Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a major cause of premature death worldwide and increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and kidney damage. Nearly half of U.S. adults have it, according to the CDC. Yet it often causes no noticeable symptoms, so feeling fine does not necessarily mean your blood pressure is where it should be.

The Huawei Watch D3 puts blood pressure measurement on your wrist, using an inflatable airbag built into the strap and offering scheduled readings throughout the day and night. That sounds like a recipe for a bulky, rather clinical accessory, but the watch I received looks nothing of the sort. More importantly, it is comfortable enough that I was happy to keep wearing it, including overnight. Huawei has squeezed some unusual hardware into a familiar package, and after living with it, I am impressed by how little fuss it adds to my day.

Designer: Huawei

Aesthetics

Huawei has made the Watch D3 surprisingly discreet, and that is one of its biggest design strengths. This is a health-focused smartwatch with more going on under the surface than most, yet it does not look overly technical or awkwardly bulky. Instead, it comes across as clean, polished, and easy to wear, which helps it feel like a proper everyday smartwatch rather than a specialist device.

Visually, it sits somewhere between the clean familiarity of an Apple Watch and the more assertive presence of an Apple Watch Ultra, giving it a look that feels both familiar and slightly more rugged. Huawei offers the Watch D3 in three color options: White, Black, and Mocha Gold. I received the Mocha Gold version, and it gives the watch a warmer, slightly more elevated look than the other finishes. The rectangular-shaped case is paired with a color-matched fluoroelastomer strap, which also houses the airbag used for blood pressure measurement.

Ergonomics

For a smartwatch with a tiny airbag tucked into its strap, the Watch D3 is surprisingly easy to wear. On paper, it is not a small device at 1.83 x 1.61 x 0.44 inches, but it never feels ungainly or overengineered once it is actually on your wrist. The 1.92-inch rectangular display fits well and doesn’t overwhelm the wrist, keeping the overall look streamlined. Huawei has also trimmed the thickness down from 0.52 inches on the Watch D2 to 0.44 inches here, and that slimming makes a real difference. The D3 feels less like a specialist gadget and more like a smartwatch you can throw on in the morning without a second thought.

In practice, the bigger surprise is how quickly it stops feeling unusual. The Watch D3 feels like an ordinary smartwatch on the wrist in the best possible sense. The strap is inevitably thicker than a conventional smartwatch band because it contains the inflatable airbag, but I never found it cumbersome. If anything, that unusual construction fades into the background faster than expected, which is not something I would have assumed before wearing it.

The weight helps here too. At around 1.41 ounces without the strap, the Watch D3 feels substantial enough to come across as a proper piece of hardware, but not heavy enough to become annoying over the course of a full day. Fit matters more on the Watch D3 than it does on a typical smartwatch. Huawei accounts for that with a paper measuring guide and two strap sizes. A watch built around blood pressure readings needs to fit properly, and the D3 feels better for that extra attention.

Performance

Blood pressure monitoring is the main reason to consider the Watch D3, but what surprised me first was how quiet it is. It makes virtually no sound during a reading, with the increasing pressure around my wrist providing the only obvious sign that anything is happening. The sensation is noticeable, as you would expect from an inflatable strap, but the process feels discreet enough that taking a reading does not become a bother.

There are medical credentials behind the feature, too. According to Huawei, the Watch D3’s blood pressure measurement has obtained NMPA medical device registration in China and CE certification under the European Union’s Medical Device Regulation, commonly called CE-MDR.

The Watch D3 also supports ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, or ABPM, which schedules repeated measurements over a 24-hour period, including while you sleep. Rather than giving you one isolated reading, it builds a record of how your blood pressure changes throughout the day and night. Huawei Health brings those results together into a report showing daytime, nighttime, and overall averages, which you can save or share with your doctor.

That does not mean you can forget about the process entirely. During waking hours, you still need to pause, keep still, and hold the watch at heart level, following the positioning instructions. You can adjust the measurement schedule rather than stick with the default intervals. Overnight, the watch takes readings automatically without requiring you to assume the daytime posture. Thankfully, those nighttime readings did not bother me or wake me up.

There is also a dedicated feature for measuring blood pressure before and after six workout types, covering indoor and outdoor running, walking, and cycling. You take an initial reading before starting, then begin another measurement within two minutes of finishing. There is a reason those changes are worth studying. Research using clinical exercise tests has linked certain blood pressure responses during exercise and recovery with a higher risk of developing hypertension or experiencing cardiovascular events later on.

Beyond blood pressure, the D3 covers heart rate, sleep, blood oxygen saturation, and skin temperature, with ECG available in supported regions. Fitness tracking is solid too, with more than 80 workout modes. It works well as an everyday companion for keeping an eye on activity, workouts, and daily movement without making every walk feel like homework.

The everyday smartwatch features are more familiar. The D3 runs HarmonyOS and works with both Android and iOS, although the experience is not identical across the two platforms. Bluetooth calling and music playback are supported, but the limited third-party app selection leaves less room to expand beyond the built-in tools.

With a compatible Android phone, you can respond to supported messages using quick replies or the on-screen keyboard. Message replies are not supported when the watch is paired with an iPhone, which is worth knowing before you buy. Offline maps are available for supported models, while NFC payment support depends on your region and the available payment service. Having NFC hardware does not automatically mean it will work with your usual cards.

Battery life has been good in my use, too. Huawei quotes up to six days under typical conditions, dropping to around one day with ABPM enabled. My typical-use results were close to that six-day claim, while I comfortably passed a day with ambulatory monitoring enabled. Measurement frequency matters here, since Huawei’s ABPM battery test uses 15-minute intervals, so your results may differ depending on your settings.

Charging speed is okay rather than especially quick, but outside ABPM sessions, I was not constantly looking for the charger. The supplied charger uses a USB-C rather than USB-A, which is a welcome change. That is one less reason to keep an older USB-A power adapter around.

Sustainability

The Watch D3 has an IP68 rating, but that is not an invitation to take it swimming or into the shower. Huawei advises against both because of the air openings used by the blood pressure system. The watch is not water- or dust-resistant while taking a measurement, so those openings need to stay clean and dry. It requires a little more care around water than you might expect from an everyday smartwatch.

The strap feels durable, although Huawei does not provide wear-test figures to put that impression into context. It is removable, so a tear would not necessarily mean replacing the whole watch, provided Huawei makes compatible replacement straps available. That is useful for keeping the D3 in service, but the broader sustainability picture remains unclear. I would have liked more information about recycled materials, repair options, and long-term software support.

Value

The Watch D3 costs £399.99 (roughly $533) in the UK and €449 (roughly $505) in Europe, so it is not exactly an impulse purchase. Whether that feels expensive depends on what you want from your watch. The D3’s appeal is having cuff-style blood pressure readings and 24-hour ambulatory monitoring in something you can wear throughout the day and overnight.

If those are features you will use regularly, the price becomes easier to justify, especially given how comfortable I found it. I am also impressed by how streamlined the whole package feels, considering the specialized hardware tucked inside the watch and strap. You are getting more than an extra health metric on a screen, without having to wear something that feels like medical equipment. If you mostly want notifications and workout tracking, though, I would be less inclined to pay for blood pressure hardware that rarely gets used.

Verdict

The Watch D3 impressed me most by making its unusual hardware so easy to live with. Blood pressure readings are quiet, the strap never felt cumbersome, and overnight measurements did not wake me up. Battery life was good, too, particularly outside ambulatory monitoring sessions. I never felt I was putting up with an awkward gadget just to use its blood pressure features.

I would still like a broader selection of third-party apps and clearer information about repair options and long-term support. The price also makes more sense if blood pressure monitoring will be a regular habit rather than an occasional curiosity. It is a tool to use alongside professional care, not a reason to diagnose yourself or change medication based on your readings. With that understood, the D3 earns my recommendation for combining useful blood pressure features with the comfort and discretion of an everyday smartwatch.

The post Huawei Watch D3 Review: A Game Changer for On-Wrist Blood Pressure Monitoring first appeared on Yanko Design.

I’ll say it: Nothing launched the Ear (open) under the wrong logo. The open-ear buds debuted in 2024 at $149, wrapped in Nothing’s signature transparent look, and they were good enough to win a Red Dot Product Design award. Still, every time I looked at them, my brain kept whispering “CMF.” Open-ear buds are the casual, colorful, sweat-friendly second pair you toss in a gym bag, which describes CMF’s entire personality. Even Nothing seems to have noticed, since the Ear (open) now comes in soft blue for $99 in the US. That’s CMF money in a CMF color, wearing a Nothing name tag.

Apparently I’m not alone in this conspiracy theory. Industrial designer Shreyansh Onial, whose CMF Flip foldable concept got a reaction from Carl Pei himself, built the CMF Ear (open) that Nothing never released, and it looks like it rolled straight off CMF’s assembly line. The over-ear hook stays, but the transparent panels give way to solid Coral, Light Grey, and Dark Grey. Each bud gets a chunky physical button, and the pill-shaped case borrows the knurled Smart Dial from CMF’s $99 Clip Pro. It’s the alternate-universe launch I didn’t know I was waiting for.

Designer: Shreyansh Onial

Trading Nothing’s see-through shell for CMF’s candy-colored hooks

Coral, Light Grey, and Dark Grey carry the whole concept, and they match the Clip Pro’s palette exactly. Transparency is Nothing’s calling card, though on the Ear (open) much of the surface is a silicone ear hook anyway. Onial goes fully opaque, with a soft matte finish on the hook and a glossier coat on the round acoustic pod that sits by your ear canal. The outer face is a rounded pill panel with a single round button and a tiny glyph made of a circle, a dot grid, and a filled dot. The battery tail picks up a fine stippled texture, which gives sweaty fingers something to grip.

A real button on each bud fixes the biggest workout annoyance with the Ear (open), which relies on pinch controls that get fiddly with slippery fingers. CMF already gave the Clip Pro physical buttons for exactly this reason, so the move fits the brand’s own playbook. Flip the bud around and you’ll find a perforated metal grille shaped like a little kidney bean, plus two pogo pins on a short collar for charging. That bean grille is my favorite detail, because it gives the bud an oddly cartoonish face. It also mirrors the soft circles of the dial on the case. The whole thing feels friendly and approachable, which suits a pair built for sweat and sidewalks.

The Clip Pro’s Smart Dial case meets a hook built for runners

The case comes straight from CMF’s Clip Pro, a deep pill-shaped capsule with a knurled metal dial set into one end of the lid. On the Clip Pro, that Smart Dial adjusts volume, controls playback, answers calls, and triggers pairing. CMF put the same dial on its Buds Pro 2, and it has since become the brand’s signature move. Onial adds a dot-matrix “cmf” wordmark on the lid, a front status LED, and a USB-C port on the side. Inside, molded cradles hold the two hooks in a neat V, with a charging pocket waiting for each acoustic pod.

Over-ear hooks anchor behind the ear, which keeps them planted through runs, burpees, and sprints for the bus. The Clip Pro’s C-shaped clip hugs the ear’s outer edge instead, a format better suited to commutes and long desk days. That leaves the runner with a CMF-shaped hole in their gym bag, since CMF currently offers nothing for them (lowercase n). A dial makes even more sense here, because twisting a knob on the case beats digging through phone menus mid-stretch. Pair it with real buttons on the buds and you get a workout setup that never asks for a precise touch gesture.

Where a CMF Ear (open) would land in a crowded open-ear market

Open-ear audio got crowded fast, with Bose’s Ultra Open sitting at the top for $299 and Sony’s LinkBuds Clip, Huawei’s FreeClip, and Shokz’s hook-style buds filling out the field. The Clip Pro landed at $99 with LDAC support, a 10.8mm driver, and up to 32.5 hours of total battery. The Ear (open) counters with a bigger 14.2mm driver, 8 hours per charge, and 30 hours with its case. Each Ear (open) bud weighs 0.29 oz (8.1 grams), while each Clip Pro bud weighs 0.21 oz (5.9 grams). A CMF hook could split the difference, pairing the Ear (open)’s stable fit and big driver with the Clip Pro’s dial, buttons, and price.

The blue Ear (open) already sells for $99 in the US, the same price as the Clip Pro, so Nothing has basically priced its own product at CMF level. Moving it under the CMF badge would make that price tag look like a plan instead of a markdown. It would also free Nothing to return later with a pricier transparent sequel, flipping the usual order where the premium brand gets the good stuff first. CMF became an independent Nothing subsidiary headquartered in India last year, and a signature sport bud would give the young brand another reason to stand apart from its parent. Onial’s renders already look ready for the shelf. Sometimes the little sibling deserves the new toy first.

The post Nothing’s Ear (open) should have been a CMF product all along… Here’s proof first appeared on Yanko Design.