Guidemaster: Can a $100 smartwatch best the Apple Watch SE?

Apple's popular Apple Watch continues to dominate the wrist, commanding an estimated 40 percent market share in the fourth quarter of 2022. The company not only helped to push fitness wearables into the mainstream, but it also cemented a devoted 115 million-strong following. The Apple Watch has attracted plenty of imitators trying to ape the wearable's design and features.

The most notable knockoff is the Amazfit, which has gotten a bit of praise from wearables reviewers for its value since the company's launch. With the latest Amazfit GTS 4 Mini, the company doesn't deviate from its strategy. The watch’s very close resemblance to the iconic Apple Watch makes it instantly familiar in a way that competing devices from Garmin and Fitbit aren't.

Amazfit's watch has received surprisingly positive reviews, so we decided to compare it directly with the cheapest Apple Watch to find out if you actually need to pay that Apple tax to have some smartwatch or fitness tracker basics. As expected, it turns out that it depends on exactly what you're looking for.

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Pricing and size

Amazfit GTS 4 Mini and Apple Watch clock display.

Credit: Chuong Nguyen

Amazfit and Apple both offer smartwatches in different sizes to target different wrists.

Amazfit's lineup comes in different shapes and sizes, and similar to the sports-centric Apple Watch Ultra, the company also offers wearables that more specifically target fitness-oriented audiences. The basic smartwatch lineups from Amazfit come in two series, with the GTR models sporting a round screen and a GTS model that competes more directly against the Apple Watch with its square display.

The Amazfit GTS 4 Mini comes in at just $120 (you can often find it on sale for under $100), which is less than half of Apple’s entry-level $250 Watch SE. Given the starting price of the Amazfit GTS 4 Mini, it would be most appropriate to compare that watch against Apple's budget-oriented Apple Watch SE out of all of Apple's current lineup.

The Amazfit GTS 4 also comes in two sizes, like the Apple Watch SE. The standard GTS 4 measures just over 44 mm, while the GTS 4 Mini comes in at just under 42 mm. Apple's Watch SE is available at 40 mm and 44 mm. The GTS 4 Mini is about 2 mm larger diagonally than Apple's smaller Watch SE.

Specifications

Endurance

Amazfit displays a PAI (Personal Activity Intelligence) score whereas Apple relies on a rings-based rewards system as a way to gamify workouts to make fitness fun.

Battery life is obviously one of the most important things about a smartwatch.

Believe it or not, the GTS 4 Mini promises up to 15 days of continuous usage on a single charge compared to the Apple Watch SE's claim of 18 hours. Obviously, this is with a lot fewer features.

Regardless of the model you choose, if you're actively using your watch with lots of exercise and pushing the limits of real-time heart rate monitoring, nightly sleep tracking, and constant oxygen saturation measurements, battery life will drop faster, and the reality is that you'll get close to five days with the Amazfit.

With my second-generation Apple Watch SE, nightly recharges are necessary—the watch wasn’t dead by the end of the day, but I always felt more secure refreshing the battery overnight so I can wake up ready to take on the next day. If you're just looking at battery life in isolation, this Amazfit device clearly wins this round. Of course, there are reasons for this gap that we'll get into.

Display

Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Ultra, and Amazfit GTS 4 Mini always-on display screens.

Both the GTS 4 Mini and Apple Watch SE come with OLED screens, and both have displays that are bright enough for use both indoors and outdoors.

Apple markets the SE's screen as a Retina LTPO OLED display. The 1.78-inch screen of the smaller 40 mm Apple Watch SE has a 326 ppi resolution, making it slightly crisper than the 309 ppi on the 1.65-inch Amazfit GTS 4 Mini. In use, my eyes couldn't perceive any differences in display sharpness. The larger screen of the Apple Watch is helpful for tapping things on the screen and navigating the watch's UI.

Aside from the screen technology, the biggest differences between these two watches include screen brightness and always-on display capabilities. Though both watch models are legible under bright sunlight, the Apple Watch SE's display is nearly twice as bright as the Amazfit, clocking in at 1,000 nits compared to the GTS 4 Mini's 500-600 nits of brightness. This makes the Watch SE bright enough to use even on the sunniest days.

This is useful for those who prefer to workout outdoors, but if you're spending most of your time in a gym, then screen brightness shouldn't be a deciding factor.

Always-on display on the Amazfit GTS 4 Mini, Apple Watch Ultra, and Garmin Epix Pro Gen 2.

Credit: Chuong Nguyen

For most users, the Apple Watch lacks one key feature that the $100 Amazfit offers: an always-on display, or AOD. While the AOD is standard on the Apple Watch Series 9, which starts at $399 or close to four times the cost of the Amazfit GTS 4 Mini, it's not available on the SE models. Though the lack of an AOD doesn't detract from the SE's functionality, it makes Apple's entry-level smartwatch look less like a watch when it's idle, and you won't have access to glanceable information, like the time, unless you tap the screen or the watch recognizes that you've raised your wrist.

Like the Apple Watch, the Amazfit also has a curved screen, though the curvature is less pronounced.

Smarts versus sports

Apple Watch SE, Amazfit GTS 4 Mini, and Apple Watch Ultra (top to bottom): Which is a better fitness watch and which is a better smartwatch?

Credit: Chuong Nguyen

Apple and Amazfit took divergent approaches with software and functionality. Whereas the Apple Watch SE is a capable sports watch that excels at being a smartwatch, the Amazfit GTS 4 Mini is more sports than smarts.

Apple's wearOS is a robust platform with support for plenty of third-party apps, interactive complications that you can tap, and customizations. And if you get the cellular version, Apple's Watch SE essentially becomes a mini (albeit limited) iPhone that you can wear on your wrist. You can view as well as respond to message notifications on your phone from your wrist.

Amazfit more or less matches the Apple Watch's notification capabilities, and you can toggle on which notifications you want pushed to your wrist. In my experience, notifications were only available on some but not all of the installed apps on my iPhone. CNN, Apple Health, Discord, Facebook, Google Voice, Apple Home, Reddit, Ring, Schlage, Eufy, and myQ notifications can be pushed to the watch, for example.

Amazfit lets you configure if you want notifications for incoming calls and texts, app alerts, standing reminders, emails, and goal achievements from the accompanying Zepp smartphone app. The main difference with notification is that unlike with the Apple Watch, you won't be able to interact with notifications on the Amazfit. While you can get text messages to show up on the GTS 4 Mini, for example, you won't be able to reply to those messages from your wrist. The way notifications are handled, particularly on iOS, with Amazfit is similar to other third-party watches.

The main highlight of the Apple Watch SE is that Apple's watchOS ecosystem turns your wearable into a mini phone, complete with support for third-party apps, Internet connectivity, and the ability to respond and take calls from your wrist. Support for third-party apps can help add features and functionality to the watch's hardware beyond Apple's implementation.

As an example, I am a subscriber to Athlytic, which provides more detailed analysis on recovery, sleep, and exertion for my training as well as the AutoSleep app for better sleep-tracking data. None of this is possible on the Amazfit. The GTS 4 Mini's app store is mostly limited to watch faces, which means that other than cosmetic personalization you won't be able to gain additional functionality unless the company does so through a system update.

Amazfit GTS 4 Mini complications.

Credit: Chuong Nguyen

Another complaint with the Amazfit is that complications aren't really interactive. While you can choose a watch face with complications to show step counts, for example, you can't tap on the complication to get more details or launch a specific app. On watchOS with Apple, you can tap on the activity rings to gain deeper insight into how active your day has been.

The GTS 4 Mini also lacks some important hardware features found on mid-tier or more premium smartwatches, including a speaker for audible alerts and NFC for tap-to-pay. The omission is unfortunate, as the watch supports Amazon's Alexa voice assistant, which can be used to set a timer or reminder.

Another major concession is that even though the GTS 4 Mini has a music app, the watch doesn't ship with onboard storage, so you can't transfer MP3 files for offline listening. Instead, the watch's music app serves as a remote control to allow you to play, pause, or skip tracks that are playing on your phone. Apple Watch lets you control the music on your phone or play music from Spotify or Apple Music independent of your phone if you're connected to cellular or Wi-Fi.

Regarding smartwatch functionality, the one major difference between Apple and Amazfit is that the latter will work with Android devices.

With both smartwatches, you can take calls from your wrist. The GTS 4 Mini and Apple Watch both come with microphones and speakers, though Amazfit's watch can only be used as a Bluetooth speakerphone for your smartphone, as it lacks its own cellular radio.

Fitness tracking

Working out with Apple Watch SE and Amazfit GTS 4 Mini.

Credit: Chuong Nguyen

Apple and Amazfit smartwatches can accurately track a number of different workouts, making both wearables suitable for daily health tracking as well as more intense fitness training. Cardio, strength training, walking, hiking, and more are supported by both watches. Though Apple doesn't specifically advertise the total number of workouts the Apple Watch SE can track, Amazfit claims that the GTS 4 Mini can track more than 120 workouts. The basics like running, walking, cycling, and swimming are present on both watches, and even e-sports can be tracked with the GTS 4 Mini—though the value of that last one for these purposes is obviously murky.

Both watches can automatically detect and track basic workouts, like indoor walking, outdoor walking, running, rowing, or cycling, so you don't need to start the workout manually. This makes it convenient for beginners to start walking without having to remember to dive into the menus to activate a workout. I don't possess the coordination and physical ability to test all the workouts supported by the GTS 4 Mini, but I did give running and indoor cycling a go. The results were good, albeit mixed.

Amazfit GTS 4 Mini workout tracking compared to the Apple Watch SE.

Credit: Chuong Nguyen

Comparing the data from the GTS 4 Mini to my Apple Watch and my Garmin Epix Pro Gen 2, I found the GTS 4 Mini's performance to be within range. It's not entirely accurate, but for most people, the Amazfit will give you a good sense of how active you are and where you need to be in your fitness journey.

For example, with the GTS 4 strapped to the same wrist as my Apple Watch on an Apple Fitness+ indoor cycling ride and the Garmin on my opposite arm, I found that the heart rate data was always slightly off on the Amazfit. My heart rate was always approximately two to seven beats behind on the Amazfit compared to the Apple Watch and the Garmin Epix, and the GTS 4 Mini was about two to five seconds slower at displaying changes to my heart rate as I transitioned between an easy, medium, or intense bike ride. The Apple Watch and Epix Pro Gen 2 displayed the same information consistently throughout my 45-minute cycling rides.

Amazfit GTS 4 Mini and Apple Watch SE sensors.

Credit: Chuong Nguyen

Whether the data discrepancy matters to you really depends on where you are in your fitness journey. As someone who wants to monitor how much I am cycling and jogging, the data aberrations from the Amazfit are annoying but not earth-shattering; more serious athletes likely would opt for the company's more rugged watches or for the competing Garmin Epix or Fenix series instead.

And unlike some fitness bands, like the less expensive Garmin Vivosmart 5, the GTS 4 Mini has built-in GPS. Amazfit states that the GTS 4 Mini supports five satellite systems: GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and Beidou.

Getting a location lock on the watch took about 10 seconds outside. By contrast, GPS positioning was near-instantaneous on both the Garmin Epix Pro Gen 2, which uses a more premium multi-band GPS to acquire a satellite lock, and the Apple Watch. Both competing watches got a GPS fix in about one second. The 10-second GPS lock is about on par with my older-generation Garmin Fenix 3.

For a casual person getting started in their fitness journey, the easy-to-read metrics on the GTS 4 Mini are appealing. Not only can the GTS 4 Mini track the GPS routes of your outdoor walks, it will also show where you slowed down or sped up on your journey, and your body's corresponding measurements, including changes to your heart rate. Amazfit did a terrific job of converting the raw data it collected into useful information you can act upon, and the GTS 4 Mini hit the proper middle ground between Apple's overly simplistic "close your rings" philosophy and the overwhelming barrage of data displayed on my Garmin.

In addition to heart rate data for my indoor cycling, I appreciated that the GTS 4 Mini also showed my heart rate zone and a short descriptor of how that activity affects my training. For example, when I was pushing the ride with added resistance and speed, resulting in an elevated heart rate, the watch also noted that I was burning fat, which is useful information to have for beginners who want to make sense of what all that data means.

Amazfit GTS 4 Mini's activity tracking is similar to Apple's rings on the Watch.

Credit: Chuong Nguyen

For fitness novices, Amazfit has a similar approach to Apple's rings, with daily activity goals for step counts, active minutes, and how often you're taking a standing break throughout the day. And rather than give you a medal as an award, Amazfit's gamification rewards you with a Personal Activity Intelligence (PAI) score, which stands for Personal Activity Intelligence. It's based on a rolling seven-day reading of your fitness, and the score is based on your "age, gender, maximum heart rate, resting heart rate, and the body’s response to exercise."

Amazfit GTS 4 Mini uses a PAI score for fitness tracking.

Credit: Chuong Nguyen

Maintaining a PAI score over 100, according to the HUNT Fitness Study cited by Amazfit, can help lower your risk for heart disease, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. Whenever you exercise enough to increase your heart rate, you earn points toward your PAI score. Though the approach may be different from the activity rings on the Apple Watch, both scoring systems come with a similar goal of trying to get you motivated to be more active each day.

The GTS 4 Mini will also use its algorithm to determine how much recovery time you'll need between workouts, similar to other premium sports watches. It also tracks your aerobic and anaerobic workouts. It's not unlike Garmin's Training Readiness or Endurance Score, though the exact formula used in calculating these metrics is unclear. The best part for enthusiasts is that this data is free without a paywall.

Amazfit GTS 4 Mini shows training effects of aerobic and anaerobic workouts.

Credit: Chuong Nguyen

Regular workout tracking was also solid, although not quite 100 percent accurate. At the end of the night, my step count was off from both the Apple Watch and my Garmin Epix by about 5 percent. None of the three watches showed the same number of steps, but the Apple and Garmin watches were closer in their count than the Amazfit was.

On the body side of the GTS 4 Mini's tracking, the watch can measure heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, sleep, and stress. Blood oxygen saturation was fairly accurate, and measurements were within 1 to 2 percent of what was displayed on my Apple Watch and Garmin Epix. I found sleep tracking to be the least accurate measurement of the GTS 4 Mini.

Sleep tracking on Amazfit GTS 4 Mini; moments of being awake weren't tracked by the watch.

Credit: Chuong Nguyen

Though Amazfit can calculate your different sleep stages, from light, REM, to deep sleep, to give you an overall sleep score, I found the measurements far from accurate. Unlike the Apple Watch with the AutoSleep third-party app, the GTS 4 Mini could not pick up the brief moments through the night when I woke up. For sleep tracking to be more actionable and useful, Amazfit could also add a smart alarm clock feature that can be programmed to wake you up at a specific time or after you've accomplished some set sleep goal or metric, like the third-party AutoWake app available on watchOS.

Setup, performance, and handling

Don't call it a Digital Crown; the side button on the GTS 4 Mini can power the watch on, summon Alexa, or launch an app, but you can't rotate it to scroll.

Credit: Chuong Nguyen

Both watches require a companion smartphone app to sync the collected health and fitness data, and setting up the watch with the phone was a relatively easy affair. Both watches follow a similar setup interface, with a QR code on the screen. The app will use the phone's camera to capture the QR code and begin pairing. Pairing is done over Bluetooth for both watches.

Amazfit Zepp app on iOS.

Credit: Chuong Nguyen

Beyond Bluetooth, there are major differences between how the two wearables synchronize data and communicate with the cloud and your phone. Amazfit's wireless connection is done solely through its Bluetooth 5.2 LE radio, while the Apple Watch comes with Wi-Fi and NFC support (though the NFC support is obviously quite limited compared to some other NFC devices). Both the GTS 4 Mini and Apple Watch SE come with GPS support to map and track your runs.

Data that the GTS 4 Mini collects can be synchronized to the Zepp app on your phone. Additionally, information that's collected with the Zepp app can also integrate with Apple's Health app thanks to HealthKit support. Apple's Watch connects to the Watch app on iOS. At this time, the biggest limitation with the Apple Watch is that Android support is missing. On iOS, the data can be synchronized with the Health app and shared with loved ones and health care professionals.

In terms of radios, the lack of NFC support on the Amazfit is really unfortunate, as it could have opened the doors to tap-to-pay on the watch. Even Garmin, which doesn't support Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay, has implemented its own Garmin Pay with NFC on some of its watches. I find Apple Pay on the Apple Watch SE to be very useful, as I can buy a protein bar or a snack at the convenience store at the end of my run. But more so, it's extra peace of mind in case I need to pay for something in an emergency. I wouldn't expect a $100 watch to come with cellular support.

QR code used to pair the Amazfit GTS 4 Mini with the Zepp phone app.

Credit: Chuong Nguyen

Overall, I found performance on both watches to be smooth, which is surprising given the price point of the GTS 4 Mini. Inexpensive watches in this class are generally hampered by stutters and slowdowns, but I didn't experience these issues with Amazfit's offering. Interaction with the GTS 4 Mini is done entirely via the touchscreen, and the watch's side button is used for powering the watch on or off and summoning Alexa. Unfortunately, it isn't a Digital Crown that can be used for scrolling like the Apple Watch SE. Touch response is okay but not good; sometimes it does take a few taps to get the desired action.

Apple Watch is mainly controlled by the watch's touchscreen, but you also have access to the Digital Crown for scrolling. I find the added convenience to be a nice feature to have, but I would have appreciated more hardware buttons. More professional sports watches, like the Garmin Fenix 7 series, come with buttons that make it easier to navigate the watch when you're moving around on a run, as buttons don't require a precise tap on the screen.

Both the Apple Watch SE and GTS 4 Mini are comfortable to wear throughout the day and during workouts. Both watches are constructed from aluminum and glass, which makes them lightweight and durable.

The Apple Watch appears to have better build quality. Though both watches come in similar dimensions, with the smaller Apple Watch SE model measuring 40×34×10.7 mm compared to the 42×37×9 mm Amazfit GTS 4 Mini, Apple's wearable is the lighter option at 26.4 grams compared to the 31.2 grams of the Amazfit. And though the GTS 4 Mini lacks Apple's easy mechanism to change out bands and straps, the GTS 4 Mini also comes with a nice tool-less removal strap in the event you want to use any other 20 mm watch band.