Huami unveils new classic smartwatches

US-listed Huami Corp unveiled a new smartwatch on Tuesday to target fans of classic designs after the tech company became the second most popular adult smartwatch brand in China.

Huang Wang, co-founder and CEO of Huami, said the company's product lineup already has great appeal to sports enthusiasts and lovers of basic smartwatches, with 4.5 million units of smartwatches sold so far.

"The new watch is designed to attract consumers who prefer classical designs while enjoying the features of smartwatches," Huang said.

Another key advantage of Huami's smartwatches lies in its long battery life. Huami said its new smartwatch named Amazfit GTR can last as long as 24 days on a single charge in daily use scenarios, Huang added.

The move came after Huami accounted for 17.1 percent of the China adult smartwatch market from January to March, just behind market leader Huawei Technologies Co, market research company International Data Corp said.

The strong performance coincides with the robust financial data of Huami. The company said its profit grew more than 400 percent to 75.3 million yuan ($11.2 million) in the first quarter.

A source close to Huami told China Daily that it will launch more than 10 new smartwatches in the second half of 2019 so it can be present in every segment of the smartwatch market.

Huami helps Xiaomi Corp design and manufacture wearables including fitness trackers and smartwatches, enabling Xiaomi to overtake Apple Inc as the top wearable vendor in the third quarter of 2018.

It is now planning to make self-branded smartwatches and other products. Huami unveiled a smartwatch that can accurately monitor heart rates last year before Apple launched a similar heart monitor with its smartwatch in September.

The company has developed a chip whose algorithm can identify the heart rate data of different users, similar to the ability of smartphones to identify fingerprints and faces of different users.

IDC said in its latest report that China's adult smartwatch market will likely maintain strong momentum this year after experiencing explosive growth in 2018.

The smart wearables sector has experienced some growing pains, but with improved battery life and rich capabilities, it is seeing new growth opportunities, said Fu Liang, an independent analyst who has been following the consumer electronics industry for more than a decade.