I've tested the Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro for six weeks, and it's a powerful, premium Garmin alternative albeit a lumpy and uncomfortable one

Date:
Mon, 15 Jun 2026 21:00:00 +0000

Description:
The Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro delivers premium materials, stellar AI training,
and accurate tracking but is held back by a bulky 15.6mm design and laggy maps.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro: One minute review Three years after the release of the Cheetah Pro smartwatch, Amazfit has finally released its successor, the aptly named Cheetah 2 Pro. Designed for serious road runners who rely on structured training plans, the smartwatch is a solid offering that competes admirably with the best running watches on the market right now. It doesn't hit the dizzying heights of Garmin 's top-range alternatives, but Amazfit has definitely closed the gap. The Cheetah 2 Pro has a bigger sibling, the
Cheetah 2 Ultra, which is slightly larger, more expensive and comes with
trail running profiles with gradient and terrain features not present here.

The high price tag for a watch without trail features will put a lot of
people off, especially considering Amazfit is still an unknown brand to many and a budget brand to those in the know. On closer inspection, the cost is mostly justified. The bright 1.32-inch AMOLED display is super-sharp and covered with scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass. The display is housed in a high-end grade 5 titanium alloy case, which looks and feels premium, but the 15.6 mm thickness and large sensor bump make the watch uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. Latest Videos From Watch full video here:

The Cheetah 2 Pro includes an impressive set of features, including
structured training plans and AI-driven adaptive workouts. It also tracks comprehensive health data, including 24/7 heart rate, blood oxygen, and skin temperature, all making it possible to generate a daily "Readiness Score" for monitoring fatigue. The watch reaches a high level of accuracy across most tested metrics.

As youd expect for a watch at this price, the Cheetah 2 Pro boasts offline color maps and navigation tools such as automatic rerouting and
point-to-point route planning. Its an extensive set of features, but the implementation is lacking finesse. Due to limited hardware, panning and zooming maps is laggy.

When it comes to running smartwatches, Amazfit is closing the gap on Garmin, but theyve still got a long way to go, especially when it comes to dedicated running tools. (Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton) Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro: Specifications Swipe to scroll horizontally

Component

Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro

Price

$499.99 USD / 449.90 UK / $729 AUS

Dimensions

48mm wide, 15.6mm thick (inc. heart sensor)

Weight

45.6g without strap

Case/bezel

Titanium case, plastic bezel

Display

1.32-inch AMOLED Screen, 466 x 466 px resolution

GPS

Dual-band, 6 satellite systems

Battery life

Up to 10 days of heavy use, or 20 days typical

Connection

Bluetooth, BLE 5.3, Wi-Fi 2.4GHz

Water resistance

5 ATM Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro: Price and availability $499.99 USD / 449.90 UK / $729 AUS More affordable than the Garmin Forerunner 970 Impressive set of features for the price The Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro costs $499.99 USD / 449.90 UK, which represents a significant 50% increase over the price of the
original Cheetah Pro. Amazfit justifies this huge jump by offering high-end hardware, including a titanium bezel, sapphire crystal lens, and up to 20
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Its position in the market is as a budget-friendly alternative to Garmin's flagship elite tier, specifically the Garmin Forerunner 970 . While both watches boast premium titanium bezels and crisp AMOLED screens, the more expensive Garmin boasts superior features, especially when it comes to
offline maps and ECG functionality. Value score 4/5 (Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton) Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro: Design Premium materials and a bright AMOLED display Touchscreen interface and physical buttons Overly chunky
design The Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro boasts a gorgeous premium grade-5 titanium alloy case finished off with a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass. The 1.32-inch AMOLED display is brilliantly sharp, with an impressive 3,000 nits of peak brightness which guarantees clarity even on sunny days.

If you were wondering why the watch costs so much, the material make-up and AMOLED display are two of the reasons. Compared to the cheap, plastic feel of a lot of sports trackers, the Cheetah 2 Pro is a high-end piece of hardware, only let down by the bundled silicone strap, which feels like an ill-considered afterthought. (Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton) Alongside the touchscreen interface, the watch features a four-button layout with tactile aluminum buttons. The presence of physical buttons proved valuable,
in my experience, especially when using the watch with sweaty hands or in the rain.

As much as I love the design of the Cheetah 2 Pro, it's let down by its over-large 15.6mm thickness. It absolutely dwarfed my wife's smaller wrist, and due to the size and weight I found it uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. If Amazfit could work out a way to reduce the thickness of the underside sensor bump, then a lot of these problems would go away. Design Score: 4/5 Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro: Features Excellent structured training, especially with Zepp Flow AI Offline maps and turn-by-turn navigation An extensive set of sensors At the heart of the Cheetah 2 Pro are the structured training plans and purpose-driven workouts. It's like having your own
personal running coach or using a platform such as Runna, but without the ongoing cost. There are workouts and plans for half marathons, full
marathons, and Fartlek runs, and every session helps extend endurance, build strength, and ensure appropriate recovery, all done via Zepp Coach AI.

In addition to dedicated training plans, the Cheetah 2 Pro boasts an
extensive set of navigation features which help keep you on track, however hard you're pushing. I was pleased to see the presence of offline maps and turn guidance, and it's even possible to import courses so you can
confidently navigate through routes you're not familiar with. Beyond this,
the watch includes automatic rerouting, points of interest search, and point-to-point route planning. (Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton) The upgraded optical sensors comprise 5 photodiodes and 2 LEDs, providing continuous 24/7 monitoring for heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, and
stress levels. All of these sensors, and more, feed the data so the watch can provide a daily Readiness Score for evaluating training fatigue and overall status. Additional environmental sensors include a skin temperature sensor, barometric altimeter, gyroscope, accelerometer, and geomagnetic compass.

In comparison to the Forerunner 970, the Cheetah comes up short in most
areas. The Garmin features a more comprehensive set of tools, including its localized crowd-sourced popularity routing database, granular analytics, and ECG functionality. If you want the very best, Garmin is still the brand to turn to. Features Score: 4/5 Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro: Performance Spot on GPS and heart rate performance Excellent map functionality but a little laggy Top-level activity tracking and health monitoring Serious runners require accurate on-board GPS, and the Cheetah 2 Pro provides exactly that. Courtesy of its advanced positioning systems, the watch is able to deliver accurate tracking and pacing even when the signal appears to weaken. I compared it
with the same route run with my accuracy benchmark, the Garmin Tactix 8, and the Huawei Watch Ultimate 2. It tracked these runs to within one or two per cent accuracy and was able to cope with varying surroundings, including high-rise buildings and forests.

Map functionality is extensive enough for most runners, although the subjective experience wasnt perfect. Any amount of panning and zooming resulted in a stutter, and if I were cycling, the map wouldnt update particularly smoothly. These problems are not game-changers, but if youre after the smoothest map interactions, then the Cheetah 2 Pro doesnt have the hardware to deliver that.

The Cheetah 2 Pro is a solid running coach on the wrist. It is able to
provide specific metrics such as ground contact time, stride length, and cadence. The ability to track in real-time my VO2 Max level and running power is super-helpful to know if I am doing well (or not, as the case may be). (Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton) An extensive set of health metrics is available, including heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, heart rate variability (HRV), respiration rate, lactate threshold, VO2, and more. The heart rate was an exact match to a dedicated heart rate monitor band. The heart rate zone feature is a nice addition for knowing when youre building endurance, improving speed, or pushing too hard.

Amazfit positions the watch as a long-distance runner's dream, and that requires outstanding battery performance with every feature and setting
turned on. They claim up to 31 hours with accurate GPS mode enabled, which is more than enough to perform a long-distance run, assuming it doesn't span multiple days. When you're using the watch in between trainings, you can expect up to 20 days of battery life with typical use.

The Cheetah 2 Pro is much more than a running watch, though. Its general smartwatch features are comparable with the very best from Apple , Google , and Samsung . You can make and receive Bluetooth calls, read and reply to texts, and utilize Zepp Pay for NFC contactless payments. All in, its a very useful watch for day-to-day living. Performance score: 4.5/5 (Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton) Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro: Scorecard Swipe to scroll horizontally

Category

Comment

Score

Value

Its far from cheap but is more affordable than similar alternatives from Garmin.

4/5

Design

A high-end smartwatch with premium materials. Only let down by the uncomfortable thickness.

4/5

Features

An all-round feature-rich smartwatch with unashamedly runner-centric
features.

4/5

Performance

Accurate activity and health tracking with solid GPS. Only let down by the map's navigation.

4.5/5 (Image credit: Future / Paul Hatton) Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro: Should I buy? Buy it if... You're training for a marathon or similar

With structured training plans and Zepp Flow AI, runners can confidently work towards their goals. You need a watch that can last a marathon

Offers up to 31 hours of continuous, accurate dual-band GPS tracking and up
to 20 days of typical daily use. Don't buy it if... You want the very best running smartwatch

For that youll need a Garmin like the Forerunner 970. You have a small wrist

Its thick and bulky design means itll dwarf users with small wrists. You're a trail runner

Dedicated features covering terrain and gradient can be found in the more expensive Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra. Also consider Garmin Forerunner 970

Its expensive and not particularly attractive, but the Forerunner 970 is "an outstanding running watch". It delivers depth and precision and excels in GPS performance.

Read our Garmin Forerunner 970 review View Deal Coros Pace 4

If youre looking for a seriously good value smartwatch for road and light trails, then the Coros Pace 4 is a great option. In our review we said, This light running watch is better value than many Garmins.

Read our Coros Pace 4 review View Deal How I tested Ive been wearing the Cheetah 2 Pro for the better part of six weeks. In this time I have used it while running, cycling, walking, relaxing, and more. I tested it against a Coros heart rate monitor as well as competitor devices for accuracy. It has also acted as a companion device to my smartphone, keeping me up-to-date with everything going on in my world. First reviewed: June 2026



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/health-fitness/smartwatches/amazfit-cheetah-2-pro-re view


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