AmazFit T-Rex 3 In-Depth Review: What's The Catch?

[@philipsnowdon7718]

I bought the T Rex 3 to replace an old Fenix 6. Really happy with my purchase. I use Outdooractive for my mapping on my iPad and my I phone. I create my routes on the mapping and then export the GPX files to the Zepp app as I did with the with the Garmin connect app. This was my one concern with Zepp app, which turns out was unfounded. Philip😎

[@cyclingzen]

The wingsuit flying and the chess and checkers tracking is hilarious 😂

[@dadandvideogames]

@@cyclingzen they've got a bunch of wild sports on there but I will remind EVERYONE that there's an eSports edition of the Instinct 1 lol. I know because I bought it for dirt cheap as my first Garmin. So Amazfit isn't totally alone with weird activities. I honestly do like that they have dog-walking, though.

[@WetterFlug]

Thank you for the balanced review. Good to get your opinion on this device and I hope Amazfit will listen to what you have to say. They seem to get more interested in what reviewers are saying recently as they support some with review samples. Lets see...

[@Dcrainmaker]

Thanks! They've got good hardware, they just need to follow it up with finishing the software.

[@deancuk]

I'd never heard of this. The feature set on this watch looks absolutely wild for the price point. The majority of the issues you highlighted seem to be software related, and are therefore fixable (theoretically) with updates. If they can finetune things as you mention at the end of the video - this is going to really be a no-brainer vs the Fenix.

[@windsurfsamario]

Great review. Your overall down to earth, reasonable analysis is the best among tech reviewers. I was waiting for the review of the interaction with the Helio ring. It is supposed to be covered both devices with the zepp app. Many people don’t like wearing big watches all time. And not many reviewers are noticing this.

[@crisgasco]

Well, about Amazfit updating old watches with new features or corrections, I wasn’t the case before but not anymore. The Amazfit Balance is already some time in the market, and has received several OS upgrades with new functions and corrections, and so is the case with the T-Rex 3. They have even updated older models like the T-Rex 2, the Falcon, etc, which makes them more attractive since lifecycle is longer.

[@philnichols4680]

Yes, there are some features that aren’t fully baked. But like most Amazfit devices, this has really easy wearability - it’s snappy, easy to start/ stop workouts, view and dismiss notifications, set an alarm, etc…all the things that make wearing a watch enjoyable. This isn’t covered enough in reviews. I understand the purpose of this channel is workout-based, but the other 23 hours of the day count also.

[@hishy2009]

You got it man this is what 99% of the public wants

[@lesEman]

Great great review! I've had the watch for a couple of months now and you are completely spot on. Really hope Amazfit is listening and can polish some of the quirks out. Thanks you!

[@DavidJonesbt45]

They won’t. They’ll just release a new watch

[@fookie-fone]

Flashlight alone is worth the extra $700, but that Checkers activity tracking got me thinking. 😊

[@Adanteh]

Thanks for an actual in-depth review. A lot of the quick overviews seem entirely obsessed with the check-box exercise when it comes to feature sets. Ysing this stuff daily for a good while gives you a much more realistic idea of where the competition is at. Maybe this is why I still like garmin stuff, sure there's nothing stand-out about it and the prices are absurd (Luckily a LOT of secondhand stuff available for often half the price) but the daily experience for me has always been solid.

[@Dcrainmaker]

Thanks!!!

[@dadandvideogames]

Man, VERY interested to hear your thoughts. Thanks! Edit- "A laughable clown car" PERFECT! As a long time fan of the company that's a great way to phrase it. Great hardware, best-in-class sleep, and really weird software jank and bizarre low-hanging-fruit quality of life issues that would be SUPER easy to fix or just not make in the first place that make NO sense. But then they've got company dudes on the subreddit running to the engineers to tell them what people are saying, too. THEN they'll drop like really major features randomly at 5AM on a Tuesday with an announcement on Twitter like it's no big deal, right between announcements of one app that helps time when to feed your cat, and another app that helps you keep a log of every time you trim your nose hairs. ALL announcements will be treated with the same gravity, which is like they're the literal Second Coming and you're just sitting there watching it all in horror while laughing. A literal, lovable clown car. THAT is Amazfit in a nutshell.

[@hrisdev4]

I was seriously considering this but went with a base fenix 7 for 380 euros. For me, navigation is essential, and garmin are so far ahead it’s actually mind boggling. I don’t actually care much for hr accuracy since I always use a strap but the lack of power data on strava is another huge deal breaker. And the route syncing??? I really wanted to love this product (because price) but yeah, not for me until they can sort out the big ones.

[@KeithRobertson57]

Nice review, as always 👍🏻

[@newtonfb]

Great review Ray, been waiting for it. I don't think anyone who is seriously climbing peaks or doing multiple triathlons is buying the T-Rex. With that being said, for weekend warriors its a great watch. It does what most people need, especially for the price. Comparing it to my Garmin the last few months, its been great except for what you mentioned, readiness is way off. I think with a few algo tweaks it will be much better. I'm interested in what T-Rex 4 will bring.

[@WetterFlug]

Fully agree.

[@Bobjawaka]

In 2018 when my Amazfit Stratos 2 had sleep tracking and mp3 music storage in the watch, my Fenix ​​3 HR from the same era did not have them. The trackers are not always the same ;).

[@jaimerodriguez4836]

Thank you for your videos, keep up with the great work, the price of this amazfit is insane but I guess I’ll kept my garmin.

[@michaellanger5671]

Happy New Year! If they add so many games they definitely need to add Unstable Unicorns or Exploding Kittens because they get your HR up like nothing else ❤😂 And thank you for not calling it a Garmin Killer…that’s clickbait that you don’t need and shows your professionalism…. I’m looking at you Matt 🧐🧐🧐

[@Dcrainmaker]

Why stop there? Truth or Dare!

[@michaellanger5671]

@ You tell them…they might listen to you after all…👍👍👍👍👍

[@rollerrabauke]

They hear your voice…very fast Within actual update 3.4.4.7 from today the readiness score evaluation should be modified, and much more changes are done. Forgot to do screenshot and can not find the changelog anymore

[@JanSuchomel]

Thanks for the review. To be honest I have now Enduro 3 and it has also its quirks. For example still if I want to upload gpx with waypoints to the watch I need to use python program to create fit file from gpx and then copy that fit file through the cable directly to the watch. :D Also navigation in reverse is still not fixed and this bug is there from Fenix 6 maybe even older. And new GUI was/is also half baked. Some features that were on Fenix 6 are not there. For example I cannot set track color on Enduro 3. I think for people on budget that just want to have amoled watch with great battery for cycling and running could be T-Rex 3 option.

[@Peakabike]

At last someone who doesn't gloss over the "little problems" that just spoil the whole experience. I concluded that I just couldn't trust it so got the 965, more money sure but well and better spent! And you didn't mention the lack of one of the more actionable metrics like Body Battery, or Race Predictions, or the fact the map never orientates itself correctly. To top it off HR just did not work reliably for me, regardless of what I tried. Reminded me of the 235 nearly a decade ago!

[@gerym341]

An excellent review. Thank you for sharing

[@DiegoJamaica]

I currently have a Fenix ​​6 Sapphire. I even considered a T Rex 3 as soon as the good reviews on KZbin started. However, I always follow the releases, and I have already tested some of their products, such as the first T Rex, Amazfit Bip, GTS, etc., and I always noticed that the heart rate sensor was very bad, as well as other metrics. When I saw some reviewers talking about some inconsistent data, such as VO2, training readiness and other things, I was discouraged from making a change. Your video only confirmed even more what I had already noticed, so I will keep my Fenix ​​for another year, it is still strong and solid, maybe in another two or three years the core algorithm will be really polished and ready. Thanks Ray

[@BakaMF]

You have Fenix 6 and you are afraid of inconsistent data? 😂 Well maybe I got a broken unit...

[@DiegoJamaica]

@BakaMF Yes, for some ppl works great, but for others, its very inconsistent. I dont know why, but apparently, fenix 7 work better for most, unlike 6, than works good for 50/60% but another 40/50% works bad

[@mlegrand]

That was me that called it a "Garmin Killer" 👋 Or questioned it in a YT title.

[@cappaculla]

Not exclusively you, many have done so...

[@rogerc23]

Amazfit is a Chinese smart wearable brand established in September 2015 and headquartered in Hefei. No thanks.

[@greg15911]

😂

[@WetterFlug]

@@rogerc23 I just hope you are not too offended by the Garmin Asia Headquarters in Taiwan then. Its awfully close to China... I also hope you dont have an Apple PC or Phone as they are build in China. Or, in fact most other consumer electronics. Just get over it. Made in Amerika is not a sign for quality....rather the oposite.

[@Dcrainmaker]

@@WetterFlug Nobody (well, most grownups anyway) is saying China doesn't make good quality stuff. Of course they do, they manufacture the vast majority of consumer products today - at whatever quality level the company behind the product asks for. If a company like Apple or DJI or whomever requires high quality products and enforces it, they'll get that. However, from a privacy standpoint, it's also factual that Chinese companies cannot say no to giving data to the government. There is no appeal process. Certainly other countries have to give data with a warrant, but that requires a level and court system appeal option that doesn't exist in China. Whether or not that's an issue is up to each person. I have no problems with that for my DJI drone or using a COROS watch (both products made in China by Chinese companies), same goes for an Insta360 action cam. Others might differ.

[@Tien_Do_411]

Hi, kindly thanks for your great video! I just have a question, as I can see you also use Cheetah pro before in Zepp app, is the T rex 3 much better than the Cheetah pro? Special in HR and GPS accuracy. Thank you in advance!

[@TomikCoin]

Thank you ❤

[@icpart]

I didn't have that issues with sleep tracking deleting on my T-rex 3 which I used over a month.

[@Dcrainmaker]

Obviously, it doesn't impact everyone. But there's clearly enough instances of it that it's not hard to find on Reddit.

[@maks_zbogar]

Strange ​@@Dcrainmaker... this also never happened to me.

[@olisa4all]

Had mine for 2 months, not had this issue

[@MrSeedi76]

Any quirks or issues with the heart rate? I have the Amazfit Cheetah Square and while the GPS seems pretty accurate, the heart rate is sometimes completely off, especially in cold weather. Edit: should have watched to the end first... 😂

[@davidweisz3338]

When you ask us to watch the video to the end, does KZbin count the trailing ad too, or just your content?

[@Dcrainmaker]

I'm honestly not sure on that one. I know from a financial standpoint, the ad is valuable to me, but honestly, the watch-time is more valuable to letting KZbin know it's a good video.

[@TomoBird]

Nie zgodzę się z twierdzeniem o aktualizacjach. Balance dostał te same funkcje co T-rex 3 mianowicie klawiaturę qwerty podczas odpowiedzi na wiadomości oraz mapy konturowe i narciarskie więc Zepp jako aplikacja ostatnio też dostała nowy update . Byłem posiadaczem Huawei Watch GT 5 Pro i tamten ekosystem mi nie przypadł do gustu , miałem też Garmin Epix 2 pro 51mm SE i tylko mapy były ok ale na Amazfit nie narzekam wręcz dokupiłem wagę Smart Scale oraz Helio Ring zakładany na noc zamiast dużego zegarka T-rex 3 którego posiadam. Pozdrawiam

[@dadandvideogames]

I'll add to this that Amazfit DOES seem to be stepping up their support game. Balance has gotten both a keyboard and a notification reminder dot. T-Rex 3 has the keyboard now, and will be getting the dot. And Zepp Flow, I believe, was added to the Balance after launch. They're doing a pretty darned good job these days!

[@AveryAlbus]

Coros listening about resetting training load.. 👀

[@Dcrainmaker]

Here's hoping!!! It's such a simple thing, but one that such clearly shows a lack of understanding of training load.

[@jerseybarrier64]

Wait, was that a Garmin Edge 500 on your bike? Wow, now that’s an interesting constant for device comparisons. 😅

[@Dcrainmaker]

Look, we don't throw away grandpa just because he's old...sometimes we need to take him out for a walk too.

[@pedrofan9246]

Muito boa a avaliação.

[@mvp_kryptonite]

For sure a quirky option but a interesting price point

[@maks_zbogar]

Strange... my T-Rex 3 doesn't fail where yours obviously fails. Also, when I find a hike on a Komoot app, I just send it to the Zepp app, and it is on my watch. Regarding the battery message in the water, you should just press the right bottom button to dismiss it.

[@Dcrainmaker]

The right button didn’t work to dismiss it underwater. No buttons did.

[@maks_zbogar]

@Dcrainmaker I see... Really strange...

[@mortense8858]

Did you test the zepp pay function?

[@Dcrainmaker]

Nope, as that's A) Only available within the EU B) Only if you have a Curve account, and C) Only if you send your government ID/etc to Curve to create such an account.

[@anzesustarsic5115]

I’ve been using Zepp pay with Curve for the past 6+ months without any problems in Slovenia with Amazfit Balance. But had kinda same experience with readiness, it is rearly below 85 for me. :)

[@slima131]

​@@Dcrainmaker B) Not true, zepp pay does not require Curve to work.

[@jang0001]

Thank you! I thought about buying it but I found the price too good to be true so I waited for an honest review. I guess, I’ll wait then

[@donoru0612]

I haven't had any issues with data disappearing from the watch when I sync it. I noticed that an Apple phone is used in the video, could be an Apple thing... we all know that Apple loves to handicap devices that aren't theirs... for instance, on am android device you can reply to texts using a keyboard feature on the watch which isn't available on the Apple phone as they like to 'preserve' that feature for their watches.

[@harlanstockman5703]

Can one view more than 1 track at once? That is the weakness i see in most gps watches- you cant see other routes . I am an off-trail explorer, and like to see other tracks i have taken in the past.

[@4toes1nose]

Thank you

[@fuseman_]

I replaced my Garmin Epix Pro with trex3

[@Dcrainmaker]

Really, why?

[@mauri1310]

Well, I did try the Trex 3 and then returned it, Garmin locked me in their much more reliable ecosystem: training load and acute training on top. I feel reviewers exclusively focus on hardware while the ecosystem is always more key to leveraging the most advanced software features, such as training readiness, training status, recovery, and sleep data. I wished to use an Apple watch as a daily wearable (aside from my mechanical watch ) and upload data to Garmin Connect, but there was no way. Is there a platform able to combine and provide aggregate results as Garmin does, or does purchasing a watch mean being tied to its platform? Strava is nowere close to Garmin insights

[@Lolly-yl2se]

Checkers? What’s next - Backgammon? 😊

[@rnegoro1]

Supposedly the amazfit balance is also reputed to be amazing.

[@maksicjovan]

dude!! :D you are going diving with 10% of battery!! and relay on that watch data! :D

[@Dcrainmaker]

Agree you shouldn't dive with battery that low, but that's besides the point. What other overlay non-dismissabsle messages pop-up?

[@maksicjovan]

@Dcrainmaker True! To be realistic, 95.5% of people who buy this watch will use it for running or cycling, and all the data will be tracked on Strava. By the way, I’m using the Epix 2 Pro (I’m not biased), and this watch is pretty appealing to recommend for daily use. Excellent battery, excellent GPS, okay maps, and support for external sensors.

[@maksicjovan]

And you’re absolutely right that Amazfit doesn’t care about their users or products. that story goes from GTR1-4 t-rex 1, t-rex 2, t-rex PRO... This watch will be forgotten the second a new one comes out. But for the price... that’s its best feature!

[@Dcrainmaker]

@@maksicjovan "or cycling, and all the data will be tracked on Strava." - Unless you have a power meter, because for whatever reason AmazFit isn't sending that properly to Strava. 🙃

[@icpart]

@@maksicjovan I bought my T-rex 3 mainly for dual-band GPS to track my hikings and walkings and city cycling and great battery life. For MTB cycling I will ever prefer to use dedicated Bike GPS like my Karoo 2 or Garmin Edge. For daily health tracking I prefer my GW4. I wear both watches over a month and Galaxy have better sleep tracking and Energy score which is the same as Readiness and it work much better compared to Amazfit T-rex 3.

[@user-dart]

Have you checked your heart rate during the day at rest when you are not training? Mine tell me that the fat burning goal has been achieved when I am sitting on a chair. They often show an elevated heart rate during the day and plot the other metrics incorrectly. I compared them with my Garmin Fenix ​​7 PRO and Polar heart rate sensor. I wrote to Amazfit support but did not receive a clear answer. Have you noticed this? 100-120 with peaks of up to 147 beats per minute just sitting on a chair. The heart rate is elevated 50% of the time during the day. Training is also not always normal. I noticed that when I ride my bike to the lake to train on the horizontal bars, my heart rate is accurate. I come back and my heart rate is often low, as if I am not riding a bike at all. These dips eventually go away, but the heart rate for the entire trip is inaccurate and the calories are also inaccurate.

[@jaap_vanekris]

Most martial arts explicitly prohibit wearing watches, as it tends to injure opponents.

[@bsutton530]

Feel like there's some serious disconnects with this. Maybe it's what I would come to expect from a Cayman Islands holding company with an Chinese HQ but it's "not a Chinese company"

[@briskwalker]

A Garmin FR955 would be a much better alternative and the price is now not much higher than that of a T-Rex 3.

[@marcosfanlobetesa9800]

Obsolete model, non-AMOLED screen...

[@Dcrainmaker]

Setting aside the fact that some people do actually prefer MIP, not sure what obsolete model means given it has far more actual sport and fitness functionality than the T-Rex 3.

[@icaroluca41]

Well as I know Balance Hase completely changed over one year 🤔 with updates,,,,this T-Rex 3 cood change to🤔🤔🤔🤙🏻🤜🏻

[@johnchang3807]

Trex 3 really look very nice and Trex 4 with flashlight would a big Winner ontop of a speaker like samsung watch 7.

[@ActiveIdeas]

Garmin finally allowed you to release this video!? 😉 Haha, jokes aside, awesome video Ray! Super in-depth and a honest Deep-Dive… learned a lot ❤

[@Dcrainmaker]

Thanks!!!

[@brianwilliams4686]

I feel like I’m constantly talking to my Apple Watch Ultra (for iMessage)

[@zerofugz1621]

With the current and foreseeable economy yup it's a Fenix killer. Especially for those new to the market who don't care what watch eco system they get into.

[@Dcrainmaker]

Umm, no, for all the reasons outlined.

[@delxinogaming6046]

It’s a coros killer.

[@stringtheory0]

18:17 Heart Rate Accuracy

[@AELefteris]

Amazfit will never be Garmin

[@maciejpastor4713]

You are right. Garmin - lot of money, lot of problems

[@fairygodbrother]

Unpopular opinion, I hate the way this watch looks.

[@AlexandreCosta82]

Also not a fan. Weird shape.

[@youdontseeanoldmanhavinatw4904]

I think we need more unique shapes. Not just the standard circular galaxy watch appearance or the square apple watch appearance.

[@rollerrabauke]

I like the style, looking more to Casio than Garmin.

[@jwh1282]

Me either they need to make a smaller rugged watch.

[@carsons5750]

It’s definitely trying hard

[@jjjuhis]

Sorry but Garmin is a joke. New Fenix watches are sluggish with old hardware and buggy software. Most of the features are not working correctly. Fenix 8 even updated my lactate treshold to 182bpm (my max is 195) and is suggesting base runs at 162bpm 😂 navigation feature is bad and my Fenix 8 has even crashed several times mid workout. Garmin is slow, hardware is old and software is buggy. Totally overpriced.

[@Dangling_Carrot]

So bottom line is really not good

[@splendography]

Another who compares watch for 234$ with one which cost more than 1000$. Stop doing that, Don't be a Moron!!! ;)

[@bhargavramoliya]

Hello 👋 Sir Garmin Enduro 3 My Dream Watch Gift 🎁 Please 🙏🙏🙏

[@GroteGeer]

It is 'nice' as a toy. As soon as you want to use an activity with a map - it will take you at least 20 min. to download and install the map of the location in question. I skip this children's watch.

[@WetterFlug]

Let me guess...Garmin Fanboy? Or maybe rather Apple? You have no idea what you are talking about. Did you even watch the video or was it just a reflex response?

[@GroteGeer]

@WetterFlug I bought it - and have gone through all their functions - and yes, returned it. Note: No Garmin fan + no watch fan right now.

[@WetterFlug]

@@GroteGeer So you say.... Well, it takes a bit of work to set up a watch but that is not for everyone.

[@Dcrainmaker]

@@WetterFlug But it can take 20 mins to download? Downloading one small chunk of this island took 10 mins one time, faster a different time. It's unclear why it takes so long sometimes and fast other times, and that's a very small portion of where I live.

[@dadandvideogames]

@@Dcrainmaker I will say, as an Amazfit fan, that I need to create a different, secret, unsecured Wifi instance on my network in the hopes that MAYBE my Amazfit devices will allow me to download map data after the 18th error message trying to connect to my actual Wifi network. And even then it was just a pleasant surprise that it worked because the watch TOLD me that it failed. That ol' Amazfit jank again comin' in clutch.

[@jaimemaravilla6462]

Está mal tu video porque la compañía si actualiza sus reloj

[@Dcrainmaker]

History very clearly indicates otherwise.

[@slima131]

History shows that gtr4 (currently zepp3.5) has almost the same features as Balance after update, and Cheetah Pro (zepp4.0) the same features as trex3.

[@windsurfsamario]

Great review. Your overall down to earth, reasonable analysis is the best among tech reviewers. I was waiting for the review of the interaction with the Helio ring. It is supposed to be covered both devices with the zepp app. Many people don’t like wearing big watches all time. And not many reviewers are noticing this.