With the Amazfit GTR 4 (and its sister timepiece, the GTS 4), Zepp Health offers an affordable sports smartwatch that focuses on fitness features. NextPit already had the opportunity to put the Amazfit GTR 4 through the paces of a first hands-on test.
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Not only does the name “GTR 4” evoke fond memories of sports cars, Amazfit also gives its sports smartwatch a design that echoes such sentiment. Apart from the numerous gently curved lines, you will find red details on the rotating crown and the button underneath. The case is available in silver or black shades, with the wristband arriving in brown (leather) or black (plastic or fabric) colors.
We tried the color combination known as “Superspeed Black”, which you can already buy on Amazon for $199.99.
In addition to the GTR 4, Amazfit also offers the GTS 4 with almost the same range of functions. The main difference is the shape of the casing: The GTS 4 is angular and slightly smaller, which also makes the battery slightly weaker in terms of capacity. The GTS 4 is also already available on Amazon and also costs $199.99:
The case of the Amazfit GTR 4 looks chic in matte silver, but it is not scratch-resistant as desired. Near misses with a screwdriver already leaves slight marks, so you should aim to protect the watch when climbing or gardening either with a pair of gloves or a sweatband.
At the top right of the case is a rotating and pressable crown, which provides gentle haptic feedback when it is turned. You can also open and close the app overview by the press of a button, and you can scroll through lists by turning it.
The handling is easy enough to understand: A swipe from the top to the bottom brings the quick settings to the display, a swipe from the bottom to the top shows the notifications. To the right of the home screen you will find various widgets with statistics about your steps, activities, weather forecast, music control, Alexa, and more.
The Amazfit GTR 4 offers a whole range of new sensors. The manufacturer promised that the fourth generation of pulse sensors works in a more precise manner. In addition, the dual-band GPS sensor is said to be the first of its kind with a circularly polarized antenna, which is supposed to improve the accuracy by a significant margin according to the manufacturer. Last but not least, there is an automatic exercise recognition function during fitness workouts, which we have already tried out for you.
In the first test during a short run in Berlin’s city center, the Amazfit GTR 4 located the GPS signal as quickly as a Garmin Forerunner 955. The test route led between trees and houses as well as under scaffolding and was thus certainly not an easy task to fulfill well. The measured track length of 840 versus 810 meters rather quite similar for both devices.
When looking at the track, it is noticeable that both the Forerunner and the Amazfit GTR 4 do not work quite accurately. The track measured by the Garmin smartwatch looks more precise with the angular points, but not all of those corners were actually there. The GTR 4, on the other hand, cut some corners a bit, and accordingly, the measured track is a bit shorter here. In reality, the truth lies somewhere in between. In view of the high degree of difficulty, however, both models proved their worth. The detailed test will show who is more accurate.
The new heart rate sensor in the Amazfit GTR 4 did well based on our first impressions. The average pulse during the above run was 140 beats per minute, and the maximum pulse was 164. The Garmin watch used in comparison came in at 143 and 166 bpm, respectively.
A heart rate monitor will show which watch is more accurate in the detailed review. In any case, a congruent result is a good sign. In the NextPit review, the Amazfit GTR 4 will have to prove itself in more demanding tasks. Optical heart rate sensors usually quickly reach their limits in sports that involve the hands a lot, i.e. push-ups, yoga, pull-ups, and so on.
Speaking of pull-ups and other intensive exercises: The Amazfit GTR 4 (and the GTS 4) can differentiate between various exercises during fitness training and track them automatically. The load on the individual muscle groups is then determined from these exercises and displayed via a graphical chart. The display is suspiciously reminiscent of the Garmin Connect app.
In the first test workout, the recognition worked quite well. Bench presses and dumbbell flyes were recognized without a problem, but the former was performed only on the flat bench and not on the incline bench. And while the app can recognize the Russian Twist, it does not work with push-ups, regardless of the hand position. However, Amazfit has already announced an update that should improve the number of automatically recognized exercises.
We cannot say much about the battery life at this point in time. Amazfit promises a runtime of two weeks for the GTR 4. This value is definitely realistic after the first three days of use. The extent to which the value varies with various settings, for example for the SpO2 measurement, will be shown in the detailed review.
The GTR 4 obtains its strong battery life with the help of the proprietary Zepp OS operating system, which offers comparatively few smart features. At least there is support for notifications from the smartphone, music playback control or camera control as well as Amazon Alexa compatibility.
However, you will not find a wide range of apps here as there are currently only 25 apps in the Zepp App Store. Probably the most exciting apps are a GoPro controller and Home Connect. Otherwise, there are rather simple applications like calculators, vacation calendars, or currency converters.
All in all, the Amazfit GTR 4 offers many exciting fitness features for comparatively little money. The tracking options for the gym are particularly appealing in the first hands-on session. The super-accurate GPS is exciting for outdoor athletes.
However, there is no option to connect it to chest straps, cadence sensors, and the like. There is still room for improvement in the smartwatch’s features, but the battery life of two weeks is also very long according to the manufacturer.
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