While Apple has held the unchallenged throne of smartwatches for years with its Apple Watch, a real war is being fought in the entry-level and mid-range smartwatches. Manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Fitbit, and Amazfit go head-to-head year after year. The Amazfit GTS 2 Mini is a smaller, slightly less well-equipped version of the Amazfit GTS 2 and Amazfit GTS 2e fitness trackers. With its weight loss program, the manufacturer not only manages to launch a smartwatch with less weight. The most important result of this slimming process is probably a significantly lower price than watches with comparable features can offer.
With an MSRP of 99.99 euros, the Amazfit GTS 2 Mini is the same as the Fitbit Inspire 2, but it also offers a larger AMOLED display. This also applies to the cheaper Xiaomi Mi Band 6. On top of that, the GTS 2 Mini outperforms the competition with the help of important health as well as fitness tracking features. Thus, the Amazfit GTS 2 Mini gives other manufacturers a real reason to form worry lines – At least on paper. We took a closer look at whether the Amazfit GTS 2 Mini is really as comfortable, intuitive and packed with practical features as Amazfit promises.
Technical details
| Size | 40.5 x 35.8 x 8.95 mm |
| Weight | 19.5 grams |
| Case | Aluminum alloy and plastic |
| Display | 1.55 inch AMOLED, 354 x 306 pixels |
| Battery capacity | 220 mAh |
| Charge time | approx. 2 hours |
| maximum battery life | 21 days |
| Sensors | BioTrackerTM 2 PPG, accelerometer sensor, gyroscope sensor, geomagnetic sensor, ambient light sensor, vibration motor |
| Wireless connection | Bluetooth 5.0 BLE |
| Price (MSRP) | About 85 euros (currently about 75 euros) |
Scope of delivery
The high-quality packaging of the Amazfit GTS 2 Mini makes a good impression right away. Already here you feel a little reminded of the competition from Apple.
A look into the packaging promotes after in addition to the watch itself a charging station as well as the matching user manual. Extensive looks different, but that’s all you need.
Design and screen
- Comfortable, slim fit
- Titanium alloy and plastic body
- 1.55-inch AMOLED display with 354 x 306 pixels
The design diversity in the mid-range smartwatch segment is truly remarkable. Starting with compact wearables like the Fitbit Inspire 2 to chunky sports watches like the Polar Vantage M2, almost every shape is represented here. The design of the Amazfit GTS 2 Mini lies somewhere between these two extremes, making it the perfect compromise.
As someone with average-thickness wrists, I was pleasantly surprised by how unobtrusive the GTS 2 Mini was to wear around the clock. Despite its Apple Watch-like squircle form factor, this 40mm watch weighs just 19.5g and is only 8.95mm thick (not including the sensor base on the bottom). Away from the light weight, the case and strap also feel very comfortable on the skin. It’s easy to forget you’re wearing a watch at all here.
Of course, there is no such high-quality design here as on its siblings GTS 2 and GTS 2e. However, the aluminum alloy used ensures that the GTS 2 Mini doesn’t feel like a cheap Casio watch. The lower half of the watch, on the other hand, does not look quite as high-quality. The Amazfit only offers plastic here. But since this is the part of the watch that is hidden from the wrist most of the time anyway, this doesn’t weigh too heavily.
The display is covered with a 2.5D bulletproof glass, which adds an extra touch to that premium feel. It’s not the diamond-like carbon (DLC) coating of the Amazfit GTS 2, though, so protection from scratches and similar wear and tear may be good, but it can’t keep up with the in-house competition.
My test model was in subtle Midnight Black, but can also be ordered in Flamingo Pink or Sage Green. These colors are not only reflected in the silicone strap, but also blend into the back plastic cover. In the pink model, the titanium alloy frame also gets a pink tint. We really like this play of colors.
There’s nothing to complain about in terms of build quality. The Amazfit feels like a solidly built piece of technology. This is not least due to the chic unibody design. However, it not only looks pretty, but is also effective. The manufacturer also had this confirmed in black and white. Finally, the watch has a 5-ATM rating, which ensures water resistance up to 50 meters. Not only swimmers will be pleased with this fact.
The operation
The design is undoubtedly based on Apple’s successful smartwatch. This decision may be understandable, but it also causes problems when it comes to operation. After all, when you look at the button on the side, you expect it to be Apple’s familiar crown. Accordingly, I find it somewhat disappointing – and somewhat counterintuitive – that the side button does not function as a rotating crown. It is a simple multifunction button. This may be pleasingly tactile, but it does require some getting used to.
In addition to a smaller case, the Amazfit GTS 2 Mini presents a smaller display than the GTS 2. However, at 1.55 inches, it is still pleasantly large and always provides a clear display. With a resolution of 354 x 306 pixels, AMOLED panel technology and a maximum brightness of 450 nits, this screen delivers a bright, sharp and vivid image.
The sufficient display size in combination with the square form factor makes for a nice overview. Notifications in particular can be read very well. Especially in direct comparison to the competition in the form of the Xiaomi Mi Band 6, it is actually useful for reading notifications. It also allows implementing more detailed watch faces, of which there are more than 80.
The touch response is also decent. The touchscreen works very reliably in this regard. However, there are slight delays and stutters every now and then. You have to pay attention specifically to really notice this problem, though. We assume that the slight stutters are rather a performance problem than a display problem. Whoever should be bothered by this has to keep reminding themselves of the price Amazfit is charging here.
All in all, this is the kind of responsive display that you really enjoy using. In particular, the large selection of more than 80 constantly visible dials makes you forget very quickly that we’re not in the premium segment here. After activation, this offers a very simple, monochrome watch display until you start tilting your wrist, tapping the display or pressing the multifunction button. In fact, with these actions you turn on the screen and thus unlock the classic menu.
Features
- Competition, step and heart rate tracking
- Integrated GPS device
- Basic smartwatch features
- Alexa support
The Amazfit GTS 2 Mini offers an impressive array of tracking features. At the same time, the slimmed-down Amazfit by no means has to hide behind its more expensive siblings. Here, you really don’t miss much of what the expensive GTS 2 and GTS 2e offer. You should be aware of that before spending too much money on one of the other models.
Included are heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen saturation measurement, sleep monitoring, stress level monitoring, and menstrual cycle tracking. There’s also an integrated PAI (Personal Activity Intelligence) health assessment system that effectively combines multiple points of health data via an advanced algorithm to present you with a single-value score that estimates your health.
Despite its arbitrary appearance, PAI is an authentic beginner-friendly system based on research from the HUNT scientific institute. Xiaomi is also adopting this feature in its health and fitness trackers, and just like with the Mi Band series, it would have been nice to see this feature integrated more deeply. This is where Amazfit missed an opportunity in my opinion. Still, the PAI can be used well as a rough guide to what good things you have already done for your body.
Many of these measurements are driven by Zepp Health’s (formerly Huami) BioTracker 2 PPG – the brand’s second-generation optical bio-tracking sensor. I found the readings to be solid and fairly accurate. They can be roughly compared with the results of the Fitbit Inspire 2 and the Xiaomi Mi Band 6 in terms of reliability. This also applies to the step counting system of the GTS 2 Mini. However, you also have to leave things in the village here. If you are someone who regularly trains with high intensity, you will by no means get a replacement for professional heart rate monitors in the form of high-priced alternatives from Garmin & Co. or even a chest strap here. However, you cannot expect that in view of the price. For an RRP of under 100 Euros, Amazfit does a really good job at measuring.
Once you have completed your workout, the linked Zepp app of the Amazfit GTS 2 Mini comes into play. This makes your performance clear in the form of vivid graphics. Fans of statistics will be especially happy about this. In addition to a map of your run or walk, you also get a display of your heart rate over time as well as a practical breakdown of the heart rate zones. The latter tells you how long your heart rate ran at easy, intense, and aerobic levels, to name just three of the six categories.
The Amazfit GTS 2 Mini can also track a variety of sports and fitness activities. If you take a look at the training section, this can be really impressive. Once you press the corresponding button, you will quickly realize that the Amazfit GTS 2 Mini also has rather untypical subcategories like indoor sports, ball sports and even winter sports in addition to the usual disciplines. But oddly enough, Amazfit adopts a weak point that you also have to criticize Xiaomi for.
Thus, tennis does not find a place here either. This will really annoy friends of the racket sport and raises a few puzzles for me. Especially when you consider that less common sports like baseball, cricket and gateball can be tracked. Tennis fans will at least be happy to know that squash has made it onto the watch with a tracking option.
Another downer is the fact that your workouts can’t be tracked automatically here. In order for the Amazfit GTS 2 Mini to register and measure a sports unit, you have to start the corresponding workout manually every time. Otherwise, “only” your pulse and the steps you have taken are measured. This is cumbersome, but not surprising in this price range. Perhaps the most notable technical inclusion here is GPS. Again, this is anything but typical in this price range. Indeed, most trackers around this price and cheaper require you to enable location data on your smartphone for it to be used by the smartwatch.
Thanks to integrated GPS, the Amazfit smartwatch could have been the perfect smartphone-free fitness tracker for beginners. However, one fact ensures that you will not get around a combined use of smartwatch and smartphone. The Amazfit GTS 2 Mini does not offer a music playback option. The internal memory of the more expensive models was completely omitted to lower the price. With this, Amazfit has missed a great opportunity in my opinion, but the manufacturer has to push the price somewhere, after all.
At least you can use the GTS 2 Mini to control music playback on your smartphone. All it takes here is a few simple swipes and you can forward the essential commands to your phone. This worked smoothly in the test with common streaming portals like Spotify and Amazon Prime Music.
Sleep tracking also seems to perform well. Here, the free Zepp app offers an intuitive daily breakdown of your sleep patterns. Amazfit doesn’t reinvent the wheel here, but it does offer what I think a sleep tracker should. For example, you can see how much of your night was spent in deep sleep, light sleep, REM and awake time by looking at the timeline. I feel like the results were in line with reality.
On top of that, deviations over time are also shown to you. There’s also an indication of atypical sleep behavior here. For example, the watch shows you whether you fell asleep too late. Even short naps that last just 20 minutes are tracked by the watch. If you find time for those little midday naps, you’ll surely be happy about it.
Like previous Amazfit wearables, the GTS 2 Mini isn’t much good as a smartwatch, despite its striking resemblance to the Apple Watch. Notifications are supported and the Amazfit GTS 2 Mini’s crisp display makes reading the same quite enjoyable. However, I felt that they did not always come across reliably. There are also no real options for interaction when you get a notification on the GTS 2 Mini. Spontaneous replies to a Messenger message are simply not possible here.
On the other hand, we find it cool that the Amazfit GTS 2 Mini has Amazon’s Alexa on board. The voice assistant almost always worked smoothly in the test. However, I sometimes had to struggle with network problems. Whether this is due to the watch itself or the Wi-Fi router is uncertain. What is certain is that the watch has problems at the latest when you do not have your smartphone nearby. After all, the smart service also relies on your phone to work.
Mobile payment is also not supported on the GTS 2 Mini. This is hardly surprising. After all, the NFC chip required for this is another expensive component that has fallen victim to the price gap. However, basic functions like weather updates and alarms are present and taken into account. Thus, there is a lot on the plus side in terms of functions. Health and fitness are clearly the focus here, though.
Battery life
- 220mAh battery
- Zepp estimates 7 to 14 days, depending on usage
- Less than a week in practice (with Always-on display active)
Zepp estimates that you can get between seven and 14 days of continuous use from a single charge of the Amazfit GTS 2 Mini’s 220 mAh battery, depending on how you use it. As is often the case with manufacturers’ battery life claims, it depends. The maximum battery life is reached when the wearable’s various functions are not fully utilized. However, with the Always-On display activated and several workouts in my pocket, I found that the battery life was one or two days below this seven-day mark.
Five or six days is far from bad, but it falls far short of other affordable fitness wearables like the Fitbit Inspire 2 and Xiaomi Mi Band 6. And all those who run more frequently and/or more intensively will notice that the battery performance decreases even further with the number of activity trackings. Accordingly, Zepp’s assessment is a bit overambitious.
However, the comparatively weak battery life is no coincidence. The integrated GPS tracking alone, not to mention the large, bright AMOLED display, gnaws away at the endurance of the inexpensive smartwatch. Personally, I prefer to charge my smartwatch a few times more often and get a few exciting features in return, which enduring competitors do not have.
Conclusion
The Amazfit GTS 2 Mini is the ideal wearable for beginners looking for a comprehensive fitness tracker in the style of a traditional smartwatch. It’s comfortable to wear, has an excellent 1.55-inch OLED display, and tracks all your important metrics with an optical heart rate monitor and built-in GPS. Battery life could be better, however, and the watch isn’t quite as smart as it looks – but otherwise, there’s little to complain about here. Great job Amazfit!
Amazfit GTS 2 Mini
Workmanship
Hardware
Performance
Value for money
91/100
The Amazfit GTS 2 Mini may not be a full-fledged smartwatch, but it scores as a fitness tracker in almost every discipline. Great job Amazfit!
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