Amazfit GTR watch review

30 Oct 2019

H
Hadi
3Zg
22 Mar 2020

Can i reply a msg? Sms or whats app?
Its so important to me, as i receive the notification on my smart watch, i want to reply it with my smart watch

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Anonymous
JM{
18 Jan 2020

Hi. Which is the minimum (recommend) percentage of the battery to make a full charge?

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Anonymous
sxr
06 Nov 2019

Tom, 06 Nov 2019Dont let you fool by the looks of this watch. Looks very g... moreI don't know about the other Amazfit GTR 47mm owners but my Amazfit watch locks GPS fine - within 5-10 seconds outdoors! Closer to 5 seconds actually in OPEN spaces!

The link you provided showing GPS problems especially with GPS not locking at all, I've never experienced outdoors with my Amazfit GTR. There was a software update when I first received my watch so maybe it's the reason why I didn't get to experience any GPS problems.

Another thing I noticed is that my Amazfit came in a newer box. The box had a silver colored diagram of the watch surrounded by silver rays. Production date is September 2019 so it's relatively fresh from the factory. The box looks like the one shown in this website:
https://www.igeekphone.com/review-amazfit-gtr-47mm-a-wonderful-smartwatch-with-amoled-display-and-24-days-battery-life-now-can-become-yours-from-geekbuying-for-only-154-99-with-our-coupon/

In contrast, those who bought the earlier production batches (July 2019 production) had the box look like this:
https://www.wovow.org/amazfit-gtr-review-unboxing-2019/

I suppose maybe, just maybe there might be diffences in the GPS hardware of those two batches. Either way, if you are having GPS problems, or fast battery drain problems (like what gsmarena has mentioned in this review), you should definitely return the watch and have it replaced - preferably with one from the newer batches (September 2019 onwards). The battery life of the watch truly is amazing! Almost a month with heart rate, and bluetooth on with GPS use + sleep monitoring. GPS use increases battery consumption but in my experience, it's still only 1-2% drop for 1 hr of GPS use! No Samsung Galaxy Watch Active, Apple watch or Google Wear OS based smartwatch can ever come close to that. And we're not talking about premium looks and build yet, plus the price. Really, Xiaomi nailed it with this GTR.

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Tom
sqZ
06 Nov 2019

Dont let you fool by the looks of this watch.
Looks very good, but bad and cheap hardware.
See all these problems about these watch.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/smartwatch/amazfit/amazfit-gtr-fix-gps-t3957978/page33

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Anonymous
I@a
06 Nov 2019

me, 05 Nov 2019poor tracking, ok looks.. whats the pointThe GPS tracking is actually good enough for personal fitness needs. Not the most accurate, but certainly good enough for personal weight loss/personal training goals.

Now if you are a competitive athlete where every meter or fraction of a meter counts, I'm sure no GPS equipped smartwatch will suffice. That being said, I'll take the Amazfit GTR's less than perfect GPS tracking--- over poor 1-3 day battery life of the Galaxy Watch Active, EVERY SINGLE TIME .

In your own words, what's the point of a smartwatch that can't tell the time, provide fitness data and other alerts throughout the day because it dies on you before the day is over. Besides, it's not everyday I run outdoors. Many people do treadmills.

P
Psiho
0ux
05 Nov 2019

I never really understood why people buy "smart" watches unless they have eSIM or free second SIM. Neither available in my country. Who the hell wants to answer a call with a watch while his mobile is in his pocket? Messageing over watch? Come on, we can as well go back to those plasticky numeric keyboards. This duplication of mobile functionality is just a hype amd people buy it. I call it a "juicer sindrome"... Stuff that looks cool and ends up never being used after a first week.

The only point in duplicating those functions is ability to leave the phone back home and go cycling or running only with a watch. Again, I need eSIM or 2nd SIM for that.

Some functionality is needed though, like notificiations (like when you ride a bike or motorbike), some sensors not in mobile phone like HR and that's it. After that, all functionality we need is of the classic watch.

I think GTR nails it here, on paper at least. Looks good, does exactly what you need and not what you want to impress your friends with. As a bonus for that concept you get lower price and way longer battery (aka classic watch basic functionality).

The only probem it seems to be GPS reliability. Hopefully it is a software and not a hardware issue and will be fixed with firmware update. Its not like their even cheaper models dont have this solved.

m
me
ke}
05 Nov 2019

Anonymous, 04 Nov 2019Apparently, you can't accept the fact the Amazfit is a bett... morepoor tracking, ok looks.. whats the point

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Anonymous
sxs
04 Nov 2019

Anonymous, 04 Nov 2019Well, apparently, 50% of people who buy smartwatches are st... moreApparently, you can't accept the fact the Amazfit is a better smartwatch than the Galaxy watch active just because the Amazfit can't reply to text messages or answer calls or do whatever duplication it is that you already can do faster and better on your smartphone.

But pulse rate and sleep monitoring, fitness tracking? You can't do that on your phone. That is why I told you, in terms of design - especially as regards essential smart watch features and functionality plus stamina/longevity, the Amazfit nailed it and it is actually MORE USEFUL and BETTER as a smartwatch than the watch active because it doesn't die on you before the party is over. The Watch active is more like a smartphone strapped to your wrist that becomes dead before the day is over. That design consideration my friend is what makes the design dumb and why your original comment 'the watch active is a much, much, much, much, much, much, much, better smartwatch' is simply not true for the majority if they only had more extensive experience with the Amazfit GTR.

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Amazfit owner
JHM
04 Nov 2019

Anonymous, 04 Nov 2019Well, apparently, 50% of people who buy smartwatches are st... moreI used Amazfit Stratos for over an year now.GPS on land (runing,walking,cycling) is very accurate.There are issues with openwater tracking.I would say once every 4 or 5 swims the trackind is not accurate.

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Anonymous
3Ej
04 Nov 2019

Anonymous, 04 Nov 2019You don't get it. There's nothing 'smart' about a watch tha... moreWell, apparently, 50% of people who buy smartwatches are stupid, and the 4% who buy Amazfit watches are the smart ones. You can have your own opinion, that's fine. Your opinion doesn't make it true, though. Again..if you don't need what you say it's not important, just buy a Casio. If all you need is fitness tracking, buy a 30 euros band. Hell, even the smartphone itself can measure some of the fitness stuff, like steps...and considering how bad the GPS seems to work on Amazfit "smart" watches, I think the phone will do a better job.

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Anonymous
sxs
04 Nov 2019

Anonymous, 04 Nov 2019So you basically don't need the "smart" in smartwatch. So y... moreYou don't get it. There's nothing 'smart' about a watch that duplicates phone functions like calling and texting and NFC while failing miserably in the most important things it should be able to do - telling the time and lasting sufficiently long so you don't look stupid wearing some device that is dead before the party is over. It cannot be overemphasized that more important than call, text, reply and NFC functionality, is the ability for the watch to last long for it to be able to do the most important things it needs to do - text/call and fitness alerts and tracking, and not dying while doing so because you were busy swiping its face frequently, looking like a dork, using it like a smartphone to read Facebook feeds. Again, as I said, if a smartphone strapped on your wrist is your idea of a 'smart' watch, then you seriously need to think why you don't just use your smartphone instead. At least, that's one less device to charge everyday. If you think all those extra connectivity features (NFC, sending/receiving calls and text, from watch, multimedia playback on watch, etc.) at the expense of the watch battery life are essential for a watch to qualify as 'smart', then that's seriously a dumb idea rather than smart especially since the price to pay is one day battery life from one month. Enjoy your dumbly designed smart watch then that goes dead and stops becoming useful even just after the party is has started after a long, busy working day.

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Anonymous
3Ej
04 Nov 2019

Anonymous, 04 Nov 2019So you basically don't need the "smart" in smartwatch. So y... more*I meant the best selling smartwatches.

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Anonymous
3Ej
04 Nov 2019

Anonymous, 03 Nov 2019I really don't consider a smartwatch with 2 day battery lif... moreSo you basically don't need the "smart" in smartwatch. So you can buy a simple watch and the battery will last for years. You use all those arguments to defend the Amazfit and they make no sense whatsoever. Every manufacturer will be able to accomplish great battery life if they remove all those features that you say are not important. It's not magic. There's a reason why the Apple Watch is by far the best smartwatch and the Galaxy Watch is second. People do want the smart features. Sure, I would love to have a full featured watch with huge battery life but that won't happen for now.

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Anonymous
sxs
03 Nov 2019

Anonymous, 02 Nov 2019The Galaxy Watch is a much much much better smartwatch. I h... moreI really don't consider a smartwatch with 2 day battery life or so (Galaxy Watch Active) as 'better' overall in terms of REAL WORLD value, usefulness and convenience. In fact, if you have to charge it daily or every 2-3 days, it behaves more like a phone rather than a real watch. I've been there, done that, and it's not really better.

A person's definition of a smartwatch can vary depending on the person's needs, and yes, you may call the Huawei GT and Amazfit GTR as 'fitness' trackers or 'fitness wearables' and NOT 'true-blue' smartwatches. However, in my book, they're actually closer to A REAL WATCH in form and function than those full featured 'smartwatches' that behave like phones - that is, always getting your attention, getting all-day swiping on the touch screen and in the end, dying in 24 hours and needing charging all the time.

A smartwatch is supposed to be a fashion accessory, to complement your clothing while telling time as its main function. Therefore, it has to be alive for the longest time to display those gorgeous watch faces that change with every occasion and with every attire/activity! The smartwatch should TELL TIME, first and foremost and should not die on you in a span of 24 hours or so, CONSTANTLY NEEDING A CHARGER! In addition, to gain the 'smart' monicker, the watch should alert you about calls, messages and important health data so as to be truly helpful to you but without DISTRACTING you all the time or encouraging you to interact with it like a mobile phone because well, it has speakers and microphone and wifi and mobile data, so yeah, just might as well swipe on its screen all day long like a smartphone!

Again, as I've mentioned, I don't want the watch to duplicate what I already have on my phone (Facebook, answering calls, replying to text, playing music, paying for stuff, etc.) because I already have my phone, wallet and credit card to do those things better - in a much bigger screen and better form factor. I don't want to look silly spending lots of time swiping on the watch screen.

So for me, the things you say that makes the Galaxy watch active 'BETTER' or a 'truer' smartwatch: NFC, network/SIM capability, loudspeakers, microphones, and Wifi are actually the things that make it more like a smartphone than a smart watch. Sure, they're nice to have watch 'features' but when the consequence is the TREMENDOUS battery life to drop from one month to one day, NO thanks. Bring it on ONLY if you can promise to still deliver an almost MONTH LONG battery life. Otherwise, it's certainly NOT a better watch experience, not by a long stretch of the imagination. I want a watch, that's as alive all the time as my clothing and outfit - not a smartphone strapped to my wrist that dies before the social event, party or long-winded activity is over.

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Anonymous
u7V
02 Nov 2019

Anonymous, 02 Nov 2019Except the US and a very few other countries, the Samsung G... moreYeah, I meant Watch Active 1.
In my country it was like $164 vs $128 for GTR 42mm so the difference is not that much. Watch Active 1 is a good looking watch along with Samsung's brand and higher specs making it a very compelling watch. Ofc, that 2 days battery is totally sux oth.

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Anonymous
3Ej
02 Nov 2019

The Galaxy Watch is a much much much better smartwatch. I have both the Galaxy Watch and the Huawei GT (first version), which has a similar OS to the Amazfit GTR. The Amazfit and Huawei are more of fitness trackers that look like watches. Even notifications are kind of limited. Sure...you can see them but you can't really do much with them. Also, no contactless payments with neither the Amazfit or Huawei. And since both Huawei and Amazfit use very light OSs with very limited capabilities, is understandable that battery life is much better. I do prefer the looks of those 2 compared to the Galaxy Watch though.

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Anonymous
sxs
02 Nov 2019

Anonymous, 02 Nov 2019Thanks for the comment. In my country, Samsung Galaxy Watc... moreExcept the US and a very few other countries, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active ($230) is actually around twice as expensive as the Amazfit GTR ($130) internationally and that is for the old model Watch Active 1. Couple that price with a 2-day battery life and the choice is clear.

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Anonymous
sxs
02 Nov 2019

Tom, 02 Nov 2019Watch out with this gtr, i have it for a week , and must sa... moreThe Huawei GT is a nice alternative to the Amazfit GTR but if you're after the overall price:performance and longer battery life, more vibrant developer community for custom watchfaces as well as better app support especially for those who use the watch with an iOS device, the Amazfit GTR is the overall better choice.

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Anonymous
U}}
02 Nov 2019

Anonymous, 02 Nov 2019If you think I'm an Amazfit brand fanatic or somehow work w... moreThanks for the comment.
In my country, Samsung Galaxy Watch Active is not that much expensive than this so I'm a bit confused.

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Tom
n79
02 Nov 2019

Anonymous, 02 Nov 2019I love this kind of long lasting battery watch. I currently... moreWatch out with this gtr, i have it for a week , and must say that the gps is bad. I am to send it back. And the huawei gt is a much better and realible watch, with almost the same battery life.

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