- Health Is Wealth
- Posts
- Huami Amazfit GTS: Review, price and specification
Huami Amazfit GTS: Review, price and specification
Amazfit GTS is provided by Huami ,a Chinese manufacturer that has succeeded in establishing itself globally with its brand of connected watches Amazfit. The company was founded in 2014 and has received financial support from large investment funds and also from Xiaomi.
It is also Huami who provides the technology of Xiaomi Mi Band connected bracelets. Huami is therefore not Xiaomi but Xiaomi uses Huami.
Amazfit uses a bit of the same niche as Xiaomi to establish itself in the market by offering complete products for a very competitive price.
Why this connected watch?
I bought the Amazfit GTS a little out of curiosity because this brand is taking more and more place in the world of connected watches and the opinions are quite positive.
This is the 5th connected watch that I have tested in less than a year, so I am starting to have some good benchmarks to be able to compare the different products.
The Amazfit GTS is a watch for sportsmen, it is quite comparable to the Huawei Watch GT Active that I tested a few months ago, it is sold at an equivalent price but offers much more functionality.
After the first few minutes of testing, I was so excited that I bought another crowdfunding Amazfit model that I would test later.
[content-egg-block template=offers_list]
Overview
To measure the performance of the Amazfit GTS, we compared its results with those of the Polar H10 chest strap, which we consider to be very reliable in terms of measurements. We measured our heart rate during a run by following the laps on a 1.9 km circuit. Regarding cycling, we have a typical circuit of 3.12 km.
The Amazfit GTS has a small batch of sensors. The watch thus incorporates a heart rate monitoring, an accelerometer, a gyroscope and an ambient light sensor. We regret the absence of GPS, which would have nicely completed this combination. It will therefore be necessary to take your smartphone in order to know the distance traveled.
The heart rate monitoring included in the Amazfit GTS provides the essentials. It is thus able to follow a homogeneous effort in terms of intensity very correctly. We thus detected, on a run, a reading of the heart rate identical to that provided by the chest strap Polar H10. Huami’s smart health connected watch proves to be much less relevant when faced with a sport cut by regular changes in intensity. Thus, whether on interval training or during a football match, where efforts sometimes arrive in phases, the Amazfit GTS proves incapable of correctly monitoring the evolution of the heart rate. It is therefore content to offer incoherent and ultimately unusable curves. Regret, but it must be remembered that there are few smart health connected watches capable of managing this kind of effort.
The Amazfit also offers sleep monitoring. Its results seem to be consistent with reality, but it remains extremely easy to trap the watch’s vigilance, by lounging on waking. The Amazfit GTS then thinks that we are still sleeping and adds precious minutes of sleep to its balance sheet.
Structure of my test
I test the products according to a pre-established structure to provide you with as much information as possible. This unfortunately takes a long time. Unlike some sites where products are tested for a single day, I use the products I test for a minimum of a few weeks and sometimes even a few months. If the test is not complete at the time of your visit, I invite you to come back later or ask your questions in the comments.
Unpacking
When I received the box of the Amazfit, it reminded me of the boxes that can be found on the supermarket shelves, a bit as if the Amazfit were a common consumer product.
Inside the box, we find the bare essentials. There is of course the watch, a charging cable and a manual. It’s kind of the same as the other watches I have bought, I wonder why the watches are packed with such a big user manual because in the end they are quite easy to use.
Start-up
To be able to use your Amazfit GTS, you will need a smartphone. When starting Amazfit, the screen displays a QR code which should in theory allow you to download the Amazfit application. I say in theory because this QR code does not work, it ends up on an error page. So it does not start very well …
So I went through the Play Store to download the official Amazfit app. When launching this application, I have to create a new account without being able to use an existing account. I have never had an account with Amazfit so this is not a problem but as I plan to install the app on multiple phones, I hope I won’t have to create an account every time.
To create my accounts I usually use complex passwords mixing several types of special characters, this is not possible with the Amazfit app, you have to create a password from numbers and letters. It’s not a big drama but it surprised me a bit.
The procedure for creating an account is fairly standard, but you have to enter a code from an image (a captcha), this code uses green letters on a white background, they are not very readable. I then had to select my country several times, I also had to accept the general conditions several times and I also had to go several times to connect the watch.
I didn’t see a possibility to change the installation language but my phone was configured in English, so maybe that is why the application was in English. Despite the choice of my country, I still had to enter my height in feet / inches and my weight in lbs.
You will understand, the start-up procedure could frankly be improved. It does not present insurmountable difficulty but you have to be patient and try again several times before you get there.
Finish
Before buying the Amazfit GTS, I compared several models and was hesitant to buy the GTS because it looked really big to me.
Dimensions of the Amazfit GTS:
43.25 mm x 36×25 mm x 9.4 mm
The Amazfit GTS is ultimately not that big, it fits well on the wrist and I don’t feel any discomfort on the wrist. It weighs 24.8 grams, so it is quite light compared to its size.
The finish of the Amazfit is reminiscent of the Apple Watch, the shape and design are quite similar. I am not a fan of this kind of design, I prefer rounded watches but this is purely a personal opinion. The watch has a good level of finish, the black screen is encrusted in a metallic effect band which gives it a more premium look.
Screen size: 1.65 inch
Resolution: 348×442 pixels
The watch is available in several colors that will allow both men and women to find the right combination according to their style.
On the side, there is a single button that allows you to either enter the sport menu or exit the menus. You can turn the knob, but there is no point.
At the back, you will find the sensor for the heartbeats as well as the diodes to charge the watch.
Connectivity
Bluetooth
The Amazfit GTS connects via Bluetooth with your phone to synchronize with the application and download updates. If you step away from the watch and come back, the reconnection is quite fast, your phone will report that the watch has reconnected.
If you are using the Amazfit on multiple phones and these phones are set to a different language, you might run into some issues as the app will force an update for each phone to put the watch in the phone’s language. She will therefore spend her time switching from one language to another.
GPS
The Amazfit has its own GPS sensor, which means you don’t need a phone to exercise outdoors, which is a huge plus, especially at this price range.
I did a comparative test between a cycling activity recorded from the Amazfit and the same activity recorded with a smartphone using the Strava app:
The screens on an orange background come from the Strava app, the others come from the Amazfit app.
What I see:
– the layout on the map is the same
– there is a difference of 5 meters out of a total of more than 13 km, so it is completely negligible
– The maximum speed detected by the Amazfit is 51.41 km / h, Strava indicates 52.9 km / h
– La Amazfit indicates a maximum altitude of 99 meters where Strava indicates 62m
The track from the Amazfit is therefore good, the watch also detects distances well. The speed is slightly different but the difference is not that big. It is at the level of the altitude where the Amazfit deviates strongly from reality. The correct value is 62m.
The GPS works quite well but it is slower to start up than that on a smartphone, you have to wait ten seconds (sometimes more) before the signal is available. During your activity, you should also take care not to cover the watch to avoid losing the signal.
Battery life
Amazfit praises battery life as one of the strengths of its product, the Amazfit GTS must last 14 days. In practice, I never succeeded, but I used the watch almost every day for an activity of at least 30 minutes. With this pace of activity, I have an autonomy of ten days.
It is a little less than what is announced but it is still very comfortable. With the same pace of activity, I do not expect the same autonomy on other watches that I have tested.
Screen quality
The Amazfit screen is arguably one of the best screens I have tested so far. It is very bright (sometimes even too much), the sharpness is really good and the contrasts are impeccable.
The screen is readable in direct sunlight when the brightness is set to maximum. You can also let the brightness adjust automatically. This brightness is an asset in broad daylight but it is a defect at night because even at the minimum level the screen still generates a lot of light.
Features
The Amazfit GTS offers 12 sport modes covering both indoor and outdoor activities.
For each sport, the watch records heart data, course (if available) and number of steps. It then calculates the number of calories based on the recorded data.
In addition to the different sport modes, the Amazfit offers the following possibilities:
– pick up / hang up the phone (with contact display)
– receive notifications (I failed to get notifications to work)
– check the weather forecast
– use a compass
– use a stopwatch and countdown timer
– receive event alerts
– create an alert
– consult the exercises
– follow the heartbeats
– ring your phone if you no longer know where it is
– customize the home screen
The Amazfit GTS offers a fairly complete range of features and in this price range, it offers one of the best value for money.
Measures
Cardiac data
Like all devices of this kind, the Amazfit GTS allows you to track your heartbeat and the result is quite good. I get better results than with the other watches I have tested.
To compare the measurements I used a Polar H10 belt and the Amazfit GTS at the same time. The Polar H10 belt is one of the most reliable belts for measuring heartbeats.
With the Polar H10, I get:
149 beats per minute (maximum)
134 beats per minute (average)
With the Amazfit GTS:
149 beats per minute (maximum)
138 beats per minute (average)
The data are very close and the difference in the mean could be explained by the duration of the exercise. I had cut the watch a little before the belt, so the belt was able to measure lower pulsations and therefore influence the measured average.
I have done other measurements with the Polar H10 and I get fairly close results for the Amazfit. However, I have seen a larger gap when riding a bike, I guess vibrations play a role in the stability of the measurements.
Sleep data
Most of the watches I have tested tell me that I am not getting enough sleep and that I am not getting enough deep sleep. The Amazfit GTS tells me otherwise. I have an excellent sleep score and have a high proportion of deep sleep.
So I don’t think I can give much credit to these measures.
Number of steps
I measured a deviation of around 10% for the number of steps measured, the Amazfit seems to overestimate the number of steps. I also found that if the arm movements were not significant enough, the number of steps was simply not counted.
Application
To use your Amazfit GTS on your smartphone, you will need to download the Amazfit application. The application is completely free.
The Amazfit GTS does not work with Strava, but you can export your data to Google Fit and collect all your data in one place.
The Amazfit app is the most complete app that I have tested so far because it offers to aggregate tons of data in addition to that captured by the watch. This wealth of data goes against the simplicity of use. I find that the application offers too many things at the same time while the basic data should be more easily accessible.
At the bottom of the screen you have the possibility to add data such as oxygen level, body measurements, sugar level, … I don’t even know if it is possible to find a device to measure all of them. these data but they take up a lot of space.
So you have to get used to the interface to find your way to the most useful screens.
Compatibility
The Amazfit GTS is compatible with all devices capable of running the Amazfit application.
Operating system
The operating system of the Amazfit GTS is not an open system, so you cannot install any other applications.
The home screen of the Amazfit GTS presents a summary of the basic indicators of the watch. You have of course the time and data, the weather for the day and the next few days, the number of steps, the heart rate and the battery level. The screen is so full of information that it deviates from the basic role of a watch. Some indicators are so small that you need good eyes to be able to read them.
Up:
Night mode
Flashlight mode
Brightness management
Screen lock
Below:
– status
– Goals
– heartbeat
– activities
– weather
– music
– notifications
– alarm
– events
– settings
This menu adapts according to your use, the last functions used are placed at the top.
Left right
– step counter
– cardiac frequency
The button is used to turn on the watch, trigger a measurement or go back.
Bugs encountered
I haven’t encountered a bug, but never managed to get the “music” feature to work. In theory you can control your Deezer or Spotify playlist directly from the watch. I have tried many times with Deezer, the watch never managed to sync with Deezer and each time I got an error message.
Compare Amazfit GTS with others
Here is a ranking of the different results obtained through my tests. A score of 1 indicates a very poor performance while a score of 6 indicates an exceptional result. The score is a subjective measure, the ranking is however mostly the result of a measure
Battery life
Mi Band 4: 5
Mi Band 3: 4.5
Amazfit GTS: 4
Umidigi uWatch GT: 4
Huawei Watch GT Active: 4
Screen quality
Amazfit GTS: 5
Huawei Watch GT Active: 4.5
Umidigi uWatch GT: 4
Mi Band 4: 3.5
Mi Band 3: 2.5
Finish quality
Amazfit GTS: 4.5
Huawei Watch GT Active: 4.5
Umidigi uWatch GT: 3.5
Mi Band 4: 3.5
Mi Band 3: 3.5
connectivity
Amazfit GTS: 4.5
Huawei Watch GT Active: 3.5
Mi Band 4: 3.5
Umidigi uWatch GT: 3.5
Mi Band 3: 3.5
compatibility
Amazfit GTS: 4.5
Mi Band 4: 4.5
Mi Band 3: 4.5
Umidigi uWatch GT: 4
Huawei Watch GT Active: 3
GPS quality
Amazfit GTS: 4
Mi Band 4: 0
Mi Band 3: 0
Umidigi uWatch GT: 0
Huawei Watch GT Active: 0
app
Mi Band 4: 4.5
Mi Band 3: 4.5
Huawei Watch GT Active: 4.5
Amazfit GTS: 4.5
Umidigi uWatch GT: 4
measures
Amazfit GTS: 4.5
Mi Band 4: 4.5
Mi Band 3: 4.5
Huawei Watch GT Active: 4.5
Umidigi uWatch GT: 3.5
ease
Mi Band 4: 4.5
Mi Band 3: 4.5
Umidigi uWatch GT: 4.5
Huawei Watch GT Active: 4.5
Amazfit GTS: 4
features
Amazfit GTS: 4.5
Huawei Watch GT Active: 4.5
Mi Band 4: 4
Mi Band 3: 4
Umidigi uWatch GT: 4
Ease of use of the operating system
Amazfit GTS: 4.5
Huawei Watch GT Active: 4
Mi Band 4: 3.5
Mi Band 3: 3.5
Umidigi uWatch GT: 3.5
Final score
Amazfit GTS: 48.5 / 66
Huawei Watch GT Active: 41.5 / 66
Mi Band 4: 41/66
Mi Band 3: 39.5 / 66
Umidigi uWatch GT: 38.5 / 66
Best price of Amazfit GTS
[content-egg-block template=offers_list]
Conclusion of the Amazfit GTS review
The Amazfit GTS is the fifth connected watch that I have tested and it is the best. In this price range, there are not many watches with so many features and an integrated GPS sensor. A few other low cost Chinese brands are available but reviews are much more mixed.
I don’t really like the rectangular format of the watch or the fact that it displays too much information on the main screen, but it’s completely subjective. The level of finish is impeccable, the screen is superb and the battery life is good.
I tested this watch on a treadmill, outdoor bike, and outdoor walking. The heart data collected is reliable, this is the first time that I have obtained data so close to what I measure with the Polar H10.
I did not really find fault with this watch, the things that I liked less are specific to my tastes or my situation. For example, I find that the characters on the main screen are too small and I have trouble reading them. The watch regularly reminds me that I have been sitting for too long, in the long run it gets annoying.
I find the strap to be a little less well designed than what I had on the Huawei GT Active, it feels like rubber and the clips are made of soft plastic.
Screen
GPS sensor
Heartbeat reliability
Autonomy
Sometimes complicated application
Soft plastic bracelet
Screen too bright at night