Best Amazfit Smartwatch in 2020

2020-05-07

Finding a smartwatch that checks every box on your wish list is no easy task. The options are endless and it can be tricky to navigate them all. The Amazfit smartwatch lineup isn't as well known as, say, Fitbit, but it keeps growing and offers plenty of solid choices at great prices. The Amazfit Verge stands out from the rest as a superb lifestyle smartwatch full of useful features. At the end of the day, the watch you choose will depend on the experience you want.

Best Overall:

Amazfit Verge

Best Value:

Amazfit Bip

Best for Beginners:

Amazfit Verge Lite

Best for Fashion:

Amazfit GTR

Best for Pro Athletes:

Amazfit Stratos

Best for Runners:

Amazfit Pace

Best Overall: Amazfit Verge

If you're seeking a well-rounded lifestyle smartwatch that offers solid fitness tracking and features, the Amazfit Verge is the best choice. It offers a fitness-focused design that consists of an AMOLED display, a polycarbonate body, and a stay-clean silicone watchband. It comes in one size, 43mm, and is available in three colors, including Shadow Gray, Twilight Blue, and Moonlight White.

Battery life varies depending on usage. You can expect five days with normal use, 34 days in basic watch mode, and 22 hours of continuous GPS mode. The Verge can track steps, calories, and distance. You'll have heart-rate monitoring, sleep tracking, and built-in GPS. Other bonuses include music storage and Amazon Alexa built-in. The sport modes cover basic exercises, like indoor and outdoor runs, trail runs, and indoor and outdoor bike rides. It also has modes for tennis, soccer, elliptical training, climbing, skiing, and jump roping.

As sporty as this watch looks, it's lacking a 5 ATM water resistance rating and swim tracking. The IP68 rating may suffice for some users, but it won't be enough for swimmers. The Verge can handle dust, rain, splashing, and accidental submersion, but you shouldn't wear it when showering, bathing, swimming, or in the sauna. An ongoing theme you'll notice is that app support isn't great for Amazfit wearables, which is the case on the Verge.

Pros:

12 sport modes

Onboard GPS

Microphone and speaker

Amazon Alexa built-in

Fitness-focused design

Music storage

Cons:

Lacks 5 ATM rating

Mediocre app support

Lacks always-on display

Best Value: Amazfit Bip

When you want a solid set of smartwatch features but you don't want to set yourself back financially, go with the Amazfit Bip. It has a polycarbonate body and an always-on transflective display, which can easily be read even in direct sunlight. Not having an AMOLED display is a small price to pay in exchange for an affordable smartwatch. On the bright side, this is surely one of the reasons the battery life is so impressive.

Speaking of battery, the Amazfit Bip promises to last up to 45 days. Standby mode lasts four months and continuous GPS mode lasts 22 hours. The Bip is IP68 waterproof and dustproof, which is not surprising given the price tag. A 5 ATM rating would've been nice considering it's marketed as a fitness smartwatch. Unless you're a frequent swimmer, this may not be a deal-breaker. You'll have step, calorie, and distance tracking as well as heart-rate monitoring. The sport modes include treadmill running, outdoor running, walking, and cycling.

The Bip is the most affordable smartwatch Amazfit offers. Therefore, you're going to settle on a few features. You won't have 5 ATM water resistance, music storage, or a mic/speaker. There's no AMOLED display, but the always-on transflective screen is a nice compromise.

Pros:

Multi-sport tracking

Built-in GPS

Always-on display

45-day battery life

Exceptionally affordable

Cons:

Lacks 5 ATM water resistance

No music storage

No mic or speaker

Best for Beginners: Amazift Verge Lite

On the surface, you might have trouble telling the Verge and the Verge Lite apart. It, too, comes with a brilliant AMOLED display. It has a silicone watch band and the body is made of glass fiber and reinforced polycarbonate. This 43mm smartwatch is also available in gray and white.

Battery life lasts longer on the Amazfit Verge Lite with typical use lasting for 20 days and continuous GPS mode lasting for 40 hours. You'll enjoy seven sport modes: outdoor run, indoor run, walk, elliptical, outdoor cycle, indoor cycle, and exercise. Other key features include onboard GPS, high-precision heart-rate monitoring, sedentary reminders, music controls, and sleep tracking. That's a whole lot of features for a "lite" watch.

It costs a bit less than the Verge, which means you'll be missing some of the better features, including music storage, Wi-Fi, Amazon Alexa built-in, a microphone, and a speaker. It also lacks a few sensors, like a gyroscope, air pressure sensor, and geomagnetic sensor. All things considered, it's an excellent choice for those who are entering the world of smartwatches for the first time.

Pros:

Multi-sport tracking

Built-in GPS

20-day battery life

Brilliant AMOLED display

Smartphone notifications

Cons:

Lacks 5 ATM water resistance

No mic or speaker

Can't interact with notifications

No Wi-Fi or Alexa built-in

Best for Fashion: Amazfit GTR

The Amazfit GTR is the watch to choose if you're seeking a classic yet modern design. It comes with two side buttons and is available in both 47mm or 42mm sizes. The bigger option is available in three timeless variants: stainless steel, titanium, and aluminum. The smaller option is available in Starry Black, Moonlight White, Coral Red, and Cherry Blossom Pink.

Both sizes offer great battery life. The larger size gives you up to 24 days with typical use, 74 days in basic watch mode, and 40 hours in continuous GPS mode. You'll also have 5 ATM water resistance along with tracking for pool swimming and open water swimming. In addition to tracking steps, distance, and calories, the GTR also has modes for walking, indoor and outdoor running, trail running, indoor and outdoor cycling, elliptical training, climbing, skiing, and general exercise. You'll have 24-hour heart-rate monitoring, too.

To put it simply, if you're looking for the most aesthetically pleasing Amazfit smartwatch, look no further than the GTR. It's nice that you'll have long battery life, GPS, and 5 ATM water resistance, but it's important to note that you'll be missing a microphone and speaker, Wi-Fi connectivity, and music storage.

Pros:

12 sport modes

5 ATM water resistance

Built-in GPS

Amazing battery life

Classic yet modern design

Cons:

No music storage

Lacks microphone

Lacks speaker

No Wi-Fi connectivity

Best for Pro Athletes: Amazfit Stratos

If you need all the fitness tracking and smartwatch features you can get, you'll love the Stratos. At 46mm, it's one of the biggest in the Amazfit lineup. It consists of a ceramic bezel, stainless steel buttons, and a glass fiber reinforced polycarbonate casing. The watch comes with a silicone sports band that can handle all of your intense activities and it's only available in black. The large always-on display is a transflective LCD touchscreen.

The Stratos gives you five days of battery with typical usage, 11 days in basic watch mode, and 35 hours with continuous GPS mode. It comes with 5 ATM water resistance, heart-rate and sleep tracking, music storage, and Wi-Fi. It tracks steps taken, distance traveled, and calories burned. The 16 sport modes include walking, indoor and outdoor running, indoor and outdoor cycling, trail running, elliptical, climbing, pool swimming, open water swimming, and more. You'll have VO2 max, which measures your fitness level, recovery time, and training load. It's perfect for athletes who want to improve their performance.

You don't get an AMOLED display, but that's not uncommon with a high-end fitness smartwatch. Plus, the transflective LCD makes more sense with this long list of features. Some users might appreciate the generous size watch, but it may not be ideal for small wrists. Finally, the lack of app support is a bummer on a wearable of this magnitude. You won't find an app store, but it does offer widget options, including a stopwatch, compass, alarm, weather forecast, and so on.

Pros:

16 sport modes

Built-in GPS

5 ATM water resistance

Music Storage

Wi-Fi connectivity

Cons:

Large, bulky design

Lacks AMOLED display

App support needs work

Best for Runners: Amazfit Pace

At nearly 46mm, the Amazfit Pace is another giant in the lineup. You'll notice that it's quite similar to the Stratos, but it's a bit sleeker and slimmer. It also provides you with a transflective low-power color display. The watch case is made with glass fiber reinforced polycarbonate and a ceramic bezel that's wear-resistant. You'll have your pick of a black or red band.

As for battery life, it's going to give you five days of typical usage, 11 days of basic use, and 35 hours in continuous GPS mode. These battery specs are identical to that of the Stratos. You can also run phone-free with onboard music storage. The Amazfit Pace will track key metrics and important details, like pace, cadence, distance, time, and heart rate. You'll have a multitude of activity and sport modes for outdoor and indoor runs, trail runs, outdoor and indoor cycle, walk, elliptical, climb, and more. Not to mention that you'll even be able to choose from running training plans for beginners, 5K, 10K, and marathon runners.

Strangely enough, this running watch only comes with an IP67 rating, which means it can resist dust, rain, splashes, and accidental submersion. As you might've guessed, this also means there's no swim tracking on the Pace smartwatch. It's geared toward runners, so maybe the lack of 5 ATM water resistance won't affect your choice. No AMOLED display here, but the always-on touchscreen is still an asset. It's almost the same size as the Stratos, so be prepared for a watch that's large and in charge.

Pros:

12+ sport modes

Built-in GPS

Music storage

Always-on display

Choose from running plans

Wi-Fi connectivity

Cons:

Lacks AMOLED display

App needs work

Big and bulky

Bottom line

Amazfit has a smartwatch for just about everyone. We recommend the Amazfit Verge for all of its activity tracking and smartwatch features. It's hard to pass up 12 sport modes, built-in GPS, music storage, sleep tracking, heart-rate monitoring, and Wi-Fi. You can even take calls right from your wrist thanks to the built-in microphone and speaker. The Verge also has Amazon-Alexa built-in, which rounds out the smartwatch experience.

The good news is that no matter what your preferences are, it's more than likely that you can find an Amazfit smartwatch to meet them. Whether you're a professional athlete looking to improve performance, a runner training for the next 5K, or a beginner who's just getting started, there's an Amazfit wearable made with you in mind.


Amazfit Pace Review
2020-05-14
Amazfit Cor review
2020-05-12
Amazfit GTR review
2020-05-12