Titanium smartwatch review: Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro performs well despite a minor design misstep

Although Amazfit maintains its own sustainability page, the manufacturer does not provide specific information, such as CO₂ emissions from production. According to Amazfit, the packaging is fully recyclable and uses mineral oil-free printing inks. Amazfit largely avoids foam, although the inner packaging could also have been made from uncoated, unprinted cardboard.

A two-year manufacturer’s warranty is included. The supplied magnetic charging clip is powered via USB-C, but Amazfit does not include a compatible cable. The Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro is scheduled to receive security updates through April 2029. Based on past experience, Amazfit also rolls out new features to devices already on the market.

Amazfit uses a comprehensive smartphone app for setup, control, and viewing training data and statistics. Pairing via QR code is quick and reliable, and a tutorial makes getting started easier. Still, it takes some time to become fully familiar with the app - not only because of its wide range of features, but also because parts of its structure are somewhat nested. The Home tab can be customized extensively and offers presets for different user groups, including lifestyle users as well as strength and endurance athletes. It displays HybridCharge, sleep quality, and weight trends, among other information.

The position of the individual cards can be adjusted. Additional options, such as route creation, are available under “More.” The Workout tab shows recently completed activities, the number of workouts in the current week, and provides access to the training overview. Training plans can also be activated and tracked here. The weekly report is another useful feature. “Badges” displays earned awards and is intended to support motivation; challenges are supported as well.

The Aura tab provides analyses from the paid Aura AI service. Under "Devices," users can manage the smartwatch’s settings. Here, they can change the watch face, open the app store, and configure notifications in detail, among other options. Alarms can also be set up.

The app store is now well-stocked and forms a small ecosystem. However, official apps from major providers such as Spotify are still missing. In addition to a few games, it also includes productivity apps for tasks such as taking notes or controlling a smart home.

Zepp Flow is generally a useful voice assistant, although it occasionally takes a short moment to process requests. It can be used, among other things, to call contacts, request information such as the current weather, or retrieve an overview of recent workouts.

Amazfit recently replaced BioCharge with HybridCharge. This metric is intended to summarize physical readiness for further exertion in a single value and help users better assess training load without risking overtraining. HybridCharge can also be displayed over the course of a week. Various factors are included in the calculation, with sleep playing a particularly important role.

A single test is not sufficient to conclusively assess how reliable the metric is in practice. However, during testing, it showed a fairly clear correlation with subjective perception on at least one day.

The Zepp app works well with third-party services. For example, synchronization with Google Fit is possible, while Intervals.icu, Apple Health, and Strava are also supported. Komoot is also widely used within the Amazfit ecosystem. As a result, route import is convenient and does not require the extra step of using GPX files.

Various activity goals can be tracked across several areas. In addition to step count, there are targets for time spent in specific heart rate zones, including the intensity range often referred to - somewhat misleadingly - as the “fat-burning zone.”

Badges can also provide long-term motivation. For example, they can be unlocked at several levels based on completed running distances. VO₂max can be estimated without a dedicated assessment run; this metric is particularly useful for evaluating performance development over the medium term.

We compared the Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro with the Polar H10 chest strap in our test. For resting heart rate, the deviation was just one beat per minute and was therefore practically negligible. During an activity, however, more pronounced differences emerged: Minimum and maximum heart rates still differed relatively little, but the average heart rate recorded by the Cheetah 2 Pro was noticeably lower than the value measured by the Polar H10.

This is relevant because the average value plays an important role in determining training load and training effect. Very ambitious athletes who specifically manage their intervals based on heart rate will therefore likely continue to prefer a chest strap. The deviations visible in the measured values are also reflected in the heart rate curve.

The results are more favorable for relative oxygen saturation. The average deviation was 2.07 percent. Taking into account the measurement uncertainty of the Braun Pulse Oximeter 1 as well as the limited sample size, no statistically significant difference between the two measurement systems could be identified. In a detailed article, we also discuss typical challenges involved in evaluating such measurements and explain the difference between heart rate and pulse rate.

Overall, sleep tracking is quite comprehensive and provides data on individual sleep stages in addition to sleep onset and wake-up times. In our assessment, total sleep duration is detected reliably; however, a robust reference is lacking for a precise evaluation of the individual sleep stages. The same applies to the assessment of sleep quality. We were able to confirm wake-up detection based on a single data point.

Thanks to the reliably recorded sleep times, the “Sleep Regularity” feature is also useful. It visualizes sleep times over the past week or month and can therefore help improve sleep hygiene. Naps are also detected reliably, and the device is intended to track hypopneas as well. However, it is not medically certified, so the data should not be considered a substitute for a medical diagnosis.

The Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro also performs well in workout tracking, management, and planning. Training plans are available for different fitness levels and goals, while personalized suggestions are generated even without a fixed plan. The watch also includes a workout library as a practical resource. In addition, specific programs are available, such as plans for half-marathon preparation. Zepp Coach also provides adaptive training guidance.

The Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro supports six satellite navigation systems as well as dual-band GNSS and delivered fast, stable positioning in our test. Compared with the Huawei Watch Fit 5 Pro, overall tracking quality was similar, with no obvious outliers caused by inaccurate GPS points.

The navigation features are extensive and can also be used without a paired smartphone. Once the maps have been downloaded, reliable turn-by-turn navigation is available directly on the watch. The map material also includes POIs that can show the way to the nearest supermarket or park, for example. Loop routes can be created based on distance and compass direction, which is particularly useful while on the go.

In addition to roads and bike paths, hiking trails are also included. Unlike Garmin, Amazfit does not offer a web interface, so route planning must be done either on a smartphone or directly on the watch unless third-party services are used. Turn-by-turn directions and off-route alerts worked reliably in testing.

The manufacturer rates the 540 mAh battery for up to 20 days of typical use. In precise GPS mode, battery life is rated at up to 31 hours. In a worst-case scenario - with the display permanently enabled, brightness set to maximum, navigation active, and precise GNSS enabled - the battery level dropped by 5 percent within 35 minutes. While this scenario is unrealistic in everyday use, it illustrates the substantially higher power consumption caused by this combination.

In our test, with the Always-on Display enabled, multiple GPS activities, strength-training sessions, and maximum screen brightness at all times, the watch lasted six days with 10 percent battery remaining. Charging from 10 to 40 percent took 21 minutes. After one hour, the battery had reached 87 percent, and it took another 20 minutes to reach a near-full charge of 98 percent.