The Amazfit Family Gets Upgraded
We’ve been in love with the Amazfit company, for all of its short existence, mainly because of their Amazfit Bip fitness tracker. Since the Bip’s release in the summer of 2018, Amazfit has impressed us with a family of wearables that ALL have killer battery life and decent prices. The release of the Amazfit GTS and Amazfit GTR, have solidified their position as leaders in the wearable world.
Amazfit GTS
Amazfit GTR
The Amazfit Bip’s Pebble-like functionality and its “Apple Watch” look carved out an extremely loyal fanbase over the past few years. (The 45-day battery life probably helped a little, too.) That’s why it was our pick as 2019’s Best Fitness Tracker. It’s also probably why Amazfit built the GTS off of that same design.
Even though it’s not called the “Bip 2,” if you look at them side by side, you can tell that the GTS is an upgraded version of the Bip. The Amazfit GTR is the round-face version, giving you an option between rectangle and round watch styles without having to choose between any other features. They don’t have as many extra bells-and-whistles as traditional smartwatches, but if you’re looking for a premium fitness-first smartwatch, the Amazfit GTS and GTR are the best value by far.
Up And Coming
We touched a little on the GTS in our article talking about Google buying Fitbit and replacement options if you’re not going to stick with Fitbit through the transition. Here we have an in-depth look at why the GTS and GTR are becoming the darlings of the wearable industry and why they’re one of the best choices for any style or fitness level.
The ongoing development of the new Amazfit app is currently the only thing holding back the GTS and GTR. Even though it already has a healthy amount of features, the lack of integration with many common health and fitness apps is kind of a bummer. In the end, it’s comforting to know that improvements are only an update away.
To keep up with the “big boys,” the Amazfit app definitely needs integrated nutrition-tracking and a more robust community section. On the other hand, many features of their app already make Amazfit a powerful family of wearables. The thing we like the most is the fact that everything you need, from settings to fitness tracking, is all in the one Amazfit app.
With improvements and additions to the app already coming at light speed, we should see integration with more fitness apps like Google Fit and Apple Health pretty quick. No matter whether you choose the Amazfit GTS or the GTR, you’re getting the same premium core features. It comes down to whether you like the “Apple Watch look” of the GTS or you want more of a traditional looking timepiece with the GTR.
Here are the premium features of both models from the Amazfit GT Series:
Amazfit GTS Features:
- 14-Day battery life
- 1.65″ AMOLED display
- 341 ppi | 348 x 442 resolution (better than the Apple Watch 5)
- 5 ATM water resistance
- BioTracker PPG Optical Sensor (RealBeats AI integration)
- Built-in GPS + GLONASS
- 12-Sport modes
- Advanced running metrics
- Advanced sleep tracking
- Personalize with 1,000’s of watch faces
- Universal 20mm quick-release watchband pins
- 6 Color options: Blue, Gold, Grey, Orange, Pink, and Black
Amazfit GTR Features:
- 47mm – 24 days | 42mm – 12 days
- 47mm – 1.39″ AMOLED | 42mm – 1.2″ AMOLED
- 47mm – 454×454, 326 ppi | 42mm – 390×390, 326 ppi
- 5 ATM water resistance
- BioTracker PPG Optical Sensor (RealBeats AI integration)
- Built-in GPS + GLONASS
- 12-Sport modes
- Advanced running metrics
- Advanced sleep tracking
- Personalize with 1,000’s of watch faces
- Universal 20mm quick-release watchband pins
- Available in 2 sizes and 6 finishes
- 47mm – Stainless Steel & Aluminium Alloy
- 42mm – Starry Black, Cherry Blossom Pink, Moonlight White, and Coral Red
The Field
Smartwatches, in particular, usually need to get charged every 1-2 days, so 24/7 heart rate and advanced sleep tracking are almost impossible. Even other fitness-first smartwatches like the Fitbit Versa 2 or Garmin Venu can only make it about 6 days before they need a charge. This is also the most expensive category of wearables, so if you don’t need all the extra bells-and-whistles then save your money.
Fitness trackers are subtle and simple, but they take up precious wrist real estate and usually have very limited smartwatch functionality. With the GTS or GTR, you’ll enjoy similar battery life, tracking metrics, and price range of fitness trackers. Additionally, you get premium features like the big, beautiful 1.65″ AMOLED display for live workout metrics and smartwatch functions.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a premium and versatile fitness tracker with standard smartwatch features, it’s tough to do better then the Amazfit GTR and GTS fitness smartwatches. If you compared them to any other wearable with the same features, the most important feature you would be sacrificing is battery life. Speaking from first-hand experience, Amazfit’s 2+ weeks of battery life will get you spoiled in a hurry.
Getting the choice between rectangle or circle display styles, along with the choice of using almost any 20mm replacement watchband, is icing on the cake. Combine that with 1,000’s of downloadable watch faces, the Amazfit GT Series (GTS & GTR) can match any style, activity, or budget.