Amazfit GTS Review

Finding a stylish fitness tracker can be a challenge, but the Amazfit GTS has a small design and comfortable build for everyday use. Available with six colorful silicone strap options and a bright AMOLED display, this stylish wearable device continuously monitors heart rate, sleep, and offers personalized tracking for 12 different popular exercises.

I’ve been wearing this device for just over a week while sleeping, walking and running to see how this sleek tracker works. While registration was never an issue, the software and companion app didn’t offer a truly intuitive and easy-to-use experience.

Design: light and a little too familiar

Amazfit GTS is a super light device, weighing around 24.8 grams, but it’s not thin. The case is made of aircraft grade aluminum alloy and the Corning 3 Gorilla glass covering the screen is easily stain-resistant. The back of the screen definitely feels more plastic, although the panel has a matte finish that feels pleasantly solid. The square dial is slightly longer than it is wide, like the Apple Watch. In fact, if you don’t look too closely, this device is almost an exact replica of this big name in handheld gaming.

The always-on 348×442 AMOLED display is very vivid and easy to read on 1.65 inches of space. The main screen is also very customizable. Two watch faces (one analog and one digital) are pre-loaded on the device (with more watch faces available through the app), and most of the widgets for each option can be customized to show the information you want to see most often at a glance.

Along with the clear, easy-to-read display, the GTS’s biggest asset is the flexible and durable silicone, with a good selection of notches and two tabs to hold the strap in place once locked in place. Although it comes in one size, I was able to find a nice snug fit on my tiny 5.5 inch wrist.

I couldn’t test the 50m water resistance of this device for swimming or other water activities, but I used it in the shower without any problems. However, the manufacturer notes that this wearable is not safe for hot showers or other water sports such as scuba diving, scuba diving and fast water sports in general.

Convenience: Easy to use but not that easy to use

While the Amazfit GTS is stylish enough to be worn all day and is easy to integrate into your wardrobe and comfortable for sleeping, annoying UI issues have affected its overall ease of use. In addition to the modular watch faces, there are screens for almost any measured data point that can be accessed by swiping up from the bottom of the device.

Unlike most trackers, the two most important data points on this tracker are Status (which are basically recorded steps) and PAI (Personal Physiological Activity Indicator, a number calculated from heart rate and activity). These are not common statistics that most users are familiar with, and the way these widgets are displayed on the watch and in the app cannot be customized.

Performance: Fixed GPS and decent activity tracking

Amazfit GTS supports 12 common exercise profiles, including running and walking, which I have used the most. While it wasn’t perfect compared to my usual tracker, the Garmin Venu, it wasn’t far off the mark. In the three-mile run, the Amazfit GTS was less than a minute behind and the pace was also 9 seconds slower and 275 steps shorter, while the heart rate was less accurate at around 15 beats faster than the Venu. Another good consistency was the reliable built-in GPS and auto stop / start function, which worked quite well, albeit with a small delay.

The general scope of the data collected is relatively detailed and includes information that runners like such as cadence and lap speed, but the app limits detailed or easy access to the data as it does not break down training data by type and aggregate. All weekly, monthly, etc. or on annual accounts.

This device is also capable of tracking sleep data in a relatively comprehensive way which includes sleep stages, times you were awake, when you fell asleep and when you woke up. The watch always tracked the data, and as far as I could tell, the sleep and wake times were accurate, but reading the data was a little less straightforward.

Software: more style than substance

The best fitness trackers and smartwatches also have intuitive built-in apps, but that’s not the Amazfit GTS’s big selling point. Like most wearables, the Zepp app (formerly Amazfit) is required to set up the device and view the tracked data in more detail.

While the setup process was easy to get the watch up and running, even after about a week, I never felt comfortable with the app. I doubt any amount of time would really change my experience of posting and presenting data points.

Too often in the app and the device itself there seems to be a connection between the user and the data and getting the information you are looking for. While the app has many fields related to body measurements that could provide a more complete picture of well-being, they all apparently require an extra manual step.

And besides features that are unclear if they don’t fit on the device, there’s too much ambiguity about the coverage of other areas like VO2 max and training load, which the Amazfit doesn’t seem to measure completely, but the app doesn’t. t clarify.

Also, the organization of the information and the explanation where this information comes from can feel a bit manipulative. In the top right corner of the app’s home screen is an icon that leads to all the information, which is divided into categories that aren’t particularly intuitive, such as Status Information and Health Sign.

Battery: solid, but significantly less than the 14 day claim

The manufacturer calculates battery life at a whopping 14 days in typical smartwatch mode, including continuous heart rate and sleep monitoring and training recording three times a week.

That’s roughly how I’ve been using this device, albeit with maybe a few extra workouts and with the screen always on and the battery low on day seven. On the plus side, according to the manufacturer’s estimates, it charged quickly in less than 2 hours. Amazfit also claims that the battery lasts up to 46 days in basic mode without Bluetooth or a heart rate monitor.

Amazfit GTS vs Garmin vivosmart 4

While the Amazfit GTS looks similar to the Apple Watch, it doesn’t come close to performing as such. Garmin vivosmart 4 matches the GTS offering much better. At $130, this band-style tracker offers a sleek design with a few luxe touches like metallic finishes and attractive strap colors, but it also scans a lot more than the GTS. It tracks stress, VO2 max, blood oxygen saturation and measures what Garmin calls the body battery, keeping you on energy levels all day long.

The Vivosmart 4 is also safe to swim in and allows Android smartphone users to instantly reply to messages with predefined replies, something the GTS lacks. While the Amazfit GTS has a battery life of 2 weeks in smart mode, the vivosmart 4 is good for a full week, which is comparable to what I experienced with the GTS. And as a dedicated Garmin wearable user, I can confirm that the generally more intuitive companion mobile app, the vivosmart 4 and other models from this brand use the Amazfit / Zepp app.

Last judgement

A stylish fitness tracker with more potential than a Pool.

Comfortable and stylish, the Amazfit GTS does basic fitness tracking tasks relatively well, but its confusing ecosystem detracts from the sophistication. If you like the look of the Apple Watch, this is a cheap double. But if you want a strong balance between performance and looks, the Amazfit GTS may not work.