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.
For more, see our Amazfit coverage and the Release Radar for what is coming next.
Last Updated on 22 September 2026 by the5krunner
My favourite kit and nutrition
- Garmin Fenix 9 Pro — I’ve just bought one.
- Injinji – Runners protect your toes. Avoid discomfort and minor injury. Run more. Run faster. I use them.
- Garmin 90-degree charging adapter — A small keyring adapter you can use anywhere. Essential when away. I use one.
- Garmin charging puck — the fastest and most reliable way to top up your Garmin before a session. I use one.
- Ravemen FR300 — Front light that mounts directly under your Garmin or Wahoo head unit. Keeps your bars clean and your beam pointed where it matters. I use one.
- Body Glide – The blue anti-chafe stick that all swimmers and many runners use. I use it.
- Maurten — The race nutrition trusted by elite athletes. Gels and drink mixes engineered to be easy on the stomach. I use them.
- Garmin Varia RTL515 — A radar rear light that alerts you to vehicles approaching from behind. Pairs with your Edge or Wahoo. I use this model.
- Favero Assioma Pro RS2 — The power-meter pedals most serious cyclists choose. Accurate, easy to move between bikes. I use this model.
- Garmin Forerunner 970 — A serious choice for a pro-grade triathlon watch. I use this.
- Polar H10 — My daily driver for accurate, waking HRV readings.
- Wahoo ELEMNT Roam 3 — The bike computer that has the feature Garmin lacks: usability. I use mine on most rides.
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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. ID
