Huami (soon to be renamed Zepp) recently unveiled its latest rugged smartwatch, the Amazfit T-Rex Pro. A Pro upgrade to the original Amazfit T-Rex, which we reviewed in detail last year, the new edition features 10ATM water resistance (compared to 5 ATM on the old model) and Huami’s in-house developed BioTracker PPG 2 optical sensor. Otherwise, there’s slightly tweaked software in the same rugged military design as before.
That means a superb 1.3-inch AMOLED display with always-on display functionality, built-in GPS, and tracking for over 100 sports and activities. There’s the usual array of health features that monitor heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, sleep, and stress. The Pro model not only features a familiar design, but also the same round 1.3-inch AMOLED screen as the original T-Rex. Colors are pleasant, contrast is good, and sharpness is impressive, which is supported by the 360 x 360 pixel resolution.
The brightness is sufficient even in direct sunlight, so you can look at it comfortably in all conditions. There’s also an automatic brightness adjustment and a manual slider accessible from the watch’s quick settings – a swipe down from the selected dial. One subtle change is the switch from Gorilla Glass 3 on the original T-Rex to tempered glass on the Pro. On the surface, this seems like a downgrade, but without knowing more about the nature of the new glass the Amazfit team opted for here, it’s hard to say for sure.
Although the T-Rex Pro is ostensibly a fitness-oriented watch, it also has some smartwatch-like features. It’s far from the “ultimate personal assistant,” as the manufacturer claims, but it can be set to haptically buzz for incoming text messages, calls, and reminders. It can also control the music on your phone. If you connect it to a smartphone via Bluetooth, you can also get a weather forecast, sunrise and sunset times, and the current moon phase.
The tempered glass touchscreen is responsive enough to make operating the T-Rex Pro a pleasure on the go. Small swipes up and down toggle between the watch face and the shortcut panel, where you can do everything from turn on the flashlight (which isn’t bright enough for practical purposes!) and activate the power save/don’t disturb mode to select a screen saver and adjust the screen brightness. It is also possible to set the display to be “always” on at certain times.
