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Smartwatches are no longer the novelty they once were, with so many different brands entering the wearable market and all of them trying to one-up each other. Amazfit leans towards the budget segment in this, producing affordable smartwatches and fitness trackers that perform just as well as their higher-end counterparts.
I’ve had my Amazfit GTR 3 Pro for almost a year now, and so far, it’s my favourite smartwatch ever. It’s sleek, lightweight, and does everything you want a smartwatch to do. My only gripe about it is that the watch face is a little too big for my smaller wrists and that the Zepp App can be a bit of a pain sometimes.
Therefore, when I heard that Amazfit launched their new Amazfit GTR Mini earlier this month, I was excited to review it. It’s the first “lite” version of the GTR series, smaller and slightly cheaper, but shares many similarities with the GTR series.
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First Off, The Aesthetics
The GTR Mini comes in three colours: Midnight Black, Misty Pink, and Ocean Blue. We managed to get our hands on the Ocean Blue version, which comes with a silver case that makes the GTR Mini look incredibly sleek and premium on the surface — but just on the surface.
If you turn the watch over, the underside of the GTR Mini is very obviously plastic, which is probably how Amazfit ensures that the watch remains lightweight at only 24.6g. Other than that, the GTR Mini looks really gorgeous with the 1.28” AMOLED panel that fits perfectly on my small wrist.
I absolutely loved the screen on the GTR Mini. It’s a bit on the smaller side, sure, but it’s very bright and vibrant even under direct sunlight. The colours on the screen are amazing, and the Zepp app offers a huge range of free (and paid) watch faces so that you can properly enjoy the brilliance of the small screen.
However, I did not like the strap it came with. The faux silicon felt tacky against my skin and tend to pool sweat under the straps when exercising. I’d definitely switch it out for straps of other material.
Features and Functionality
Adding to the minimalistic vibe the GTR Mini is apparently going for, it only sports a single button on the right side. The button does not rotate — well, it does rotate physically, but it doesn’t actually do anything when rotated. Pressing it gives you the menu, which shows you a multitude of icons, ranging from workout tracking and health monitoring features.
In terms of health tracking and fitness features, the GTR Mini is pretty much on par with my GTR 3 Pro. Of course, it doesn’t have microphones or speakers, so you can’t listen to music or answer calls, but the basic stuff like tracking heart rate, oxygen levels, sleep, and even menstrual cycles are all present and working perfectly.
Unlike smartwatches from Samsung or Apple, though, Amazfit’s smartwatches lack third-party app support. You’re pretty much limited to what is offered in the Zepp App itself, which can be downloaded separately. That said, I didn’t really miss the extra apps, as the GTR Mini already does what I need a smartwatch to do.
