Fitness tracking is big business, but if you’re not a fan of cardio, it’s easy to feel left out, which is why Amazfit has designed its new smart watches GTS 4 and GTR 4 to also record strength exercises.
The surveillance aptitude it mostly comes down to monitoring your heart rate, counting steps, and using GPS to see where you’ve been. Most of this isn’t very useful for strength training and weightlifting, where you tend to stay in one spot and often don’t even raise your heart rate.
The GTS 4 and GTR 4 solved that problem, and Amazfit claims this affordable pair of watches can track sets, reps, and rest times for 15 different exercises (with 10 more to come, it seems).
Added to this is the ability to record the muscle groups you have exercised and help you target them better.
Runners and cyclists are not left out either. Improved “dual-band polarized” GPS antennae apparently offer accurate tracking in more challenging and crowded environments, and workout data can be synced to Strava and Adidas Running.
Both watches include 24/7 tracking of heart rate, blood oxygen levels and stress, enhanced by a new BioTracker 4.0 PPG sensor which Amazfit claims can capture 33% more data in more than the existing 3.0 sensor on the Amazfit GTR 3 and GTR 3 Pro.
With just a touch, you can also get a single reading of all three readings, plus respiratory rate, in just 45 seconds. Sleep tracking is also included, with adjustable sleep schedules to best suit those who work night shifts.
We also have Zepp OS 2.0, with improvements such as the ability to choose between two app menu layouts and to adjust the OS’s overall color palette. Zepp also promises that the update is designed to consume less power, which improves battery life.
Otherwise, these are watches that Amazfit fans will find familiar. You can choose between a round (GTR) or square (GTS) design, both with AMOLED displays, support for over 150 workouts, Alexa compatibility and impressive battery life: one week for the GTS 4 and two weeks for the larger GTR 4.
Both models start at $199, making them considerably cheaper than nearly all of their rivals. They will first arrive in Germany on September 12, and in September and October they should already do so in other European markets.
If that still seems too expensive for your needs and you’re not interested in strength training, Amazfit’s new GTS 4 Mini, priced at $99.99, might be a bit more tempting.
Successor to the GTS 2 Mini (there was no 3 Mini), this portable It features a 1.65″ AMOLED display with always-on display, 15-day battery life on a single charge, and a suite of sensors to monitor heart rate, blood oxygen, stress , sleep, and over 120 types of workouts.Water resistant (5ATM), and has built-in GPS to boost performance.
It will go on sale in the next few weeks in Germany, but it is not yet known if it will be available in Europe or Latin America.
If you don’t want to wait that long, take a look at our selection of the best smart watches and the best activity bracelets, all already on sale.
Original article published in Tech Advisor.