Amazfit T-Rex 3 assessment: The very best bang on your buck in rugged smartwatches – Uplaza

 

The Amazfit T-Rex 3 has arrived not too long ago as a compelling new entry within the rugged smartwatch market. With its redesigned octagonal form and a bigger show, this newest iteration from Zepp Well being takes issues up a notch. Boasting military-grade toughness alongside an array of good options, this system appears poised to problem the likes of the Garmin Fenix vary and Apple Watch Extremely. However at a fraction of the worth these watches promote for.

On this assessment I’ll be placing the T-Rex 3 by means of its paces. Can it actually problem the dearer rivals?

View on Amazfit / Amazon.

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Amazfit T-Rex 3 assessment: Design, {hardware}

Look & really feel

Once I first strapped the Amazfit T-Rex 3 to my wrist, its substantial presence was instantly obvious. With a 48mm diameter, that is undeniably a masculine watch. As somebody with small to average-sized wrists I used to be pleasantly shocked, although, to search out it snug. The octagonal design caught my eye instantly – it’s a refreshing departure from the standard spherical smartwatches I’ve examined, giving the T-Rex 3 a particular character that units it aside.

What shocked me most was how gentle the T-Rex 3 feels regardless of its imposing dimension. Weighing in at a mere 68.3 grams (with out the strap), it’s noticeably lighter than I anticipated. This lightness proved to be an actual benefit throughout my check runs and hikes. The watch stayed put with out bouncing round, which I believe contributed to correct coronary heart fee readings throughout intense actions.

Zepp Well being has managed to create a watch that’s each feather-light and difficult as nails. The key lies in its hybrid design: a high-tech polymer types the majority of the case, conserving weight to a minimal, whereas strategic steel parts add energy the place it counts. The chrome steel bezel is the primary line of defence in opposition to bumps and scrapes. In the meantime, the microphone housing and management buttons are fortified with steel, making certain these important parts can stand up to the rigours of outside adventures.

Now, I wouldn’t say the T-Rex 3 is sort of as aesthetically refined as some premium smartwatches. It’s barely much less polished-looking than, say, the Amazfit Falcon or the Garmin Fenix sequence. However keep in mind, the latter sells at over 3 times the worth of the T-Rex. What the Amazfit lacks in premium aesthetics, it makes up for in rugged appeal and sensible design. Plus, you’ll be able to jazz up the show with a seemingly limitless stream of watch faces accessible within the smartphone app, permitting for loads of personalization.

It is a watch that’s constructed to final, and it exhibits in each facet of its design. The ten ATM water resistance gave me the boldness to put on it whereas swimming, and I used to be impressed to study that the T-Rex 3 additionally has freediving capabilities as much as 147 toes. And let’s not overlook that the system meets 9 military-grade rules (MIL-STD-810H) – a proven fact that speaks volumes about its sturdiness.

The star of the present, in my view, is the 1.5-inch AMOLED show. With its 480 x 480 pixel decision and as much as 2000 nits brightness, it’s an absolute pleasure to take a look at. Even beneath the tough noon solar, I had no hassle studying the display screen. The colours pop vibrantly, and the textual content is crisp and clear.

There’s additionally a “night mode”, which dims the display screen in shades of crimson, inexperienced or blue. You possibly can set this to modify on mechanically at night time when you sleep.

A helpful addition that hasn’t appeared on an Amazfit watch earlier than is one thing known as the Glove Mode. This function turns out to be useful in chilly, wintery circumstances because it means you don’t want to take away your gloves to function the show.

Along with the contact performance of the display screen, there are 4 bodily buttons to navigate the system. These buttons present satisfying tactile suggestions and are simple to function. It’s one thing you will discover your self utilizing for beginning, pausing, and stopping workout routines. Apparently, the display screen goes into lock mode once you’re exercising, and you may solely wake it up by way of the buttons. Whereas this function prevents unintentional touches, I have to admit that at instances I discovered it a bit annoying, particularly once I wished to rapidly look at my stats mid-workout.

All issues thought of I’d say the T-Rex 3 appears glossy {and professional}. The silicone strap has confirmed snug for all-day put on. Not like another watch straps I’ve examined, after a few weeks, I’ve seen no pores and skin irritation or discomfort. A pleasant contact is the inclusion of a small screwdriver and adaptor within the field, permitting you to suit the watch with any commonplace band. Helpful for people who have a favorite sort of strap.

As somebody with small wrists, I don’t often go for big, rugged smartwatches. However the Amazfit T-Rex 3 might have modified my thoughts. It presents a compelling mix of rugged performance and shocking lightness. Whereas its dimension won’t be for everybody, those that recognize a bigger, adventure-ready watch will discover quite a bit to like right here.

Below the hood

Peeling again the rugged exterior of the Amazfit T-Rex 3 reveals a powerhouse of know-how that punches nicely above its weight class. At its core, the watch runs on Zepp OS 4.0, the newest iteration of the corporate’s working system. The fluidity of the interface is instantly obvious; swiping by means of menus and launching apps feels as clean as skipping stones throughout a nonetheless lake.

So far as precise tech, you’ll discover the BioTracker PPG biometric sensor. Zepp Well being doesn’t really specify which model of the sensor is within the watch. It doesn’t look like 4.0 or the 5.0 of the Stability watch. It could be one thing in-between. Having mentioned that, its 5PD + 2LED setup isn’t only a string of letters and numbers. The accuracy of coronary heart fee monitoring throughout exercises is nothing in need of spectacular, particularly when in comparison with the hit-or-miss efficiency of early Amazfit fashions.

However that’s simply the tip of the iceberg. The T-Rex 3 is virtually a cell climate station, environmental monitor, and navigation system rolled into one. A triumvirate of movement sensors – accelerometer, gyroscope, and geomagnetic sensor – work in live performance to trace your each transfer with pinpoint precision. In the meantime, the air strain sensor turns your wrist right into a cell altimeter. And let’s not overlook the temperature sensor, silently gathering knowledge to boost your sleep metrics.

In fact, you additionally get built-in satellite tv for pc connectivity. The truth is you get cutting-edge dual-band know-how and help for six satellite tv for pc methods.

Aside from that, the watch has a microphone. However not like Amazfit Stability, it doesn’t have a speaker. Nicely, it does in a way. However its extra of a beeper. You possibly can’t use it for audio, however it could perform as an alarm to accompany the vibration or once you use the Discover my Watch function from the smartphone app. However the lack of a correct speaker does imply that it’s essential join headphones for music playback.

Battery life

One other optimistic of the watch is battery life. The Amazfit T-Rex 3 boasts spectacular battery efficiency, because of its strong 700 mAh energy supply.

In my time with the T-Rex 3, I’ve put it by means of its paces with a routine that would depart lesser watches gasping for a cost. Day by day exercise monitoring? Verify. Nightly sleep monitoring? You guess. A couple of GPS-tracked exercises per week? Completely. And but, in any case that, this tireless timepiece retains ticking nicely previous the 20-day mark.

Amazfit gives a number of battery life estimates for various utilization eventualities:

Typical use: As much as 27 days Battery saver mode: As much as 40 days Heavy utilization situation: As much as 13 days Steady GPS utilization (accuracy mode): As much as 42 hours

These figures align intently with my expertise, although precise outcomes might fluctuate relying on particular person use patterns and well being and health settings. For instance how usually a coronary heart fee measurement is taken. All of this may be tweaked.

It’s additionally price noting that the selection of watch face can influence battery life. Whereas the T-Rex 3 presents a wide array of customizable faces, together with third-party choices, customers ought to be conscious that a few of these might devour extra energy than others. For optimum battery efficiency, it’s typically advisable to stay with one of many inventory Zepp Well being watch faces. Which is what I did.

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Amazfit T-Rex 3 vs T-Rex Extremely vs T-Rex 2: Technical specs comparability

The Amazfit T-Rex 3, T-Rex Extremely, and T-Rex 2 are all rugged smartwatches with related designs and core options, however they differ in key areas. The trio is sturdy, with water resistance as much as 10 ATM and robust satellite tv for pc positioning.

Nevertheless, the T-Rex 3 stands out with a bigger and higher show, NFC help, and an even bigger battery. The T-Rex Extremely has a special fashion manufactured from extra sturdy metal construct, its heavier, it comes with adjustable lugs on the strap and $120 dearer. In the meantime, the T-Rex 2 is essentially the most inexpensive choice however has fewer superior options like NFC and music storage, and just like the Extremely – packs earlier era sensors.

Function	Amazfit T-Rex 3	Amazfit T-Rex Extremely	Amazfit T-Rex 2
Launch date	Sep-24	Mar-23	Might-22
Case materials	Excessive-strength polymer center body. Chrome steel: bezel, again panel, bridge, and buttons, silicone strap	Excessive-strength polymer center body. Chrome steel: bezel, again panel, bridge and buttons, silicone strap	Excessive-strength polymer physique. Metallic portray on the watch. Two-tone silicon wristband
Variety of bodily buttons	4	4	4
Form	Spherical	Spherical	Spherical
Measurement	48.5 x 48.5 x 13.75 mm	47.3 x 47.3 x 13.45 mm	47.1 x 47.1 x 13.65 mm
Show sort	AMOLED	AMOLED	AMOLED
Decision	480 x 480 pixels, 2000 nits brightness, Glove Mode	454 x 454 pixels	454 x 454 pixels
Display screen dimension	1.5 inch	1.39 inch	1.39 inch
Weight (with out strap)	68.3 grams	89 grams	66.5 grams
Sensors	BioTracker PPG biometric sensor (5PD + 2LED), 3-axis acceleration sensor, Gyroscope, Geomagnetic sensor, Air strain sensor, Temperature sensor, Ambient gentle	BioTracker 3 PPG organic monitoring optical sensor, 3-axis acceleration sensor, 3-axis gyroscope, Geomagnetic sensor, Barometric altimeter, Compass, Ambient gentle sensor	BioTracker 3.0 PPG biometric sensor, Acceleration sensor, Gyroscope sensor, Geomagnetic sensor, Barometric altimeter
Water-resistance	10 ATM, Frediving as much as 147 toes licensed	10 ATM	10 ATM
Positioning	Twin band & 6 satellite tv for pc positioning methods	Twin-band and 6 satellite tv for pc positioning	Twin-band and 6 satellite tv for pc positioning
Constructed-in speaker	No	No	No
Microphone	Sure	Sure	Sure
NFC	Sure	No	No
Music storage	Sure (max cupboard space for music is 26GB)	Sure	No
Connection	WLAN 2.4GHz, Bluetooth 5.2 & BLE	WLAN 2.4GHz, Bluetooth 5.0 & BLE	Bluetooth 5.0
Mobile connectivity	No	No	No
Battery sort	700 mAh	500 mAh	500 mAh
Battery life	As much as 27 days typical use, 40 days battery saver mode, 13 days heavy utilization situation, 42 hours accuracy GPS mode	As much as 20 days typical use, 25 days battery saver mode, 9 days heavy utilization situation, 28 hours accuracy GPS mode	24 days in regular mode, 45 days battery saver mode, 10 days heavy use situation, 26 hours accuracy GPS mode
Working system	Zepp OS 4.0	Zepp OS 3.5	Zepp OS 2.+
Colours	Onyx, Lava	Abyss Black, Sahara	Astro Black & Gold, Ember Black, Wild Inexperienced, Desert Khaki, Ocean Blue (Particular Version)
Typical RRP	$280	$400	beginning at $200

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Amazfit T-Rex 3 assessment: Well being & health monitoring

I’ll hold this part transient, because it’s fairly commonplace stuff. Should you’ve each used an Amazfit watch, the T-Rex 3 is not any completely different.

The system contains all the important thing well being and health monitoring options, overlaying coronary heart fee, coronary heart fee variability (HRV), stress, sleep, each day exercise, pores and skin temperature and extra. With its upgraded BioTracker PPG sensor, it presents extra correct readings than earlier fashions. Setup is straightforward, because of the QR code that make connecting the watch to the Zepp app a breeze.

To maximise the monitoring potential, it’s a good suggestion to take a while on the outset to regulate settings. As talked about, this contains issues similar to rising the center fee sampling fee and enabling further monitoring choices. The result’s extra detailed well being and exercise knowledge however with barely shorter battery life.

When it comes to accuracy of normal stats, I’d say the info is dependable. Whereas it’s not a precise match with the Garmin Forerunner 955 I wore on the opposite wrist, the variations are minimal.

Zepp Well being app

As with different Amazfit watches, the central repository of all info is the Zepp Well being app. This has gone by means of numerous redesigns. So now you get restoration stats because the centre-piece. With different exercise and well being metrics beneath. In fact you’ll be able to click on on just about something, for way more detailed insights.

You possibly can see a number of screenshots beneath.

The sleep stats are very detailed. And also you get some superior insights similar to sleep respiration high quality and hypopnea data.

It’s price noting, there’s at the moment a Beta model of the Zepp Well being app. So the corporate is engaged on a brand new version of the smartphone software program which can present an entire revamp.

Presently solely accessible for customers of Amazfit Stability, it presents a brand new consumer interface. The replace doesn’t convey any new options to the desk, however it focuses on one thing equally essential: ease of use. Testers report that the redesign makes navigating the app and discovering info way more simple. The display screen photographs do look promising.

Sports activities monitoring

As you’d count on, the T-Rex 3 presents loads of sports activities monitoring choices. Over 170, to be precise. As an avid runner, I used to be most all in favour of testing out its run-tracking capabilities.

I in contrast it on a number of runs to the Garmin Forerunner 955, specializing in GPS and coronary heart fee monitoring capabilities. A couple of day in the past, for instance, I did a half marathon and located that the watch carried out nicely. It rapidly locked onto a GPS sign which mirrored my expertise on different runs. The system is as fast, and infrequently faster, than the Garmin at buying satellite tv for pc connectivity.

For coronary heart fee accuracy the distinction between the 2 gadgets was minor. The Forerunner 955 confirmed a median coronary heart fee of 148 bpm, and the T-Rex 3 was shut at 149 bpm. Max coronary heart fee was related as nicely. Once more, this mirrored my expertise on the runs. You possibly can view detailed stats evaluating the 2 in a separate article I did on this subject.

I did a number of checks, they usually all look good. It’s not one thing I anticipated from the Amazfit contemplating earlier gadgets I had which struggled on this depend. There was good enchancment with this newest version, and with the Amazfit Stability as nicely. Each watches profit from pairing with chest straps for extra correct coronary heart fee monitoring throughout high-intensity exercises.

When it comes to tempo, the Forerunner clocked a 6:09/km tempo and the T-Rex 3 was simply barely off at 6.12/km. The discrepancy was as a consequence of a 100 meter distinction in estimated distance. Which isn’t dangerous over a half marathon – particularly contemplating I educated in a semi-urban setting. Each watches additionally delivered related cadence knowledge, with solely minor variances.

The T-Rex 3, with its upgraded sensors and aggressive options, proves itself as a robust price range various to the Garmin. Having mentioned that, it lags as in comparison with the Garmin by way of superior coaching metrics and different efficiency insights. Don’t get me mistaken – it nonetheless presents a lot. However for athletes needing deeper analytics, the Garmin nonetheless holds an edge, whereas the T-Rex 3 stays a compelling choice for informal runners or these searching for strong efficiency with out the premium price ticket.

Here’s a latest 7.5km run, displaying you what sort of runnings stats you get from the Amazfit.

Maps

As famous in my more-detailed protection, the T-Rex 3 additionally has the power to obtain maps for offline utilization. These are particularly useful because of the watch’s glorious show, which gives real-time updates of your location as you comply with a route.

Downloading maps is easy. Guarantee your watch is linked to WiFi, then choose and obtain the map by means of the Zepp Well being app.

You possibly can zoom out and in utilizing the + and – indicators, that are managed by tapping the buttons on the left facet of the watch.

For map settings, an extended press on the highest proper button opens the menu the place you’ll be able to change between gentle and darkish modes or set it to auto-adjust. The darkish mode is good for night time navigation, whereas the sunshine mode works finest in vibrant circumstances.

To exit, merely faucet the Again button. Your entire course of works very easily.

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Amazfit T-Rex 3 assessment: Good options

I’d say the T-Rex 3 sits someplace between sports activities watches similar to Garmin, and smartwatches such because the Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy watch. It gives good capabilities in each areas – however it’s not prime of the road in both.

As talked about earlier, you’ll be able to obtain music for offline listening. You’ll need to pair headphones to the look ahead to that. I managed to attach Xiaomi Buds 3 Professional, no points. You solely have to pair as soon as, and may toggle the auto-pair choice to keep away from needing to do that sooner or later. It lacks some superior capabilities for music similar to a local Spotify app, however there are third-party choices you’ll be able to obtain that present restricted options.

The timepiece additionally has NFC which works in most European nations, however not within the US. Zepp Pay, helps Mastercard, making it doable to hyperlink a number of playing cards. In case your financial institution isn’t instantly supported, you too can use the Curve app, which acts as a digital pockets to mix numerous financial institution playing cards into one, permitting for funds even with unsupported banks.

In fact, you additionally get notifications on the watch from a linked telephone and a few apps similar to climate which comes put in by default. Past that there’s a wholesome choice that may be discovered within the Zepp Well being app. Granted you gained’t get an all-encompassing selection as you’ll on WearOS or watchOS, however you do get fairly a number of.

ZeppOS is a streamlined working system. It largely focuses on the well being and health performance and longevity of the battery life.

Lastly, additionally price a point out is the clever assistant. The shortage of a correct speaker does put a damper on desires of conversing with Alexa or Google Assistant by means of your wrist. Nevertheless, the T-Rex 3 isn’t fully mute in relation to voice management. It boasts an offline assistant that’s surprisingly succesful, responding to a wide range of instructions. A cheat sheet of instructions is conveniently saved on the watch itself.

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Amazfit T-Rex 3 assessment: The underside line

The Amazfit T-Rex 3 impresses with its rugged construct, lengthy battery life, and big selection of health and well being options. You’ll wrestle to discover a smartwatch that gives a lot at that worth level.

Its massive, sturdy design is complemented by a vibrant 1.5 inch AMOLED show, providing glorious visibility even beneath direct daylight. The addition of a Glove Mode and offline maps makes it notably interesting for many who incessantly hike, run, or journey in harsh circumstances. Regardless of its cumbersome look, the watch is surprisingly light-weight and cozy for prolonged put on. With 10 ATM water resistance, military-grade sturdiness, and a strong suite of sensors, it positions itself as a extremely succesful choice for customers searching for an out of doors companion that gained’t allow them to down.

Nevertheless, the T-Rex 3 isn’t with out its drawbacks. Its massive dimension might not swimsuit all wrists, and it lacks a number of the superior coaching metrics present in premium sports activities watches. The absence of a speaker limits audio suggestions and name performance. Moreover, the third-party app ecosystem is extra restricted in comparison with main smartwatch platforms.

Taking every part under consideration, the Amazfit T-Rex 3 presents distinctive worth for cash, delivering a feature-rich expertise at a fraction of the price of premium options. Whereas it might not match the depth of superior metrics or app ecosystems of top-tier gadgets, it excels in core functionalities, sturdiness, and battery life.

View on Amazfit / Amazon.

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