Rugged smartwatches are in trend these days. For years, this niche is dominated by Garmin, and so far its Fenix 6X has managed to be an undisputed industry leader. However, its authority now faces a challenge from the Chinese manufacturer Huami. The latter is offering its T-Rex lineup as a budget rugged alternative to Garmin Fenix Series. However, we would compare the old Forerunner 245 with Amazfit T-REX just because they fall in the same price bracket.
Let’s first talk briefly about what our smartwatches under comparison have to offer. Amazfit T-Rex Pro is quite a recent addition to the smartwatch realm, being launched in March of 2021. It was launched at quite an affordable price of about $180. The design is quite rugged with an AMOLED display and a great battery life.
Amazfit T-Rex is essentially the same watch as the T-Rex pro but still, some differences lie in the sensors and features in which T-Rex pro can be considered better. Also, it is about a year older so that must be considered too. But things may change for a buyer when the price is considered. T-Rex is the best-rugged watch under $150.
If we talk about the Garmin Forerunner 245, it is not a watch that is new to this market. Launched in 2019, it has stood the test of time by still being relevant and a favorite among fitness trainers and smartwatch geeks. Price is the highest of the lot at $300. There is another variant that comes with the support of offline music and costs $350.
Related Post: Garmin Venu 2 vs Garmin FR245 Music
Read on for the detailed comparison of Amazfit T-Rex Pro vs T-Rex vs Garmin Forerunner 245 to find out the key differences, and also, what suits your preferences. Or you can jump straight to the verdict.
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Amazfit T-Rex Pro Vs T-Rex Vs Garmin FR245: General Comparison
Amazfit T-Rex Pro Vs T-Rex Vs Garmin FR245: Design & Display Comparison
- Garmin FR245 and Amazfit T-Rex comes in 5 different finishes each while the T-Rex Pro comes in 3 colors
- All three look quite similar while T-Rex and T-Rex pro look exactly the same. They all have that rugged, tough look that is usually a characteristic of Garmin Watches.
- Both T-Rex and T-Rex Pro rock a superior AMOLED Panel while FR245 has a transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) panel.
- Garmin FR245 comes with 20mm interchangeable silicone/rubber straps while the T-Rex and T-Rex Pro come with 22mm ones.
- The water resistance on the T-Rex and FR245 is 5 ATM, while the T-Rex Pro is 10 ATM which basically translates to a 100m column of water above you.
| Specs/Features | Amazfit T-Rex Pro | Amazfit T-Rex | Garmin FR245 |
| Shape | Round | Round | Round |
| Dimensions | 47.7 X 47.7 X 13.5(mm) | 47.7 X 47.7 X 13.5(mm) | 42.3 x 42.3 x 12.2mm |
| Colors | Meteorite Black, Desert Grey and Steel Blue | Rock Black, Army Green, Gun Grey, Camo Green and Khaki. | White, black, Aqua, Slate Gray and Berry. |
| Casing Material | Polycarbonate | Polycarbonate | fiber-reinforced polymer |
| Strap Size | 22mm | 22mm | 20mm with a wrist fit of 127-204 mm circumference |
| Strap Material | Silicone (non-standard) | Silicone (non-standard) | Silicone (quick release) |
| Weight (with/without strap) | 59 grams | 58 grams | 38.5 g |
| Water Resistance | 10 ATM (Safe for both pool and open-water swims) | 5 ATM (Safe for both pool and open-water swims) | 5 ATM (Safe for both pool and open-water swims) |
| Screen Size | 1.3-inch | 1.3-inch | 1.2 inches |
| Screen Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Screen Technology | AMOLED | AMOLED | transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) display |
| Resolution | 360 x 360 resolution | 360 x 360 resolution | 240 x 240 pixels |
| Always-on-Display | Yes | Yes | No |
These watches have a lot in common but still, there has to be one that is the best of the lot.
Starting off with the design, the major part of the design is the same for all the 3 watches. All of them are round while the T-Rex and T-Rex pro are very identical. These two are also the ones having the most rugged look, more than the FR245, whose look is quite subtle.
The build quality of T-Rex and T-Rex Pro might be slightly underwhelming but nonetheless, they are great watches to go with. The FR245 wins in the build quality category as it has a nice premium feel to it. A huge advantage of T-Rex and T-Rex Pro over FR245 is that they come with Military Standard Certifications (15 for the Pro variant and 12 for the base one).
Talking about the navigation and controls, T-Rex and T-Rex Pro are the ones controlled by a touch panel along with 4 physical buttons (2 on each side). FR245 on the other hand has only buttons to help you navigate. This might be helpful for athletes and fitness freaks who might sweat a lot. But having a touch panel doesn’t hurt and Amazfit takes the lead here.
The Water Resistance situation is a little different. Both FR245 and T-Rex join hands to provide a 5 ATM resistance which enables the users to go under the water for about 50 meters. T-Rex Pro, however, takes it up a bit further to provide 10 ATM resistance using which you can go under for 100 meters. All 3 are capable of swimming and showers though. But for deep-sea diving, T-Rex Pro is the most recommended.
The straps are where FR245 takes the lead. It has the standard 20mm ones that have a quick-release mechanism. Amazfit ones have good and comfy straps but they are non-standard and don’t have a quick release. When it comes to the color choices, T-Rex Pro is the only one of the lot that has 3 colors. Both the others have 5 colors each.
In the display department, both T-Rex and T-Rex pro lead by having a crisp, vibrant AMOLED panel with a diameter of 1.3 inches compared to 1.2 inches of FR245, and a good resolution of 360×360 which puts the FR245’s 240 x 240 pixels MIP display to the shame. A handy Always-on feature is also featured on the Amazfit Watches. Also, they are touch panels so that is a huge plus point too. All these displays are protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 though and provide resistance to scratches.
So when it comes to design, you can say that T-Rex and T-Rex Pro have a huge advantage over the FR245 with their primitive, non-touch panel. Among the T-Rex and T-Rex Pro, we can regard the T-Rex Pro as a winner because of its 3 more MIL-STD characteristics and 10 ATM instead of a 5 ATM water resistance.
Amazfit T-Rex Pro Vs T-Rex Vs Garmin FR245: Smartwatch Features Compared
- All of these watches provide a basic smartwatch experience and some more. FR245 being the cleanest of them all
- T-Rex Pro has the Barometric Altimeter that is absent in the other 2
- FR245 Music Variant is the only one of the lot having the offline Music support but it is more expensive than the base variant.
| Amazfit T-Rex Pro | Amazfit T-Rex | Garmin FR245 | |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.0 | Bluetooth 5.0 | Bluetooth 4.2 |
| Companion App | ZEPP | ZEPP | Garmin Connect IQ |
| Notification Alert | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Calendar, Weather | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Timer & Alarm | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Customizable Watch Faces | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Voice Assistant | No | No | No |
| Music Storage, Control | No, Yes | No, Yes | No, Yes (Storage present in the Music variant) |
| Third-Party Apps | No | No | Yes |
| Contactless Payment | No | No | No |
As a smartwatch, all of these are pretty similar to each other. Some perks expected from a premium watch are clearly missing like contactless payments, onboard music storage, and voice assistance. Although Music storage is available on the music variant of the FR245, it only comes if you are willing to pay extra.
The ZEPP app (Amazfit Companion App) keeps crashing at times and sometimes fails to download watch faces or sync them with the device. This is quite buggy and annoying. The notification bar helps you only in receiving the notifications like WhatsApp or your calendar reminders but doesn’t let you act upon them.
There are about 50 watch faces to choose from in the Amazfit contenders but the catch is that you have to use the Amazfit companion phone app to do it. The watch face shows the steps taken, the World clock along with calories burnt, time and date, battery percentage, distance traveled etc. There are also some health and fitness data that is not viewable on the watch itself and the phone has to be used.
FR245 on the other hand has a more refined OS that provides a better experience and usability. Majority of
The functions are controllable through the watch itself like watch faces, music apps, and also the support for third-party apps like Strava, Spotify etc. ZEPP needs to learn a lot from them.
Talking about the music situation things aren’t very encouraging from the Amazfit contenders. Both the T-Rex and T-Rex Pro lack onboard memory and even a proper music app. You can only use smartwatches to control the music on your phone. But this means that you have to carry your phone on the runs and exercises. FR245 is no different but there is a ray of hope (one that comes with more dollars) that there is a special Music variant that will suit your musical needs.
Overall in our opinion, FR245 is an absolute win when it comes to Smartwatch experience. They are more user friendly and offer more customization right off the bat than the T-Rex and T-Rex Pro. But this is something that can be improved in future updates and should be improved.
Amazfit T-Rex Pro Vs T-Rex Vs Garmin FR245: Fitness & Health Features Compared
- Amazfit Watches has onboard GPS, Ticwatch GTH piggy bank on smartphone’s GPS
- Ticwatch GTH has a temperature monitoring sensor as a plus, but for all practical purposes, it is useless.
- Amazfit watches can sync data with Strava and Apple Health, and offer more than 50 sports modes.
| Amazfit T-Rex Pro | Amazfit T-Rex | Garmin FR245 | |
| Built-in GPS | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Heart Rate | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sleep | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Stress | No | No | Yes |
| Blood Oxygen | Yes | No | Yes |
| Skin Temperature | No | No | No |
| ECG | No | No | No |
| Steps, Calories | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Menstrual cycle | No | No | Yes |
| Personal Activity Intelligence | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sport Mode | 100+ | 14 | Multiple |
| Sync Data With Strava, Apple Health | No | Yes | Yes |
GPS Connectivity and Accuracy:
The major similarity that exists in these watches is that all of them have standalone GPS. T-Rex Pro’s GPS comes with GALILEO, GLONASS and Beidou. Other 2 come with GLONASS and GALILEO only. This gives T-Rex a slight edge over the others.
GPS quality is immaculate on the Garmin FR245. T-Rex and T-Rex Pro may experience some bumps in terms of accuracy but their lower price makes up for that. T-Rex and T-Rex Pro don’t have issues in connectivity, they just suffer a bit when it comes to tracking. It may go off track in some places but most of the time it is accurate.
FR245 on the other hand is on point. The GPS + GLONASS provided in it is very capable in terms of accuracy and speed. Its testing in the urban and rural areas depicts results close to the best GPS smartwatches. The watch performs equally well in tree cover or underground areas too, as well as the hilly areas and mountainous tracks.
Sports Tracking:
All the 3 watches provide the basic sports feature while the T-Rex Pro exceeds the other 2 with about 100 modes to choose from. It comes with automatic activity detection which basically selects the mode on the basis of the sports you are performing.
The real problem arises with the Zepp companion app. As stated earlier, it doesn’t support third-party apps to show you some of the smallest statistics required. Bulky stats are shown within the companion app but to view more detailed data, you will always have to consult the app on mobile. Overall it covers most of your outdoor needs like hiking, skiing, open water swimming, and tracking triathlons as well as most of the indoor sports too like running, cycling, pool swimming, and indoor cycling.
FR245 is also quite capable in terms of a fitness tracker and a sports watch. It has more than T-Rex and T-Rex Pro in terms of an all-day stress tracking and a more detailed analysis right on the watch. But like T-Rex, it falls behind T-Rex Pro when it comes to a barometric altimeter. So it can be a turn-off for the competition hikers and mountaineers.
Overall, T-Rex Pro can be regarded as the winner in the sports category, with its one more multi-satellite system, above-average GPS tracking, and above 100 sports to track. Also, it has a barometric altimeter, which is a welcome addition for altitude-oriented sports.
Health Features: Heart Rate, Sleep, Blood Oxygen Tracking & Others
If we take into consideration the Heart rate tracking, all the watches have it. But FR245 steals the show with its latest Garmin Elevate sensors. This gives out the most accurate readings both while exercising and resting. When compared to the top dogs in heart-rate sensing, FR245 performs shoulder to shoulder with them. Amazfit Watches have great sensing, but they sometimes lack accuracy when it comes to extreme exercises. Nonetheless, they work fine by taking repeated intervals while exercising.
T-Rex and T-Rex Pro have all the sleep tracking features right. It breakdowns your sleep and gives you a sleep score, sleep quality, sleep duration along the time taken to fall asleep. Nothing groundbreaking but quite welcome in a watch offered at this price point. Garmin takes it up a notch by providing stress monitoring also.
T-Rex Pro and FR245 are the watches that you should choose if you want to monitor your blood oxygen levels. It measures the efficiency with which your body is consuming the oxygen and both of these watches do it just right. FR245 wins again in a niche where it offers women to track their menstrual cycle along with the physical and emotional symptoms associated with it.
Annoyingly, T-Rex Pro is the only smartwatch of the lot that doesn’t allow connection to Strava. This means that you cannot sync your previous data with the new one. Surprisingly T-Rex is compatible with Strava and you can use it just to sync your metrics.
To give a verdict in the Sports and Health category, Garmin takes a lead by a small margin owing to some of its features like Strava support and Menstrual Tracking along with stress monitoring.
Amazfit T-Rex Pro Vs T-Rex Vs Garmin FR245: Battery Life & Charging Comparison
- Ticwatch GTH packs inside a large 260 battery and yet the performance is similar
- These watches are the best performers in terms of battery performance, and there is only a slight variability in draining.
- The charging time is the same (2 hours), and all of them use magnetic pins rather than a puck or cradle.
| Amazfit T-Rex Pro | Amazfit T-Rex | Garmin FR245 | |
| Battery type | non-removable Lithium-polymer | non-removable Lithium-polymer | non-removable Lithium-polymer |
| Battery Size | 390 mAh | 390 mAh | Not stated |
| Battery Performance | Typical usage: up to 18 days Heavy usage: up to 9 days GPS continuous working time: up to 40 hours | Daily use mode:20 daysBasic watch mode: 66 daysGPS continuous working time: 20 hours | Smartwatch mode: Up to 7 daysGPS mode with music (Music variant): Up to 6 hoursGPS mode without music: Up to 24 hours |
| Charger Type | Magnetic, 2pin pogo pin charging | Magnetic, 2pin pogo pin charging | Proprietary 4 pin connector |
| Charging Time | 1.5 hours | 1.5 hours | 2 hours |
The battery situation is quite different for all three of the watches. Starting off with the battery capacity, T-Rex and T-Rex Pro have the same capacity, which makes you think that they may perform equally the same. But that definitely isn’t the case.
T-Rex Pro slightly underperforms when it comes to normal or restricted usage. T-Rex takes the lead with 2 days in daily usage with slight use of GPS and heart rate monitoring. As a simple time teller, T-Rex works for 66 days before it powers off. Continuous usage of the GPS is where T-Rex Pro shines, by giving about 40 hours before it dies.
Now if we compare the FR 245 Music to the others, this goes way downhill. Quite similar modes are present in the FR 245 but the results are quite different. In the Smartwatch mode, it can go on for about 7 days before it dies. Only GPS mode allows it to run for 24 hours while GPS with music allows it to run for about 6 hours. Sadly enough, fast charging is not supported which also is a deal-breaker for some people because T-Rex and T-Rex Pro charge a bit faster in about 1.5 hours.
Verdict: Which One You Should Buy?
Straight-up without indulging in stories, T-Rex Pro is the best option considering what it has to offer at the price point it is being offered in. It is one of the latest by Amazfit and is being offered for almost half of what FR245 is up for (even less when you consider the music variant). Comparing the T-Rex with T-Rex Pro, T-Rex is a year older, and just the support which is more than the T-Rex Pro, in the other fields T-Rex Pro surely excels. T-Rex Pro also has more colors, a Barometric Altimeter, more Military Grade certifications, and 10 ATM water resistance instead of 5 ATM.
If money isn’t the problem and you can compromise on the Barometric Altimeter but want all the other features top-notch along with the Third-Party App support and offline music, you can surely go for the Music variant of the FR245 but other than that, T-Rex Pro wins for us.
Note: T-REX Pro is built for tough conditions so it fits as a smartwatch for construction workers more than a regular fitness companion.
