Amazfit GTR Watch - Review
Anytime I get a chance to review a piece of hardware that is outside the norm, I consider it a bit of a blessing, reviewing watches is not something I've done a lot of and I'm starting to think that's being a disservice to myself, because the Amazfit GTR 47mm watch is, well to be frank amazing.
Of course when it comes to a wearable device, form is slightly more important than function if you can't wear it, it doesn't really matter what it does and I'm happy to say that Amazfit have created something that is easy to wear and doesn't look like somebody's attempted imagining 100 years from now. the main body contains a 1.39-inch screen which equates to roughly the same size as an Apple Watch 44 millimetres screen, allowing for a large and clear display of information. the screen is touch based so you can interact with it that way and on the side it contains 2 buttons and that's really it, it's not minimalistic it's just in line with what watch is for decades have been like. the underside of the device has a small, raised section in the middle where the various sensors and heartbeat monitor live, and it's also where the connecting points for the charger come into play, as the height is only a few millimetres when you're wearing it it's not an issue.
Because the band that comes equipped with the watch is made to look like a traditional watch band, something you might find in a dedicated store, you could easily wear the watch in an office setting or upscale social event and it wouldn’t look out of place. Again, this comes down to the very familiar design, something that is rare with a lot of smart watches, but while it looks like it might be basic, packed inside are a host of features, putting it up there with some of the best wearables on the market today. When you first start up the watch, you will do the basics, telling you what wrist it is on and allowing it to know your location, but if you don’t want to do any more, you won’t have to, the watch can just be a watch. The default watch face that you see, is more aligned with the sports style of watch, a lot of dials and numbers and while it does allow for tracking of steps, you can swap it with the other pre-set face, or jump into the settings and download any number of the dozens upon dozens of faces. Overall the design and build of the watch is solid so if you're looking for one at a decent price range this is definitely one to make special note of.
Of course all smartwatches are going to have their own unique operating systems and this one is no different and this is where things start to fall apart on the watch, not physically of course, just in terms of usability. In order to access the main menu of the watch you have to swipe in from the bottom of the screen, simply tapping the screen does not do anything and while that might not be an issue in and of itself, navigating the watch is done entirely by the screen. The two buttons on the sides have very specific functions, the top is quit out of everything and the bottom one brings up your fitness menu and while it was great to be able to jump into a fitness mode at will, I would have liked to have been able to change it to a function of my choice. Even the app which does contain a large variety of options doesn't have any way of modifying those buttons, perhaps in a future update, they will allow for that to be an option.
Speaking of the app there's a lot that you can do in there that is where you can download new watch faces, it's also where you can customise your settings, so if you want to change from Metric to Imperial you can do it there. Because the watch itself doesn't have a speaker, anytime a notification comes through the watch will vibrate and this is a bit of a problem as the default haptic feedback level is light, which can lead to sometimes not even realising you got a notification. Thankfully, you can actually go into the settings on the phone app and completely design your own personal vibration patterns and then assign those to individual things, so one for an incoming call, one for notification things like that. It's a nice addition, that now that I've experienced it I kinda wish Apple would let me do the same with my Apple Watch, but a speaker inside would also go a long way to help make it easier.
One of the advertised features was the battery life, Amazfit say that you should get 24 days of continuous use on a charge, which is very impressive if it was true and I'm happy to say that it is, but there's a catch. Currently my Apple Watch will last me for about 36 hours before it needs to go on charge so by default I throw it on charge every night, I’ve had the Amazfit now for a while and in that time I've only had to charge it once. The reason for this is because it's not actively using things like GPS unless you require it to, a lot of the functions that it has are not enabled until you actually request the watch to do something, which is a blessing and a curse, the blessing being that it helps keep your battery life astronomically high. As for the reason why it's a bit of a curse, that is because you're always having to use the app to re-sync updates for GPS and other functions, because the watch won't do it on its own. Now for things like notifications, as this is not a mobile enabled device I wouldn't expect those while I was walking around and my phone was at home, but the GPS I would expect to update on its own because it's GPS, but that's not the case.
The GPS is solid but it's not the best, and a lot of that comes down to the fact that it takes a while for the GPS in the watch to register where you are, there were multiple times when I would begin a walk and my Apple Watch would register straightaway and the Amazfit watch would take anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds to announce that the GPS had been connected. Obviously if you're going to start exercising you don't want to have to wait for your watch to start recording where you are before you set off, so it is a bit of a concern that it is so random in how long it takes, but also the fact that it happens at all and if this were the only issue with the GPS I could easily overlook it, but there was another problem. As I was walking around if I walked under an awning that had a tin roof or I ducked into a store, the GPS would lose connection, sometimes this would be for a few seconds and then it would come back online other times it would take a minute or so before it reconnected and sure if I'm in a shop getting a bottle of water I don't really need it to track where I'm walking, but again I don't want to have to wait out the front of the shop for the GPS to re-establish itself.
Another quirk that it has is in relation to how it charges, the included cable goes from USB to a custom designed end for the watch, which is normal, however the end for the watch is magnetic and it's not a universal magnetic. By that what I mean is if you attempt to connect the watch to the cable and the polarity is reversed you get the feedback of two positively charged magnets pushing against each other. That isn't a big issue on its own but it is weird to say in a modern device that they couldn't allow for it to connect in either direction, plus in addition to that, every time you attempt to connect it there are tiny little lips at each side of the adapter that have to sit just right if they don't you won't actually make a proper connection.
Amazfit have amazingly created a watch that will grant a lot more people access to fitness devices, that don’t look like they are fitness devices. Considering what is packed inside the watch, media playback, notification options, fitness options complete with water resistance and more, you might think this would be more of an expensive product. But that is where the GTR 47mm watch shines, its price, now there are other watches, from bigger brands that are going to be appealing to others for various reasons, but if you are on budget or simply don’t want to spend $700, then this should be at the top of your list. If you are actively looking for a new watch though, the GPS issues and lack of a speaker, might make you think twice on this, but if you do get one, you will enjoy this stylish option.
The Score
8.5
Review unit provided by Amazfit
The Pros
+A plain look that sits well in almost any setting you wear it
+The amount of options on the app, for customising are wonderful
The Cons
-Not being able to re-task the lower button to another function is odd
-The GPS has issues with connecting and holding it, at random times
