Amazfit GTS review: An affordable Apple watch lookalike! Is it for you? Find out

Amazfit GTS review: One of the effective ways to make your presence felt in a crowded market is by dropping products with tight margins - a strategy that Amazfit seems to have adopted by launching three smartwatches over the last four months. I have used and reviewed all three of them - Verge Lite, GTR and GTS. And, as you read this review, the company is gearing up to launch a fourth - Amazfit Stratos 3. Coming to Amazfit GTS that we are reviewing here, it is a an Apple watch lookalike that features a square display and is priced at Rs 9,999, making it a relatively affordable smartwatch.

The smartwatch went on sale in India last month and offers several exciting features like an AMOLED display, GPS and 50 metres of water resistance. But, does it deliver the same experience as an Apple smartwatch? And, is it worth spending 10,000 bucks? Let's find out in this Amazfit GTS review.

Amazfit GTS review: Display and Design

Amazfit GTS' design is likely to leave the house divided. Personally, I prefer a traditional and classic look that Amazfit offered with GTR. With GTS though, it has tried to offer a fashion-centric smartwatch that comes with a 2.5D curved display in a square format. It has a 1.65-inch (348x442 pixels) AMOLED display with curved screen, resolution of 348 x 442 pixels and a pixel density of 341ppi. The display is sharp and bright. It supports always-on display that allows users to see useful information without draining the battery and is a handy feature to have.

However, the default watch face is too cluttered with too much text and icons on it. The first thing I did after switching on the watch was to change the watch face to something more subtle and less crowded. The good thing is that there are just enough watch faces on Amazfit GTS to satisfy almost everyone.

As always, you get Corning Gorilla 3 tempered glass with anti-fingerprint coating which keeps the display clean. The watch is also extremely light and just 9.4mm thick which makes it easy to carry around for long periods. For review purposes, we had the black colour variant of the watch which is too simple for a device that is trying to sell itself as a fashion accessory.

The watch comes with a silicone strap which is a surprise. And, even though the quality looks fine, there are chances that the strap may not last too long. Also, there are very few design elements that could make the watch standout from the already existing products in the market. There is only one button the right side which can be used to light up the watch or switch it off.

Amazfit GTS review: Performance and Battery

GTS is equipped with the 6-axis acceleration sensor and GPS + GLONASS dual positioning function. It consists of 12 different sports modes - outdoor running, treadmill, walking, outdoor/indoor cycling, elliptical trainer, pool/open water swimming, mountaineering, trail running, skiing and exercising. These are probably enough for an entry-level smartwatch and give fairly accurate readings. The watch also displays all the data collected at the end of the activity like GPS map, distance, pace, calories, bpm range, altitude and time.

The primary feature of Amazfit GTS remains tracking steps and sleep. It uses this data to show how many calories you have burned in a day. You can also use the watch to record your heart rate. Notably, the Amazfit GTS is water-resistant up to 50 meters deep and also records data like SWOLF, pace, or calorie consumption.

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To get the best out of Amazfit GTS, you need to download the Amazfit app and pair it with your smartphone. The app is not that difficult to use and shows data like step count, sleep data, heart rate and weight.

You can get notifications on the watch by giving access to certain apps. And, this is where I had a tough time with Amazfit GTS. It keep getting notifications for the same WhatsApp message until I open it. Surprisingly, the problem was only with WhatsApp messages and other notifications worked absolutely fine.

The other issue, however, was with calling. Even after I pick up a call, the watch keeps buzzing for a few seconds. Given that one of the major reasons to buy a smartwatch is that you don't have to take out your smartphone every time it beeps, this can be highly annoying at times.

Battery has been a big positive of Amazfit watches. The GTS claims to offer a 14 days battery life. You can easily expect to get around nine to 10 days of life with medium usage which is terrific when compared to two days of breathing that I am getting with Samsung Galaxy Watch 4G.

Amazfit GST review: Verdict

Of all the three Amazfit watches I have used and reviewed this year, GTS is probably the weakest. It is mistaken for Apple watch very often and comes with a look that I would avoid carrying to workplace. Amazfit has kept things simple by giving basic functions that make the watch good for common man's usage. At the same time, it makes me wonder why you would want to spend extra when most of these features are offered by fitness bands at a relatively lower cost.

I hope the issues with notifications are due to the firmware and are addressed in time otherwise, the watch also fails to help you decide when actually to pick your phone. But, if you are looking for a basic smartwatch under a tight budget, you can consider buying Amazfit GTS.