AMAZFIT GTS 2E
An Apple Watch lookalike that lacks innovation but offers loads of fitness features and great battery life for very little money
Despite its familiar looks, this watch’s epic battery and low price set it apart
Amazfit has been busy establishing itself as not just another no-name Chinese smartwatch manufacturer in the last few years and with the GTS 2e, it’s really hit the nail on the head. The smaller sibling to the Amazfit GTS 2, the GTS 2e has an Apple Watch-like body and sports Fitbit-like features for a budget-friendly price.
It boasts a 1.65-inch ‘HD’ AMOLED display with a resolution of 348 x 442 pixels hidden under a ‘2.5D’ curved tempered glass lens. The glass blends nicely with the bezel, making it look bigger than it actually is. The accompanying strap is smooth silicon and is pretty decent for a low-priced watch.
The display and the switching between the different widget views are both sharp and fast, on a par with more expensive touchscreen smartwatches such as the Fitbit Versa 3. There is one physical button on the edge of the case that is basically ‘just’ a push button. You can call this into action should you ever get lost in the intuitive menu system and want to get back to the home screen.
The Amazfit GTS 2e has 90 sport modes and a bunch of fitness and health features that make it ideal for tracking both indoor and outdoor fitness activities. There is a built-in GPS, which isn’t hyper accurate but does track distance relatively precisely.
It can also monitor your heart rate 24/7, not just during physical activities. The optical heart rate sensor isn’t as accurate as more expensive options, but for everyday activities, the sensor accuracy of the GTS 2e is good enough. Other sensors include a pulse ox (bloodoxygen saturation) sensor, which is something you will find on more expensive watches by Fitbit, Apple and Garmin. You can also monitor your sleep quality, a feature that works well.
All data from the sensors are fed into the decent companion Zepp app. The dashboard has all the main stats clearly displayed such as steps, heart rate, stress, sleep and PAI (Personal Activity Intelligence) score. You can also click into each section and see everything in more detail too, as well as changing the watch and widget settings. There are a few Chinese-toEnglish translation errors in the app, but nothing to spoil your day.
Battery life on any smartwatch is important and the Amazfit really shines here. Officially, the 246mAh battery found in the watch can last up to two weeks in smartwatch mode and up to 24 days in watch mode. Even with heavy use it can last up to a week.
But what we really like is that the watch charges from 0-100% in about two hours. We were impressed that a light smartwatch with an AMOLED screen and built-in GPS can last so long between two charges. Others could learn a lesson from it. Yes, we are looking at you Apple.
All things considered, the Amazfit GTS 2e is an excellent value for money health-cumfitness smartwatch. It has its shortcomings but those are few and far between.