, Suunto, and Apple.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a 2.5-hour run from yesterday, on the final-release firmware. This starts on easy roads\/dirt roads, and then eventually works its way up into the mountains. Though none of this is very hard mountain terrain from a GPS standpoint. It\u2019s largely wide open skies, with no overhangs on any section I was in:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167342 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"IMG_4455 2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/IMG_4455-2.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s my configuration (Huawei said it performs best on the left wrist, so I gave it its best shot):<\/p>\n<p>Left wrist: Huawei GT Runner 2<br \/>Left hand: Garmin Forerunner 970<br \/>Right wrist: Amazfit T-Rex Ultra 2<br \/>Right hand: Garmin Fenix 8 Pro<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the <a href=\"https:\/\/analyze.dcrainmaker.com\/#\/public\/4a805ceb-a22c-46b5-6096-2c31e7c0936b\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">actual DCR Analyzer set<\/a>, if you want to look at it online.\u00a0 At the high-level first everything looks close-ish:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167327 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"Galatzo-GPS1.png\" alt=\"Galatzo GPS1.\" width=\"720\" height=\"391\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Galatzo-GPS1.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>But as we zoom in on a mostly easy section, as I translate from flats to a short sucker-punch of an initial climb, you can see slight variations from the Huawei watch. Nothing crazy, but just minor errors initially.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167328 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"Galatzo-GPS2.png\" alt=\"Galatzo GPS2.\" width=\"720\" height=\"394\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Galatzo-GPS2.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>These minor errors continue throughout the run, so I\u2019ll get to the main climb. Again, this is totally open skies, just lots of switch-backs back and forth (and steep, 20%+). But it entirely falls apart here:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167329 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"Galatzo-GPS3.png\" alt=\"Galatzo GPS3.\" width=\"720\" height=\"395\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Galatzo-GPS3.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>This is bad-bad. Sure, it\u2019s sorta-mirrored off to the side, but also not in some cases. Again, we\u2019re talking upwards of 50m offset from the track here, which is a long-long ways away.<\/p>\n<p>So, let\u2019s try another run, <a href=\"https:\/\/analyze.dcrainmaker.com\/#\/public\/0f3df0f7-d7cf-409a-57c4-a37635c40d61\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">this time for 3 hours<\/a>. Similar configuration, except now I\u2019ve got a Suunto Vertical 2 instead of a Garmin Fenix 8 with me. Note, colors have changed:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167330 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"3hrRun-GPS1.png\" alt=\"3hrRun GPS1.\" width=\"719\" height=\"394\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/3hrRun-GPS1.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Here, I start off on roads that are fine, but as I begin my climb, the Huawei\u2019s track starts to fall apart, slowly separating out from the pack. While there are some minor GPS blockages here, it\u2019s still pretty darn open. As you can see, one of these tracks sticks out:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167331 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"3hrRun-GPS2.png\" alt=\"3hrRun GPS2.\" width=\"719\" height=\"396\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/3hrRun-GPS2.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>And it gets worse as I go along:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167332 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"3hrRun-GPS3.png\" alt=\"3hrRun GPS3.\" width=\"719\" height=\"393\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/3hrRun-GPS3.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Even along the upper ridgeline (wide open skies), when it seems to get better, it\u2019s still clearly the odd-man out, often slightly offset to the rest:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167333 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"3hrRun-GPS4.png\" alt=\"3hrRun GPS4.\" width=\"719\" height=\"391\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/3hrRun-GPS4.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Now I\u2019ll save you another full run on this route, as the results were similar (<a href=\"https:\/\/analyze.dcrainmaker.com\/#\/public\/f98786af-59a4-4d59-627d-0b54cf8a784b\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">you can look at them here<\/a>), though notably on this one, it got confused with a simple road crossing (colors have changed again):<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167336 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"2hrRun-GPSCityRunning.png\" alt=\"2hrRun GPSCityRunning.\" width=\"719\" height=\"394\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/2hrRun-GPSCityRunning.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Now, there were a few cases that it did handle well. For example, this section here in a long tunnel I did. You can see it did exactly as Huawei specified it\u2019d do: Go straight. It did indeed perform better than the Garmin Forerunner 970 at that point (though the Huawei watch made errors before\/after the tunnel itself):<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167334 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"3hrRun-GPSTunnel.png\" alt=\"3hrRun GPSTunnel.\" width=\"719\" height=\"395\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/3hrRun-GPSTunnel.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>It should be noted that the Garmin Forerunner 970 was in so-called SatIQ mode (aka AutoSelect), which means it saves battery power by dynamically switching GPS modes, scaling up to multi-band as needed when conditions are more challenging (e.g., buildings). Whereas the Huawei watch is always in multi-band. Generally speaking, Garmin\u2019s SatIQ mode is one of the best things they\u2019ve done in recent years, though it would make this test slightly unequal. Still, I\u2019d argue that if SatIQ can\u2019t handle this correctly, then that\u2019s on Garmin.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s that same tunnel on a different day, with more or less the same result from all parties (Huawei better than Garmin):<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167335 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"2hrRun-GPSTunnel.png\" alt=\"2hrRun GPSTunnel.\" width=\"719\" height=\"392\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/2hrRun-GPSTunnel.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>So what about city running? Unfortunately, again, this fell short. <a href=\"https:\/\/analyze.dcrainmaker.com\/#\/public\/58b2d5e3-1905-4537-6a42-229bc985b85a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">I went out this morning<\/a> (just hours before the watch announces) with the final production firmware again, for a quick up\/down circuit of the tall hotel buildings in this area.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167345 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"CityTest-Wide.png\" alt=\"CityTest Wide.\" width=\"720\" height=\"394\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CityTest-Wide.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>But as you can see, in purple below, the Huawei GT Runner 2 was simply inaccurate quite a bit. Below you can see a turn I did around this block, where the GT Runner 2 appeared to lock onto the road, versus the sidewalk area I was on (and note how I go around the palm trees with the sidewalk, whereas the watch seems to lock to the road itself):<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167346 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"CityTest-Zoomed.png\" alt=\"CityTest Zoomed.\" width=\"719\" height=\"391\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CityTest-Zoomed.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Or arguably the best single example possible, right here, where I follow the sidewalk and crosswalk, yet the watch stays on the road:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167349 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"CityTest-Zoomed2.png\" alt=\"CityTest Zoomed2.\" width=\"719\" height=\"397\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CityTest-Zoomed2.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>This is fundamentally why most companies *don\u2019t* use a \u201clock to road\u201d concept. Because ultimately, that\u2019s not where runners run. And again here, it has me playing in traffic on the wrong side of the street:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167347 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"CityTest-Zoomed3.png\" alt=\"CityTest Zoomed3.\" width=\"719\" height=\"393\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CityTest-Zoomed3.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Look, I only play in traffic at night on empty roads. Not here in broad daylight, swerving in front of buses (in Magaluf, that\u2019s reserved for drunk British tourists).<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167348 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"CityTest-Zoomed4.png\" alt=\"CityTest Zoomed4.\" width=\"720\" height=\"393\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CityTest-Zoomed4.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Finally, as for elevation accuracy, things weren\u2019t great there either. On all of my runs, it drifted notably. For example, yesterday\u2019s run on the final firmware (ignore the weird drop thing, that\u2019s just an artifact of the export process):<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167323 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"GTRunner2-Elevation1.png\" alt=\"GTRunner2 Elevation1.\" width=\"719\" height=\"235\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GTRunner2-Elevation1.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Or, a run from last week, where you can see the elevation deviation slowly drift, so much so that when I got back down closer to the ocean, it went negative elevation, despite not yet being at the end of the run.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167324 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"GTRunner2-Elevation2.png\" alt=\"GTRunner2 Elevation2.\" width=\"719\" height=\"239\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GTRunner2-Elevation2.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Though I did have one run from about 10 days ago where it was reasonably OK:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167325 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"GTRunner2-Elevation3.png\" alt=\"GTRunner2 Elevation3.\" width=\"720\" height=\"246\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GTRunner2-Elevation3.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>About the only difference here is that Huawei said GPS would be better on my left wrist, so that\u2019s mostly where I wore it on recent runs, whereas on this older run it was on my right wrist. I\u2019m not sure I should have to choose between accurate elevation or accurate GPS based on wrist preference. That sounds like some Fitbit Charge 6 GPS vs HR accuracy logic.<\/p>\n<p>In any case, overall, as you can see, this is falling pretty far short of what I\u2019d expect from a world-class leading device. While Huawei may have added a bunch of other features, and perhaps in certain city environments it\u2019d work better, here it\u2019s just not working for me in what I\u2019d describe as easy to mildly challenging scenarios. I\u2019d hate to see what more complicated mountain\/cliff (or even city) environments look like.<\/p>\n<p>Though I will say, good job on heart rate. Here\u2019s a run where you can see it did quite well there (the bad one there is the Amazfit):<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167326 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"GTRunner-HRLongRun.png\" alt=\"GTRunner HRLongRun.\" width=\"719\" height=\"236\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GTRunner-HRLongRun.png\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Ok, let\u2019s get into the wrap-up.<\/p>\n<p>(Note: All of the charts in these accuracy portions were created using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dcrainmaker.com\/analyzer\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the DCR Analyzer tool<\/a>. It allows you to compare power meters\/trainers, heart rate, cadence, speed\/pace, running power, GPS tracks, and plenty more. You can use it as well for your own gadget comparisons, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dcrainmaker.com\/analyzer\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">more details here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>Wrap-Up:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-167340 perfmatters-lazy\" title=\"DSC06243.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DSC06243.jpg\"  data-\/><\/p>\n<p>Huawei has put a lot of work into this watch, in a lot of areas \u2013 be it software, hardware design, and seemingly the much-praised GNSS antenna design. But ultimately, that key GPS accuracy feature just doesn\u2019t seem to work well. It falls short of all of the competitor watches I compared it against, in both easy and moderate conditions. In other words, it claimed to do one thing really really well, and it didn\u2019t do that thing even so-so.<\/p>\n<p>In bringing up these results to Huawei, they noted this morning that they\u2019ll continue to dig into them, but said that \u201cwhile the hardware is universal, we have optimized the algorithms for road running (hence the focus on Marathon features) \u2013 nevertheless I\u2019d still expect the performance to be competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I can certainly understand algorithms being optimized for one scenario or another, but nearly 20 years of GPS accuracy testing tells me that something more is amiss here. This almost seems more related to turns and inclines, than pure road vs trail. As for whether it\u2019s fixable? Well again, looking back at those 20 years of testing, very rarely are early GPS accuracy issues fixable in software. The vast majority of the time, it\u2019s antenna design, or other underlying pieces that are hard to fix. Certainly, there are exceptions \u2013 but they are just that, very rare exceptions, no matter the company (Apple, Garmin, COROS, Polar, Samsung, Suunto, etc\u2026). All of those are companies that have produced initially bad GPS watch models, and been unable to fix it in software.<\/p>\n<p>Which isn\u2019t to say the whole watch is bad. I actually really do like the styling on this unit (the band is great, and does indeed dry quicker than most fabric-like bands I have). The watch case feels far more premium to me than a Forerunner 570 does (or even a Forerunner 970 for that matter), despite being cheaper. Plus, it\u2019s got free\/downloadable onboard maps, a host of training features (albeit ones most of their competitors already have), and the screen has been really solid for me even in bright sunlight conditions. Also, if you like lots of audible alerts, the watch is constantly talking to you with a very easy-to-hear speaker.<\/p>\n<p>With that \u2013 thanks for reading!<\/p>\n<p>FOUND THIS POST USEFUL? SUPPORT THE SITE!<\/p>\n<p>Hopefully, you found this post useful. The website is really a labor of love, so please consider becoming a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dcrainmaker.com\/support\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">DC RAINMAKER Supporter<\/a>. 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