If you’ve been searching for an easy-on-the-pocket watch wear to complement your style, then you’ve probably come across the Amazfit GTR 2e. Priced at a modest $130, the GTR 2e packs a healthy dose of functionality in a stylish and trendy watch build.
But that’s scratching the surface; what’s the real deal with the GTR 2e. Is it a good Android smartwatch to buy? Is it worth the price Amazfit is charging? Well, let’s answer that question by identifying all the good and bad bits of this budget android smartwatch.
Starting with the Good bits
The design
The GTR 2e is a really nice watch to look at, hold and wear. The design theme is sleek and modernistic, and despite the price, the materials also feel very premium. Official specifications from Amazfit say the watch chassis is an aluminum composite – what I can say, however, is that apart from looking good and premium, it also feels incredibly light – lighter than you’d ever assume it to be at first glance.
You get silicon watchbands that carry on with the sleek feel of the watch body. They’re replaceable as well, being fitted with easy-click watch latches. I got the Slate-Grey version, and on this, the watch bands are colored grey. As protection for the AMOLED display, Amazfit has opted for a stylish 2.5D glass cover, and again (you’re probably tired of hearing this), it looks very stylish.
Paired to the AMOLED watch face (more on that later), the Amazfit GTR 2e comes off as more of a high-end fashion accessory than the fitness-oriented smartwatch it was marketed to be. My friends love it, and even strangers can’t seem to get on with their business without asking for the name of the smartwatch I’m wearing.
The fitness module
It’s not uncommon to see stylish smartwatches, especially in the pocket-friendly category, launch with their stylishness being the only noteworthy shtick. Not the GTR 2e, though. Amazfit has bundled in a proper fitness module complete with all the sensors, applets, and trackers you will need to stay healthy and fit on this smartwatch. I want to do a sensor roll call here, but if you’re interested in that, you can check out my full in-depth review of the GTR 2e.
For the short of it, on the GTR 2e, you can track pretty much every exercise or physical activity. It has the capability for monitoring your heart rate, SPO2 levels, stress levels, sleep, and much more. And it can do these smartly i.e. automatically detecting when the right time is to track these metrics. All tracked metrics are eventually synced and stored on the Zepp app.
The battery life
Onboard the GTR 2e is a 471mAh battery that can power this smartwatch for a crazy two weeks when placed on standby. In real-world use, I was able to juice out about six days of usage from the watch after a full charge.
Note that I pretty much turned on all sensor and activity tracking with the rate of tracking set to maximal in this time. Improved battery life-extending to the weeks range comes with toning down the frequency of tracking and turning off things like the always-on display, which ever so slightly drains battery life in the background.
It takes about 2 hours to charge the GTR 2e from 0 – 100% using the provided magnetic strap charging cable. There’s no charger head in the box, so you’ll have to plug it into your phone charging brick or use a PC USB port as I do.
The screen
The GTR 2e’s screen is an AMOLED panel with a pixel density of about 326 PPI. For the uninitiated, the keyword is AMOLED which means you get blacker blacks, popping colors, and top-tier contrast compared to the IPS screens you’d typically find on smartwatches in this price bracket.
AMOLED also means you get Always-on display functionality, allowing you to set an always-on watch face without ripping your battery to shreds.
The 326 PPI is also excellent for the price. Images produced by the GTR 2e’s screen are sharp and detailed. Everything combines to give you a watch face that’s not only good for telling the time but also captivating to look at.
The Zepp app
I’d prefix this by saying that the GTR 2e’s mobile app or Zepp app can be a little bit intimidating on the first instance. There’s a lot of options, settings, and applets, and that’s mainly because it’s a multiplatform app for all of Huani’s (Amazfit’s parent company) smart devices and wearables.
Once you get over its seemingly cluttered nature, it’s then easy to appreciate the robustness of the app. Huani has gone the extra mile to include practically every functionality every class of consumer could ever ask for.
There’s the PAI indicator which aggregates all fitness metrics to provide you with a rounded fitness score, a similar sleep score, settings to finetune how the watch tracks all you do and for my personal favorite, a find my device feature, which can help you find your phone or your watch depending on which you have in hand and which is missing.
Moving on to the bad bits
Fragile to an extent
In making the GTR 2e as stylish as it appears, Amazfit has sacrificed some design features that would’ve made the watch more immune to damage.
The obvious culprit as it concerns fragility is the 2.5D curved screen which looks good – no doubt – but like I said in my original review, is just two or three knocks away from picking up a scratch or outright cracking.
No external speaker
The GTR 2e ditches its external speaker and what this means in practice is that you’re unable to answer phone calls or set the watch to ring out for notifications. Depending on your preferences, this could be make or break.
Limited voice command functionality
While the GTR 2e does include a microphone, that microphone will only allow you to trigger the smartwatch’s ‘offline voice command functionality.’ You can’t make calls with it and note the offline tag in the choice command naming, which is fancy for saying you get very limited voice-activated functionalities.
Why? Most voice command suites – think Siri, Google Assistant – work by syncing to an extensive online voice analysis engine. The voice analysis engine on the GTR 2e is stored locally.
Should you buy the Amazfit GTR 2E?
I’d say yes. Even with its shortcomings, the GTR 2E is still an amazing device with an excellent design and build quality. For the price, it’s also well packed. The fitness module is comprehensive, and the tracking and sensor functions are about the best you can get at this price point.
It’s certainly a smartwatch for anyone who, like me, is keen on stylishness and form factor. I love that it is light as a feather and finished with perfection. If you’re looking for an android smartwatch that can serve as the perfect fashion complement while providing you with all the fitness and health functionalities you desire, you can’t go wrong with the Amazfit GTR 2e.
