Is Noise better than Amazfit width

Review: Amazfit Balance

Of all the fitness trackers that Ive tested, none has made a bigger leap in hardware development than Amazfit. The first iterations that I tried in 2018 were plasticky and horrible. Every year, the wearable has gotten steadily, well, more wearable. A coworker recently asked if my tester Balance was a Samsung Galaxy Watch6 (7/10, WIRED Recommends). Thats high praise!

The Balance is Amazfits general purpose fitness tracker, aimed at promoting wellness of body and mind. It looks well, it looks like a Galaxy Watch6, with a slightly different top button, and ideally it would work in the same way by tracking your sleep, heart rate, and activities, as well as taking your calls. It also comes with a bevy of optional AI-powered tools to help you sleep, meditate, and exercise. Right now, though, its just still too buggy, which is especially obvious with a seamlessly functioning tester Garmin on my opposite wrist.

Red Flag

As with most fitness trackers, I check the company's privacy policy to see how it will use such intimate information. It's usually easy to find, and it usually looks similar to Google'sno data used for ads, et cetera. The Balance's privacy policy is unusually hard to find. According to Amazfit's website, the privacy policy explicitly does not apply to Amazfit trackers, nor does Zepp Health's policy. There's no privacy policy in the product manual, either. I asked Amazfit for a link to the privacy policy that applies to this tracker and got no response.

Even if everything is aboveboard, the company has made it very difficult to find out what's happening to your data. If that matters to you, you should probably stop reading here.

With that said, the Balance is a very light, good-looking, and low-profile fitness tracker. Despite having such a big case46 mm across, 10.6 mm deepit didnt feel large or obtrusive on my 150-mm wrist. The bezel is sleek gray aluminum, and it has two buttons on the left hand side to control it, as well as a tempered glass AMOLED touchscreen.

The screen is clear, bright, and responsivemaybe a little too responsive. It started and stopped workouts accidentally whenever I fidgeted with my jacket cuffs in Oregons cold, gray weather. The battery life theoretically lasts 14 days, but with a few tracked activities per day (walking my dog, running, indoor workouts), I did have to charge it once in the past two weeks. It charged relatively quickly, thoughit went from 15 to 65 percent capacity in the 45 minutes that I was waiting for a plane at the airport.

It has a water resistance rating of 5 ATM, which means that you can use it while swimming (if not while taking a shower, weirdly). (By way of contrast, my favorite Garmin Instinct 2 is rated to 10 ATM, and I have used it snorkeling and surfing without issue.)

Like most higher-end fitness trackers these days, it comes with a bevy of sensors and tools. These include onboard GPS with dual-band positioning that helps the tracker filter out environmental noise; an acceleration sensor, gyroscope, ambient light sensor, temperature sensor, and a couple of biometric sensors for measuring your heart rate and blood oxygen and so forth. It also has a microphone and an incredibly loud speaker, and my favorite, most comfortable nylon strap.

Add It Up

Amazfit is owned by Zepp, formerly known as Huami, and the app that the Balance uses is Zepp Health. Zepp Health used to be almost unusably annoying, but the apps homepage has been cleaned up quite a bit. Zepp Health now features a Readiness score, which is similar to that of Fitbits Daily Readiness or Garmins Body Battery, but you can still check the companys previous general purpose metric, which was PAI. The company developed its PAI score using the research of Ulrik Wislff, a professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. It uses your age, sex, resting heart rate, and past seven days of heart rate data to calculate just how much activity you should be getting.

Amazfit v Fitbit: the wearables, apps and features

While Fitbit is the king of fitness tracking (and a big smartwatch player), Amazfit is the new kid on the block when it comes to fitness tracking tech.

Amazfit, is owned by Zepp Health, a subsidiary of Huami, which manufactures Xiaomis devices including the eponymous Mi Band series. But lesser-known brand Amazfit is becoming the Chinese powerhouses fitness-forward brand.

But this is no knock-off technology. Amazfit devices pack a lot of the same features as Fitbit in the realms of health, sleep, and fitness monitoring. Often for less money than its more established rival.

But how do the two platforms compare and is one comfortably better than the other?

Weve spent a fair amount of time with devices made by both, getting to know their strengths and weaknesses.

We break down how Fitbit and Amazfit compare as ecosystems to help you decide which is the best fit for you.

Also check out our best smartwatch and best fitness tracker buying guides, based on our reviews.

Amazfit or Fitbit: The hardware

As mentioned above, Fitbit makes fitness trackers and smartwatches at different price points and with different feature sets.

The Fitbit family includes fitness trackers such as the Inspire 3, Fitbit Charge 5, and Fitbit Luxe. Then there are the two smartwatches: the Versa 4 and Sense 2 health watch.

The Amazfit family of devices is bigger. Theres the Amazfit GTS 4 and GTR 4 combo (pictured above) which are round and square versions of its flagship smartwatch.

Then theres the Bip 3 Pro its budget smartwatch. Add to that the Amazfit Band 7 fitness tracker, and the T-Rex Pro 2 outdoors Garmin rival, and you have the range.

Top picks: Best cheap smartwatches under $100

Amazfit GTS/GTR 4 v Fitbit Versa 4

Amazfit and Fitbit both have strong smartwatch lineups and its a tough call between the Fitbit Versa 4 and Amazfit GTS 4 (and rounded-faced GTR 4).

The Amazfit GTR/GTS 4 comes in round and square options. Theyre not identical, and the square version offers a tad more battery life. We prefer the GTR 4, which is a masculine looking 46mm smartwatch. The GTS 4 has a more feminine design, but pretty much everything that applies to the GTR 4 can be found on the GTS.

The Amazfit pair offers an overhauled heart rate sensor array on board, multiband GPS, 150+ workout modes, and intelligent detection of workouts, including gym repetitions.

Outdoor workouts have also been treated to extra biometric analysis via PeakBeats, tracking of track running, and also new mapping and routing. Amazfit has always excelled as a fitness smartwatch experience, and the company has doubled down with the GTS4/GTS4.

The Fitbit Versa 4 is a modest upgrade on its predecessor but matches closely with the GTR/S 4. Theres GPS on board for run tracking, although its aimed at a casual crowd, so theres no multiband GPS and little in the way of post-run biometric and performance analysis.

But its better on health, and the Health Metrics dashboard, which keeps tabs on your bodys heart rate, and temperature baselines is fantastic. While Amazfit sleep tracking is better than your average smartwatch, Fitbits is the best in the business, with brutally accurate assessments of sleep quality.

Both Amazfit GTS/GTR 4 watches and Fitbit Versa 2 are very middle-of-the-road smartwatches in terms of extras with no apps, modest third-party integrations, and poor watch face selections.

Both boast Alexa on the wrist, and excellent battery life estimates with around a week between charges with heavy use.

Winner: Draw. These are very closely matched. The Versa 4 is much better at tracking sleep and health vitals. The Amazfit GTS/R 4 is far better for workouts, and no slouch at health stuff either.

Amazfit Band 7 v Fitbit Inspire 3

The Amazfit Band 7 is a supercharged fitness tracker/smartwatch hybrid, which packs in fitness features into a band form.

It has a huge 1.47-inch full-color touchscreen AMOLED display and a sporty silicone band.

It tracks 120+ workout types, boasts automatic workout detection, and uses the advanced fitness analytics found on the flagship GTR/S 4 smartwatch. But it doesnt have GPS built-in, so you will have to piggyback off your smartphones. Its good for a dip in the pool, with 5ATM water resistance.

Theres support for SpO2 readings to take blood oxygen measurements, stress tracking features, and connected GPS to track outdoor activities with help from your phone.

The Charge 5 is a much more advanced fitness tracker. It has ECG capabilities, and an EDA sensor that keeps tabs on stress specifically, and that can also be used for mindfulness sessions, which are guided from the wrist.

It also has built-in GPS, although we did find accuracy issues during our review period.

Again, fitness isnt a Fitbit priority, and theres little in the way of workout analysis. But Amazfit and Fitbit can sync workouts to Strava. But health and sleep tracking are better presented on Fitbit, and again, the Health Metrics Dashboard is better than anything Amazfit has to offer.

Winner: The Fitbit Charge 5 is an absolute powerhouse, and the quality of the Fitbit platform makes it worth the extra initial outlay. But workouts are its Achilles heel.

Also consider

The Fitbit Inspire 3 is incredibly popular as an entry-level fitness tracker. Its been overhauled to have a color screen, SpO2, and temperature sensor, which means it offers access to the full Fitbit experience. We also feel that plenty of people will love the minimal design and funky colors.

Perhaps the closest Amazfit is the Bip 3 (and Bip 3 Pro). The budget smartwatch features decent heart rate and sleep tracking, and the Pro version has GPS, and its a perfectly useful running watch. Its no-frills, the screen is a lower-quality LCD, and the plastic case is boxy. But as budget smartwatches go, its one of the best around.

The Amazfit T-Rex 2 (above) is also worth a look for anyone considering a Garmin alternative. The outdoor GPS watch has no natural Fitbit rival, and is a rugged beast, with 10ATM water resistance, navigation support, and monster multi-band GPS battery life.

Amazfit or Fitbit: The apps

Its fair to say that on the hardware front, both Amazfit and Fitbit do great jobs in terms of offering well-built, feature-rich devices that look like wearables youd want to wear.

Looking good and being suitable for the gym is just one piece of the puzzle though. The software that puts that hardware to good use is equally as important and may ultimately sway your decision to choose between the two platforms.

Fitbit app in-depth

Fitbits companion app is available for smartphones and as a web app. Though its likely your interactions will be mainly done on the phone app.

Fitbit prides itself on designing an app thats easy to use and thats exactly what you get.

See a snapshot of your days fitness tracking, check in on friends and groups in the Community section and discover new programs and challenges to add to your routine. Its a clutter-free app making it easy to find the data you care about most.

Fitbit sleep tracking

Fitbit offers its Premium subscription service giving you additional features like wellness reports, audio and video workouts, and richer sleep insights to help you on the journey to better bedtime. You will have to pay for the pleasure of getting access to those features.

The Fitbit app also works with a range of third-party apps including Strava and MyFitnessPal to offer alternative ways to track fitness and diet outside of Fitbits built-in features.

Zepp app in-depth

The Zepp app is the official name for the Amazfit ecosystem, confusingly. But it acts as a place to keep a close eye on your health and fitness data. Its also a place to manually track activities like walking, running, and cycling.

You cant download apps and watch face support varies by device. You can see daily heart rate trends, a breakdown of sleep, and fitness trends like VO2 Max and Training Load insights if you care about recovering from workouts and optimizing fitness levels.

Some Amazfit devices also use the PAI score, which was developed by wearable tech company Mio. Its a single health score derived from heart rate and is designed to make sure youre working that heart regularly.

Amazfit fitness and sleep tracking

Its not as slick as Fitbits app, but it should have everything you need as far as tinkering with settings and reviewing your vital health and fitness data.

Fitness tracking compared

All of Fitbits and Amazfits wearables offer basic tracking, which includes monitoring daily step counts and sleep tracking. Depending on your device, you may find additional features like tracking elevation to offer richer insights.

Fitness tracking

At their core, both platforms offer the ability to view steps, distance covered, and periods of inactivity. These are based on similar motion sensor setups and unique software algorithms to convert wrist movement to motion data. No two devices ever deliver identical data, but the devices weve tested across both platforms didnt throw out wildly inaccurate data.

Winner: Fitbit

Heart health

Both platforms offer heart rate-based health insights based on optical, light-based sensors. The Fitbit Sense 2 and Fitbit Charge 5 also offer the kind of medical grade-style ECG sensor found in the newest Apple Watches too.

Fitbit has also gone further and rolled out continuous monitoring of heart rate rhythms, via the PPG sensor, across its full range.

Both claim their respective heart rate sensor technologies can help detect signs associated with heart disorders like atrial fibrillation. Fitbit and Amazfit also offer richer sleep insights using that heart rate data. Wed say Fitbit does a better job of it though.

While Fitbit does offer heart rate-based exercise tracking, Amazfit does push more into the sporting realms with its Training Load, VO2 Max, and PAI Health scores.

Winner: Fitbit

Sleep

From a presentation side of things, Fitbit has the edge here. It neatly and simply presents the components of your sleep in a way that most should be able to understand it. Whether thats sleep stages or additional sleep scores available via Fitbit Premium. Whats more, it offers more insights than Amazfit on the tracked data.

Amazfit certainly doesnt shirk its responsibilities as far as offering sleep breakdowns and sleep quality analysis and you still get that single-number sleep score. Its trialing out new features like breathing quality analysis similar to Fitbit. We were also impressed by the accuracy, but Fitbit is years ahead in the data and algorithms and that does shine through.

Winner: Fitbit

Stress and recovery

If you care about mindfulness and tracking your mental state, theres only one winner here and thats Fitbit. It offers guided breathing on many of its devices making use of the onboard heart rate monitor to create personalized breathing options. With its newest Sense watch, it goes further to tracking stress at a much deeper level.

Amazfit does also offer stress tracking via heart rate variability measurements, though Fitbit offers more in the way of helping you keep closer tabs on your mental well-being.

Winner: Fitbit

Womens health tracking

Its another win for Fitbit in terms of offering features specifically built around womens health. Fitbit offers the ability to show menstrual and fertility cycles via the Fitbit mobile app. It also makes some of that data viewable on its smartwatches.

Amazfit has recently introduced its own womens health tracking features with the ability to track periods and predict menstrual cycles by sending notification reminders on supported devices.

Winner: Fitbit

Sports tracking compared

Both of these platforms are built with fitness and sports tracking at their core. If you want to take things beyond step tracking, these devices across the board are well equipped to do that.

There are certainly ones that perform better for more advanced sports tracking if thats something youre after.

GPS tracked workouts

Fitbits smartwatches and fitness trackers offer dedicated modes for the likes of running and cycling and more basic workout modes. Those devices that are fit for the water, only track activity in the pool. Where GPS isnt available, itll use motion sensors to track metrics like distance, which is never going to be as reliable as GPS.

Outside of the Versa, Ionic, Sense, and Charge 4, that GPS tracking is also done via your phone, which does mean youll need to be out with your handset to get that data hit.

Amazfit offers built-in GPS on pretty much all of its wearables. Whether thats budget options like the Amazfit Bip S or you go for something like the GTS 2 or the more rugged T-Rex. Theres a wealth of sports modes on most of its watches including outdoor activities like hiking and you can get open water swimming tracking where available. The data is reliable on the whole, but like Fitbit, is more designed for casual fitness folk.

and you do have support for Strava if you want to review data in a more familiar place.

Winner: Amazfit

Swimming

More Fitbit devices than ever are waterproof and designed to track swimming. As weve already mentioned, thats pool swimming only. Fitbits smartwatches offer the nicest screens to review data in real-time and accuracy, on the whole, is solid.

Many of Amazfits devices offer both pool and open water swimming giving you similarly rich swim metrics including SWOLF, pace, and stroke analysis. Youve got nice, bright screens to review your swim data and the accuracy is there too, which gives it the edge in this particular department.

Winner: Amazfit (If you want open-water swim tracking too)

Heart rate in workouts

This is an interesting one. Of the Fitbit wearables that include a heart rate monitor, you can work to heart rate zones and view resting heart rate data to get a better gauge of your fitness level. Youll also get something called a Cardio Fitness Score, which is related to VO2 Max as another source of insight into your fitness levels.

Amazfit also offers similar functionality during workouts and additional insights like VO2 Max inside of its companion smartphone app. You will also get a rich level of detail as far as your HR data and how its presented in the Amazfit app. Theres no support for external heart rate monitor chest straps on most Amazfit devices, though you can generally broadcast HR data to compatible devices and apps to open up the possibilities of what you can do.

From an accuracy point of view, we think its a bit of a mix-bag across both platforms. Fitbits newest devices like the Charge 4, Versa 3, or Sense offer more reliable data based on our experience. But these devices have their moments of throwing up questionable data too.

Winner: Draw

Fitbit v Amazfit: Verdict

Why choose Fitbit?

You choose Fitbit over Amazfit for the simple fact that it currently offers more as an ecosystem. It does the fitness tracking well and compared to Amazfit, does a better job on the smartwatch front too. Its got apps, payments, watch faces, and improving music features too.

Its devices are really easy to use as well. It generally just works and its most user-friendly for a wider range of ages. There are trackers for kids as well as people who want something a bit more capable in the smartwatch and fitness tracking department. It offers good sports tracking, though theres room for improvement.

It excels as a platform for covering the bases. Its not perfect, but what you get as a package is generally very reliable. Fitbits wearables look better than they ever have and that makes them easier to recommend too. The Versa and the Charge are standout devices and crucially, are available at a good price too.

Why choose Amazfit?

Dont be put off by the fact that Amazfit has been on the scene for less time than Fitbit. It has already shown it can make really attractive, well-built wearables that offer big features for not a lot of money.

Our issue has always been around the software foundations that allow that hardware to shine, and while its still a little clunky and buggy in places, things on that front have improved massively. Youre getting well-presented health and fitness data along with useful insights into that data.

Where Amazfit delivers, perhaps more so than Fitbit is on sports tracking and pushing the boundaries of battery life. You get richer support for features beyond basic tracking.

If these are the kind of features you value, more so than making payments from your wearable, youll be better served here.