I doubt the T-REX, that sort of shares its name with one of the most famous dinosaurs, has a

 

fascinating backstory like the G-shock. Casio’s cult watch was originally conceived by a

 

Japanese engineer who dropped and broke an heirloom watch in the early 1980s. The G-

 

shock came with triple 10 resistance including drop resistance up to 10 metres. The T-REX is

 

probably where a smartwatch meets a G-shock and it’s not a bad place to start.

 

In a smartwatch world where most brands have clearly taken sides in the square vs circle

 

battle, Amazfit cleverly plays both games. There are quite a few users – especially those who

 

are making the first leap to a smartwatch, who prefer a circular dial. They have quite a few

 

options including Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Active 2, the Huawei Watch GT 2e and the T-

 

REX. Huami’s Amazfit is pitching the T-REX as a rugged, all-weather rugged option. The

 

wearable has passed 12 regulations of military standard (MIL-STD-810) quality tests to resist

 

extreme environments and can also withstand extreme temperatures. Despite its rugged

 

demeanour, the watch weighs under 60 gm (thanks to tough plastic) and doesn’t feel too

 

heavy on your wrist. While the strap is equally sturdy, there’s no option to swap it for third

 

party straps.

 

The Amazfit custom App is quite intuitive (I paired the watch with an iPhone 11 Pro) and the

 

device syncs with your smartphone after a fairly long drawn first time pairing process. The

 

App is easy on the eye and offers a whole bunch of customisations. First, there’s a whole

 

bunch (about 30) of custom watch faces that complement the muscular design language. You

 

can also receive text and call alerts plus a whole host of other App notifications on your wrist.

 

There’s no speaker, so you will have to answer calls on your phone. You can view texts on

 

the display, but go back to your phone to craft responses. There’s no storage option for

 

music, but the phone allows you to control music (whether you’re plugged in to a playlist

 

from your phone or an App like Spotify) from your wrist.

 

Amazfit doesn’t boast of a smartwatch ecosystem like some of its rivals. Just like Huawei’s

 

GT 2e, you get notifications and a choice of watch faces. It’s the fitness features that are the

 

watch’s key strength. The T-REX is packed with 14 sports modes and offers a host of drill-

 

down data options. It’s backed by a solid hardware set-up that includes GPS and GLONASS.

 

You also get sleep tracking and heart-rate monitoring. The compass function is fun to use

 

too. The hardware spec sheet also includes a bold 1.3-inch AMOLED display (360 x 360

 

pixels) that offers good visibility even under direct sunlight. Huami promises 20 days of

 

battery life without the always-on display and without GPS usage. Based on our tests, it’s

 

quite an accurate estimation. Although I’d suggest using the always-on display if you’d like

 

to relive the G-shock experience.

 

 

At Rs 9,999 the Amazfit T-REX is a formidable proposition. It has all the stuff the average

 

fitness enthusiast cares for, includes handy touches like GPS and an always-on display. The companion App is quite useful while battery life is stellar. And then there’s the form factor

 

that truly sets this smartwatch apart.

 

The Amazfit T-REX comes in four colour variants -Rock Black, Army Green, Camo Green

 

and Khaki. It costs Rs 9,999