Amazfit T-Rex 3: first impressions
When the Amazfit T-Rex 3 dropped last fall it was billed as the ultimate outdoor GPS watch by the Chinese brand, while onlookers hailed it as a rival to the Garmin Fenix 8. Given that the Fenix 8 is a premium watch from the world's biggest brand, and given that the T-Rex 3 comes in at about a quarter of the price, that claim was optimistic. However, this is still a great watch for adventurers heading into the backcountry – especially if you have a more limited tech budget.
The T-Rex 3 promises a rugged build, weeks of battery life, endless activity modes, smartwatch functionality and proper maps on its big, bright AMOLED screen. All for $279.99 (£249.99). Could it deliver? Mostly, but there are some wrinkles.
We had already given its predecessor, the Amazfit T-Rex 2, nearly perfect marks for its tough build, battery life and navigation features, so our hopes were high for this watch. Plus, the corresponding Zepp app has seen almost continuous improvements over the last couple of years, making it considerably easier to use.
The watch comes in a robust build that some might say is too big and bulky for all but the burliest of users. On the upside, I wouldn't be afraid to drop it on a rocky trail, thanks to its stainless steel bezel, polymer middle frame and gorilla glass screen. It's rated for free diving, so a bit of wet weather isn't going to pose a problem either.
It's powered by a battery that the brand claims gives you up to 42 hours of support in accurate GPS mode, or up to 27 days with typical use. In our field tests, we found it didn't quite live up to that incredibly high standard, but it does rival the lifespan of Coros watches, which gives it an edge over its Garmin competition. It is, however, a little on the slow side to charge.
• List price: $279.99 (US) / £249.99 (UK)
• Case size: 1.9in / 48mm
• Display: AMOLED
• Weight (43mm): 2.46oz / 70g
• Battery life: 27 days in smartwatch mode / up to 42 hours in accurate GPS mode / 72 hours in power-saving GPS mode
• Water rating: 10ATM
• Materials: Stainless steel bezel, polymer middle frame, gorilla glass screen
• Best use: Trail running, hiking, diving
As an outdoor adventure junkie, I was excited about the prospect of free, downloadable maps, which I thought would display well given the 1.5in (38mm) AMOLED display. In reality, I found the process of downloading maps a little fiddly, and they didn't display as well as on other watches. However, the GPS was accurate. The screen is easy to view in all light conditions, but it's not super responsive in gesture mode, which can be annoying.
Heart rate tracking was also accurate when compared with other watches, though it was sometimes a little slow to catch up when I went from slow to fast or flat to steep. Health tracking is all done by the Zepp app, which has really improved and allows you to access everything from training readiness to sleep scores. While most of us probably wouldn’t choose to sleep with a watch this size, it has a surprisingly comfortable fit – despite the brutish build.
The T-Rex 3 boasts lots of smartwatch capabilities, which means you can respond to texts and control your music playback, but you can't make or take calls like you can with the Fenix 8, and you can't install Spotify. There's also no LED flashlight for nocturnal escapades.
But enough about what's not there. This is a tough, capable sports watch that's easy to use and has a responsive touchscreen and voice commands. It doesn't seem fair or helpful to compare it to the Fenix 8, largely because you're either in the market for a thousand-dollar watch or a budget-friendly watch. We can't say it's as good, but it does share important DNA with its pricier rival and boasts plenty of perks for adventurers.
Amazfit T-Rex 3: in the field
I've been testing the T-Rex 3 for the past three weeks of summer activities. Usually when I'm testing a sports watch, I try it out hiking, trail running, pool swimming and for yoga. However, I quickly realized this particular watch is too big to reasonably wear for lap swimming or for yoga. That's fine, because it's billed as an adventure watch rather than a general fitness watch, such as the Amazfit Active 2.
I've been wearing it on my right wrist on the trails in Scotland, including up one Munro, and using my Coros Pace 3 on my left wrist as a comparison.
Design
The T-Rex 3 comes in just one size, and it's ginormous. I don't have a birdlike bone structure, but I'm on the small side, and this beefy piece absolutely dominates my wrist.
That said, whereas the Fenix 8 bruised my wrist for the first few days of wearing it, this watch is surprisingly comfortable. Yes, it gets in the way when I'm putting on my backpack, and no, I couldn't possibly sleep with it on, but for everything in between, it's fine. However, if a smaller version were available, I'd snap it up.
Part of the reason I haven't found this watch too annoying is that I've been testing it in warm weather. It's no problem to wear with a short-sleeved shirt and even a rain jacket or windbreaker, but come winter, I can imagine it being difficult to team with multiple layers, given its high-rise profile.
It's operated by four buttons: top-right takes you into activities, while bottom-right is a back button that takes you into apps such as the Zepp Coach, your workout history and current heart rate. On the left side, there's an up and down button to navigate menus. If you press on the bottom left from the home screen, you get a snapshot of the day where you can see the weather forecast, your most recent workout, training load and recovery time. If you press the top left from the home screen, you get into settings where you can activate a 'do not disturb' setting, adjust screen brightness, check your battery level and more.
All of these screens can also be accessed by swiping in various directions – it's all pretty intuitive.
Features
This watch is absolutely packed with features. Not satisfied with just being an adventure watch, it's also got tons of smartwatch capability and training recommendations provided via the Zepp app.
Maps are free to download for offline use (see more below in 'Performance') and combined with a big, bright screen, they are a definite perk for navigating in the wild. The GPS uses six satellite positioning systems and can be disabled, along with tracking, which you might want to do for safety reasons.
The BioTracker 6.0 PPG biometric sensor is the primary health monitor, tracking key metrics such as heart rate, blood oxygen saturation and stress levels. It also analyzes your workouts to give you training readiness and recovery scores.
The dive function is a huge bonus and I almost couldn't believe the number of sports modes (nearly 180), which include ultra marathon training, pickleball, wingsuit flying, hula hooping, artistic swimming and Hyrox. The latter seems to be the one the brand is most excited about, which is understandable given the meteoric rise of the circuit training trend, but I admit I haven't tested it in a Hyrox capacity and almost certainly never will.
You can’t install music streaming apps, but you can control playback from your phone and pair headphones. There’s no built-in LED flashlight – a feature that’s becoming increasingly expected on adventure watches, especially with Garmin’s latest Fenix and Enduro models setting the standard.
Performance
A bit like when a restaurant has a 10-page menu, having lots of features in this case means that not all of them function perfectly.
To use maps, you first need to download the area you want via the app. Once that’s done, sending a route to your watch should display it as a proper map, not just line-and-pointer navigation. In my excitement, I jumped on a train, connected to the WiFi, and was pleased by how straightforward the process was. I selected all of Scotland and downloaded it in just a few minutes. But out on the trail, I still only had line-and-pointer navigation – no full map display.
When I got home, I tried downloading the map again, but kept getting a message saying I needed to enable it in ‘map settings'. At first, I couldn’t find that option – until I realized it was referring to the settings on the watch itself, not within the app. The prompt could have been clearer.
On my next outing up Ben Lomond I managed to activate the map, but I can't say it's the best map I've ever used. There were some topographical features – I could see a river when I crossed it – but it lacked detail. The bigger issue is that the route is shown from a fixed top-down view, rather than aligning with your direction of travel. As with Google Maps, I expect the pointer to face forward so it’s clear which way to turn – but on the T-Rex 3, it can point in any direction, which I found disorienting. At one junction, I even had to take a wrong turn in order to figure out which was the right way. It’s manageable for hiking, but could be frustrating if you’re trail running and need to keep stopping.
Another odd thing was that the display showed how much of the hike was remaining in kilometers. That's great, but knowing the hike, I quickly realized this was way off and soon determined that it meant to say distance elapsed, which is a big difference.
On a more positive note, the display is excellent and easy to read. I especially like that I can easily see when sunset is while I'm hiking or running, so I can make sure I'm back before dark.
As for my heartbeat, accuracy was generally within one beat. I did, however, notice that it was a little slow to catch up when I accelerated or slowed down, so I'm not sure how good the acceleration sensor is, and as I've mentioned, it was too big to wear for sleep, so I wasn't able to take advantage of that data.
I don't think the battery quite lives up to claims, but it is excellent. Using it for four hours in GPS mode drained about 20 percent, which, by my estimation, means you'd get more like 20 hours out of it, rather than 42. That said, it is one of the better batteries out there. In a normal week for me, which includes a long hike plus a couple of trail runs, I can get around 12 to 13 days from a single charge, and when out of GPS mode, it barely drains at all.
You charge the watch via Amazfit's charging cradle (included) with a USB-C cord. The cradle snaps right into place and is secure, but I did notice that charging takes quite a long time.
Finally, although I think the Zepp app has improved since I've been using it, it sometimes gives me recommendations that don't seem at all grounded in my actual activity. It still needs tweaking.
The T-Rex 3 isn't a perfect watch, but it's intuitive, has fantastic battery life, and the screen is great. I'll also add here that the Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro – set to launch in October 2025 and currently on my desk – promises to address many of the issues I’ve mentioned. It features an LED flashlight and auto-rerouting maps for when you stray off course.
Value
It might seem as though I've focused heavily on flaws in this article, but to be clear, this watch is outstanding value. I'm not quite sure how Amazfit manages to pack so much into its devices and keep the prices so low. The materials aren't on par with the quality offered by premium watches from big-name brands, but they are totally in line with other mid-range watches.
The only thing I can think of is that, instead of spending years in research, the brand is happy to release watches that aren't quite perfect, then update them as they go, helping keep costs down. If I'm right, that means you might get a few quirks, but in this case, for a fair price you can buy a rugged GPS watch with maps and smartwatch capabilities that will support you on your gnarliest adventures.
Also consider
This watch is probably the most similar from Coros to the T-Rex 3. It's big, rugged and boasts proper maps that are better than those on the Amazfit watch, and the battery life is excellent. That said, like any Coros Pace watch, it lacks smartwatch capabilities, may not have the most accurate heart rate sensor, and is a little more expensive.
Read our full Coros Pace Pro review
Pros
- Bright AMOLED display
- Reliably accurate GPS
- Global topo maps with turn-by-turn navigation
- Easy to use interface
- Responsive touchscreen
- Moderately priced
Cons
- Heart rate monitor can be unreliable
- Only one size available
- Plastic case looks a little cheap
- Mineral glass not as rugged
- Strap is fiddly
- Limited smartwatch functions
Like the Suunto Race, the Race S is a super tactical and technical training watch for anyone who's serious about data and metrics, and it's a little daintier on the wrist. This watch doesn't put all its chips on smartwatch functionality, but it's tough enough for heavy outdoor use with brilliant maps for a slightly higher price tag.
Read our full Suunto Race S review
Pros
- Extremely accurate GPS
- Excellent battery life
- Proper offline maps
- Great training insights
- Super clear and bright display
- High-quality build
- Responsive touchscreen
Cons
- Takes a little while to get to grips with interface and maps
- Lacks proper flashlight
- High profile design not the best for sleeping
- Crown button a little fiddly
Comparison table
Watch |
Amazfit T-Rex 3 |
Coros Pace Pro |
Suunto Race S |
|---|---|---|---|
Price |
$279.99 (US) / £249.99 (UK) |
$349 (US) / £349 (UK) |
$349 (US) / £325 (UK) |
Weight (smallest) |
2.46oz / 70g |
1.7oz / 49g |
1.76oz / 50g |
Display |
AMOLED |
AMOLED |
AMOLED |
Sizes available |
1.89in / 48mm |
1.81in / 46mm |
1.77in / 45mm |
Best use |
Trail running, hiking, diving, gym |
Trail running, hiking, swimming, cycling |
Trail running, hiking, swimming, cycling |
