The Amazfit T-Rex 2 should convince as an outdoor smartwatch with GPS and a long battery life, which it also succeeds in doing. Cold, sand and other adversities don't bother her either. However, there are restrictions in the interaction with Android and iOS and the support provided by apps.
Table of contents
- 1 Die Amazfit T-Rex 2 in detail
- Round AMOLED display and G-Shock design
- No telephony and no WLAN
- 10 ATM and four buttons
- No information on the SoC
- Can still be used at -30 °C
- “Up to” 24 days battery with normal use
- GPS with direct return navigation
- Health data is also measured
- The Zepp app and Zepp OS on the T-Rex 2
- Zepp OS is now smoother
- The Dino also measures a lot of vital data
- Conclusion
With the T-Rex 2, Amazfit has launched a new, robust outdoor smartwatch with GPS that not only defies heat and ice, but also offers a battery life of up to 24 days and can be worn for water sports. The update promised by the manufacturer at the end of May and at the start of sales at the beginning of June, which activates the new GPS functionality in the first place, took much longer than announced and was only distributed at the beginning of August. In order not to ignore the most important innovations, the test was postponed until the update was released.
The Amazfit T-Rex 2 has been available directly from Amazon* and Amazfit since June 1 and costs 229.90 euros (RRP). Ember Black, Wild Green and Astro Black & gold to choose from. The variant “Ember Black” is used in the test.
The Amazfit T-Rex 2 in detail
Round AMOLED display and G-Shock design
The Amazfit T-Rex 2 uses a 1.39-inch AMOLED display with 454 × 454 pixels and a pixel density of 326 ppi. It has an always-on feature that needs to be enabled in the settings and, as usual, has a negative impact on battery life. As with the GTR 3 Pro, GTR 3 and GTS 3, the manufacturer specifies the maximum brightness as 1,000 cd/m² – the readability of the T-Rex 2 is also good in the sun, but the display reflects. If required, the brightness of the screen can be adjusted automatically to the environment via a light sensor, but it can also be adjusted manually. Amazfit hides the edge of the display well under the wide housing frame, so that the active surface of the display almost reaches the edge. The design of the T-Rex 2 is reminiscent of G-Shock watches and is bulky. It quickly looks chunky on petite, thin arms.
The watch measures 47.1 × 47.1 × 13.65mm and weighs 66.5g including the strap. The strap is 22 mm wide and cannot be exchanged for any other example. The watch is made of a polymer alloy and the straps are made of silicone. If you don't like the latter, because you sweat quickly under it despite the slits, you will have to look around for another smartwatch for the time being. Amazfit plans to offer replacement bands in the future. However, the company has not yet announced a date for this.
No telephony and no WLAN
Unlike the last tested GTR 3 Pro (test), the T-Rex 2 does not have a loudspeaker and a microphone for telephony. The T-Rex 2 also has to do without its own WLAN or an integrated SIM card, which is why it relies on a connection to the smartphone via Bluetooth for a current data connection.
10 ATM and four buttons
Amazfit certifies the T-Rex 2 a Water resistance of 10 ATM, which makes it not only suitable for showering, but also for swimming.
Amazfit T-Rex 2
In addition to the touchscreen, the T-Rex 2 has four buttons: Up, Down, Select and Back. This can also be used to navigate through the menus and select functions. Otherwise, operation follows the familiar pattern: depending on which side you swipe over the display, the settings, vital data or notifications open. What should be displayed in the individual menus can, in turn, be partially adjusted by the user via the app.
No information about the SoC
With the system on a chip used, Amazfit keeps a low profile. Even when asked, the company did not want to provide any information about the main processor of the T-Rex 2. The manufacturer was a bit more open when it came to the protective glass used on the display. Although no specific model was named, he mentions a degree of hardness of 5.5 on the Mohs scale. For comparison: The Ion-X glass on the Apple Watch has a hardness of 7, while the sapphire glass on the stainless steel version of the Apple Watch even has a hardness of 9.
Even usable at -30 °C
In order to cope with nature, the Amazfit T-Rex 2 can even be operated at -30 °C. It should also not be damaged by temperatures between -40 and +70 °C. From -10 °C, the watch switches to a low temperature mode, which applies between -10 and -30 °C, if activated in the app. The functions are restricted. According to the manufacturer, the T-Rex 2 has also passed tests for resistance to salt spray and resistance to ice and freezing rain. However, extra low function mode has yet to be enabled with a firmware update, it is not currently available.
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Even at -22 degrees Celsius in the ice, the Amazfit T-Rex 2 still works without any problems
ComputerBase still froze the Amazfit T-Rex 2 – at -22 °C. It did not switch off at these temperatures and could be used without restrictions. The display continued to react to touch inputs, only the buttons were frozen by the ice and had to be thawed out before they could work again.
“Up to” 24 days battery with normal use
The battery life of up to 24 days depends on the frequency of the health data collection and the use of the GPS functions. With heavy use, the battery life should be 10 days, but in battery saver mode even up to 45 days. According to Amazfit, the battery lasts 26 hours with permanent GPS tracking. The energy storage capacity is 500 mAh.
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Amazfit T-Rex 2
The battery life was shorter in the test, but it is still long for a smartwatch. If all functions including the always-on display are activated and the vital signs are constantly measured via the sensor in the background, the battery life with normal use is 8 days. That is still significantly more than the approximately 1.5 days that an Apple Watch lasts for normal everyday use. If you reduce the measurement frequency and switch off the display, the battery life is significantly extended.
The T-Rex 2 is charged again via two contact surfaces on the underside, to which the charging cable is magnetically locked. Again, criticism has to be made that the magnetic connection is not strong enough and can quickly become detached unintentionally. Even the latest model cannot be loaded wirelessly.
GPS with direct-return navigation
Not only is a compass integrated for navigation, but also the five positioning standards GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BDS and QZSS. The T-Rex 2 offers dual-band positioning, so that two of the five supported satellite navigation systems can be used for positioning at the same time.
With the OTA made available at the beginning of August -Update for the T-Rex 2 gives users extensive GPS functions.
In addition to GPS navigation, which also allows real-time navigation on the watch via previously downloaded route material and the importing of routes for subsequent use, direct return navigation (TrackBack) is offered. It shows the shortest way back to the starting point of a journey and also allows navigation to intermediate destinations if the user has marked them on the route. Route files can be loaded onto the smartwatch in GPX/TCX/KML format, so that they can also come from external sources such as Strava or can be loaded via QR codes via the Zepp app. The imported routes are transferred to the Amazfit T-Rex 2 via the Zepp app and are available there by selecting them as a route under the “Navigation” menu item for an activity such as running or hiking. Directly on the T-Rex 2 you can view a preview of the route including the distance to be covered and set settings such as “North always up” or “Heading up” and the running direction. The surroundings are not displayed, only the route on a black background.
Route navigation while training on the Amazfit T-Rex 2
Importing and managing sounds cumbersome and it is in everyday life, since you always have to load routes into the app first, save them there and then explicitly transfer them to the watch again. In addition, a suitable provider must first be found with which routes can be easily created and easily transferred to the smartwatch. Although Google MyMaps allows routes to be exported, transferring them to the Zepp app did not work in the test. It opened on import, but didn't show a route, just an error on import. With services like AllTrails.com, however, the transfer works without any problems.
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Route import on Amazfit T-Rex 2
Entering a route directly via a navigation app on the watch, as long as it is connected to a smartphone, and the option of then saving this route on the watch would be easier in everyday life if you had not planned everything in advance. In addition, only the route is transmitted, but no map. On the T-Rex 2 you only see an arrow showing your own direction and a line showing the route. You can also zoom in and out of the route. Environment, paths or streets are not displayed. In the Zepp app, on the other hand, the route is laid over a map, the distance and the altitude gain/loss and also an altitude profile of the route are displayed. You can scroll through this elevation profile, with a red dot on the map showing the corresponding location on the route. The display in the app is convincing.
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Route navigation while training on the Amazfit T-Rex 2
This type of navigation on the T-Rex 2 is therefore only interesting for planned excursions or sporting activities when you are traveling without a smartphone or internet connection. The T-Rex 2 then determines your location and navigates quickly and reliably, and you are informed as soon as you deviate from the route by more than 50 m. The shortest route back to the route can then also be seen on the clock, but only as the crow flies, since it does not know the actual terrain.
T-Rex 2's navigation features are compatible with the following 18 sport modes: Outdoor Running, Hiking, Outdoor Biking, Climbing, Cross-Country Skiing, Mountain Biking, BMX, Outdoor Boating, Bobsleigh & Luge, Sledding, Ski Touring, Biathlon, Race Walking, Snowshoeing, trail running, orienteering, open water swimming. The smartwatch also has a barometric altimeter. If you go running with the T-Rex 2 and record the activity, you can see the actual route, distance and duration of the run directly on the smartwatch after the training.
Health data is also measured
Aside from the navigation, the Amazfit T-Rex 2, like the GTR 3 Pro, has the BioTracker 3.0 PPG biometric sensor, which is equipped with six photodiodes and can be used to measure heart rate and oxygen saturation or the stress level, for example. Sleep and sleep phases can also be recorded in this way. Wearers can also manually trigger the measurement of four health values at any time: heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, stress level and respiratory rate. All four values are then collected within 45 seconds. Since the functions and sports activities that can be recorded are identical to those in the GTR 3 Pro test, they will not be discussed in detail again here.
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Amazfit T-Rex 2
With the latest update, individual training plans can also be created via the Zepp app for eleven different sports and loaded onto the watch. Each template provides warm-up, exercise, rest, and recovery periods. It is also possible to set reminders or change training levels automatically based on the training data. In addition, strength training has been updated to automatically recognize states and sets.
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As with the tested GTR 3 Pro, the Zepp app, which has already been mentioned several times, is used to set up the Amazfit T-Rex 2. If the watch is switched on and the language selected, the QR code can be scanned from the display to download the app for either Android or iOS. Setup and syncing is then done through the app.
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Setup and functions of the Amazfit T-Rex 2
If you don't just want to synchronize the data between the watch and smartphone when you open the app, you have to activate this in the settings. If the app is opened, this is always done automatically, but takes some time, especially since the A-GPS is often updated. The customization and setting options have otherwise remained largely the same, which is why they will not be discussed in detail again. The options are still diverse and above all offer the possibility of significantly increasing the battery life if desired, for example by setting how often health data is recorded and how long the display should remain switched on after automatic activation. Incidentally, the T-Rex 2 cannot be activated by tapping on the display, but only reacts to raising your arm. What makes sense on the one hand, so that you don't turn it on unintentionally, is annoying when you don't have to move your arm to look at the clock, but can only activate it in this way.
When the app is started, a lot of vital data on PAI, sleep, heart rate, oxygen saturation and steps are displayed on the start page. Under the “Health” tab, goals can be set and previous successes can be viewed. Only in the “Profile” tab are the device-specific settings hidden behind the name of the watch. The complicated structure of the app, in which not all settings and functions are immediately intuitively accessible, remains unchanged. Having to release the notifications on the T-Rex 2 for each app individually after the app has sent a notification to the smartphone because it is not listed beforehand is cumbersome. The notifications themselves often lack the app logo, preview images or other information.
Zepp OS is now smoother
Whereas the Amazfit GTR 3 Pro still had to struggle with hangers and jerky operation at the start, this is much smoother overall on the T-Rex 2, since the Zepp OS from Amazfit has now been fine-tuned received.
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The app store in the app for the smartwatch is no longer empty either, but with just 24 apps it is still not full. Here there is still a lack of sufficient support from developers who focus on WatchOS and Wear OS. Nevertheless, among the 24 apps there are at least some with which you can display the Google Maps navigation instructions from the smartphone on the watch – even if only on Android and only via an additional app on the smartphone. A GoPro camera control is also represented and the smart home can be controlled via Home Connect if you use this service. Other apps, such as the color blindness test, will not be needed on the smartwatch.
A strength again lies in the numerous dials for the T-Rex 2. However, many are now chargeable, so that you have to pay between 99 cents and 2.99 euros for a dial, especially for animated specimens. Even if tastes are very different, friends of simple, calm, classic dials get a little too little choice.
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Dials for the Amazfit T-Rex 2
The Dino also measures a lot of vital data
Since the same sensor is used in the Amazfit T-Rex 2 with the biometric sensor BioTracker 3.0 PPG as in the Amazfit GTR 3 Pro, they do not differ from each other in this respect. In the test, the T-Rex 2 reliably recorded the heart rate and almost always matched the measured values of an Apple Watch 7 – even during exertion. As with the Apple Watch, alerts can be activated for unusually high or low heart rates. The blood oxygen saturation is also recorded comparable to the Apple Watch and does not show any noticeable deviations. However, the watch must sit comparatively tight on the wrist and only have a little play.
On the other hand, the T-Rex 2 continues to record too few steps. A distance of 1,000 counted steps results in 782 to 912 steps on the T-Rex 2.
The integrated sleep tracking is again well implemented and not only shows the duration of sleep, but also different sleep phases. The user can enter further personal information for each day and use smileys to record how relaxed he feels. In addition, additional data can be entered in the Zepp app on the smartphone that is not recorded by the watch, such as weight or measured body temperature.
With the T-Rex 2, Amazfit also summarizes all activity data in one value: the PAI (“Personal Activity Intelligence”). If there is no increased activity on a day, this value lingers stubbornly at 0. If you jog for about 20 minutes, you get 1 PAI. Riding a bike for 2 hours while keeping your heart rate low earns you 10 PAI.
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Amazfit T-Rex 2
If desired, the Zepp app can be linked to Apple Health and Google Fit in order to transfer the data recorded by the watch to these smartphone apps, which are used by many, instead of evaluating them in the Zepp app. Apple Health and Google Fit also combine other services into a common overview that has fewer restrictions. The Zepp app can also sync activities from Strava, Relive, Runkeeper and TrainingPeaks.
Conclusion
The Amazfit T-Rex 2 is an outdoor smartwatch that impresses above all with its long battery life and can not only be helpful to the user who is marching through the wilderness with GPS tracking. Even those who regularly go running or cycling can plan their route in advance and then use the navigation of the watch as a guide, which masters this task very well. Wind and weather and above all water and cold cannot harm the T-Rex 2 either, so that you don't have to worry about the watch when you're on the go – apart from the protective glass.
Amazfit T-Rex 2
Being tied to the rubber strap is a first downer, as it makes you sweat quickly and the quality falls off a bit compared to the smartwatch itself. A higher-quality alternative could upgrade the T-Rex 2 to a smartwatch that you would wear without restrictions in everyday life – as long as you can get something out of the outdoor design with G-Shock flair. The workmanship gives no reason for criticism and the quality of the display is once again convincing.
Overall, however, the T-Rex 2 does not integrate seamlessly enough into the ecosystems around Apple's iOS and Google's Android. With WatchOS on the Apple Watch and Wear OS on the Galaxy Watches, for example, the two market leaders in the field of smartphone operating systems each offer well and, above all, better integrated solutions that a third party cannot surpass due to the limitations imposed on them. Amazfit also has to struggle with too few apps and insufficient integration, since the standard services of the respective platform cannot simply be used on the T-Rex 2. This starts with the music services, extends to the navigation and finds its most noticeable peak in everyday life with the sometimes limited notifications. Overall, the additional benefit that can be achieved by the apps from the app store in the Zepp app can be rated as low.
The app is sometimes too cumbersome and the operation via the smartwatch is much smoother and better than when Zepp OS started with the GTR 3 Pro, but overall the menus are too complicated and the navigation is not intuitive enough. In a few places, it actually makes sense to use the buttons of the watch instead of the touchscreen.
The vital data is collected well overall, with the steps the T- However, Rex 2 also deviates too much from the actual value. Amazfit also tries to compensate for limitations in other areas with the sheer volume of activities that can be recorded with the watch.
Amazfit T-Rex 2
At around 225 euros, the Amazfit T-Rex 2 is significantly cheaper than some other outdoor smartwatches – a Garmin Fenix 7 costs a mere 900 euros, an Enduro 2 even 1,100 euros. However, both offer a terrain view directly on the smartwatch – as described, however, not free from restrictions that you have to accept, especially on the software side.
ComputerBase has the T- Rex 2 received on loan from Amazfit for testing. The manufacturer did not influence the test, there was no obligation to publish it.
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