construction
To suit all budgets and keep its price close to €200, the Amazfit Balance offers a discount on the materials used. The union between aluminum and polymer weighs on the beauty of the connected watch. On the other hand, it compensates for its sloppy aesthetic with a large case measuring 46 mm in diameter (one size) and 10.6 mm thick that weighs no more than 35 g on the scale. For comparison, the Garmin Vivoactive 5 weighs the same in a 42.2mm body.
The case accommodates a 1.5-inch touchscreen with a display of 480 x 480 pixels and a resolution of 323 ppi (pixels per inch). The screen is bright – up to 1500 cd/m² – and can adapt to its environment thanks to the brightness sensor.
Two controls adorn the connected clock. The first push button, which also acts as a rotating crown, allows you to navigate through the menus, while the second side button opens the various sports activities on offer. We appreciate the Chinese manufacturer’s effort to remove the second rotating crown, the uselessness of which clearly raised questions on the Amazfit GTR 3 Pro. The actions associated with each button can be personalized through the app, such as choosing to place the buttons on the left or right or wearing the token on one or the other wrist.
Two bracelets are available when choosing the Amazfit Balance: silicone or nylon with Velcro. The latter loses 5 mm compared to the first model and offers dimensions from 140 mm to 210 mm. This is the version we have on our wrist.
A microphone and a speaker integrate into the connected watch and allow you to make calls (obviously a smartphone must be connected to it). The device also supports Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa. After making the call, our caller had no complaints about the Amazfit Balance as long as we spoke in the direction of the microphone. The loudspeaker is also satisfactory and allows you to have short conversations on the telephone. However, only Android users can send default replies to incoming SMS and calls and view photos from WhatsApp. Other users will only read notifications.
Amazfit adds 2.3 GB of memory to the balance to store MP3 songs. Thanks to this, it is possible to listen to music without your smartphone: headphones or earphones are sufficient, although it is possible to do without them and listen to music through speakers.
Finally, the Amazfit watch can swim up to 50 meters deep. Please note, it is certified 5 ATM waterproof (for the environment), which means it can withstand immersion, but not brutally. Therefore, it is best to remove it if jumping or falling into the water is expected (water skiing, surfing, kite surfing, etc.).
User experience
The Amazfit Balance touchscreen responds well and it is not necessary to repeat gestures to see the desired action. On the other hand, the gyroscope isn’t responsive and doesn’t light up the screen with every wrist movement. Squeezing the screen doesn’t always solve the problem; To get it you have to press one of two buttons.
Intuitive, but customizable interface
The Amazfit Balance’s interface is somewhat confusing and marks a departure from other sports watches, such as Garmin and Suunto. By pressing the rotating crown, the Mosaic menu opens, reminiscent of the one available on the Apple Watch. Difficult to read, it is recommended to modify this display to select a list with each app name. A second press of the button returns to the watch face. Obviously, the user can turn the same button to navigate the menu. A press button reveals the available sports activities, which are 150 in number. To go back, you have to go past the touchscreen and slide your finger from left to right. If the screen responds well, we prefer to bind the action to a button for greater speed and accuracy.
Fortunately, this intangible setup can be changed. You should go to watch settings (preferences) and enable button mode. Once done, we get more natural controls in connected watches. The up button selects the option now displayed on the screen, while the down button returns to the previous screen. For the rest, they maintain their assigned tasks.
The clock is organized into different screens that can be scrolled from left to right. The watch is set as the home screen before showing the number of steps taken during the day, heart rate, weather or even a summary of the day.
Another menu is available by swiping down on the dial. Customization, includes a list of custom shortcuts, such as night and power saving modes, date, Wi-Fi, etc. Thus, the watch often loses Wi-Fi connection. That’s a lesser evil when we know it’s only necessary to launch the Libra update.
Swiping the screen shows received notifications, such as missed calls, SMS, news, etc. Through the mobile app, it is possible to select the applications that are authorized to send their notifications. So the user can organize and select the most important apps so as not to be bombarded with alerts all day long. And unlike Garmin, the manufacturer offers this possibility to users under Android, but also to those under iOS, which is far from detailed.
Finally, Amazfit offers its contactless payment service: Zepp Pay. Unfortunately, few French banks are supported, which require the Curve app to be installed to take advantage of their payment system. to harm
The complete, AI-powered Zepp app
Amazfit easily syncs with the Zepp app (iOS, Android). It is divided into four tabs. The first list dedicated to reception lists the data and measurements taken by the watch over the past few days. This display is customizable and the user can choose what to see first, such as step count, recent activity or calories.
Amazfit specifically uses PAI (Personal Activity Intelligence) points that are democratized by Xiaomi watches and calculated by algorithms from user-specific information (gender, age, height and weight). This indicator assesses physical fitness using heart rate and daily activities. It can go from 0 to 125 and increases with each sports activity – if we lack imagination, the watch can also suggest exercises.
On this first tab, we also find Zepp Aura, a paid artificial intelligence that helps the user relax and sleep.
Thus, all sleep related data is condensed into another tab. Then we get the previous nights analysis, heart rate, breathing quality and sleep score. The latter indicates whether the night was dependent on different stages of sleep.
The third page summarizes the sports activities performed by the user. This is where the functionality of Zepp Coach is accessible, which is responsible for establishing a personal training program and is automatically transferred to the watch. Finally, the Profile tab allows you to personalize the connected watch as you wish. Dial display, shortcuts, notifications: everything goes there.
Although the application is very comprehensive, it can be a bit clunky at times and it can be complicated to quickly find what you’re looking for.
Sports and health
As we wrote above, the Amazfit Balance offers 150 different activities, including a wide range of sports, from yoga to trail running, boxing or ballet.
To give enough information about the user’s performance, the smartwatch is equipped with several sensors. It has a gyroscope, a barometric altimeter, a blood oxygen sensor, a skin temperature sensor and an optical heart rate monitor.
Libra also establishes a Readiness Score, which echoes Garmin’s Exercise Readiness Score. This score is calculated using an algorithm and indicates whether a user is fit to start a new activity, based specifically on their heart rate and sleep scores.
In endurance sessions, the latter proves the very good performance of the Amazfit Balance. Indeed, at regular speeds during a session, the associated clock curve follows the path established by the Polar H10 chest strap, our reference measurement device.
Automatic laps can be set on the watch, as can be stopped when the user stops during their workout.
During interval sessions, the Amazfit watch still tries to follow the cadence, even if the readings are slightly less accurate. Then we note the 8 BPM difference at the highest heart rate.
The dual-frequency GNSS chip makes it possible to record the path taken during outdoor activity. The speed also depends on the performance of this chip. Compare the outline of the watch with the chest strap, the result is quite satisfactory. The measurements are very accurate (even if the watch sometimes takes us into buildings) and the Amazfit quickly finds a GPS signal. Also note that offline accessible maps can be downloaded to the watch.
Finally, while these metrics are not yet included in the watch’s rating, we look at the effectiveness of sleep features. After wearing the watch for several nights, results vary. Some days, the clock manages to detect the wake-up time within minutes, while on other days we notice a difference of about an hour.
Points forts
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Good heart monitoring.
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Good autonomy.
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Accurate GPS.
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AMOLED screen.
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The full Zepp app, with a description of the activities to do.
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Music storage.
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Offline mapping.
Weak points
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A finish that leaves something to be desired.
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Personalized interface to make it more intuitive.
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Charge lens.