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Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro review: a runner’s watch at €449.90

Man in sleeveless top wearing earbuds checks smartwatch while running in a park with smartphone strapped to his arm.

Amazfit talks a lot about its presence in Hyrox, but the brand also appeals to runners - the Cheetah 2 Pro in particular.

On 12 April, after 2 hours 5 minutes and 18 seconds of effort, Italian athlete Yemaneberhan Crippa won the Paris Marathon. On his wrist was a smartwatch from Amazfit: the Cheetah 2 Pro.

I may not have his legs or physical gifts, but I did manage to copy him on one point: his watch. After a month wearing the Cheetah 2 Pro, here’s my verdict on this Amazfit watch.

Is it as compelling on my wrist as it is on a champion’s? And can it become our favourite training partner - for us amateur runners?

You can also find our video with Hyrox champions using Amazfit watches here.

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Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro: a watch designed for running

Even before strapping the Cheetah 2 Pro to my wrist, I knew I was dealing with a runner’s watch. Amazfit isn’t pitching this as an outdoor all-rounder or a lifestyle accessory. Everything here revolves around running.

Despite a fairly large case (43.8 mm), it sits comfortably on my wrist. It’s also relatively light (45.6 g), and the 1.5-inch AMOLED display is extremely easy to read (3,000 nits). Getting around the interface is straightforward thanks to the four buttons positioned around the case.

The aluminium bezel adds a chrome-like touch. It’s a more premium look that helps explain the €449 asking price.

The GPS is genuinely impressive

This is the headline feature every sports watch loves to push: GPS quality. On paper, the Cheetah 2 Pro offers top-tier specs, with dual-band positioning and support for 6 satellites.

In real use, the Cheetah 2 Pro surprised me in the best way. It locks on within seconds, and tracking is close to flawless - even in tricky spots (in cities between tall buildings, or when passing through short tunnels).

It’s easy to assume - wrongly - that GPS precision doesn’t matter much for amateurs. In reality, it matters most at this level. Beyond producing tidy route lines for your Strava feed, accurate positioning leads directly to more reliable pace calculations.

A professional athlete can usually tell whether they’re running at the right speed - it’s literally their job. For the rest of us, it’s far less obvious. Trustworthy data makes it easier to manage training sessions and races sensibly.

A watch for ordinary runners?

Yes, as noted at the start of this review, the Cheetah 2 Pro won the latest Paris Marathon - but that doesn’t mean it’s only for an ultra-elite crowd. Quite the opposite.

That said, with specs like these and a €449 price tag, it isn’t aimed at beginners (Amazfit sells cheaper watches for getting started at a lower cost). However, for an experienced runner looking to level up their kit, it’s a genuinely strong option.

With the Cheetah 2 Pro on your wrist, you get a watch that can follow every training session - and, more importantly, help you understand how your body is coping with that training load.

Amazfit has put serious effort into this area, including an estimate of lactate threshold. Using the Zepp companion app (available on Android and iOS), you can access a huge amount of data to better interpret your training.

For the more ambitious, Zepp Coach can create personalised training plans based on your next goal. It’s a neat way to keep your plan and your metrics in one place.

Very reassuring battery life

Another major strength of this Amazfit is endurance. Amazfit claims up to 20 days of battery life for typical use, and around 30 hours with GPS. Of course, results depend on how you use it, but during our test we never ran into battery issues - even with several sessions per week and sleep tracking enabled.

It’s a real advantage to have a watch that can run for days without needing a charge. And when it does run flat, you simply place it on the included dock to start charging. It only takes a few minutes.

Offline maps and other features

Even if they’re not the headline strengths, the rest of the spec sheet remains appealing. The watch lets you download maps for offline use. It also supports Zepp Pay, so you can add your bank card and pay contactlessly straight from the watch.

Lastly, there’s a front-facing light - a flash similar to the one on our smartphones - which is genuinely handy for seeing in the dark. New parents will especially value this for making a bottle at 3 a.m. without turning on every light in the house.

A slightly unreliable heart-rate sensor

Despite its many qualities, the Cheetah 2 Pro isn’t perfect. In particular, it’s held back by a temperamental heart-rate sensor that sometimes returns readings that don’t look quite right.

It’s nothing that would really ruin the experience for an amateur, but it’s still worth noting - especially for a watch positioning itself as high-end.

Another weakness of the Cheetah 2 Pro is its “exclusivity”. The watch feels designed for one group above all: runners. Athletes who do other sports can of course use the Cheetah 2 Pro (it supports more than 170 sports), but it never feels as accurate outside running.

On one hand, for runners like me, that’s ideal. You really do get a “personalised” smartwatch - it’s built around your needs and delivers on them. Step outside that use case, though, and the watch can feel less in its element.

It can join you on the bike, in the pool, or on the padel court, but not with the same natural fit. This is just a personal impression, but I found it very (too?) focused on running alone to fully win over the general public.

More broadly, Amazfit still lacks legitimacy in the eyes of mainstream buyers, and it also lacks a wider product ecosystem. Many people don’t pick the best smartwatch for their needs - they choose the one that fits most neatly into their existing ecosystem.

Garmin benefits from an enormous range, and other brands such as Coros or Suunto are moving in the same direction. They’re launching related products (Dura from Coros, a bike computer, or the Wing from Suunto, bone-conduction headphones). Amazfit hasn’t taken that step yet, but it seems like a necessary stage in the brand’s growth if it wants to attract experienced athletes.

Is the Cheetah 2 Pro the right choice?

Even after a month with the Cheetah 2 Pro on my wrist, I still haven’t won a marathon - or even run 42 kilometres. But the watch isn’t the one at fault. It’s a very compelling product, and one I’d happily recommend to my runner friends.

Amazfit isn’t the best-known name in the world of running, but its products deserve more recognition. The Cheetah 2 Pro is a perfect example: a premium watch that can absolutely compete with market benchmarks such as Garmin, Coros, or Suunto.

At €449.90, it offers one of the best value-for-money propositions in 2026. You’re getting a high-end watch with a superb ultra-bright AMOLED display, precise data, and strong training tracking.

Lactate threshold calculation is a genuinely differentiating feature - provided, of course, that you use the metric appropriately.


Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro

Price: 449.90

Overall rating

9.9/10

What we like

  • Display
  • Battery life

What we like less

  • Heart-rate tracking
  • GPS

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