Amazfit - Balance

Awesome review. Better than something I'd see on Tom's Guide or Android Central. I already own the Bip 6 and Balance, as well as GTS 4. You were spot on in every aspect.

I went from an Amazfit balance to the oneplus watch 3. They are both brilliant watches. The reason I changed is because I wanted OS wear, and a decent battery life. I love everything about the OnePlus watch 3. 5 days of battery life, great display. Access to play store.

Depending on what features we are talking about, Garmin Venu 3 and Amazfit (Balance, TRex) both are delivering strong battery.

I’ve been using the Forerunner 970 since the day it launched, and I have to say—it’s been one of the most reliable fitness watches I’ve owned. I run almost every day, usually 3.5 to 4 miles, and in all that time I’ve only had the watch crash once. Sleep tracking? Spot on every single night. There hasn’t been a single day where it failed to track. That kind of consistency is what makes me stick with Garmin. What I also love is the overall look and feel. The watch is comfortable enough for all-day wear, and the OS/UI is simple and intuitive. That might not sound flashy, but when you’re checking data every day, simplicity matters more than fancy animations. For comparison, I also own an Amazfit Balance. On paper, it has a much richer UI. But in practice? I find it frustrating. Something as basic as checking my training readiness or sleep score takes too many taps and swipes. It looks “pretty,” but it’s not functional. That’s why it sits in my drawer unused while the Forerunner is on my wrist 24/7. Now, about the recent Fenix 8 Pro launch—I see a lot of people freaking out about the price. Here’s my take: Garmin’s lineup is huge. You can start with an entry-level watch like the Forerunner 55 or 165 at around $150 (often even cheaper with deals), and go all the way up to the MARQ series that runs $3,000+. The Fenix 8 Pro is just one model in between. If you think it’s overpriced, that’s fine—skip it. There are so many other options that cover different budgets and needs. Personally, I don’t want my watch to be a mini-smartphone. I already carry my phone everywhere. I just want my watch to nail fitness tracking—runs, recovery, sleep, HR, VO₂ max—and not get bogged down with bloatware or unnecessary “smart” features. Garmin, for me, hits that sweet spot. So yeah, I’m really happy with the Forerunner 970. It’s reliable, simple to use, and does its job extremely well. As for Garmin’s pricing across models—I honestly don’t get the outrage. If one model feels too expensive, there are plenty of others to choose from.

AmazeFit balance is great

I have a balance and really like it. It definitely under counts steps. My wife has an older gts 4 mini. Under counts steps.

I don't have notifications on my Amazfit balance. I use it as a watch/fitness tracker. Don't even use zepp pay, as I always have my phone on me.

10 days easy on my Amazfit Balance. Best move going away from AW. Do miss Apple Pay but love 10 day battery better

If you are using a watch that is older than 3 years its very likely (outside of apple watch, garmin, coros, polar and suunto) that it doesn't come close to matching current models accuracy levels - especially as most brands (wear os / apple / garmin / coros / polar / suunto / fitbit / huawei / amazfit) update the sensor and gps chipset every 2-3 years (if not more frequently) and there have been significant improvements all around. For example current garmins are either using the elevate 4 or elevate 5 HR sensor (from health 24/7 perspecive virtually immaterial difference in results, but from an activity perspective especially around strength and cycling their is a more marked improvement - plus the elevate 5 sensors include ECG and baseline temp monitoring) however the elevate 4 was a significant jump from the elevate 3 sensor (4 veritcal led lights) which was an even bigger jump from the sensor prior to that (3 leds in a triangular shape). Huge jumps and leaps have been made in sleep tracking too, and for most its way more accurate than it used to be - though don't get me wrong it still can be fooled (i.e. sitting/lying and being super inactive (i.e. reading / watching tv) and its possible the watch can potentially record that as sleep. Garmin Forerunner 165 - its on special on Garmin sales at just under $200. (or could look to see what deals you can find for the instinct 2 or vivoactive 5). These are all running pretty much garmin's latest version of sleep tracking which is way better at determining sleep duration (I find start time is rock solid and seldom gets fooled - if it does at the worst it records it as light sleep so doesn't really impaact recovery at all -as would be giving you that as recovery anyway and the recharge rate from light compared to resting is so simliar I haven't noticed a difference in recharge rate; and wake time is rock solid as long as using morning report - cause as soon as you access morning report it switches off sleep - so if you wake up and want to go back to sleep don't access morning report - the morning report front screen includes time so no need to access it until you want to be up and about). The sleep tracking algorithms are from firstbeat and includes the use of accelerometer, HR and HRV compared to the older garmin sleep tracking which per my understanding was accerlerometer based. You could also look at anything from amazift (stick to bip 6, active 2, t-rex3 or balance - as all running most current version of their software and alogorithms); Huawei including Fit 3 is worth a look; and could consider anything from coros, suunto (just released the run which should be around the $200 mark) and polar. And you could also look at fitbit charge 6, sense 2 or vera. There is also xiaomi but their HR isn't as good as the others... But worth noting the accuracy of optical HR is still impacted by skin tone, body comp, hair, tats, weight & size of watch, how you wear it and if doing an activity the activity type - and until you use it there is no way to know if it will be accurate for you or not. However for most people most of the sensors of the brands I have mentioned tend to do a good job re accuracy for 24/7 health metrics and steady state activities (walking, steady running etc).

Seconding this. The Bip 6 is fantastic for the price but if you can spend a little more, the Active 2 comes with an altimeter and thermometer for extra metrics. There's also a premium version of the Active 2 which has sapphire glass and an additional strap. Both have the newer sensor found on the Balance 2 and T-Rex 3. You can find them for cheap on Amazon US, since they easily fall under $200 (to avoid customs tax) and above $50 (for free shipping to PH). I personally picked the original Balance instead at $129 (same as the Active 2 Premium) because it's bigger and more accurate.