Amazfit has launched so many smartwatches this year it's been hard to keep track of them all. One that stood out for us was the Amazfit GTS. The cheap smartwatch with the high quality display and rich health features scored a deserved 4 out of 5 in our review.
Amazfit has now come back with its successor – and the GTS is now a range of smartwatches, at multiple price-points.
That's not a massive gap between the launch of the two GTS watches, so what new features have been added and is it set to be that much different from the first GTS?
We've got the GTS 2 winging its way to test out. Until we've done putting it through its paces, we take a closer look at how the new GTS compares the original to see if this is one when you'll want to make that upgrade to sooner rather than later.
Amazfit GTS 2 v Amazfit GTS: Price
So how much is the Amazfit GTS 2 going to cost you and how does that compare to the first GTS? When it lands in on 15 November in the UK, you can expect to pay £159. In the US, it's landing on 1 November and will be priced at $179.
The first GTS came in at around so that does mean you're going to have to pay more this time for the new GTS.
So what are you actually paying more for? Let's take a look.
Amazfit GTS 2 v Amazfit GTS: Design
Amazfit GTS 2
While we didn't exactly love the plasticky build of the GTS, it was a very light, comfortable smartwatch to wear and it packed 20mm interchangeable silicone bands and a pretty impressive AMOLED display that rivalled displays on much pricer watches.
It did ape elements of the Apple Watch, though the materials particularly in the case of the GTS didn't really match up.
The GTS 2 sticks to the same square design, though it's now moving to an aluminium case that comes in black, gold and grey looks. It's still got a 1.65-inch AMOLED touchscreen display, which looks set to offer similar resolution and quality as the screen on the GTS.
It's an always-on display mode just like the GTS and you have the ability to rotate the screen to make it a better fit if you wear it on your left or right hand.
The GTS 2 also sticks to the same 5ATM waterproof rating, which means you'll be able to go swimming with it and is fit to track your pool and open water swim sessions.
Amazfit GTS 2 v Amazfit GTS: Health and fitness tracking
Amazfit GTS
The health and fitness tracking abilities of the GTS are really what stood out for us. It counted steps, tracked sleep, monitored heart rate 24/7 and introduced PAI scores to help make sure you got that heart pumping on a regular basis.
It also gave us built-in GPS, 14 sports tracking profiles and the desirable ability to sync data to third party apps like Strava.
On the GTS 2, you're getting a lot of the same. There's now a new BioTracker 2 optical sensor that can be used for all-day and training-based heart rate data.
It's also used for abnormal heart rate warnings. That PPG sensor also brings the ability to take blood oxygen measurements from the wrist too.
The GTS 2 has dropped to 12 sports modes but still offers stress tracking, its PAI scores and rich sleep monitoring features including tracking the all important REM sleep and will even track your naps.
Amazfit GTS 2 v Amazfit GTS: Smartwatch features
Amazfit GTS 2
Behaving like a smartwatch was something the GTS did a good job of, but there was certainly room for improvement. It let you view notifications from Android phones and iPhones, control music playing on your phone and seeing widgets for things like the weather.
It looks like we can expect a bit more of a smartwatch experience on the GTS 2 with some pretty sizeable features added into the mix. It still works across Android and iOS and it's added a haptic feedback feature to nudge you when notifications land.
It's adding a music player with 3GB of storage to pile on your own music. It doesn't look like you'll get the ability to store offline playlists from music streaming services like Garmin, Samsung or Apple.
The addition of a speaker and microphone means you can take calls when you're paired to your phone over Bluetooth. It also brings voice control, which works offline to turn on features like sports tracking and heart rate monitoring.
It also brings Amazon's Alexa to Amazfit watches for the first time. Like its integration on Fitbit's watches, it will let you create shopping lists, control smart home kit, check the weather and more.
It's quite clear that the GTS 2 is going to behave more like a smartwatch than the GTS.
Amazfit GTS 2 v Amazfit GTS: Battery life
The GTS promised to deliver 14 days of battery life in smartwatch mode and 20 hours using GPS. We actually managed on average five days. So not quite what was promised.
With the GTS 2, you can expect up to 7 days with typical use and 20 days in basic mode stripping away the use of features like heart rate monitoring and regular GPS use.
So the numbers have shortened, though based on what we got on the GTS, it might suggest it'll serve around the same in terms of battery performance.
Initial verdict
So does the Amazfit GTS 2 sound like a massive upgrade on the GTS? We'd say having compared the spec sheets that if you were hoping for more of a smartwatch experience, it seems you're going to get that with the new GTS. The addition of an aluminium case will also give it much nicer look and feel and still keep things light.
They seem evenly matched on the fitness and sports tracking front, even with those additional blood oxygen measurements you get on the GTS 2.
It's clear you're going to be made to pay more for those features, so it comes down to how much you value having Alexa or a music player means to you. That being said, it's still remains in the affordable watch bracket, which could mean the GTS 2 is another winner for Amazfit's owners Huami.
How we test
By Michael Sawh
Michael Sawh has been covering the wearable tech industry since the very first Fitbit landed back in 2011. Previously the resident wearable tech expert at Trusted Reviews, he also marshaled the features section of T3.com.
He also regularly contributed to T3 magazine when they needed someone to talk about fitness trackers, running watches, headphones, tablets, and phones.
Michael writes for GQ, Wired, Coach Mag, Metro, MSN, BBC Focus, Stuff, TechRadar and has made several appearances on the BBC Travel Show to talk all things tech.
Michael is a lover of all things sports and fitness-tech related, clocking up over 15 marathons and has put in serious hours in the pool all in the name of testing every fitness wearable going. Expect to see him with a minimum of two wearables at any given time.