The watches are follow-ups to the Amazfit GTR and GTS respectively, which came to markets last year, and feature upgrades to both the design and software to compete with new rivals that have emerged since the last release, such as the Huawei Watch Fit.
The Amazfit GTR 2 sports a classic round watch face with a 1.39in AMOLED display – paired with either a stainless steel or black aluminium alloy case. Meanwhile the Amazfit GTS 2 has a more Apple Watch-esque design with a rectangular face and a 1.65in AMOLED screen, along with an aluminium alloy case and matching strap in a range of colour options.
Like their predecessors, both watches will allegedly also have long battery lives. The GTR 2 houses a larger cell which has an estimated battery life of 14 days under typical use, whilst the GTS 2 will have around seven days’ worth of typical use on one charge. Of course, we will put these numbers to the test when we get the devices in for review.
The watches mostly differ when it comes to exterior design – tracking and software wise they’re practically identical. They will both house a BioTracker 2 PPG optical sensor for heartrate monitoring, measuring blood-oxygen saturation, stress monitoring, sleep tracking and of course fitness tracking across a number of activities.
The twelve dedicated sports modes on the watches will track outdoor running, treadmill, trail running, walking, outdoor cycling, indoor cycling, pool swimming, open water swimming, elliptical, free training, climbing and skiing. Your stats during exercise – such as calories burnt and heart rate – will be recorded both on the watch and in the accompanying app.
All these features push these watches away from being just fitness trackers with smartwatch designs and make them more versatile for everyday use.
Amazfit’s parent company Huami is now releasing smartwatches under the Zepp brand. For news on its latest wearable, check out our guide to the Zepp Z. You can also read up on the slightly cheaper variants, the GTS 2e and GTR 2e.
Hannah Cowton is a Senior Staff Writer at Tech Advisor and Macworld, working across entertainment, consumer technology and lifestyle. Her interests and specialities lie in streaming services, film and television reviews and rumours, gaming, wearables and smart home products. She’s also the creator of The London Geek, a geek culture and lifestyle blog.
