A beginner’s budget smartwatch
The Mobvoi TicWatch GTH Pro is a good option if you’re on a budget and just entering the world of fitness tracking. It can be customized to your liking and has all the basics along with heart health and even a few premium features at a decent price. It’s also the newer of the two smartwatches, launched in 2022, which is something to consider as well.
For
- Great battery life
- Different watch face options for personalization
- Advanced heart health features
- Comfortable
Against
- Not great notification support
- Arty heart health sensor can be finicky
- Limited number of workout types
- No built-in GPS
Bang for the buck
With the Amazfit GTS 2, you get solid bang for the buck with lots of sports modes and automatic tracking, a biological tracking sensor, PAI health assessments, music storage and playback, and more. It’s an older model, launched several years ago. But it still holds up today as an affordable option worth considering.
For
- Alexa voice assistance built-in
- Plenty of sports modes
- Decent battery life
- Different watch face options for personalization
Against
- Not great notification support
- Zepp app can be finicky
So, you’re looking for an entry-level smartwatch for yourself, or maybe to gift to a friend or family member. You’re probably weighing the benefits and drawbacks of the Mobvoi TicWatch GTH Pro vs. Amazfit GTS 2. Both smartwatches are two solid options to consider. The former was launched in the summer of 2022 and the latter way back in 2020 (with new colors launched in India last year). Both are great budget options that won’t break the bank yet still contain lots of premium features. Let’s take a closer look to help you decide between them.
Mobvoi TicWatch GTH Pro vs. Amazfit GTS 2: How they look
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The Mobvoi TicWatch GTH Pro has a square face with a curved design that resembles an Apple Watch. Made of aluminum, it has a 1.55-inch 360 x 320 display and only comes in a single color option, Meteorite black, with a 20mm black rubber strap that is interchangeable with others. There’s one button on the side and a side-mounted PPG sensor along with one on the underside that comes in contact with your skin.
Choose from a whopping 121 different watch faces within the Mobvoi app to further personalize the look. While it doesn’t have an always-on screen, you can tilt it to wake it up when you want to see a preview of your stats, the time, and other data. Android Central’s Chris Wedel reviewed the watch and said it was very comfortable to wear.
You get up to 10 days of battery life with this smartwatch, along with water resistance so you can safely swim with it. Powered by a custom RTOS software, it’s compatible with both Android and iOS mobile devices.
Also compatible with both major mobile OS platforms, the Amazfit GTS 2 has a slightly larger square 1.65-inch AMOLED that also resembles an Apple Watch. It boasts a slightly higher resolution than the Mobvoi TicWatch GTH Pro at 348 x 442. It also has a scratch-resistant carbon coating and the screen is made of tempered glass with a high gloss mirror matte plastic bottom shell.
It has a curved, bezel-less design with edge-to-edge glass combined with an aluminum alloy body. Choose from numerous watch face screens to customize the look of the always-on display, including your own personal photo for a background.
It comes in five color options, including Desert Gold, Urban Grey, Midnight Black, and new colors Space Black and Petal Pink. It also uses standard 20mm straps that are swappable. There’s one side-mounted button as well.
Battery life is decent at up to six days with normal usage and up to three days with heavy use. In his review, Android Central’s Michael Hicks confirms the battery claims are not overblown: he wore the watch for a week of moderate use and the battery was still at about 50% (though this was without continuous heart rate and SpO2 tracking enabled).
The Amazfit GTS 2 runs on Amazfit’s own Zepp OS and works with the Zepp app. Hicks did find that both the watch face and app weren’t the most intuitive to use, having trouble locating various menu options without much help from the manual. One useful design feature is a screen that can rotate 180° so it’s comfortable to use for both right- and left-handed individuals. As a southpaw myself, this is an important feature.
Mobvoi TicWatch GTH Pro vs. Amazfit GTS 2: The specs
Before we dive deeper into the features of these two smartwatches, let’s run down the core specs.
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Mobvoi TicWatch GTH Pro | Amazfit GTS 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Screen | 1.55 inches | 1.65 inches |
| Screen Resolution | 360 x 320 | 348 x 442 |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth LE | Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Waterproof rating | 5ATM | 5ATM |
| Exercise Options | 14 | 90 |
| Sleep Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Blood Oxygen Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Heart Rate Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Skin Temperature Monitoring | Yes | No |
| Colors | Meteorite Black | Desert Gold, Urban Grey, Midnight Black, Space Black, Petal Pink |
| Band Sizes | One Size (20mm) | One Size (20mm) |
| Interchangeable Bands | Yes | Yes |
| Battery Life | Up to 10 Days | Up to 6 Days (3 Days with Heavy use) |
| Smart Notifications | Yes (limited) | Yes (limited) |
| Built-in GPS | No | Yes |
| Phone Compatibility | Android, iOS | Android, iOS |
There are clearly a lot of similarities between these two smartwatches, but a handful of differences that could sway you toward one or the other.
Mobvoi TicWatch GTH Pro vs. Amazfit GTS 2: Core health and fitness features
When it comes down to it, the features are what really matters with a smartwatch. The Mobvoi TicWatch GTH Pro uses dual PPG biosensors to focus on monitoring your arterial health. This is through its own system called Arty. Powered by ATCOR, Arty takes manual measurements from your wrist and fingertip to capture arterial waveforms from your pulse as blood flows through your body. This will result in a heart health score. You’ll have to manually take these measurements, and it’s recommended to do so twice a day so you can get a full history.
This, however, is a finicky feature. Wedel found that he would sometimes have to try multiple times before getting a proper reading and could never figure out the issue. Nonetheless, with patience, for those looking for a watch that specifically focuses on heart health, and who are diligent about consistently taking measurements, it’s a feature worth considering as a deciding factor. The results will even include an ArtyAge over time, which tells you your heart age in comparison to your actual age and provides tips to help you improve.
Naturally, the smartwatch also captures the typical data you’d expect, including exercise, activity, blood oxygen, skin temperature, sleep, and more. You’ll be able to track a decent number of exercises, including 14 common workout types like trail running, indoor cycling, swimming, walking, and rowing. But for anything else more specific, you’ll have to use the catch-all “freestyle” working option.
For those who like to keep track of their specific workouts, like which day you did free weights, which day was HIIT, and so on, you might want to look elsewhere as you won’t get these specific stats. But the Mobvoi TicWatch GTH Pro can sync to popular exercise apps like Google Fit, Runkeepers, and Strava. Oddly, however, it doesn’t have built-in GPS which means you’d need to bring your phone along with you to track a run.
With the Amazfit GTS 2, you get a lot more in the health and fitness space. It has an amazing 90 sports modes with smart recognition of a handful of them: outdoor run, treadmill, walk, outdoor cycle, pool swimming, and elliptical. If you like to do different types of exercises and activities and want to keep track of them all, the Amazfit GTS 2 is the better option. It also has built-in GPS, which means you can track those runs, cycles, or other activities including your route without needing your phone.
The Amazfit GTS 2 has a BioTracker 2 PPG biological tracking optical sensor to keep on top of heart health along with a blood oxygen monitor, all-day heart rate tracking with warnings if something abnormal is detected, sleep tracking, and more. The PAI Health Assessment feature will calculate data like your heart rate, exercise time, and more to provide a score you can use as a measurement to try and improve.
With both, you can see all your health and wellness stats in the respective apps.
Mobvoi TicWatch GTH Pro vs. Amazfit GTS 2: Other mentionables
What else can these smartwatches do and what additional features do they add? The Mobvoi TicWatch GTH Pro has a built-in alarm, though Wedel said it was frustrating because it only buzzed a few times and then shut off. You also have to set it from the app: it can’t be done from the watch face itself.
It also has a built-in flashlight, do not disturb mode, power saving mode (especially appreciated if you go on vacation, for example, and forget the charger at home, though it already lasts for more than a week per charge anyway), find my phone, reminders to move, and more. Aside from syncing with the apps noted above, however, you cannot download any other third-party apps to this smartwatch. It does come with a built-in weather app, though.
There are notifications with the Mobvoi TicWatch GTH Pro, but they are limited to only those from a few simple apps. So don’t expect this smartwatch to be a personal assistant on your wrist.
The Amazfit GTS 2 has some very cool added features. It comes with Alexa built-in, which you can use (even offline) to do things like turn on sports modes and open the heart rate monitoring. The options for use are limited, but it’s a nice-to-have worth mentioning.
You can take Bluetooth phone calls right from your wrist using the built-in mic and speaker and store up to 3GB of music (300-600 songs) for playback right from the watch or through connected headphones. It uses Bluetooth 5.0, which is an older version, but still a step up from Bluetooth LE in the Mobvoi TicWatch GTH Pro. There are useful shortcut cards. You can swipe right to see these, including notifications, events, weather, music, and background apps. You swipe left, meanwhile, for quick access to commonly used functions. But keep in mind that you can’t download third-party apps to this device.
There’s haptic vibration feedback for things like phone calls and notifications, and you can even set the duration and intensity. The watch can also be locked with a passcode and can be set to auto-lock any time you remove it to prevent others from being able to see your notifications or tap into your personal health data.
Additionally, you’ll get typical features like an alarm, do not disturb, stopwatch, weather, and more with the Amazfit GTS 2.
Mobvoi TicWatch GTH Pro vs. Amazfit GTS 2: Which should you buy?
Now comes the time to decide between the Mobvoi TicWatch GTH Pro vs. Amazfit GTS 2. The Amazfit GTS 2 is an older smartwatch, but it’s still a better option to consider given all the features. It doesn’t have as long battery life, but even if you have to charge it once or twice per week, this is still better than other smartwatches that require daily charging.
For sports and exercise enthusiasts, the inclusion of so many different sports modes as well as built-in GPS is useful. It’s important to recall not only what you exercised one day, but what you did as well. For those doing programs that include a variety of workout types, or who like to do different activities and play different sports, you want to know what you did when. This can help you understand what activities burn the most calories, for example, or get your heart rate up most often. In this respect, the Amazfit GTS 2 is the better option.
The added features also add tremendous value, from music playback (though it doesn’t work with any popular music services, only direct music playback from a personal library), to built-in Alexa, there’s lots to love. Plus, it has a nicer, bigger screen that’s protected from the elements.
With that said, if you just want a simple smartwatch to track steps, general activities, sleep, and especially heart health, the Mobvoi TicWatch GTH Pro might meet your needs, and it’s typically slightly cheaper, depending on when and where you buy it.
But overall, the Amazfit GTS 2 offers greater value than the Mobvoi TicWatch GTH Pro, even if it’s the older model of the two. However, what you might want to do is spend a bit more and get a newer model from either brand (or another brand altogether) with more features. The Amazfit GTS 3 and Mobvoi TicWatch E3, for example, both rank among the best cheap smartwatches for Android. So it’s worth considering stepping up in both cases and getting something newer and more feature-rich if you find that neither of these meets your needs.
If you have some spare cash in your pocket to burn on something fancier, go for it. If not, the Amazfit GTS 2 is a solid choice that won’t break the bank.
A good starter watch
If you’re starting out and just want something super simple to track your activity, heart rate, blood oxygen, and more, the Mobvoi TicWatch GTH Pro is a good option. The Arty heart health feature might be frustrating at times, but when you get it to work, and if you’re diligent with taking consistent measurements, it can provide useful data.
Value for money
Despite its low price tag, the Amazfit GTS 2 offers premium-like features in a slick design with a gorgeous screen and decent battery life. It’s a nice starter option as well, but best for those who exercise and/or play sports and want to keep track of everything they do. Plus, you can choose a color that matches your personal style.
