Amazfit GTS 3 - Complete like a GTR 3, does it make sense to buy it?
On this blog we have already seen and reviewed the new Amazfit GTR 3 and GTR 3 PRO, but the company has presented 3 new wearables of which only the more compact GTS 3 is missing, which maintains all the features seen on GTR 3 but with a much lower weight and thickness.
Square design and small size make it perfect for both male and female wrists, so let's discover the new Amazfit GTS 3 together in this complete review.
Let's start with the contents of the package, rather minimal, but on the other hand we cannot ask for more given the entity of the product and that specifically it offers us:
- Amazfit GTS 3;
- Multilingual instruction manual (including Italian);
- Magnetic charging base with USB connection (compatible with the entire 3 series of Amazfit smartwatches).
Unlike the GTR models, the GTS 3 imposes itself on the market with a square shape of the case, losing one of the two buttons that were used to quickly recall sports monitoring. On the other hand, the crown with haptic feedback is maintained which allows navigation within the various pages of the system menus, as well as allowing, by pressing, the return to the home or to enter the watch menu.
The size and weight make it more attractive for all users who are reluctant to wear watches or wearables all day, in fact Amazfit GTS 3 offers a weight of only 24.4 grams and dimensions equal to 42.4 x 36 x 8.8 mm thick, therefore having it on your wrist will not create any discomfort. Also thanks to the silicone strap, 20 mm with quick release, so you can combine the over 100 watchfaces available with other straps available on the net.
The case is resistant to small bumps and falls as it is made of aluminum alloy, while the lower body is in polycarbonate where we also find the new BIOTRACKER PPG 3.0 sensor consisting of 6 photodiodes and 2 LEDs, but also the 2 magnetic pins for charging .
Amazfit GTS 3 also lightens in the battery, mounting a 250 mAh unit which according to the company should last at least 12 days, but with real use and not simulated, the real autonomy settles around 6 days.
The display, on the other hand, according to the numbers, becomes larger while maintaining the AMOLED technology. A rectangular shape with a 1,75-inch diagonal, a resolution of 390 x 450 pixels, 341 PPI and a screen-to-body ratio of 72,4%. The brightness of the screen is also excellent, reaching 1000 nits, with excellent readability under direct sunlight even with the AOD function, which can also recall the installed watchface. Naturally present a brightness adjustment sensor that works very well and to complete the excellent experience with the display there is an oleophobic anti-fingerprint treatment and a touch that responds perfectly to commands. Which, on the other hand, left me a little bitter in my mouth and the responsiveness of the crown, which when pressed to return to the home, often proved slow in receiving the command, nothing that an update can solve.
Like its older brothers, Amazfit GTS 3 also has a complete sensor system, improved compared to past generations. We can monitor the heart rate H24 but also stress and oxygen saturation in the blood, as well as carry out a single measurement of the 3 values with a simple click.
There is also a barometric altimeter and a GPS navigation system with a fast and above all precise signal fix. In reality, the accuracy of the recorded route is not a fixed constant, especially in urban environments with a series of close-together building constructions. The sports activities that can be monitored on the Amafit GTS 3 are about 150, ranging from classic sports to more "strange" ones such as eSports but also board games and even driving, for example by monitoring the stress we are subjected to during city traffic.
All recorded values are then converted into the PAI (Personal Activity Intelligence) value, an index that allows us to keep track of our weekly activity levels, complete with evaluations and recommendations for future improvements. And always in the sports field there is the VIRTUAL PACER function, which allows you to compare the training we are carrying out with a previous one, a function active only for outdoor sports or for the treadmill. In practice Amazfit GTS 2 will give indications during the interludes so as to make us adjust the intensity of the training and more easily reach the set goals.
There is no shortage of 2.3 GB of memory available, which will have the sole task of allowing the installation of small free applications available on the Zepp store, such as calculator, calorie calculation, BMI, etc. music on the watch, thus being able to control only the one coming from the smartphone. Instead, there is the microphone with which you can give orders to the Alexa assistant, whose functionality I confirm is not the killer feature of these devices.
Returning to the sensors adopted by Amazfit GTS 3, with which to monitor SpO2, stress, heart rate and sleep in all its phases including daily naps, the accuracy has proved to be on a par with more professional and expensive products, making this werable a choice to focus on, if we want reliability in the data collected.
The counting of steps and activity monitors were more precise and rich in data than in the past and in this context it does not differ from the brothers GTR 3 and GTR 3 PRO, in fact there is also the automatic recognition function of 8 sports.
Also for Amazfit GTS 3 the software base is the new ZeppOS, which proved to be reliable and rather fluid, which could improve considerably over time considering that this is only version 1.0, but in any case already quite complete. By accessing our smartphone via Bluetooth 5.1 connection through the ZEPP app, you can draw on many new dials, even animated and customizable, but above all you can download some apps from the dedicated store, although at the moment there are very few ones present.
On the other hand, the “smart” section of the watch remains disappointing, in fact in the area of notifications these can only be read, displaying only some emojis and not photos or anything else at all. It is good, however, that these notifications are always synchronized with the smartphone, therefore read from the watch, these will be deleted from the phone display and vice versa.
I will focus on the companion application ZEPP poco as already analyzed with the review of GTR 3 and GTR 3 PRO and on the whole I can say that it is a complete and well-made app, acting as a container for all the history of health and sport data, as well as allowing any updates of wearable and customizations, however the good part already configurable also from the watch itself, such as the alarm clock etc .. Finally I have not mentioned the watch menus, which are the same seen on GTR 3.
PROJECTED IMPACT
In fact, my considerations on Amazfit GTS 3 are the same as those made on GTR 3. So the choice for GTS 3 falls exclusively on the squared form factor and on the lightness of the device, if you do not appreciate the circular design of the other two models.
Amazfit GTS 3 is a reliable and precise smartwatch, able to monitor many activities and detect important data for our health, but like GTR 3 it has some shortcomings that we find on the GTR 3 PRO, such as managing calls and music, but for all 3 models, on the other hand, the NFC is absent and in the notification sector, they sin of superficiality. The price of 149,90 euros is more honest and in line with the quality offered.
Buying a model that costs more and does fewer things than the previous GTs 2? It speaks for itself.
I no longer understand Xiaomi's marketing logic of the last two years.