Amazfit has launched the T-Rex Dual Solar, which it calls the world’s first AMOLED sports watch with a dual solar system. The claim holds up. Solar charging on a sports watch historically relied on a see-through transflective display. Among GPS sports watches, only Garmin and Suunto offer it. Both companies use Solar alongside their MIP displays but Suunto’s newest Vertical 2 dropped solar when it switched to AMOLED and it’s uncertain if they will continue with solar. Coros, Polar, and Apple don’t offer a solar watch at all. Putting solar on an AMOLED screen is genuinely new, so kudos to Amazfit for being the first. There’s always a but. Let’s see what it is.
Amazfit gets there with a two-panel solution.
One sits as a ring around the display and harvests light in normal use. A second, larger panel is built into the glass-ceramic caseback with more than twice the area, so it charges roughly twice as fast. The first obvious catch is that the rear panel only faces the sun when the watch is off your wrist, so Amazfit includes a lanyard to clip it to a pack.
That points to the first thing to be clear about. The headline figure of up to 180 days assumes Outdoor Extreme Mode with the rear panel under continuous strong sun, which in practice means the watch is not being worn. Under typical use, the figure is up to 25 days, rising to 51 with the rear panel, and the day-to-day gain for someone wearing and training with the watch is far smaller. Solar extends battery life here.
The second thing is the display. At 1.32 inches, it is smaller than the 1.5-inch screen on the 48mm T-Rex 3 Pro. The circular front solar element is several millimetres wide and brings back the ‘bezel-look’ from years gone by, which was widely disliked when companies used smaller displays to save battery consumption. The effect is the same: on a large expedition watch, you get a comparatively small usable face. The battery is smaller too, at 660mAh against 870mAh on the Ultra 2. Whether that matters depends on how much you value solar over screen.
The rest is familiar T-Rex. A 3,000-nit sapphire display, a Grade 5 titanium bezel, 10 ATM with diving to 50 metres, operation down to -30C, dual-frequency six-satellite positioning, full offline maps, more than 180 sports modes including HYROX, and the Zepp platform with voice control, payments and offline music. Full specifications, features, and the complete battery table are on our Amazfit T-Rex Dual Solar specifications page for those who need all the details.
The T-Rex Dual Solar has a launch price of GBP 649.90 and is available to pre-order from 22 September.
Amazfit T-Rex Dual Solar
Solar expedition GPS smartwatch
For more, see our Amazfit coverage and the Release Radar for what is coming next.
Last Updated on 22 September 2026 by tfk the5krunner
Small things I always use
- Garmin 90-degree charging adapter: Charges your Garmin from any USB-C cable. Essential when travelling. I use one.
- Body Glide: The blue anti-chafe stick swimmers and runners carry. I use it.
- Speedo earplugs: Fewer ear infections and no cold-water dizziness. I use them.
- Dryrobe Advance: My winter changing robe for open-water swims. I use one. A cheaper option is the AONYIYI changing robe.
- Maurten: Race fuel that stays easy on the stomach. I use them.
- Beet It Sport nitrate shots: Beetroot shots I take in the days before a race. I use them.
- Garmin charging puck: The quickest way to top up before a session. I use one.
- Injinji: Toe socks that stop rubbing, so you run more. I use them.
- Ultimate toe protectors: Stop black toenails on long runs. They work. I use them.
- Compressport R2 v2 calf sleeves: My calf sleeves of choice. I use them.
- Cellucor C4: My pre-workout before hard sessions.
- TPU tubes: Schwalbe Aerothan, Tubolito and Pirelli SmarTube. Light, tiny spares. I use all three.
- G8 insoles: Adjustable insoles that are good. I use them.
- Cycplus Cube: A 97g electric pump that gets a road tyre rideable in two minutes. I carry one. 5% off with code THE5KRUNNER.
Watches and sensors
- Polar H10: My daily driver for waking HRV.
- Polar Verity Sense: My backup arm-worn HR sensor.
- Nomad bedside charger: Charges my iPhone and Apple Watch overnight. I use it, and many of their bands.
- Train.Red: The best muscle oxygen sensor I’ve used.
- Tymewear: Accurate heart rate and reliable ventilatory zones. I use it to pace endurance rides over an hour.
- Garmin Forerunner 970: A pro-grade triathlon watch. I use this.
- Apple Watch Ultra 4: My daily smartwatch. No phone needed on rides.
- Garmin Fenix 9 Pro: I’ve just bought one.
On the bike
- Continental GP5000 for everyday riding, and Aero 111 on the front for special occasions.
- Helmets: Specialized S-Works Evade 3 for road riding, and Rudy Project Wing for TT-style races. I use both.
- Ravemen FR300: A front light that mounts under your Garmin or Wahoo. I use one.
- Ravemen FR1000: The light and the computer mount in one unit, so nothing else goes on the bars. Better than mine.
- Ravemen FR1500SE: 1,500 lumens hanging under your Garmin, for proper night rides.
- Ravemen FR1100SE: 1,100 lumens under your Garmin, and up to 46 hours on slow flash.
- Ravemen FR500: A brighter FR300 with the same mount.
- Wahoo TRACKR Radar: I use it on one bike and Varia on the other. They perform the same.
- Garmin Varia RTL515: Radar that warns you of cars from behind. I use this model.
- Wahoo ELEMNT Roam 3: The bike computer that’s easy to use. I use mine on most rides.
- Favero Assioma Pro RS2: Accurate power pedals that swap easily between bikes. I use this model.
Home and indoor training
- NPE Runn: Makes my basic treadmill smart, sending more accurate speed and distance to my watch and Zwift. I use it.
- Google Wifi: Keeps Zwift connected in my pain cave. I use it.
- Apple TV 4K: Zwift on the big screen. I use two.
- Google Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen): My video doorbell, running in both Google Home and Apple Home. I use it.
Health, recovery and sleep
- FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus: Shows how my blood sugar responds to diet.
- hDrop: Measures my sweat loss in summer and indoors.
- Fourth Frontier Zone: Checks my heart under load in hard sessions.
- Kineon MOVE+: Red and infrared light for sore knees, Achilles and other joints after hard training. I use it.
- Oura Ring 5: My partner’s recovery tracker of choice.
- Eight Sleep: A cooling mattress cover my partner and I use nightly.
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tfk is the founder and author of the5krunner, an independent endurance sports technology publication. With 20 years of hands-on testing of GPS watches and wearables, and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, tfk provides in-depth expert analysis of fitness technology for serious athletes and endurance sport competitors. See the gear tfk uses. ID
