Amazfit GTR 3 Pro Review
A solid option, particularly for Android users who don’t want to spend big on a new smartwatch.
Verdict
The Amazfit GTR 3 Pro is a solid device, particularly for Android users who don’t want to spend big on a new smartwatch.
Pros
- Attractive
- A week’s worth of battery life
- Easy to use, with improving software
Cons
- Some buggy fitness tracking
- Slim pickings from new app store
- Heart rate monitor accuracy
Availability
- UKRRP: £179
- USARRP: $229
Key Features
- CompatibilityWorks with Android and iOS
- Display1.45-inch AMOLED touchscreen
Introduction
The Amazfit GTR 3 Pro is an upgraded version of Zepp’s GTR 3 smartwatch, offering a similar round watch design with extras that make it more smartwatch-like than its non-Pro namesake.
It also sees the introduction of Zepp’s new smartwatch operating system, which seeks to bring apps and a bigger stash of watch faces to the table, hopefully with the help of some developers in the future to get that new store brimming with content.
The price tag makes the Amazfit GTR 3 Pro cheaper than a lot of big-name smartwatches like the Apple Watch 7 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, with Zepp aiming to offer similar features for less.
Design and Screen
- High-quality AMOLED touchscreen for the price
- Available in two looks
- Adds new rotating crown
- 22mm interchangeable straps
Zepp has switched things up with the GTR 3 Pro compared to the GTR 2. Out goes the all-black look and in comes a more classic watch case and strap options.
What remains is the 46mm size case. It’s made from aluminium and paired with 22mm interchangeable watch straps that use a pin mechanism to release them from the watch’s body, with classic buckles to keep them in place. A 5ATM water-resistant rating means this device can be submerged in water up to 50 metres and is therefore fine to be worn swimming and in the shower.
At 32g, the watch is by no means a heavyweight on the wrist. At 10.7mm thick it isn’t bulky either, matching the Apple Watch Series 7 for thickness. Nevertheless, the Amazfit GTR 3 Pro’s design and feel do suggest it’s more geared towards men.
There are two case colour options: one matches up with a brown leather strap, while the other pairs up with a more exercise-friendly fluoroelastomer strap. The case features two physical buttons; with the one higher up inspired by a traditional watch crown that rotates to let you scroll through screens.
Those buttons sit around a touchscreen display that is bigger than the screens packed onto the Amazfit GTR 3 and the GTR 2 watches. It’s a 1.45-inch, 480 x 480 AMOLED with a 331ppi pixel density. Note that this is a screen that you can keep on all day and night, and it uses tempered glass to add an extra layer of durability.
Zepp’s touchscreen displays have been a real highlight on its GTR and GTS watches, and you get more of the same here on the Pro. It’s nicely bright to view indoors and outdoors and helps elevate the whole look and feel of this watch.
It’s hard to really fault the GTR 3 Pro from an aesthetics point of view. The GTR 2 looked slick, and while the Pro seems to have taken a side step from that look, I’d say it still delivers something super-smart and stylish.
Features and Performance
- Zepp OS adds app store
- Two smart assistants
- Bluetooth-enabled phone calls
The first aspect to appeal about the Pro 3 is that it’s a smartwatch that works with both Android phones and iPhones, and you can expect largely the same experience with both.
Set-up is via Zepp’s companion app, which has been given a facelift in places. On the watch itself, it’s easy to get to grips with the operation. You have a simple gesture-based UI to negotiate – and you have not one, but two smart assistants to provide the option of hands-free control.
The Pro sees the arrival of Zepp OS, a new smartwatch operating system that most notably introduces an app store to Amazfit watches for the very first time. If you’re expecting something on the level of the Apple App Store, though, sadly this isn’t the case.
Currently only accessible via the Zepp phone app, there are less than 20 apps in the store, with no big names to catch the eye (yet). Most are fitness and wellness-focused – but if you’re thinking you’ll find Nike, Strava and the like, it isn’t clear when, or if, they’ll make an appearance.
Back to those core smartwatch features. Of the two smart assistants, Amazon Alexa works in much the same way as it does on Fitbit’s Versa 3 smartwatch. You can talk into the onboard mic to ask question and answers are displayed. Zepp also includes its own offline voice assistant, to help you control core features such as checking weather and activity tracking stats – and it works surprisingly well.
Notifications support remains similar to what we’ve seen on previous Amazfit watches. Notifications aren’t actionable, but appear promptly and are nicely displayed on the touchscreen panel. However, unlike other smartwatches, the Amazfit doesn’t pull in all the elements (images, for example) of messages, prompting you to pick up your phone instead.
In terms of music, you can control music playing on your smartphone or you can ditch your phone and put music onto the watch instead. There’s 2.3GB of storage here, although you’ll need to own that music to transfer it over to the watch.
It’s possible to make calls with the Amazfit when it’s paired to your phone via Bluetooth. There’s no LTE connectivity option here nor does this watch include any sort of payment support, of the type you’d find on Fitbit and Garmin smartwatches around this price.
Fitness Tracking
- 150+ sports modes
- Heart rate monitoring accuracy isn’t fantastic
- New PeakBeats training insights are a nice addition
The GTR Pro 3 certainly doesn’t have a shortage of features for tracking exercises such as runs and swims, motivating you to keep moving during the day, or insights into your general wellness. However, how successful it is at all those things is a pretty mixed experience.
The Amazfit includes the standard accelerometer and gyroscope motion sensors to take care of 24/7 activity tracking, as well as enabling sleep and nap monitoring. You get a barometric altimeter to measure elevation, and there’s now a temperature sensor to monitor skin temperature changes – although I can’t say it’s hugely reliable based on my experience.
There’s Zepp’s BioTracker 3.0 optical biometric sensor, which is tasked with delivering reliable heart rate monitoring throughout the day and night, as well as through workouts. It’s key to powering the PAI Health Assessment scores, stress monitoring and the new PeakBeats training insights. These include information on how often you’re training, your current level of fitness, and suggesting recommended recovery time. It’s this sensor that’s responsible for delivering blood oxygen measurements, whether on the spot or continuous monitoring.
Zepp is also adding a new one-tap measurement feature that lets you see current heart rate, stress, breathing rate and blood oxygen from a 45-second measurement. It isn’t a unique feature, but it does seek to offer a window into your current state of wellness.
In Sports Watch mode, there’s support for GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BDS and QZSS satellite systems to accurately track outdoor workouts. There are over 150 sports modes covering the core and the niche. A fan of Muay Thai? You’re covered. Just don’t expect this watch to track your moves on the mat or your home gym. It sticks to heart rate and workout duration for modes outside or running, cycling, swimming and some indoor workouts. On top of those manual tracking modes, there’s automatic exercising tracking for a handful of those modes including indoor rowing, running, walking and pool swimming.
As a fitness tracker, the Pro 3 performed well, but there were days and nights when step and sleep data threw up some questionable stats. It seems to have settled down a bit on this front, but there are definitely some odd quirks here. It was more of an issue with sleep, where some nights weren’t recorded at all, or just a portion of sleep was recorded.
If you’re turning to this smartwatch to monitor heart rate, I’d say don’t expect amazing results. I found that during the day, my heart rate appeared to match the real-time monitoring on a Fitbit and Garmin tracker. However, for exercise the device struggled, much like the majority of optical sensors handling high-intensity workouts, often recorded significantly higher average and maximum readings compared to a chest strap monitor. This then throws a huge question mark over the reliability of the other insights that heart rate powers, such as stress monitoring and PAI scores.
Things do improve a bit for sports tracking. Using it for activities such as running, pool swimming, indoor rowing and sweat-busting HIIT home workouts, the Amazfit GTR 3 Pro offered good outdoor running distance accuracy – but core metrics were generally slightly off from a Garmin. The new PeakBeats training insights are great to see; but, ultimately, it didn’t feel hugely in tune with my training, nor the recommendations it made for me.
I feel about the GTR 3 Pro’s sports and fitness prowess much like I feel about Fitbit’s performance on this front. While it offers features for the hardcore workout fiends, it doesn’t quite deliver on that front. I’d say that Fitbit offers greater reliability in terms of core fitness tracking, and the software experience through the watch is better, even if you’re now having to pay for the features included through its app.
Battery life
- Good for a week of smartwatch and sports-tracking time
- Maximum battery time up to 30 days
- Offers strong GPS battery life
While smartwatches such as the Apple Watch and the Samsung Galaxy Watch languish on just a day – or a couple of days at most – of battery life, the GTR 3 Pro promises (and delivers) a much longer period away from a charger.
Ultimately, I’d say it lasts around a week, depending on the level of monitoring you have engaged. This is because features such as continuous heart rate and SpO2 monitoring or setting the screen to always-on mode will have an impact on battery life.
Zepp breaks down its battery numbers to typical and heavy use. There’s also a battery saver mode, which delivers a maximum of 30 days. In typical use, the Pro can muster up 12 days of battery life and that drops to six days in heavy use.
I’d say with notification support turned on, tracking a workout 3-4 times a week and features such as continuous heart rate monitoring turned on, I found that I was able to get through just about a week. That’s a good showing in my book, but not a vast improvement on the GTR 2.
For charging, Zepp uses a small black charging cradle – seen with previous Amazfit watches – that magnetically clips onto the back of the watch. It isn’t the most secure cradle I’ve used on a smartwatch, so keep it clear of any objects on your table that could potentially knock it out of place.
When you hit 0% battery, the Pro takes around two hours to get back up to full power. There’s no quick-charging facility of the type you get on Apple’s latest and the Fitbit Versa 3 here.
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
If you’re on a budget For a smartwatch that costs under £200, the GTR 3 Pro definitely offers a lot for that money. It’s easy to get to grips with, making it an ideal first smartwatch.
You want the best smartwatch experience While the GTR 3 Pro offers a lot of the core smartwatch staples, you can find alternatives out there with better app support and richer communication features.
Final Thoughts
The Amazfit GTR 3 Pro is an affordable, well-designed smartwatch that crams in plenty of features for the money. It doesn’t deliver the best smartwatch experience around, and you’ll have to live with some software quirks. For the price, though, it remains a solid option, particularly for Android users who don’t want to spend big on a new smartwatch.
How we test
We thoroughly test every smartwatch we review. We use industry standard testing to compare features properly and we use the watch as our main device over the review period. We’ll always tell you what we find and we never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Worn as our main smartwatch during the testing period
Heart rate data compared against dedicated heart rate devices
Side-by-side GPS comparison with our best scoring smartwatches
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FAQs
No, this watch runs its own software.
Yes, this watch is compatible with iPhone and Android devices.
There is a music player included on this watch.
Full specs
Jargon buster
ATM
The unit of measurement for atmospheric pressure, used in the context of understanding how far a device can be submerged into a body of water. For reference, 1ATM is equal to roughly 10 metres.GLONASS
An alternative to GPS that was originally developed in Russia. In the absence of GPS, some smartwatches can utilise the GLONASS framework to determine a user’s location.
GPS
An abbreviation of the Global Positioning System, which uses satellite communication to pinpoint your location. Some smartwatches are able to achieve this communication without the use of a smartphone.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
