The best bang for your buck in rugged smartwatches

Amazfit T-Rex 3 review: Design, hardware

Look & feel

When I first strapped the Amazfit T-Rex 3 to my wrist, its substantial presence was immediately apparent. With a 48mm diameter, this is undeniably a masculine watch. As someone with small to average-sized wrists I was pleasantly surprised, though, to find it comfortable. The octagonal design caught my eye right away – it’s a refreshing departure from the typical round smartwatches I’ve tested, giving the T-Rex 3 a distinctive character that sets it apart.

What surprised me most was how light the T-Rex 3 feels despite its imposing size. Weighing in at a mere 68.3 grams (without the strap), it’s noticeably lighter than I expected. This lightness proved to be a real advantage during my test runs and hikes. The watch stayed put without bouncing around, which I suspect contributed to accurate heart rate readings during intense activities.

Zepp Health has managed to create a watch that’s both feather-light and tough as nails. The secret lies in its hybrid design: a high-tech polymer forms the bulk of the case, keeping weight to a minimum, while strategic metal elements add strength where it counts. The stainless steel bezel is the first line of defence against bumps and scrapes. Meanwhile, the microphone housing and control buttons are fortified with metal, ensuring these critical components can withstand the rigours of outdoor adventures.

Now, I wouldn’t say the T-Rex 3 is quite as aesthetically refined as some premium smartwatches. It’s slightly less polished-looking than, say, the Amazfit Falcon or the Garmin Fenix series. But remember, the latter sells at over three times the price of the T-Rex. What the Amazfit lacks in premium aesthetics, it makes up for in rugged charm and practical design. Plus, you can jazz up the display with a seemingly endless stream of watch faces available in the smartphone app, allowing for plenty of personalization.

This is a watch that’s built to last, and it shows in every aspect of its design. The 10 ATM water resistance gave me the confidence to wear it while swimming, and I was impressed to learn that the T-Rex 3 also has freediving capabilities up to 147 feet. And let’s not forget that the device meets nine military-grade regulations (MIL-STD-810H) – a fact that speaks volumes about its durability.

The star of the show, in my opinion, is the 1.5-inch AMOLED display. With its 480 x 480 pixel resolution and up to 2000 nits brightness, it’s an absolute joy to look at. Even under the harsh midday sun, I had no trouble reading the screen. The colors pop vibrantly, and the text is crisp and clear.

There’s also a “night mode”, which dims the screen in shades of red, green or blue. You can set this to switch on automatically at night while you sleep.

A useful addition that hasn’t appeared on an Amazfit watch before is something called the Glove Mode. This feature comes in handy in cold, wintery conditions as it means you do not need to remove your gloves to operate the display.

In addition to the touch functionality of the screen, there are four physical buttons to navigate the device. These buttons provide satisfying tactile feedback and are easy to operate. It’s something you will find yourself using for starting, pausing, and stopping exercises. Interestingly, the screen goes into lock mode when you’re exercising, and you can only wake it up via the buttons. While this feature prevents accidental touches, I must admit that at times I found it a bit annoying, especially when I wanted to quickly glance at my stats mid-workout.

All things considered I would say the T-Rex 3 looks sleek and professional. The silicone strap has proven comfortable for all-day wear. Unlike some other watch straps I’ve tested, after a couple of weeks, I’ve noticed no skin irritation or discomfort. A nice touch is the inclusion of a small screwdriver and adaptor in the box, allowing you to fit the watch with any standard band. Useful for those that have a favourite type of strap.

As someone with small wrists, I don’t usually go for large, rugged smartwatches. But the Amazfit T-Rex 3 may have changed my mind. It offers a compelling blend of rugged functionality and surprising lightness. While its size might not be for everyone, those who appreciate a larger, adventure-ready watch will find a lot to love here.

Under the hood

Peeling back the rugged exterior of the Amazfit T-Rex 3 reveals a powerhouse of technology that punches well above its weight class. At its core, the watch runs on Zepp OS 4.0, the latest iteration of the company’s operating system. The fluidity of the interface is immediately apparent; swiping through menus and launching apps feels as smooth as skipping stones across a still lake.

As far as actual tech, you’ll find the BioTracker PPG biometric sensor. Zepp Health doesn’t actually specify which version of the sensor is in the watch. It doesn’t appear to be 4.0 or the 5.0 of the Balance watch. It might be something in-between. Having said that, its 5PD + 2LED setup isn’t just a string of letters and numbers. The accuracy of heart rate monitoring during workouts is nothing short of impressive, especially when compared to the hit-or-miss performance of early Amazfit models.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The T-Rex 3 is practically a mobile weather station, environmental monitor, and navigation system rolled into one. A triumvirate of motion sensors – accelerometer, gyroscope, and geomagnetic sensor – work in concert to track your every move with pinpoint precision. Meanwhile, the air pressure sensor turns your wrist into a mobile altimeter. And let’s not forget the temperature sensor, silently gathering data to enhance your sleep metrics.

Of course, you also get built-in satellite connectivity. In fact you get state of the art dual-band technology and support for six satellite systems.

Other than that, the watch has a microphone. But unlike Amazfit Balance, it doesn’t have a speaker. Well, it does in a sense. But its more of a beeper. You can’t use it for audio, but it can function as an alarm to accompany the vibration or when you use the Find my Watch feature from the smartphone app. But the lack of a proper speaker does mean that you need to connect headphones for music playback.

Battery life

Another positive of the watch is battery life. The Amazfit T-Rex 3 boasts impressive battery performance, thanks to its robust 700 mAh power source.

In my time with the T-Rex 3, I’ve put it through its paces with a regimen that would leave lesser watches gasping for a charge. Daily activity tracking? Check. Nightly sleep monitoring? You bet. A few GPS-tracked workouts per week? Absolutely. And yet, after all that, this tireless timepiece keeps ticking well past the 20-day mark.

Amazfit provides several battery life estimates for different usage scenarios:

Typical use: Up to 27 days Battery saver mode: Up to 40 days Heavy usage scenario: Up to 13 days Continuous GPS usage (accuracy mode): Up to 42 hours

These figures align closely with my experience, though actual results may vary depending on individual use patterns and health and fitness settings. For example how often a heart rate measurement is taken. All of this can be tweaked.

It’s also worth noting that the choice of watch face can impact battery life. While the T-Rex 3 offers a wide selection of customizable faces, including third-party options, users should be aware that some of these may consume more power than others. For optimal battery performance, it’s generally advisable to stick with one of the stock Zepp Health watch faces. Which is what I did.

Amazfit T-Rex 3 vs T-Rex Ultra vs T-Rex 2: Technical specs comparison

The Amazfit T-Rex 3, T-Rex Ultra, and T-Rex 2 are all rugged smartwatches with similar designs and core features, but they differ in key areas. The trio is durable, with water resistance up to 10 ATM and strong satellite positioning.

However, the T-Rex 3 stands out with a larger and better display, NFC support, and a bigger battery. The T-Rex Ultra has a different style made of more durable steel build, its heavier, it comes with adjustable lugs on the strap and $120 more expensive. Meanwhile, the T-Rex 2 is the most affordable option but has fewer advanced features like NFC and music storage, and like the Ultra – packs previous generation sensors.

Amazfit T-Rex 3 review: Health & fitness tracking

I’ll keep this section brief, as it’s pretty standard stuff. If you’ve every used an Amazfit watch, the T-Rex 3 is no different.

The device includes all the key health and fitness tracking features, covering heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), stress, sleep, daily activity, skin temperature and more. With its upgraded BioTracker PPG sensor, it offers more accurate readings than previous models. Setup is simple, thanks to the QR code that make connecting the watch to the Zepp app a breeze.

To maximize the tracking potential, it’s a good idea to take some time at the outset to adjust settings. As mentioned, this includes things such as increasing the heart rate sampling rate and enabling additional tracking options. The result is more detailed health and activity data but with slightly shorter battery life.

In terms of accuracy of standard stats, I would say the data is reliable. While it’s not an exact match with the Garmin Forerunner 955 I wore on the other wrist, the differences are minimal.

Zepp Health app

As with other Amazfit watches, the central repository of all information is the Zepp Health app. This has gone through a number of redesigns. So now you get recovery stats as the centre-piece. With other activity and health metrics below. Of course you can click on pretty much anything, for much more detailed insights.

You can see a few screenshots below.

The sleep stats are very detailed. And you get some advanced insights such as sleep breathing quality and hypopnea info.

It’s worth noting, there’s currently a Beta version of the Zepp Health app. So the company is working on a new edition of the smartphone software which will provide a complete revamp.

Currently only available for users of Amazfit Balance, it offers a new user interface. The update doesn’t bring any new features to the table, but it focuses on something equally crucial: ease of use. Testers report that the redesign makes navigating the app and finding information much more straightforward. The screen shots do look promising.

Sports tracking

As you’d expect, the T-Rex 3 offers plenty of sports tracking options. Over 170, to be exact. As an avid runner, I was most interested in testing out its run-tracking capabilities.

I compared it on multiple runs to the Garmin Forerunner 955, focusing on GPS and heart rate tracking capabilities. A few day ago, for example, I did a half marathon and found that the watch performed well. It quickly locked onto a GPS signal which mirrored my experience on other runs. The device is as quick, and often quicker, than the Garmin at acquiring satellite connectivity.

For heart rate accuracy the difference between the two devices was minor. The Forerunner 955 showed an average heart rate of 148 bpm, and the T-Rex 3 was close at 149 bpm. Max heart rate was similar as well. Again, this mirrored my experience on the runs. You can view detailed stats comparing the two in a separate article I did on this topic.

I did multiple tests, and they all look good. It is not something I expected from the Amazfit considering earlier devices I had which struggled on this count. There has been good improvement with this latest edition, and with the Amazfit Balance as well. Both watches benefit from pairing with chest straps for more accurate heart rate tracking during high-intensity workouts.

In terms of pace, the Forerunner clocked a 6:09/km pace and the T-Rex 3 was just slightly off at 6.12/km. The discrepancy was due to a 100 meter difference in estimated distance. Which is not bad over a half marathon – especially considering I trained in a semi-urban setting. Both watches also delivered similar cadence data, with only minor variances.

The T-Rex 3, with its upgraded sensors and competitive features, proves itself as a strong budget alternative to the Garmin. Having said that, it lags as compared to the Garmin in terms of advanced training metrics and other performance insights. Don’t get me wrong – it still offers plenty. But for athletes needing deeper analytics, the Garmin still holds an edge, while the T-Rex 3 remains a compelling option for casual runners or those looking for solid performance without the premium price tag.

Here is a recent 7.5km run, showing you what kind of runnings stats you get from the Amazfit.

Maps

As noted in my more-detailed coverage, the T-Rex 3 also has the ability to download maps for offline usage. These are especially handy thanks to the watch’s excellent display, which provides real-time updates of your location as you follow a route.

Downloading maps is straightforward. Ensure your watch is connected to WiFi, then select and download the map through the Zepp Health app.

You can zoom in and out using the + and – signs, which are controlled by tapping the buttons on the left side of the watch.

For map settings, a long press on the top right button opens the menu where you can switch between light and dark modes or set it to auto-adjust. The dark mode is ideal for night navigation, while the light mode works best in bright conditions.

To exit, simply tap the Back button. The entire process works very smoothly.

Amazfit T-Rex 3 review: Smart features

I would say the T-Rex 3 sits somewhere between sports watches such as Garmin, and smartwatches such as the Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy watch. It provides good functions in both areas – but it is not top of the line in either.

As mentioned earlier, you can download music for offline listening. You will need to pair headphones to the watch for that. I managed to connect Xiaomi Buds 3 Pro, no issues. You only need to pair once, and can toggle the auto-pair option to avoid needing to do this in the future. It lacks some advanced functions for music such as a native Spotify app, but there are third-party options you can download that provide limited features.

The timepiece also has NFC which works in most European countries, but not in the US. Zepp Pay, supports Mastercard, making it possible to link multiple cards. If your bank isn’t directly supported, you can also use the Curve app, which acts as a digital wallet to combine various bank cards into one, allowing for payments even with unsupported banks.

Of course, you also get notifications on the watch from a connected phone and some apps such as weather which comes installed by default. Beyond that there’s a healthy selection that can be found in the Zepp Health app. Granted you won’t get an all-encompassing choice as you would on WearOS or watchOS, but you do get quite a few.

ZeppOS is a streamlined operating system. It mostly focuses on the health and fitness functionality and longevity of the battery life.

Finally, also worth a mention is the intelligent assistant. The lack of a proper speaker does put a damper on dreams of conversing with Alexa or Google Assistant through your wrist. However, the T-Rex 3 isn’t completely mute when it comes to voice control. It boasts an offline assistant that’s surprisingly capable, responding to a variety of commands. A cheat sheet of commands is conveniently stored on the watch itself.

Amazfit T-Rex 3 review: The bottom line

View on Amazfit / Amazon.

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