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Huawei unveils smart glasses, watches and headphones

We've seen the phones, now it's time to accessorize your heart out.

Katie Collins Senior European Correspondent
Katie a UK-based news reporter and features writer. Officially, she is CNET's European correspondent, covering tech policy and Big Tech in the EU and UK. Unofficially, she serves as CNET's Taylor Swift correspondent. You can also find her writing about tech for good, ethics and human rights, the climate crisis, robots, travel and digital culture. She was once described a "living synth" by London's Evening Standard for having a microchip injected into her hand.
Katie Collins
2 min read
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Smart specs inside and out.

Katie Collins/CNET

During Huawei's P30 launch event in Paris on Tuesday the company went all out on accessories.

As well as two new phones , the company unveiled its own take on Apple's AirPods , two new editions of its GT smartwatch and some smart spectacles.

Built with the help of Korean eyewear company Gentle Monster, Huawei's smart glasses mark a foray into a new product area for the Chinese phone maker. Expected to launch in July 2019, the glasses let you listen to music in stereo and take calls, thanks to beam-forming technologies. They also charge wirelessly. Pricing isn't yet available. 

In our brief face-on time with the glasses, we found them to be lightweight -- probably just slightly heavier than your usual eyewear -- and a little big for this woman's fairly average-size face and head. What's impressive, though, is that there's absolutely no discernible sign of any technology at all, no buttons and no bulges, and to the naked eye it would be impossible to distinguish them as smart glasses at all. We've come a long way since the days of Google Glass.

Huawei's two new smartwatches offer updates to the company's existing timepiece lineup. First up is the sportier Active Edition, with a 46mm watch face. There's also a version with a 42mm face, the Elegant Edition, which as its name suggests is sleeker and more sophisticated. Both watches feature Huawei's Triathlon mode, letting you measure and track your performance in running, swimming and cycling. The Watch GT Elegant Edition will cost $259 (229 euros), while the Watch GT Active Edition will cost $281.

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The Huawei Watch GT Elegant Edition.

Katie Collins/CNET

Huawei also took the opportunity to remind the public it has its own AirPod rivals, the $134 FreeBuds, and to show off new wireless headphones called the FreeLace. These buds are connected by a wire, much like the Beats PowerBeats, but without the over-ear hook. Unplug one of the buds and you can also charge the FreeLace by plugging them straight into the Huawei Pro Plus' USB-C port. They'll go on sale in select countries starting April 11 for $112.

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Huawei also hopes you'll invest in its wireless headphones.

Katie Collins/CNET