Amazfit GTR 2 is a smartwatch for Android but also iOS-friendly which certainly sees in its price one of the most important features. However, it also offers many other aspects that every user expects nowadays from such a device, but also pointing to other features that can become an important plus. And let’s talk about a design made with high quality materials, an AMOLED touchscreen display clearly visible and a strap that can be quickly removed for replacement with others.

IS available in two options as regards the color of the case and this is the only difference since both offer the same functionality both for it concerns fitness than for classic notifications. Clearly present an integrated GPS and a sensor that monitors the heart rate 24 hours on 24, 7 days a week and during exercise. It can also perform blood oxygen measurements , a feature sought after in this last period of COVID and that all smartwatch or smartband manufacturers are implementing in their products. It also works as a fitness tracker and ultimately this is perhaps where one of its greatest strengths lies. It is suitable for step tracking and sleep tracking rather than sports tracking a little bit more stringent.

And then there are others too smartwatch functionality: supports basic notifications and is optimized for the AMOLED display. Interesting news is being able to interact with the Amazon Alexa intelligent assistant in the future to get some information directly from the wrist. There is also an integrated music player with 3GB of storage space to transfer music directly to the smartwatch.

To power all these features, Amazfit GTR 2, has a battery that allows you to even reach the 14 days oi 38 days in easier use according to the company. Let’s say that in reality with a constant use of all its features we will get closer to 7 days than to 14 but in fact nothing prevents you from reloading it quickly and using it again. Clearly, we will see that by turning off the always-on display and heart rate monitoring, autonomy will make a big leap forward.

UNBOXING

The packaging of this Amazfit GTR 2 is very classic since it contains inside, in addition to the smartwatch itself, its magnetic power cable which allows you to recharge the battery in a simple way by combining it with any power supply. The end is magnetic and contains two pins that allow you to join the body on the back quickly and easily. Nothing else and therefore a classic and minimal box in its components.

DESIGN and DISPLAY

We assume that the new Amazfit GTR 2 costs in Italy 169 ?? and without a doubt this is the most interesting feature of this smartwatch. At this price, in fact, you get a smart digital watch that is certainly very attractive from an aesthetic point of view which in some ways can do better than other famous competitors even more expensive. Amazfit GTR 2 guarantees a much cleaner feel than the first GTR and fits much better on the wrist too.

It changes a lot compared to its predecessor especially in its being more beautiful to see and perhaps even less sporty. It has a metal body with a classic case of 46 mm and with two physical buttons on the side just as we used to have on the first version. The strap in this case is classic, i.e. in silicone. It is very light in thickness but we admit that after a first impression not too good because of its lightness, the strap has held up well even after extreme use and is not damaged or damaged by dirt or scratches. Moreover, it can be changed in an instant thanks to the system that Amazfit has decided to insert on the case and this makes it possible therefore to customize the smartwatch to the maximum with other straps to your liking.

It is clear that the true interest in the design, however, goes on the display since the quality of the circular panel placed on the smartwatch seems to be decidedly higher than expected in this price range. We are talking about a 1.3 inch AMOLED panel with resolution 454 x 454 pixel that affects immediately due to the absence of protruding frames or even important edges. Here the display is flush with the body, slightly rounded and above all with a visual quality that is certainly higher than expected. Nice to look at especially for the colors that are well outlined, very bright and also fun thanks to the use of them on some dials and widgets that Huami has created especially for this smartwatch. Its brightness is very high especially when you go outside with direct light. Excellent news especially because this does not impact the battery which is still good thanks to an AMOLED panel that with dark skins especially black tends to consume very little.

To the below the body we clearly find all the sensors that the Chinese company sets for tracking health conditions. The back in this case is made of plastic but very well done, not too annoying and above all not too thick, a symptom that the designers wanted to make the smartwatch as light and comfortable as possible from this point of view. To underline also the presence of a red frame on the upper button of the smartwatch: a peculiarity that does not change the functionality of the button compared to the lower one but in fact allows you to give that touch of beauty and originality to the smartwatch.

HARDWARE and OPERATING SYSTEM

Hidden beneath the sleek design are the sensors and features that make Amazfit GTR 2 a fitness tracker and a pretty competent sports watch for its price range. As a practice in a smartwatch of this type there are an accelerometer and gyroscopic sensors to track the movement . But there are also sensors to allow you to monitor the activity 24 hours on 20 , 7 days a week and not only during the day but also during the night with sleep. Add to this a 3-axis geomagnetic sensor and an air pressure sensor to provide additional data when you go out for some running or climbing.

There is Huami’s BioTracker PPG sensor , which offers continuous heart rate monitoring and the ability to better measure exertion levels during exercise. It is also used to generate blood oxygen measurements : a parameter that users with the arrival of the pandemic increasingly seek to understand if there is any respiratory problem. Given the price, they are all sensors that do not want to reach a professional level of measurement but still allow you to have a rough view of what is happening to the body during a non-professional physical activity or during a walk a little longer. fast. Too bad the lack of a Wi-Fi module or even the NFC but the price to pay for the cheapness of the smartwatch is this.

For sports tracking, there are then 10 modes available in total . The number is not surprising given that it is not a smartwatch for real sportsmen but in fact the inclusion of running, cycling and swimming guarantees to cover on the one hand the greater percentage of sports users and on the other hand to be able to use the smartwatch even in water. which is resistant up to 5ATM . Just about the swimming activity, it is somehow surprising to find it on a product of this price. Clearly present the integrated GPS to ensure more precise work mapping and monitoring those outdoor activities.

How fitness tracker does a good job on the accuracy front although maybe something will have to improve on the software and algorithm side. As regards the count of the daily steps that we have recorded, comparing them to those of a more sophisticated fitness tracker, we can say that we do not have a big difference since we are talking about only a few tens of steps of difference. This means that Amazfit GTR 2 does its monitoring job well and will allow you to actually understand how much you have moved during the hours of the day. The step count can be easily viewed as they are accumulated directly in the various interfaces of the chosen watchfaces or even in the appropriate screen which can be called up quickly.

Huami also includes the PAI Health scores, which take into account the heart rate and through algorithm try to make the user stay more active especially on of a longer time span. For sleep monitoring, it did a fairly well done job as the smartwatch actually recognized when we fell asleep, and then reported the various stages of sleep including REM sleep with some problem likely caused by heart rate detection. it didn’t work properly.

And this brings us to heart rate monitoring in general , which is more or less suitable for the price at which the smartwatch is sold too if the measurement is really very slow compared to the competition. It is the cons of this Amazfit GTR 2: the heartbeat is detected only after about ten seconds and sometimes even more. Moreover sometimes the values ​​do not really reflect reality exceeding by 10 / 15 beat the actual value. Also to be improved on the reception of the GPS signal which sometimes is not accurate on tracking the distance.

FUNCTIONALITY’

For the smartwatch features the new Amazfit GTR 2 basically does nothing but bring what was already seen with the first GTR version. In this case the smartwatch works well on the connectivity side both on Android and iOS devices, managing notifications well. There are music controls, the ability to answer calls via Bluetooth, check the weather forecast and set reminders for events.

There are also a nice range of watch faces , or watchfaces if you prefer, to choose from to show your fitness, sleep or also to display only the time in a more or less scenic way. There are several and we admit that we liked them for completeness and also for the possibility of customization. Moreover, through the application it is also possible to download others directly from the store.

Scrolling down with a swipe it will be possible to enter a series of quick commands where we also find the one for the do not disturb mode: here is the smart function that is activated automatically when it recognizes the user has fallen asleep. By swiping upwards, always with a swipe, you can then access the notifications. They are reported promptly and the icon for some apps is also shown. You can read the title and in various cases the content of the message, but unfortunately it is not possible to respond to the notification in any way. This is a flaw that makes it more of a visualizer than a real smartwatch.

Interesting presence on the offline voice assistant clock which allows you to perform some operations on the smartwatch but which only works if you set English as the language system. However, Alexa will also arrive via an update within the year and this perhaps will allow us to make more sense to a voice assistant on a smartwatch given the potential of Alexa. In this case we could not evaluate this aspect.

The other big news is the presence of a integrated music player with 3GB of sufficient space to be able to insert a good amount of music: from 300 to 600 songs in MP3 format. To load music on the watch you will simply need the Zepp app which will allow you to synchronize them. Once the music is loaded, just pair some Bluetooth headphones and listen to it. It is certainly not the most complete experience we can find on a smartwatch but it does the basic things quite well and this may be enough for many. Hopefully future improvements to music features and the arrival of Alexa to make it even better.

AUTONOMY

One of the most interesting aspects of the new Amazfit GTR 2 is undoubtedly the autonomy that since it will not be necessary to recharge the smartwatch every night before going to sleep. It was possible before with the GTR and is still possible with the new GTR 2. There is a battery with a capacity of 471 mAh that according to the company it should provide 14 days of typical use and 38 days of basic use. The first is based on the use of features such as listening to music, using GPS, the display in always-on mode and continuous heart rate monitoring. The second ” basic ” instead involves the abandonment of the Bluetooth connection used to pair it with the phone, as well as heart rate monitoring and the use of other features such as GPS in a more economical way.

With the typical scenario, we found that the smartwatch can easily make it through seven days and has the potential to go further. Features such as heart rate monitoring, music streaming, sleep assistant activation and always-on display will have a major impact on battery performance.

We also spent a few days in that more basic mode and is a smartwatch that keeps its promises with an autonomy that it can even go up to several weeks with much lighter use. If you are willing to juggle less intensive uses and you don’t have the real interest in keeping everything under control, even the 18 days on a single refill. And especially when it runs out it will take 2.5 hours to go from 0 to 100%. There is no fast charging support but still it doesn’t seem to be such an important shortcoming.

CONCLUSIONS

As said the new Amazfit GTR 2 costs 100 ?? . A decidedly affordable price for a smartwatch that on its side sees the presence of a good level AMOLED circular panel capable of making it readable in any situation and above all very scenic thanks to the 3D finish. The materials are aluminum and polycarbonate and make the smartwatch solid even if very light on the wrist. A considerable advantage for users who can always put it on their side, even and especially during a workout or even a swim or an elegant evening.

There are some things to update. And in this case we are talking about the software. Well done the application that allows to have a vision of any type of information that is the classic one on the activities that regarding the customization of the dials or other. In fact it is slow recording of the heart rate and sometimes it is not even too precise. Ok the price range is not high but in fact a heart rate sensor even inexpensive can quickly evaluate the pulse on the wrist. Hopefully it’s a software issue because it would be a shame not to fully recommend this new Amazfit GTR 2 which from its side really possesses many peculiarities between autonomy, design, lightness and its will to be youthful, elegant but also suitable for every day.