Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro Review: Titanium Running Watch Tested

What it is

The Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro is the brand's most serious running watch to date, arriving in 2026 with titanium construction, a sapphire crystal, and a price tag that sits roughly 50% higher than its predecessor. Amazfit is positioning this squarely at competitive and serious recreational runners who want premium materials and running-focused features without paying full Garmin Forerunner 965 or Polar Vantage V3 prices. It gained some visibility when Josh Kerr wore a custom version during a Diamond League mile event, which is exactly the kind of marketing Amazfit needs to be taken seriously in this segment. Note: the specific time and venue cited in some coverage should be verified against official Diamond League records before treating those figures as confirmed.

Key specs

• GPS: Multi-band GNSS (specific chipset not disclosed in available sources)
• Battery life: Not confirmed in available sources
• Heart rate sensor: Wrist-based optical PPG sensor for continuous HR, HRV, and SpO2 monitoring
• SpO2: Yes, optical blood oxygen saturation
• Skin temperature: Not confirmed in available sources
• Altimeter: Barometric altimeter for altitude tracking
• Display: Not confirmed in available sources
• Weight: Not confirmed in available sources
• Water resistance: Swim-tested (confirmed by reviewer testing)

Performance in the real world

The available sourcing here is frustratingly limited because the full review from The5kRunner sits behind a supporter paywall, so concrete numbers on GPS accuracy, heart rate deviation during intervals, and sleep tracking scores are not accessible for citation. What is confirmed is that the watch was tested across running, cycling, and swimming, with Garmin, Polar, and Stryd used as reference devices. That is the right comparison set for a watch at this price tier, and the fact that the reviewer chose Stryd as a reference suggests the running dynamics side of the Cheetah 2 Pro was taken seriously enough to warrant power-meter comparison.

The Josh Kerr marketing angle deserves some skepticism regardless of the exact details. Amazfit released lap splits, heart rate, and cadence figures from that run, and The5kRunner flagged that one number does not reconcile on closer inspection. That kind of scrutiny matters. Marketing runs with elite athletes wearing sponsored gear in controlled conditions tell you almost nothing about how a watch performs on a recreational runner doing a tempo session in variable weather. What it does tell you is that Amazfit has enough confidence in the hardware to put it on a world-class miler in a competitive environment, which is more than most brands at this price will do.

The titanium case and sapphire glass are the headline hardware upgrades over the original Cheetah Pro. Both are meaningful choices for a running watch that will take knocks, scratch against jacket cuffs, and live on your wrist 24 hours a day. Sapphire is genuinely harder to scratch than standard mineral glass, and titanium gives you strength without the weight penalty of steel. These are not cosmetic choices. Whether the software and sensor accuracy have kept pace with the hardware ambition is the question the full review answers, and that data is behind the paywall.

Compared to the Garmin Forerunner 965, the Cheetah 2 Pro likely undercuts on price while matching on materials. The Polar Vantage V3 is the other obvious comparison, a watch that has very strong optical HR accuracy during hard efforts but an app ecosystem that trails Garmin by a wide margin. Amazfit's Zepp app has historically been serviceable for data but weak on third-party integrations and training load analysis depth. If that has not improved substantially with this generation, it will be a recurring criticism.

Who it's for and who should skip it

The Cheetah 2 Pro is aimed at runners who train seriously, care about build quality, and do not want to pay Garmin's top-tier prices. If you are logging 60-plus kilometers a week, racing regularly, and want a watch that can handle swim cross-training without complaint, this is worth considering. The titanium and sapphire construction make it a credible daily driver, not just a race-day watch.

Skip it if you are deep in the Garmin ecosystem and rely on Connect IQ apps, Garmin Coach, or seamless integration with third-party platforms. Amazfit has never matched Garmin's software depth, and there is no evidence from available sources that the Cheetah 2 Pro changes that. Also skip it if you need confirmed battery life numbers before buying. The fact that specific hours are not publicly available at time of writing is itself a minor red flag for a watch at premium pricing. Cyclists should also look elsewhere. The reviewer tested it across disciplines, but this hardware is clearly optimized for running.

Verdict

The Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro is the most credible watch the brand has built, with hardware specs that genuinely compete at the premium tier. The 50% price hike over its predecessor needs to be justified by software and sensor accuracy improvements that the available public sources do not yet confirm in full detail. If Zepp has closed the gap on Garmin's training ecosystem, this becomes a strong buy. If it has not, you are paying for a beautiful case around a mid-tier experience.