The smartwatch industry has pretty much reached equilibrium. The Apple Watch and Galaxy Watch respectively account for more than half the market share, meaning any competitor will have a hard time carving out a niche. However, the Amazfit GTR3 does its best, especially for the price, offering almost everything you’d want from a smartwatch at a lower price.
The interface is very easy to use, and the body is sleek enough not to spoil the look. You get what you pay for with the Amazfit GTR 3, at a modest price of $180. It has great fitness stats, but smartphone integration may require some work. The latest products from Samsung and Fossil may be more expensive, but you get more.
Amazfit GTR 3
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This smartwatch offers plenty of fitness features and great battery life, but software issues and questionable design choices keep it from being a serious contender.
- Brand: Amazfit
- Battery life: 450 mAh, ~21 days
- Operating system: Zip operating system
- Water classification: 5 ATM (50 feet)
- an offer: 1.39-inch round, 454×454 OLED
- Contact: Bluetooth 5.1, GPS
- Health sensors: Heart rate, SpO2
- price: $179.99
- Dimensions: 45.8 x 45.8 x 10.8 mm, 32 g
- Elegant and slim body
- Great battery life that lasts for several weeks
- Lots of activity and fitness tracking features
- Large bezel with hour markers
- Cheap and uncomfortable belt
- Some programming errors
Design, hardware and what’s in the box
Comfort goes a long way when it comes to any wearable device, and the actual body of the Amazfit GTR 3 doesn’t look completely uncomfortable. It’s not as light as the Fitbit Charge 3, nor as compact as a regular Apple Watch, but it’s thin enough to mirror the feel of an actual watch, which is all you can hope for sometimes.
Unfortunately, the comfort of the Amazfit GTR 3 begins and ends with the device’s body. The same can’t be said for the included rubber strap, which feels cheap and uncomfortable on the wrist. Fortunately, the straps can be easily changed using the standard watch spring bar mechanism, so you can attach any 22mm wide band you like.
The back of the device is of course equipped with sensors for all the fitness features and the little bulge that goes with them. As for the smartwatch’s sensors, they don’t seem any less intrusive than any of the other devices. This is also where you’ll charge the device, as the bulge has two small metal connectors, where the magnetic charger attaches.
Fortunately, the Amazfit GTR 3’s OLED display looks pretty great. Clear icons and a responsive touchscreen make you feel like you’re using a high-end device. Unfortunately, the screen is surrounded by some very large bezels, giving it an outdated feel, especially with the hour markers around the edges. Speaking of outdated buttons, the buttons on the side of the Amazfit GTR 3 are nothing if not prehistoric. With those huge buttons, the Amazfit GTR 3 looks less like a 2021 smartwatch and more like the old stopwatch that was hanging around your gym teacher’s neck back in the day when everyone had to run a mile. It also feels mushy when pressed, and spins when twisted, which is fine for a button that’s a scroll wheel, but weird for another. The build quality is better when it comes to water resistance. The GTR 3 is water-resistant to 50 metres, which is enough to withstand a few laps in the pool.
So what comes in the box? Only the smart watch and charging cable. As has become common for smartphones recently, the Amazfit GTR 3 does not come with a charging unit in the box. Instead, you’ll find a USB cable with a unique Amazfit GTR 3 charger on the other end. Seriously, the cable seems a little flimsy, but hey, you’re trying to save money, right?
Software, performance and battery life
Smartwatches aren’t nearly as powerful when it comes to software and performance as your regular smartphone, but they can almost replace a smartphone for fitness buffs. The Amazfit GTR 3 – paired with the companion Zepp mobile app – keeps tabs on all your health data.
The watch interface is delightfully easy to use. You can swipe up and down to open notifications and quick settings menus, respectively, and you can swipe left and right to access the watch’s basic features, like steps, heart rate, weather, and sleep data. The interface is also quite smooth, with almost no lag on the touchscreen and no issues operating or accessing features.
The Zepp app is equally easy to use. You’ll get three tabs: Home, Health, and Profile. The home page is basically a dashboard that houses all your health data, like heart rate, sleep tracking, weight, steps, and all that. It’s quite conveniently organized, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like the design. The Health tab tracks your fitness activities, listing your walking, running, cycling, steps, and calories burned in a simple, easy-to-digest environment. You can even compete with friends. Finally, the Profile tab is your classic profile and setup page, allowing you to add a photo and manage your devices.
Also, although I’m not a workout type, I have to admit that the fitness features are extensive. It offers 150 different activities, which is way more than I’ll ever need, but if you work out a lot and want to keep it interesting, this watch will definitely be able to keep up. Plus, it offers plenty of health metrics, from back-of-the-table risks like sleep and heart rate monitoring to more advanced options like blood oxygen levels and stress.
The fitness features are quite accurate, too. After walking with my wife, who proudly owns an Apple Watch, the Amazfit GTR 3 walked step by step and mile by mile, providing nearly identical tracking information in terms of speed and distance. Obviously the heart rate information was different, but that’s because she’s in much better shape than I am.
Fitness features aside, the Amazfit GTR 3’s software is a mess. The music app requires a completely complicated setup process and doesn’t have any built-in streaming services. The smartwatch also offers Alexa compatibility, but it shows an error message every time I try to use it. I also couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to get more than just SMS notifications — yes, even after enabling notification access in the system settings. The smartwatch kept asking me to allow the device to access notifications, but it was already enabled. Missed notifications are a noticeable, but unfortunately common issue on wearable devices. Maybe you think you’ll only use some third-party apps? Well, good luck finding anything worth using among the small number in Zepp’s shop.
Finally, let’s talk about battery life. The Amazfit GTR 3 is claimed to last 21 days on a charge, which sounds outrageous. However, I was burning about 20% per week, which makes the 3-week claim more realistic. Compared to other smartwatches that last at most two days without charging, the Amazfit GTR 3 provides a great solution for anyone who is tired of charging their smartwatch.
Should you buy it?
If you’re on a tight budget or hate charging your smartwatch, maybe. Honestly, with options like the Galaxy Watch available for a slightly larger investment, making the Amazfit GTR 3 seems like the better choice. The device certainly gets the job done, especially for fitness enthusiasts, but there are better options available if you care about notifications, app support, and build quality.
However, if you’re not after high-end features or just need to save some money, the Amazfit GTR 3 actually offers long battery life with an unsightly body and good health features. It’s reasonable for the $180 asking price.
Buy it if…
- You’re using a strict budget of under $200.
- Health tracking is a big part of your wearable use.
- You hate charging your smartwatch.
Don’t buy it if…
- You don’t want to spend time troubleshooting.
- You want an ecosystem of apps for your wearable devices.
