Malaysian athletes heading to Hangzhou for the 2022 Asian Games and the 2022 Asian Para Games are not going there just to make the country proud, but also to try out an upcoming smartwatch from Huawei ahead of its official launch in Malaysia.
The watches were presented to the athletes via the Youth and Sports Minister, YB Hannah Yeoh, during the Flag Handing Ceremony for the Malaysian Contingent on Monday. The event was also officiated by Bandar Tun Razak MP Dato’ Seri Dr Wan Azizah Dr Wan Ismail who is also the wife of Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“We hope this will be the start of many more meaningful collaborations and support from Huawei to assist us especially in exploring technology assistance to further elevate the performance of our national athletes,” said YB Hannah Yeoh.
The new smartwatch will be awarded to athletes that wins a medal at the games, as a recognition of their outstanding achievements at the biggest sports competition in Asia.
“The athlete’s journey is filled with hard work and sacrifice. It is also a journey where technology now has an essential role to play in assisting athletes with training and preparing for competitive sports. It is an honour for Huawei Malaysia to present these gifts to the winning athletes in recognition of their excellence at a prestigious sporting event,” said Simon Sun, CEO of Huawei Malaysia.
The rumoured smartwatch is said to be the new Huawei Watch GT 4, the follow up to the Huawei Watch GT 3 which was launched in November 2021. According to Roland Quandt from winfuture.de, the Watch GT 4 will have slightly smaller cases when compared to the GT 3 – the pair will be 41mm and 46mm, instead of a 41mm and 46mm.
The expected prices will be between 249 to 399 euros, depending on the watch and strap material. It is expected that the smaller watch will appeal more to the female market segment, or the more fashion conscious, while the larger watch will appeal to the men.
We should be seeing something similar to the GT 3 for watchbands – leather, plastic, and new for the line, metal bracelet. It is unknown if the rumoured metal bracelet will be similar to the White Ceramic Strap available for purchase.
Roland did point out that the 46mm is expected to have a longer battery life than the 41mm and will have an expanded range of fitness tracking functions versus the smaller model. The new 46mm may be similar to the Watch GT 3 SE rather than the Watch GT 3.
The official launch date for the new watch is set for 14 September in Barcelona, Spain.
[Image Credit: Malaysia National Olympic Council]
