ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Amazfit T-Rex 3 is obtainable now for simply $280 in a single measurement and one shade.
- The watch has a protracted battery life, sturdy building, a vibrant show, AI components, and in depth well being and wellness performance.
- There is no such thing as a speaker for hands-free calls or headset-free audio, and the Zepp smartphone app continues to be overwhelming.
I began testing Amazfit smartwatches in 2018 and have been fairly proud of the Balance I bought on the finish of 2023. In 2020, I rocked an Amazfit T-Rex and located that rugged line to suit my life-style and huge wrists higher than smaller Amazfit watches. So, it has been nice to have a brand new T-Rex 3 strapped to my wrist for the previous three weeks.
Once I first heard in regards to the alternative to check this watch, I wasn’t that excited as a result of I assumed it was simply going to be a bulkier Stability with out a lot enchantment to me. It seems that this watch is constructed for these of us with bigger wrists. Given my desire for large watches just like the Samsung Galaxy Watch Extremely and Apple Watch Extremely 2, it appeared like match. There was even point out of expanded AI performance and connectivity with exterior sensors, leaving me intrigued.
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The big 1.5-inch 480×480 pixels decision AMOLED Gorilla Glass show is good with as much as 2,000 nits of brightness, making watch faces with a lot of issues straightforward to view and work together with. I really like that Amazfit added the power to allow evening mode, which modifications every little thing on the show to 1 shade.
Whereas virtually each different watch that helps this operate makes use of pink textual content, Amazfit permits you to select from pink, orange, or inexperienced. I have been having fun with the inexperienced mild on this assessment unit.
The big capability 700 mAh battery is marketed as offering as much as 180 hours of steady GPS monitoring in max battery life mode and 42 hours with correct GPS mode. I can not, in fact, run for 180 hours straight.
I did, nonetheless, run with essentially the most correct GPS choice and noticed about 3% to 4% battery loss per hour, so the 42-hour estimate appears pretty correct. In typical each day use with two to 3 quick runs per week, sleeping with the watch, some notifications enabled, and viewing wellness information frequently, I solely charged the watch as soon as after the preliminary cost, and it lasted me three weeks.
GPS monitoring can also be spot on, with the Amazfit T-Rex 3 supporting dual-band GPS and 6 satellite tv for pc programs. I used the T-Rex 3 for working, biking, strolling, and mountain climbing with different GPS sports activities watches to test accuracy. A lot of my actions have been in closely wooded areas, with the T-Rex 3 buying a fast connection and monitoring virtually on the very same line as my flagship Garmin watches.
One shortfall within the new Samsung Galaxy Watch Extremely is its incapability to connect with exterior sensors. That’s not an issue right here for the Amazfit T-Rex 3, which related completely with my Coros HR monitor, Garmin chest strap, and Garmin pace/cadence sensors. The T-Rex 3 may connect with GoPro motion cameras, the Core body temperature sensor, and more.
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It appears one stand out characteristic of flagship watches is the power to help underwater sports activities, as seen within the Apple Watch Extremely and the Garmin Fenix 8. The Amazfit T-Rex 3 takes issues even additional, with numerous certifications that help freediving right down to a depth of 45 meters. Sorry people, I am not going to have the ability to take a look at out this functionality.
Superior sports activities information, together with working energy, VO2 max, restoration time, coaching impact, and coaching load are all current on the T-Rex 3, which is a bit shocking given its $280 value. The sleep monitoring is near different watches and is utilized by the built-in Zepp Movement AI system and Zepp Coach system to tailor and replace your coaching plan.
The Zepp smartphone software is used to current the information captured by the watch, and there’s a lot of information proven on a number of pages. The Zepp app has developed over time, nevertheless it continues to supply an exhaustive quantity of information that will appear intimidating at first. I like to recommend taking the time to arrange the app to your preferences, after which letting Zepp Movement and Coach streamline your expertise with sensible and actionable insights.
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The free Zepp Movement utility is an correct and dependable AI assistant that’s particularly helpful on a watch just like the T-Rex 3. I have been utilizing it to ask well being and health associated questions on my efficiency and information that the watch collected, as it’s quicker to make use of Zepp Movement then undergo the assorted menus. I additionally prefer it for leaping proper right into a exercise.
Zepp Movement was developed utilizing OpenAI’s GPT-4o and gives full management over your watch, so that you needn’t know precisely the place issues are buried within the watch UI. The Amazfit T-Rex 3 additionally helps an offline voice assistant for some fundamental capabilities, however I didn’t discover it that helpful.
The Zepp Coach AI chatbot can stroll you thru a sequence of inquiries to optimize a coaching plan to fulfill your objectives and most well-liked strategy to coaching, beginning with choices to create a working plan or a fundamental AI plan to enhance cardio health. The watch then screens your information to supply steerage that can assist you cut back danger of fatigue and damage. This seems on the watch and within the Zepp app as insights and even prompts to go to the Zepp Aura chatbot. Zepp Aura gives some glorious, detailed solutions and steerage on numerous well being and wellness questions.
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It’s also possible to mix the T-Rex 3 with an Amazfit Helio Ring in case you do not wish to put on your watch to sleep. Sadly, the Helio Ring continues to underreport my sleeping coronary heart fee by 10 bpm, so I have been sporting the T-Rex 3 for sleep monitoring.
I’ve additionally been utilizing the voice memo choice since I usually have concepts after I run. The T-Rex 3 has a microphone for the voice assistant and voice memos, however there isn’t a speaker for hands-free calls or audio responses. You may reply to messages from a related Android cellphone together with your voice, however you can’t provoke any messages.
There’s a lot happening with the Amazfit T-Rex 3, however the battery life has been improbable, the AI coach, insights, and Zepp Movement assistant have been helpful, and there’s a lot to love in a giant watch out there for simply $300.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
With the T-Rex 3, Amazfit continues to impress due to a superb massive show, sturdy supplies, highly effective sensors, and useful insights powered by AI. Having a smartwatch that lasts for weeks relatively than days is a breath of recent air.
In case you like huge watches, may use some watch map steerage open air, and take the time to customise your expertise, then the T-Rex 3 could also be an ideal choice to your subsequent journey.