Most of the time, you get what you pay for. You come across devices that offer more bang for your buck. The Amazfit GTR 4 won't be able to compete with the Apple Watch Series 8 or the SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH 5 in terms of features. It is not as stylish as thePixel watch. It has a number of features you would expect to see on more expensive watches, such as multibandGPS, a bright display, and turn-by-turn navigation. I recommend this over the new Sense 2 because I spent some time with the GTR4.
The GTR 4 isn't likely to win any design awards, but it looks good for a budget watch. The always on display is housed in a case. If it's nondescript it looks fine. My review unit has a fluoroelastomer strap. It doesn't look like the same thing as Apple's Sport Band. The keeper is showing some damage after about two weeks. The GTR 4 can be used with any standard 22mm strap.
Even if I swapped straps, it would still have a masculine vibe. I would have to leave it at home for a formal event if I had too many straps. I was wearing a suit. It's a good idea to get a cool suit. A co-worker commented that the GTR 4 was so large that it was on my wrist. It's light at 34g and not too thick at 10.6mm, and I didn't find it too uncomfortable. It got on my leather jacket. You can hop into the pool with it since it has 5ATM of water resistance. I did dishes while wearing it in the shower.
I wasn't impressed with the overall look of the watch, but the screen is something else. Notifications are easy to read and watch faces are crisp. The 41mm Apple Watch Series 8 has a display that is slightly better than the 40mmGalaxy Watch 5. The bezels are not very large. If you slice it, it outclasses the displays on the two more expensive ones.
The GTR 4 has a good amount of sensors. You get the usual motion sensors, as well as a geomagnetic sensor, barometric altimeter, and ambient light sensor It has a continuous heart rate sensor that can also measure blood oxygen levels. It has support for 2.4 GHz wi-fi, 5 GHz wi-fi, and low energy. You have a speaker and microphone that you can use to talk to your digital assistant. This checks everything for a modern watch. It's missing advanced health sensors, like EKG and body temperature, but those are niche metrics that aren't used well by watches that do have them.
The fact that the GTR 4 includes multibandGPS is impressive. We have only seen multiband gps on fitness watches in the last year or so. It uses both L1 and L5 satellite frequencies to translate to more accurateGPS in challenging environments. You are more likely to see it on a high-end watch. It is not a feature in the Apple Watch Series 8. I can't think of another watch in this price range that has multi band gps. The closest is the Forerunner 255 series.
A new optical heart rate monitor can be found in the Amazfit GTR 4.
It isn't something you usually find on a budget watch.
Better battery life can be found in cheaper watches. They use screens that draw less power. Amazfit claims seven days of battery life with heavy usage, even though the GTR 4 does not. You can use normal usage for 14 days. If you enable multiband gps, you can expect 25 hours of continuous use, compared to 44 hours for regular gps. You will get a lot more juice than the flagship watch.
About 10 days on a single charge.
I can't vouch for the estimates of the gps battery. I received about 10 days on a single charge. I had turned off the always-on display half the time. 2.5 hours of gps activity was recorded while testing. There are fitness bands and watches that last longer, but 10 days with moderate use is great. The time it takes to charge is less than great. I went from zero to 100 percent in two hours. Fast charging is now supported by an increasing number of Wearables. This is an industry-wide issue for watches and I wasn't fond of the proprietary charge.
There's a lot of features in the GTR 4. It may have too many features if you are looking for something. This section of the review could top 2000 words if I were to go in-depth about each. Amazfit is more than willing to list them all out on its product page, so nobody got time for that. It's lengthy.
I will tell you the rundown. Push notifications, timers, alarms, and stop watches are some of the smart features you can get. It is true that quick text replies are not compatible on the Apple Watch. If you misplace your phone a lot, you can use the watch to call it. Reminders include moving and event reminders. If you are in the range of your phone, you can take calls from the GTR4. Smart home control and basic queries are possible with the GTR 4. Even though it isn't the best assistant, it will do the basics okay. It has an offline assistant that can be used to start a workout or launch a health feature when you don't have internet access.
That is just the way things are. Health and fitness features are included in the GTR 4. The ability to set sleep schedules is included. Amazfit says the GTR 4 will introduce fall detection in an over-the-air update. The GTR 4 can alert you when it finds abnormal heart rate, SpO2 levels, and stress levels.
Most of the features work well. Here are a few quirks I encountered.
The GTR 4 doesn't have a way to pay with a credit card. I ran out of patience trying to set this up because the process is cumbersome and my phone app is right there. It's a good idea in theory, but not executed. I had a lot of time trying to load my music with the onboard music storage support of the GTR 4. You have to do it through the companion app, but most people prefer to listen to music on their phones. There was no chance of success. I decided to use it as a media controller for my phone after giving up on the project. My weather watch face never got the message when I switched to imperial Fahrenheit and imperial Celsius. I learned metric while abroad, but it's annoying.
It's not terrible. The companion app is used by the GTR4. The parent company of Amzfit is also the owner of Zepp. The companion app is better than the Amazfit app. I like the fact that the Zepp app is not flashy like the other fitness apps. The interface is clean and the info is easy to read. I like clunky and overly convoluted apps, like the Coros app.
The GTR 4 has native camera remotes. A budget watch has a native camera remote. It's a tad laggy but they all are. It's important that it works. The sound of a kitchen timer is something I don't like. It was a pleasant surprise that I had a Pomodoro timer. The Pomodoro timer will be missed the most.
I don't like the idea of goal metrics. Calorie burn isn't reliable. There is no real basis in science for the 10,000 step thing. The PAI measure used by the GTR 4 is a better one than the one used in the past.
PAI is for personal activity intelligence. Professor Ulrik Wislff is a well-known figure in exercise science with over 115,000 citations to his name on the internet. It uses demographic data, your resting heart rate, and the last seven days of heart rate data to calculate a score. The goal is to maintain a score of 100 PAI per week; the maximum you can earn in a day is 75 so that encourages people to exercise at least twice a week.
PAI is a more sustainable andholistic metric for measuring whether you are getting the 150 minutes of moderate exercise recommended by the american heart association. Normal daily activities that increase your heart rate will count. Flexibility is important for people who struggle to build healthy habits. I wish more of the popular flagships adopted this approach.
You can track your VO2 Max and Training Load with the help of the GTR 4. My Oura Ring is a sleep tracker that I use as a control device for my sleep stages, sleep metrics, and sleep duration. You can get a good snapshot of your activity and recovery with these and PAI. Stress tracking was the only thing that didn't impress me. It isn't very actionable because it's a vague metric to start with. It confirms what you already know, but doesn't offer any meaningful ways to address it The majority of Wearables use stress tracking.
Turn-by-turn guidance is supported by the GTR 4. You can export maps to GPX files with any route-planning site or app that supports it. The only thing you need to do is open the file with the app. Turn-by-turn navigation can be enabled when you head out to run, hike, or cycle. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this plus multibandGPS are not what I would expect from a $200 watch.
It was just as accurate as the Apple Watch Ultra. It didn't take long to find aGPS signal, though it was a bit slower than the Ultra or the Garmin watches I've tried. The few seconds are not a big deal, but they make a difference in winter running.
My family loves bargains. We talk about the deals we found at family gatherings in a way that other families like to remember. This watch will be brought up to my cousins at Thanksgiving. It's a steal.
The Amazfit GTR 4 isn't going to impress people the way an Apple Watch or a SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH would. Most of the issues I had with it were small ones that I forgot. I thought to myself, "but it's only $200." Amazfit is a brand that is often on sale. I wouldn't be surprised if you find it cheaper.
I would argue that Amazfit took over the throne from Fitbit a long time ago. The GTR 4 is the clear winner when I consider the two products. It has a longer battery life, a better display, and has more advanced navigation metrics. I don't think the Sense 2 is worth the price since it has been nerfed to the point where I don't think it's worth anything.
I bought the Amazfit GTS 2 for my mother-in-law a few years ago so she wouldn't have to use a tracker. She doesn't like high-priced flagships and is not a fan of gadgets. It was easy for her to use, with long battery life and no additional fees. It's not time for her to upgrade. I would buy her a watch.
Amelia Krales is a photographer.
Every smart device has a set of terms and conditions that you have to agree to before you can use it. It is not possible for us to read and analyze all of them. We started counting the number of times you have to agree to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people can't negotiate.
You have to pair the Amazfit GTR 4 with a phone. The phone's terms of service, privacy policy, and any other permission you give are included. The Zepp app is one of the brands used by Amazfit. There are three agreements that need to be signed.
You agree to set up the Amazfit GTR 4.
In addition to mandatory agreements, you will also be asked to grant optional permission such as location, motion and fitness, camera, notifications, etc.
There are three mandatory agreements and many optional agreements.
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