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MagyarThe Huami Amazfit GTS 2e scores points in the smartwatch review with uncommon features
Case and connectivity – Rotating display for the right hand
Huami currently carries eight smartwatches under the Amazfit GTR and Amazfit GTS names. Four of them end with an "R" for "round", the other four with an "S" for "square". Our test device is the square-shaped Amazfit GTS 2e. Apart from the design, it's very similar to the round Amazfit GTR 2e.
As our parallel review of the Amazfit GTS 2 mini shows, the differences relate to the software on the one hand, and to details where you wouldn't necessarily expect to find differences on the other. For example, the two strap loops of the Amazfit GTS 2e wandered off towards the case more often, causing the strap end to suddenly hang loosely in the air. In contrast, the GTS 2 mini only has one strap loop; however, unlike the GTS 2e, it has a soft pin that hooks into the strap and holds its position.
The matte brushed aluminum frame of the Amazfit GTS 2e thickens on the right side towards the crown in order to enclose it. The crown itself is movable, but turning it has no effect. Pressing it twice, on the other hand, does, because you can assign it an individual function. If you wear the watch on your right arm, you can also rotate the display and use the crown with your index finger here as well.
The fitness tracker's sensors enable extensive health tracking as well as logging the route and altitude profile when exercising. The microphone at the case's bottom right didn't work in the test. Although Huami integrates the Alexa voice assistant in some wearables, such as the Amazfit Band 5 fitness tracker and the Amazfit GTS 2 mini, the Amazfit GTS 2e lacked this option during the test.
Differences compared with the Amazfit GTS 2
Among the model variants, we find the very similar model name "GTS 2" without the "e". Apart from a marginally thinner case, the Amazfit GTS 2 - just like its GTR 2 round counterpart - has Wi-Fi and storage for offline music, while the GTS 2e and GTR 2e each come with a temperature sensor. A diamond-like oDLC carbon coating is supposed to make the display glass of the Amazfit GTR 2 and GTS 2 harder and more wear-resistant than the vacuum coating of the Amazfit GTS 2e and GTR 2e.
Setup and handling – Comprehensive set of options
To set up the Amazfit GTS 2e, you install the Zepp app on your iPhone or Android smartphone; then you register or log in with an existing account. Afterwards, you should check the health settings and decide if and in which intervals the heart rate should be measured as well as if exceeding a certain level should trigger a warning.
The app provides a total of 50 watch face variants to choose from, some of them with customizable complications. In more than 40 of them, the always-on display visually adapts to the main dial.
To activate the display when automatic brightness control is enabled, you have to press the crown or lift your arm; it doesn't respond to a simple tap. Like the always-on display, gesture activation can be time-limited, and the touchscreen can be temporarily protected from accidental touches. Shortcuts dim brightness when you're in a movie theater or, alternatively, activate it continuously for up to 20 minutes.
The last widget, or the one to the left of the watch face, shows a list of cards with important information as seen in our first screenshot. You can change the order of the cards.
Telephone and notifications
Incoming calls can be muted or rejected but not accepted. You can't reply to notifications or delete them; they disappear as soon as you open them on the smartphone. The Amazfit GTS 2e only displays emojis in notifications from social media networks to a limited extent, and it replaces many of them with a square symbol.
Fitness tracking and GPS – Amazfit smartwatch with temperature measuring
You can connect your Huami account with WeChat, Relive, and Strava using the iOS app as well as with Apple Health; Google Fit is available when you use the tracker with an Android smartphone.
The data that the Amazfit GTS 2e collects throughout the day is displayed in a daily dashboard. They don't differ significantly from the data gathered by the Amazfit GTS 2 mini during the same period, but they don't coincide in several points. This can be seen in the dashboard corresponding to the same day in the Amazfit GTS 2 mini's review, which we will publish in the next few days as well.
Activity goals
The fitness tracker calculates an index according to the PAI (Personal Activity Intelligence) health assessment system based on the heart rate data, if measured throughout the day, activity duration, and other health data.
As for typical activity goals, Amazfit only tracks steps, distance covered, and calories burned. Huami doesn't show the floors climbed, even though it has a barometric sensor. On the other hand, users who assess their fitness level based on changes in skin temperature will find the Amazfit GTS 2e to be one of the few wearables with a temperature sensor so far.
As with the Amazfit T-Rex Pro, Huami uses the term "blood pressure measurement" in some places but actually means "heart rate variability", which is a measure used to provide information about stress levels. We reported the translation error to the manufacturer, who intends to correct it both on the smartwatch and in the app.
Sleep tracking
The Amazfit GTS 2e logs the time at which the user falls asleep and wakes up and analyzes the sleep phases. If you compare the log of the same night with that of the Amazfit GTS 2 mini, there are differences here as well despite both devices using the same setting for the intensity of pulse measurement. Even after switching the straps between the left and right wrist, it looks like the Amazfit GTS 2e tracks sleep more accurately than the Amazfit GTS 2 mini.
The Amazfit GTS 2e combines sleep phases and heart rate data in a single chart in the app. Unlike the GTS 2 mini, however, it doesn't display the sleep data on the watch.
Heart rate, heart rhythm, and blood oxygen saturation
You can choose between three profiles in the settings; these can optionally measure your heart rate more precisely at the expense of battery life or save battery by reducing the measuring intensity. The Amazfit GTS 2e measures the blood oxygen saturation manually.
We registered both vital signs several times in parallel with a certified measuring device. With one outlier, the measured heart rate only deviates slightly from the measurement obtained using the medically certified pulse oximeter; the average deviation is 0.8 bpm. The registered oxygen saturation is mostly within the pulse oximeter's measurement range. The largest deviation in the test was 2 percentage points.
Workout tracking
The Amazfit GTS 2e supports 90 types of sports, while its Amazfit GTS 2 sibling model only supports 12. Walking, running outdoors and on the treadmill, cycling, swimming in the pool, and working out on the elliptical trainer are all automatically recognized by the GTS 2e, which also locks the display automatically during a swimming workout.
The workout analysis, exemplified here by a 5-kilometer cross-country run, provides a lot of details. Unlike the Amazfit T-Rex Pro, however, the Amazfit GTS 2e doesn't analyze the workout effect. The charts can be combined in pairs like in our example for stride length and stride frequency. The altitude profile shows an outlier in the second section, which the barometric sensor must have caused. As a result, it distorts the total altitude gain and loss values.
GPS
The Amazfit GTS 2e's GPS connects to the GPS and GLONASS satellite systems. The Zepp app can export the tracked route to a GPX file. Google Earth can be used to show how well the fitness tracker sticks to the route. The visible deviation above a school in the picture to the right is due to the fact that construction vehicles were blocking the way at the time of the test. The Amazfit device shows a distance of 5.03 km, which is about 70 meters longer than the one measured by Google (4.96 kilometers).
Battery life
Huami specifies a runtime of 14 days in a typical scenario and up to 24 days if you disable Bluetooth and other features.
We pushed the smartwatch rather a bit harder to find out how it performs when you activate the stress analysis feature and the always-on display throughout the entire day. In this scenario, you get about 6 to 8 days; this is reduced even further if you add GPS-supported running or cycling workouts.
In case that the battery unexpectedly runs low, there's a power-saving mode, in which the device continues to track steps and sleep.
Huami indicates that the 246 mAh battery takes 2 hours to charge. However, the depleted battery was actually completely recharged in less than an hour in the test.
Verdict
Huami packs a lot into its smartwatch for a reasonable 129 Euros (~$156), including dual-frequency GPS and a temperature sensor. The software scores points with many configuration options, such as a rotating display, a scheduled always-on display, and an optional password.
The Huami software stands out by adding functional features like a rotating watch face and the ability to export GPX routes.
The differences in the manufacturer's own portfolio, which are sometimes significant, are somewhat confusing. For example, the Amazfit GTS 2 mini, which is still under review, has more to offer in some areas with its voice assistant, female cycle tracking, and Pomodoro timer. Considering that the review sample also has a microphone, it wouldn't be a stretch to think that Huami will improve the device with an update in this regard.
The case, which has an aluminum frame that encloses the crown in an interesting way, looks high-quality; we would only replace the simple strap with another one due to its poorly fitting loops and basic material. Alternative smartwatches are offered by Huawei. The software's level is comparable, and the cases are of higher quality. In terms of price, the Watch GT 2e, which currently costs less than 100 Euros (~$121), and the Watch GT 2 with Bluetooth calling, which will set you back around 129 Euros (~$156), are particularly interesting. The more recent Watch GT 2 Pro has also dropped well below its MSRP, but it's still in a different price range at just under 200 Euros (~$241).
Price and availability
At the time of writing, the Amazfit GTS 2e can be found on Amazon for $124.99.
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