The Amazfit GTR is one of Amazfit’s best health and fitness smartwatches and instead of just resting on their laurels, they’ve improved it almost every way with the brand new Amazfit GTR 2. The Amazfit GTR 2 includes everything you’ve come to love along with new features such as SpO2 monitoring, and voice control with Amazon Alexa built-in.
DESIGN
The look of the Amazfit GTR 2 has changed a bit from the original design. This is a design evolution that incorporates elements from the Amazfit GTR and the Zepp E Circle. Basically the front of the watch has been cleaned up a bit and gone is the ceramic bezel replaced with a bezel-less 3D curved glass face that transitions into the aluminum body. When the display is off, it is a completely black face where you can not tell where the display ends or where the borders begin.
The Amazfit GTR 2 carries over the two-button design from the original, except the buttons now are a bit thinner with the top button having a red accent.
The back of the watch is still made of a plastic material but you’ll notice that there are more sensors back there now along with a different charging layout. That means you can not use the old Amazfit GTR charger with the new watch. You’ll also notice back here two little holes now on the left and right side of the watch. This is actually for the speaker and mic since you can now talk to the Amazfit GTR 2 as well as take calls from it if you choose.
Lastly, the Amazfit GTR 2 seems slimmer and sleeker than the original watch. Like before, you can still swap out the bands to something better if you don’t like the ones the watch comes with.
FEATURES
Those familiar with Amazfit will find the Amazfit GTR 2 is not that much different on the surface. The user interface is basically the same as all the latest Amazfit watches. There isn’t too much to say here other than that it’s fairly easy to use and you can customize what shows up when you swipe, so you can hide those apps you don’t use and prioritize the ones you do.
What makes the Amazfit GTR 2 different from previous generations is the inclusion of some new and improved sensors. There’s the new BioTracker 2, which is the second generation PPG bio-tracking optical sensor that can perform 24-hour heart rate monitoring. This includes your resting heart rate, heart rate zones, and abnormal heart rate warnings. The BioTracker 2 also supports OxygenBeats, which measures blood-oxygen saturation levels (SpO2).
The Amazfit GTR 2 also supports sleep quality monitoring so you can monitor your sleep and understand your sleep patterns. What’s new here is the introduction of REM sleep stages monitoring as well as monitoring for naps you might take in the middle of the day.
The PAI Health Assessment System is present here which has only shown up recently on newer devices such as the Zepp E and Amazfit Band 5. This is the Personal Activity Intelligence which just tries to simplify all the data collected into a single easy to understand score. This feature covers any form of exercise at any time.
Speaking of which, there are 12 built-in sports modes that can be tracked including running, walking, swimming, cycling, and more. The data it tracks is quite extensive so you’ll know every little detail about your workout.
Aside from the health and fitness-related features, the Amazfit GTR 2 also acts like a smartwatch. You get features like alarm, schedules, weather, and being able to control your music through your watch. You can even store music on your watch and pair Bluetooth headphones to it to listen without needing your phone. What’s really new is the built-in microphone and speaker which lets you take phone calls.
Not only that, there’s also voice controls now as well as Alexa. Alexa isn’t quite working at the time of this review but will be available soon via OTA update.
ZEPP APP
A crucial part of the Amazfit experience is the new Zepp app which has evolved into something much better than it was previously. There’s tons of metrics and data it now shows and much of it can be synced with other accounts like Google Fit.
The ZEPP app is also where you will go to customize your watch settings, install new watch faces, and sync all your data.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Amazfit has really stepped up their game with the Amazfit GTR 2. Not only does this have more features than previous models, but the build quality too is way up there as well. This easily matches up with the Zepp E in terms of quality and appeal, but at a much lower price point. If you’re in the market for a primarily health and fitness-focused smartwatch, you can’t go wrong with the Amazfit GTR 2. The combination of features, style, and build quality along with price make the Amazfit GTR 2 one of the top choices out there.
This is one of the best smartwatches Amazfit makes right now and if you’re not a fan of round-faced watches, then you can also pick up the Amazfit GTS 2 which is a rectangular faced watch but has very similar specs. We’ll talk more about that in a separate review.
