vivo Watch GT Does Well, But Falls Short in Key Areas
If you’re looking for a smartwatch companion for your workouts and you’re eyeing the vivo Watch GT, it may benefit you to read our quick guide. The vivo Watch GT is vivo’s latest wearable, marketed as a sport-focused smartwatch.
In the sphere of sport wearables, it is an entry-level smartwatch with an enticing price tag. The vivo Watch GT starts at RM499 for the Summer Black model with fluoroelastomer straps, and RM549 for the Cloud White model with leather straps.
We got the Cloud White model, but a word of advice: if you’re going to use this mainly for exercise, we recommend the black model, as fluoroelastomer straps tend to be more activity-friendly and sweat-resistant. Having used the vivo Watch GT for a month, here are the good and bad to consider before cashing in.
What’s Great About the vivo Watch GT
1) Solid Build with a Premium Touch
The case of the vivo Watch GT is reassuring, no doubt thanks to the matted aluminium middle frame. The matted texture running along the sides, paired with the gleaming aluminium, lends it a premium feel. Plus, the centrally positioned crown with its red lining goes a long way.
Style-wise, I love the look of the Cloud White model as a fashion piece. But as a sports companion, you’ll likely be better off with the fluoroelastomer straps. The leather straps just aren’t as comfortable under sweaty conditions and don’t feel like they’ll bode well with moisture over time.
2) Customizable to Your Preferences
Customizability is huge for me on smartwatches, and to the Watch GT’s credit, it ticks the right boxes. I had previously reviewed the vivo Watch 3, a slightly more expensive round-faced offering, and was more than pleased with it. The experience here was similar, except for a few responsiveness issues (we’ll get into that later).
For the most part, there’s plenty of room to customize the Watch GT your way. There’s a selection of widget arrangements to pick from, ranging from one to four widgets per page, allowing you to mix and match the components you want easily accessible.
Swiping right from the home page takes you to where you can add more widgets, shown in horizontal tiles that fit up to three shortcuts per tile, giving you quicker access to more functions.
3) A Wide Range of Sports Modes, Including Pickleball
If you’re caught up in the pickleball fad, the pickleball mode on the Watch GT might pique your interest. I’m not a pickleball fanatic myself, but given the sport’s popularity and the wave of new players it’s attracting, we’ll count this as a pro.
Having tested the Pickleball mode myself, I’d say it offers surface-level statistics that new players will appreciate. Specifically, it calculates swing counts, forehand and backhand distribution, and continuous swings in your match. This is, of course, accompanied by standard metrics like calorie burn, heart rate (BPM), and exercise effects (aerobic vs. anaerobic).
If not for pickleball, there are over 100 sports modes on the watch, including Pilates, Padel, HIIT, and Hiking.
The Downsides You Should Consider
1) Lack of Sports-focused Features
Perhaps the most jarring downside of the vivo Watch GT is what’s missing. What it lacks is a barometer – the built-in instrument that tracks altitude, cumulative incline, and decline. This means that even though the watch has hiking and mountaineering modes, your post-hike analysis won’t include altitude or incline/decline measurements, which could be a significant miss for hiking enthusiasts.
Additionally, the Watch GT doesn’t seem to support downloading offline maps for route tracking, a feature that’s especially useful for runners. Also, if track running is part of your workout routine, I regret to inform you that there’s no track running mode either.
2) Display Lacks Responsiveness
While the smartwatch’s case feels premium and sturdy, a quick scroll through the display reminds you that this is an entry-level device. For the record, the display is a 1.85″ AMOLED screen with 390×450 resolution.
To be concise, it’s just not as responsive as I would like. I sometimes find myself swiping multiple times to flip to the next page or pressing harder on a widget just to access it. Also, the low refresh rate becomes apparent when scrolling through a list of items, with microjitters that can be a little annoying.
This is an entry-level smartwatch, yes, but I’ve experienced sub-RM500 wearables that offer a more seamless user experience (the Redmi Watch 4 comes to mind here).
3) Band Variety Could Be Better
For a watch that carries the slogan “Power Your Healthy Life,” I do wish there were more sports-friendly straps, or at least options in varying colours. Right now, you’re limited to just a leather white and black fluoroelastomer offering. A nylon strap would be a great addition and would certainly lend more credibility to its sports-focused positioning.
Moreover, while the leather strap looks great at first, wrinkles appear with even the slightest bend, giving the impression that the material might crack soon.
vivo Watch GT: Should you buy?
While the vivo Watch GT is considered one of the more affordable offerings out there, an RM499 (or RM549, depending on the model) price tag still warrants some careful thought. And my take is: it’s easy to find other sports-focused smartwatches within the same price range that are more feature-packed.
Personally, I’d be more inclined to put my money toward Amazfit—perhaps the Active or Active 2 models. The HUAWEI Watch Fit 4, with its route-tracking features, nylon straps, and powerful barometer, is also top of the list.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say that the Watch GT is a bad purchase. But could you do better? I think so.
PriceShop Rating
Boleh lah...
✅ Rangka yang kukuh
✅ Widget yang boleh disesuaikan
✅ Mod sukan Pickleball (untuk penggemar sukan ini)
❌ Tiada barometer untuk mengesan cerun
❌ Paparan kurang responsif
❌ Pilihan tali terhad
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