Amazfit GTR 2e

Amazfit’s cut-price wearable offers features the Apple Watch SE doesn’t have, and for half the price. But it’s never that simple…

Suspiciously cheap smartwatch

£119 / stuff.tv/gtr2e

■ Our natural reaction to a £120 smartwatch is to look for the cut corners. But what we find here is a feature list borrowed from a much more expensive wearable: an always-on screen, SPO2 and temperature sensors, and promises of whopping battery life. Well, the ‘e’ does stand for ‘essential’.

■ With its aluminium alloy case and 1.39in AMOLED display, the GTR 2e does a fine impression of a serious timepiece. The giveaway is the very plain 22mm silicone strap – which, while comfortable to wear, looks like something you’d get on a £20 Argos job.

■ The 454x454 screen is bright, sharp and easy to read, and while there is a bezel it’s used for the hour markers so the display still feels nice and big. If you’d prefer a square face, the Amazfit GTS 2e is just about functionally identical but in Apple Watch wannabe form.

■ Amazfit’s OS will pair with an iphone or Android phone. There’s an app store for watch faces but you can’t install third-party apps, only pick the ones to receive notifications from. It doesn’t fully integrate with your phone’s OS either, so the two are not always exactly on the same wavelength.

■ There are functions here that Apple left off the Watch SE. It’ll track a whopping 90 activities, but accuracy is a little off and the GPS is generous on distance. Amazfit claims 24 days of ‘typical’ use on a charge, but we only got nine.

Tech specs

Display 1.39in 454x454 AMOLED Connectivity Bluetooth 5, GPS, GLONASS Water-resistance 5ATM Battery life Up to 24 days Weight 32g

Zeppin’ out You need Amazfit’s Zepp app to customise the GTR 2e. It’s probably worth getting just to change how long the display stays lit up for.

■ Pressed for success On the right-hand side of the case you’ll find two buttons, which spin around but can’t be used to scroll through menus. Push the top one and you’re shown a list of functions; the bottom one is customisable.

■ Swipes of peace Swiping from the sides of the screen will take you to various menus, which are easy to get the hang of. Using your finger to scroll through the options is generally quick, though there’s a bit of lag when diving into stats.