What a name for a watch, the T-Rex Pro! I did chuckle a little when I first heard the name but I’ve seen worse. I am a smartwatch wearer, I’ve had android watches in the past but recently, I have been enjoying my Series 3 Apple Watch which is fantastic but I’m going into this review with an open mind.
Features
- Heat resistance upto 70c, cold resistance down to -40c, 240h humidity resistance, 96h salt spray resistance, waterproof up to 100m, and shock-resistant too.
- Blood oxygen saturation measurement + heart rate monitor.
- A wide array of exercise modes, inc walking, running, cycling, swimming, rowing, surfing, and many more.
- The FirstBeat™ algorithm assesses specialized data such as your maximum oxygen uptake, full recovery time, and training load, to quantify your accomplishments after each challenge.
- Our latest self-developed ExerSense™ workout recognition algorithm automatically recognizes eight sports modes and records corresponding workout data.
- Sleep monitoring.
- 1.3″ HD AMOLED display, resolution 360×360
- 390mAh battery. Charge time 1.5hrs. Typical usage upto 18days, heavy usages upto 9days, GPS continuous upto 40hours.
Out the box, it’s quite a large, chunky watch, taking inspiration from the likes of the classic Casio G Shock. Screen width is 35mm, with the overall watch being about 50mm. So if you’re used to a 38 or 42mm watch, this will feel big on your wrist. The watch is incredibly lightweight and overall, it looks pretty well built. Rugged in appearance, it comes in three different colours, sandy grey, black and blue. Plastic construction with a rubber strap. The strap has ample notches, so you can easily achieve a nice fit. However, once the strap is on, when you feed the excess through the loop, there is a notch that holds it in place, which is fine but because of that notch, it’s annoyingly difficult to pull that excess strap through.
The watch comes with a circular 1.3″ AMLOED colour, touch screen display, with a resolution of 360×360. There are four buttons as well, two on either side, which allow you to control the watch. It is a touch screen as well, so no need to use the buttons all the time. To the underside of the watch, the sensor for taking readings/measurements, plus two small metal dots, so you can magnetically connect to the charger. In the box, you get the watch, charger, and some paperwork.
Set up was very straightforward. I turned the watch on, a QR code appeared, I scanned it with my phone and it directed me to an app called Zepp. I’m not sure if Amazfit owns that app, it’s not branded in any way or they have some other sort of arrangement. Anyway, sign up to the app, it’s free, then follow and accept some bits and the watch will be set up. There was a firmware update for my watch, which the app highlighted and pushed to the watch straight away.
The screen performance is pretty good. The display can get bright, it’s vibrant and nice to look at. There are options for display always on, or if not, turn your wrist or get a notification that the display will come on. Sliding up, down, left or right, it’s ok, it’s a little sluggish but it’s not too off-putting. One thing I did notice, when receiving notifications from Facebook messenger, the message text wouldn’t wrap to the screen, so a word would get cut in half across two lines, making it difficult to read the message.
Amazfit is stating the watch has passed 15 military-grade tests, and as mention above, on paper, this is an incredibly durable watch, capable of withstanding some harsh conditions.
Sports-wise, there are over 100 options for tracking your exercise, including all the usual options such as walking, running, cycling and swimming, but there are many more too. Things like fencing, bowling, hula hooping, frisbee, they really have allowed for everything.
100 odd options for sports is great, I’m not sure any competitor even gets close to that. However, the watch does not work with any third-party apps. So things like Strava, Peloton, non-sporting like Spotify, you can’t use those and it’s a really limiting factor.
Within the app, you can get a bunch of handy readouts. These include progress on the goals that you’ve set yourself. Your sleep patterns, your heart rate, either live or during the day etc. Steps, calories burnt, in-depth activity reports and if you input your weight and height, and keep it updated, it will show BMI and track weight loss progress if desired. It can also show stress levels and blood oxygen levels.
Battery life is very good, it’ll last for days, and days, and it’s so much better than my Apple watch. Watch faces are limited as default, with just four available but there is a store you can access via the app, which allows you to download a few more.
I am impressed with the watch, the display is nice, it’s lightweight, it’s protected from almost all elements and the battery life is superb. They currently retail for £139 here in the UK. Coming from an Apple watch, I’ve really missed the third-party integration, I couldn’t use this with Strava for my outside rides, or Peloton with my indoor rides. Little things like having the maps on my phone, I’m used to getting directions on my watch, which this doesn’t do. If you want something robust, something that’ll track your steps and general fitness, this could be a good watch for you. If you want more, spend the extra £60 and get an Apple watch.
The T Rex Pro is available to purchase now at Argos and Amazon.
