Amazfit GTS Review: Premium Looks and Stellar Battery Life


The Apple Watch is one of those wrist accessories that is coveted by many and offers an experience that few other competitors can come close too. However, itā€™s pretty much a walled garden where it can only be hooked to the iOS ecosystem. So, what if someone (like an Android user) craves that cute squricle design and wants it at a relatively affordable price? Enter the Amazfit GTS from Xiaomi sub-brand Huami. Weā€™ve used this eye-catching smartwatch for more than a week and weā€™re ready to give you a good idea about the different software and hardware facets of the product, so read on!Ā 

Amazfit GTS Specifications

amazfit gts specs

Design: Looks like the Apple Watch but is slimmer and lighter

This is one of the most appealing aspects of the Amazfit GTS. I say this not because Apple also follows the same squircle dial philosophy but because it somehow is more suited to small screen UI compared to a circular dial. It uses the whole display and apps donā€™t have to fit into a weird circular form. Speaking about build and materials, itā€™s a premium quality without a doubt. Many of my friends, in fact, mistook it for an Apple Watch at first glance. The screen is OLED and the bezels are thinner. And the overall thickness is also less than an Apple Watch and this makes the Amazfit GTS a delight for everyday use. Also, the straps are replaceable. Itā€™s got a 2.5D Gorilla Glass 3 layer, 5ATM water resistance, and a 1.65-inch AMOLED display. Suffice to say, Amazfit has impressed me with the right mix of good materials and features when it comes to the design.Ā 

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Display: Just Gorgeous

Iā€™m putting this in a separate place because Amazfit has done all the right things with it. And also of course, because it will be attracting all the eyeballs. Itā€™s a Gorilla Glass-protected display with a better pixel density than Appleā€™s accessory. It has good sunlight legibility, good viewing angles and also an AOD feature, thanks to the AMOLED panel. More points for getting the display right.Ā 

Battery: Stellar

Battery life is one of the biggest highlights of the Amazfit GTS. It goes on and on and on. I used it with the Always-on display turned on and it still lasted me for more than five days. If you switch it off, the watch will go well beyond the seven-day mark easily. Thatā€™s a big blessing in an age where smartwatches canā€™t survive two days without a charge. And I canā€™t appreciate it enough. Not having to recharge one of your most important accessories every other day is a luxury that you can afford with the Amazfit GTS. And it puts most other similar offerings at a big disadvantage.Ā Ā Ā 

Software: Does the basic jobĀ Ā 

 

Setting up the Amazfit GTS is a breeze. Simply install the Amazfit app, connect via Bluetooth, and you’re good to go. Simple as that.

The Amazfit GTS comes with Amazfitā€™s own software and itā€™s where youā€™ll feel the need for more features or apps. What it is intended to do, it does well. For example, you get notifications, 12 different fitness-tracking capabilities, and basic functions like alarm, event reminder, weather, music playback and activity history. But thatā€™s pretty much it. You donā€™t get any more apps, nor the freedom to go and download more. There is Amazfitā€™s app though which gives you control with customizing watch faces (and there are many) and also keep track of everything on the watch. You can silence or reject calls, but pick them up because thereā€™s no speaker on it and this means no native music either.Ā 

The watch works well with daily fitness activities. Walk tracking is on by default and you get a real-time update on your screen updated constantly. Activities like running and cycling also get detected precisely and statistics are reliable. The Amazfit app keeps a record of all this stuff including details of your sleep. I’ve put a few screenshots of it on top, so check that out. You’ll also like that the heart rate scan is available simply at a swipe although it can be toggled to remain active all the time. Thereā€™s also a basic Always-On display that puts the battery to a disadvantage but is useful to have.Ā 

Note: The notifications stay only for a sec. but there’s a setting shortcut to access them via long-pressing the crown. This is a really convenient option to have.

Conclusion

The Amazfit GTS costs less than half the price of the Apple Watch and while it does miss out on some features as well as apps, the price is justified with features like a great build, a gorgeous AMOLED display, water resistance, fitness/smart features, and a battery that is super reliable.

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9 Comments

  1. newphoenix
    November 7, 2019

    Price not justified. Why paying $140 for gts, when you can get amazfit pace for $80.

    • Duarte Bruno
      November 7, 2019

      To get an uglier watch, of course.

    • Duarte Bruno
      November 7, 2019

      Pace’s water resistance is a joke.

    • newphoenix
      November 8, 2019

      If pace water resistance is a joke there is no reason to take gts water resistance seriously, after all the 2 watches are from the same manufacturer.

    • newphoenix
      November 8, 2019

      Beauty is relative and differs from person to another, there are no measurement for beauty so this is your opinion i can listen to it but will not respect it.

    • Duarte Bruno
      November 11, 2019

      You are most probably right.
      2 seconds in a tank. Jumped in and jumped out immediately. The watch probably never got below 50cm.
      Tooks 2-3 months for the battery to fully recover. It would go out in 12h of idle use.

    • Abdul Q.
      November 12, 2019

      Nope. this one is solid. Used it many times in the water. No issues whatsoever.

  2. KsV Vlogs
    November 7, 2019

    My friend wrongly purchased Chinese version gts and I’m now unable to change its language to english, please help me out to change its language to english…

  3. Andreas H.
    November 20, 2019

    worth mentioning though that NFC doesn’t work in Europe and the GPS has so far never managed to find a signal. Those two features were why I bought it in the first place but they are practically useless.