I like how Amazfit has taken an aggressive method to its latest watches. Cheaper fashions just like the GTS 4 Mini will stay its bread-and-butter for the close to future, however new lineups just like the Falcon, T-Rex, and Cheetah show that it is keen to tackle higher-end health manufacturers with new kind elements.The Amazfit T-Rex Ultra is for individuals who love huge chrome steel behemoths like a Garmin Epix Pro or (to a lesser extent) the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic 47mm. Having simply reviewed the Classic and located it on the higher finish of my consolation zone, the T-Rex Ultra crashes by way of that higher restrict like, nicely, the gate-smashing T-Rex in Jurassic Park.Even although I do know the T-Rex Ultra does not cater to my wants — the Cheetah Pro is far more my pace — I’ll do my greatest to present it a good shake and spotlight the features that different forms of athletes will admire. Still, it is onerous to brush apart the sensation that the Amazfit T-Rex 2 stays a greater all-around buy a yr later for followers of rugged health smartwatches.Amazfit T-Rex Ultra at Amazon for $399.99Immediately’s greatest Amazfit T-Rex Ultra offersAmazfit T-Rex Ultra Price and Availability(Image credit score: Amazfit)The Amazfit T-Rex Ultra prices $399 / £399 / €469 and is accessible in China, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Of Amazfit’s standard territories, solely India seems to haven’t obtained the Ultra (and different high-end fashions) but.The T-Rex Ultra ships in two colours: Abyss Black and Sahara. It’s primarily obtainable by way of Amazon, Best Buy, and Amazfit’s storefront within the U.S.Amazfit T-Rex Ultra: What you may like(Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)The T-Rex Ultra goes all-in on its rugged aesthetic, and my points with consolation apart, I feel it seems fairly badass. It’s all onerous strains and lugs and loops, with an elevated chrome steel bezel defending a vivid, wealthy 1.39-inch contact show.Compared to your typical rugged smartwatch, the T-Rex Ultra makes use of 316L “marine grade” chrome steel throughout the bezel, bridge, again panel, and buttons, with hardened polymer alloy for the center body. This materials helps the Ultra meet EN13319 & ISO 6245 diving certifications to work 30 meters under the floor.It passes 15 MIL-STD-810G assessments, together with these for warmth, chilly, humidity, salt spray, ice, shock, and dust. It’s additionally rated to outlive in 70ºC (158ºF) warmth or -40ºC (-40ºF) chilly. It’s all implausible to have however completely overkill for informal suburban nature lovers like myself. I primarily admire the truth that it is going to survive situations or injury that might kill me, so I by no means actually have to fret about it. (Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)If it weren’t for the load — sure, that is a significant if — I’d think about the T-Rex Ultra design surprisingly snug. The adjustable lugs between the case and strap go away loads of leeway to loop round your wrist as an alternative of digging into it whereas nonetheless permitting for a safe match. I additionally admire having 4 textured steel buttons — Select, Back, Up, and Down — since I’m not the most important fan of how Amazfit designs its crowns. Compared to different health watch manufacturers that are inclined to have squishy polymer buttons (taking a look at you, Garmin), these give a satisfying, constant click on when pressed. They’re simple to make use of on the path, whereas the massive touchscreen works greatest at dwelling. Swipe to scroll horizontallyHeader Cell – Column 0 Amazfit T-Rex UltraDimensions47.3 x 47.3 x 13.45 mmWeight89 gramsMaterialsStainless metal bezel, again panel, bridge, buttons; Polymer alloy center frameDisplayTouchscreen AMOLED, 1.39 inches, 454 x 454 (326 PPI), 1,000 nitsColorsAbyss Black, SaharaWorking SystemZepp OSButtons4Strap22 mm, siliconeBattery500mAh, 20 days (smartwatch mode), 46 hours (GPS solely), 28 hours (Dual-band GPS)ConnectivityBluetooth 5.0 BLE, WLAN 2.4GHzSensorsBioTracker 3.0 PPG biometric sensor, acceleration, gyroscope, geomagnetic, barometric, ambient gentleHealth trackingSpO2, coronary heart price, stressTrackable sport modes162 (33 good recognition modes)Water Resistance10 ATM (100 meters, floor swimming, and snorkeling)Sturdiness15 MIL-STD-810G certificationsLocationDual-band 6 satellite tv for pc positioningLike the Cheetah Pro and Cheetah Round, the T-Rex Ultra has dual-band, all-systems positioning with six GNS methods, matching the very best GPS normal — although it does not explicitly have Amazfit’s new “MaxTrack” setting with a “circularly-polarized GPS antenna” just like the Cheetah collection. In follow, I’ve discovered that it is fairly darn correct, with solely occasional drifting. Purely when it comes to distance, you must get correct sufficient outcomes with sufficient battery life to make use of it throughout an all-day hike (as long as you cost it on the finish). Outside of GPS actions, the T-Rex Ultra will not give up (in contrast to Jurassic Park’s electrical system). It seemingly will not final the total 20-day estimate, however I’ve discovered the 9-day “heavy usage” estimate is correct. That contains steady coronary heart price and stress information, occasional blood oxygen assessments, common notifications, increased brightness settings, and at the least a pair hours of GPS monitoring per week. The extra you utilize “Accuracy Mode” GPS, the extra that cuts into the highly effective 500mAh battery. But in any other case, Zepp OS is designed for effectivity and does not actually have a lot in the way in which of actions like an Apple or Wear OS watch. You shouldn’t have any bother avoiding frequent recharging. (Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)Most Amazfit watches have an absurd variety of sports activities modes; nevertheless, the T-Rex Ultra takes the cake with 162 whole. It’s simply 4 greater than the T-Rex 2 — including area of interest modes like skydiving, spearfishing, and freediving — however nonetheless dozens greater than your typical Amazfit, unfold throughout classes like Running, Cycling, Swimming, Dance, Combat Sports, Gym actions, Ball Sports, Water Sports, Winter Sports, and Board Games. Although there’s loads of overlap in the important thing metrics these actions cowl (coronary heart price, time, tempo, distance, elevation change, variety of units, and many others.), they do have distinctive information for key exercise sorts that make them really feel sufficiently personalised and helpful. It auto-recognizes eight actions — Running, Cycling, Swimming, Indoor/Outdoor Walking, Treadmill, Rowing Machine, and Elliptical — and as much as 25 power exercise sorts. So, for those who actually need to put on this mammoth on the fitness center on daily basis, you will not must continuously swap between actions; you may belief it to determine what you are doing. And talking of automation, I admire getting access to the Zepp Coach AI. Since nothing has modified from my Cheetah Pro evaluation, I’ll paraphrase my ideas right here: Zepp Coach provides you related coaching load and restoration time information to a Garmin watch, which is taken into account the gold normal for coaching suggestions. The really useful exercise occasions goal totally different coronary heart price intensities, which is sort of helpful. My fundamental Zepp Coach grievance is that it provides you your coaching standing (i.e. for those who’re over- or undertraining) however does not go into sufficient depth in different areas, leaving you to belief the algorithm blindly. But for some individuals who do not need to examine information and simply need recommendation on the way to get fitter, this easy method is likely to be preferable.Amazfit T-Rex Ultra: What you will not like(Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)The greatest drawback with the Amazfit T-Rex Ultra is easy: I simply do not need to put on all of it day due to how heavy it’s. During exercises, it is simply too noticeably current on my wrist, whereas a lighter health watch would fade out of my consciousness fairly shortly.If you are used to 80g metal watches like an Apple Watch Ultra or Garmin Epix, you won’t thoughts this. So, I’m attempting to not weigh my preferences too harshly towards it. What cannot be denied is that most individuals are used to 50g watches, and this weighs practically twice that.The silicone watch band is decently snug however a bit stiff. I discover that when attempting to regulate the match or take it off, the tongue tends to get caught and requires some respectable effort to dislodge it. And if you wish to exchange it with one other 22mm choice, you are going to want a particular instrument to take away it. As a last design level, Amazfit does not specify what sort of glass safety the T-Rex Ultra has, Gorilla or in any other case. So you might need to purchase a display screen protector for it.(Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)Unlike another Amazfit watches, the T-Rex Ultra has no mic or speaker, which suggests no Bluetooth calling or chatting with a sensible assistant like Alexa. That leaves additional room for a bigger battery, so you might not thoughts this. In phrases of different lacking options, you do not get a number of the extra superior well being monitoring instruments like passive or lively AFib detection or pores and skin temperature. You have fast replies to some notifications, however most aren’t actionable, and there is no technique to put in writing a customized response. And although Amazfit has some downloadable apps, you will not discover correct third-party app help from most main builders — other than related health apps like Adidas Running and Strava.These flaws apply to different fitness-focused manufacturers like Garmin and COROS, to be clear. But it is nonetheless price noting. Specific to the Zepp OS, it nonetheless has its localization quirks and labyrinthian settings. It’s gotten rather a lot higher since I reviewed the GTS 2 Mini in 2021 with its poorly translated menus. But it is nonetheless not at all times clear what a Settings area means till you faucet on it, nor are you able to simply discover sure settings with out quite a lot of preliminary looking. On prime of that, I nonetheless dislike how quite a lot of textual content is not seen till you anticipate it to scroll onto the display screen — a side-effect of Zepp OS initially being designed for compact Hanzi as an alternative of letters, I believe.CompetitorsThe Amazfit T-Rex 2 (Image credit score: Chris Wedel/Android Central)Perhaps the most important drawback with the Amazfit T-Rex Ultra is that the T-Rex 2 already does 90% of the identical issues for considerably much less, with a extra bearably dense design.If you evaluate the T-Rex Ultra towards final yr’s T-Rex 2, the older mannequin makes use of polymer as an alternative of metal, has no adjustable lugs, and no Wi-Fi downloads. It’s not as sturdy for excessive temperatures or diving strain, nor as quick to replace, and it is not mud-proof just like the Ultra. But in each different respect — 1.4-inch AMOLED show, 1,000-nit brightness, MIL-STD-810G certifications and 10ATM water resistance, 4 buttons, well being sensors, dual-band monitoring, and Zepp Coach software program — the Amazfit T-Rex 2 provides you the very same expertise.On prime of that, the T-Rex 2 has 4 additional days of battery life (or one additional heavy-duty day), weighs 22.5g much less, and prices $170 lower than the T-Rex Ultra. Our T-Rex 2 reviewer nonetheless referred to as it “thick, heavy, and angular,” however it’s much less burdensome at 66.5g whereas nonetheless dealing with many of the different tough situations because the Ultra.(Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)Aside from the T-Rex Ultra’s inside competitors, you may need to take a look at the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic 47mm, which has the identical value, a 1.5-inch AMOLED with twice the brightness, and a (much less rugged) chrome steel design. Its two-day battery life does not come near Amazfit’s and lacks a Zepp Coach equal. On the opposite hand, it has considerably higher efficiency, a lot better third-party health apps, a mic and speaker, military-grade shock safety, and Samsung Health. If you are extra excited by rugged health, check out the Garmin Instinct 2X Solar, which prices simply $50 extra. Its uglier plastic look apart, the 2X Solar lasts 8 hours longer in multi-band mode or 99 hours longer in GPS-only mode because of its photo voltaic panel. You get MIL-STD-810 thermal, shock, and water resistance, a built-in LED flashlight for nighttime excursions, and Garmin’s glorious Training Readiness instrument that matches or beats every part Zepp Coach has to supply. Amazfit T-Rex Ultra: Should you purchase?(Image credit score: Michael Hicks / Android Central)You can purchase this if…You need one of the crucial rugged health smartwatches available on the market.Battery life, monitoring accuracy, and a big show are all essential to you.You’re a giant fan of utmost sports activities.You should not purchase this if…You desire a health watch you may strap on and overlook about.You could make do with the T-Rex 2’s compromises. You want a sensible smartwatch with nice app help, Bluetooth calling, and actionable notifications.Review scores at all times really feel considerably arbitrary as a result of your standards for a tempting wearable might be totally different from mine. From my perspective, the T-Rex Ultra is barely a 3-star watch merely on the grounds that I do not need to put on it. I obtained the Ultra months in the past and stalled on reviewing it just because it felt like a chore to check. But for a selected class of utmost sports activities athlete, world traveler, employee who spends time in rugged environments, or folks with beefier arms than mine, the T-Rex Ultra has only a few rivals and is severely price contemplating regardless of my dislike for its bulk. Just take an extended, onerous take a look at the T-Rex 2 first.
Do you want a look ahead to sub-zero temperatures, mountaineering excursions, or oceanic dives that’ll survive something in need of a shark assault? And are you okay buying and selling light-weight consolation for rugged endurance and an epic battery life? Then the rugged Amazfit T-Rex Ultra is a good selection.
Amazfit T-Rex Ultra: Price Comparison