A year on from Zepp Health (now Huami) launching its first rugged smartwatch, the Amazfit T-Rex, a follow up – the trex pro – offers subtle improvements on the original while staying true to the rough and ready traits that set this series apart.
The most notable change is that this model – which still costs just $180 – adds heart rate monitoring with the help of Zepp Health’s BioTracker 2 optical sensor (also found on the brand’s newer smartwatches). You also get a barometric altimeter, which will alert you to when your ascent or descent gets more challenging.
You still don’t get support for third party apps and there are limited smartphone features like the ability to see and respond to messages or calls unless you opt to connect it to your phone via Bluetooth. As a GPS sports watch though it’s pretty much top of the class with a capable spec sheet and a wide range of fitness and tracking metrics.
One of the reasons for this is the aforementioned 1.3in circular AMOLED display that’s been reworked to be more responsive. It’s bright, lucid and a pleasure to use on the move. Small swipes from your watch face will bring up the quick settings panel where you can adjust screen brightness, engage power-saving and do not disturb modes as well as a choice of screensavers and ‘always-on’ displays.
There’s also a handful of pre-loaded watch faces that should cover most tastes while the standard ones can be customized to your liking. There’s a decent selection of workout types as well, and you can even customise the watch to alert you to incoming phone notifications.
During testing the T-Rex pro’s heart rate monitor did a pretty good job of picking up on our exertion and giving a pretty accurate reading, but it’s not going to compete with chest strapped models. That said, we tested the watch’s sleep tracking and it performed very well, giving similar lengths of deep, light and REM sleep.
The trex pro is waterproof to 10ATM and has been certified to function in temperatures ranging from -40 degrees Celsius up to +70. It’s also shockproof and can withstand dropping from a height of two metres.
The trex pro is also built to be durable and has been subjected to 15 MIL-STD-810G tests, so you can be sure it’ll stand up to the toughest of wear and tear. That includes a hefty 5000mAh battery that’s advertised to last for 18 days of use. The accompanying magnetic USB charger takes surprisingly little time to replenish it, taking past 50% in 30 minutes.