Bip 6

You can get an Amazfit Bip 6 for about $60USD. Not the most accurate GPS tracking, but decent. Kind of slow to acquire too. But killer battery life. No barometric or GPS elevation on the watch itself though. I think you'd have to go up to the Active 2 to get a watch from them with a barometer for altitude, about $125.

As a long term Galaxy Watch wearer (from gen 1 to 7) and an Apple Watch gen 11 wearer (for 3 days), IMO, the Active 2 kicks both Samsung and Apple’s ass. Not having to charge your watch every single day is a game changer. At a fraction of the price, sure, you’re not gonna get all the bells and whistles but you get enough and don’t feel ripped off paying ridiculous prices for a bunch of superfluous features. I have a Bip 6 and Active 2 to cover square vs round and still had enough money left over to get a Nintendo Switch 2.

Amazfit Bip 6. I switched a couple weeks ago after my sense died on a cruise. A bit of a learning curve, NO SYNCING, the battery on this thing lasts 8 days, and I’m a runner (just for the context that it is used frequently), Music controls, the only annoying part is the readiness suggestions and I was able to turn that off. I’m blown away and this thing was only $79.

I was in the same drill few months ago. I went with Amazfit bip 6. It was easy enough to use for my parents. They use it principally for checking hr, sleep, steps, check messages, answers calls and they like the alert of inactivity, so they get up and walk a bit. But they do not see the point of tracking activities at all. So at the end of the day I’m glad I went with a cheaper watch but more useful for their needs. I think that the most important feauture for them, was to answer calls on the watch, and see when they get messages. So they keep their phone in mute, without having to have a ring every time they receive a message or a call. That’s good for everyone ;)

Bip 6 user here, for about 5 or 6 weeks. I'm having the exact same issue, have been blocked from receiving any HRV or sleep phase data three days out of the past five simply because my sleep duration (and how long I'm awake between sleep attempts when applicable) doesn't *quite* meet whatever overgeneralized algorithm they're using on the backend. I make extra sure to keep the sleep schedule aligned, everything, but nope, having secondary insomnia locks me out of key features. I sent in feedback yesterday when it happened the 2nd time but came to reddit to look for similar experiences after this newest (3rd) time. I'm both glad I'm not alone and sorry it's affecting your experience too. Given I'm bedbound, I use the watch solely for sleep quality data, heart rate every minute, and HRV, all very necessary data points for tracking my health. Completely losing 2 out of 3 on random days because my body works differently than the devs think it should is deeply concerning.