Amazfit Stratos is the second sports watch in the Huami model line. In my opinion, this device is pretty nice for beginners and amateur athletes. It looks a bit rude and not as presentable as the Amazfit GTR, which looks quite elegant and stylish. Stratos is made of plastic and has a ceramic bezel. Although both of the watches are almost the same in size, the Stratos looks bigger.
The Stratos screen looks less attractive compared to the Amazfit GTR, especially in low light or backlit conditions. During regular workouts, the transflective screen is a necessity as it allows to see all the indicators in real-time without additional manipulations. This helps to save time and battery life significantly. But even in everyday use without workouts, my Stratos can work up to 5 days in smartwatch mode. New Stratos 3 can work up to 7 days in smartwatch mode and up to 14 days in energy-saving mode. Although, all of this cannot be compared with the 24 days that the Amazfit GTR can work under the same conditions of use and with a stunning AMOLED display.
Both devices have a sports activity tracking function with GPS recording.
My tests showed that in urban areas Amazfit GTR copes less well with GPS track recording compared to Stratos. Perhaps, GPS accuracy in GTR will be corrected in subsequent updates, but we should not expect professional accuracy from it. For example, the Amazfit Bip, which was released more than a year ago and received a dozen updates, record GPS data in the same way as Amazfit GTR now. Of course, the data error is insignificant and the accuracy of the Amazfit GTR will be quite enough for non-regular runs in the mornings.
Amazfit GTR and Stratos have a difference in firmware. Stratos runs on a modified Android and as for me, this is more likely a disadvantage. Despite the more advanced hardware, I often face some small lags, bugs and slow interface in my Stratos. If you think that Android will allow you to expand the functionality of your watch using third-party programs, then you are mistaken. Yes, there are several applications that you can run on Stratos, but this is far from a smartwatch with wear os by google. I do not recommend doing so, since autonomy may decrease with each installed application.
The Amazfit GTR has a more advanced heart-rate sensor than the Stratos. Although, in both cases, heart-rate indicators are the same or vary by a couple of units. It is worth noting that the technology of optical heart-rate measurement does not give 100% accuracy. If you need more exact and accurate figures, the best solution would be a chest pulse sensor, which can only be connected to Stratos.
Conclusion
If you primarily need a smartwatch with the ability to track sports activity, then you definitely should choose the Amazfit GTR.
If you are more interested in sports functions, then take a look at the Stratos model line. In my opinion, Amazfit GTR is the best company’s smartwatch for today. They have an attractive design, all the basic functions of a smartwatch and excellent autonomy.
