Tags: Review | Amazfit | Smart
31.5.2021 | 7 MIN
Without shame, I tended to write "The best inexpensive smart watch" as a headline, but in the end I changed my mind so I still have a room for something else that might come in the future. But who knows what's coming? Amazfit Bip U is an absolute bombshell when thinking in the price / performance ratio, because this piece with a low price tag offers very modern design, solid battery life and even.... a pulse oximeter.
It is not that long since I reviewed Amazfit GTS 2, then Amazfit T-Rex Pro (which I was excited about), and then the Amazfit Neo retrobomb. And now I took the pleasure of experiencing Amazfit Bit U, which already surprised me on paper - how filled with texhnology it is in contrast to the price tag. I only got to this model now, because Amazfit spews out new models faster than the average Czech pub fills pints. Which, given the current situation (May 2021), is actually not a very apt comparison... Well, enough with the talking.
19.4.2021
Amazfit GTS 2 review – A cheaper smarty with nothing I could complain about
Yes, plastic as far as one can see
When my girlfriend saw Amazfit Bip U for the first time, she said something like "What is this plastics"? Yes, Bip U is a typical Chinese plastic piece, but a lot of people (probably including my girlfriend) don't realize that we're talking about watches that are very much affordable. In my opinion, the cheaper workmanship was exactly what made it possible to create such a beautiful price tag.
10.5.2021
Amazfit T-Rex Pro review – Rainy day friend and more
The case is possibly a little more similiar to a square than to a rectangle, and the manufacturer has opted for modern rounded edges and a slightly rounded display. I think that with the manufacturer's budget for production, the design definitely worked just fine. Amazfit took a chance with a pure minimalism and the only element that complements the clean look of the watch is the Amazfit logo at the bottom. Personally, I can say that the Bip U design fits very well and the watch is very comfortable to wear.
17.5.2021
Amazfit Neo review – Smart retrosexual business
To make the choice a little bit easier for the costumer, Bip U comes in three color variants –black, green and pink.
Although the design seems nice, one cannot look at the watch from too close. I feel like you can then see the whole production process. The watch is filled with visible connections, as they "squeaked" one part to another in the factory. The side of the case is lined with one long joint and "traces of production" can also be seen around the lugs.
Speaking of the shortcomings of the watch, the button on the side has a slight tendency to wiggle. Another thing that was used to reduce the price is the strap. It is a silicon strap (with width of 20 mm) and it is overly pliable, so I'm a little worried what time will do to it. On the other hand the pliability makes the strap really comfortable on the hand as it adapts to the hand well. But what took me off guard is the presence of a Quick-Release. You don't need any tools to replace the strap, and you can do it with a nail only, for example.
But I forgive Bip U all of it, because there is no way the price tag would be the same if they made any changes. On a daily basis, it is a nice device, because it has dimensions of 40.9 x 35.5 x 11.4 mm and a weight of 31 grams. So the watch doesn't bother you on your hand in any way, you can't feel it and it even fits under the sleeve of your shirt. But you don't have to hide the watch under your sleeve, because with the water resistance of up to 50 M, it can withstand both rain and swimming.
Do you know what people should imagine when they hear the word "Amazfit"? A beautiful display. For sure. In general, Chinese manufacturers are betting on a good show and Amazfit does it well in particular. The fact that they didn't use AMOLED but a TFT display with a size of 1.43 inches and a resolution of 320x302 pixels is a bit surprising. The same technology is used, for example, by Garmin Venu SQ, but the Bip U display is better. In combination with an interesting dial, it's a real pleasure to look at.
Pleasing is also the DLC treatment on the Gorilla Glass, which reduces unnecessary fingerprints on the display. And I have to say, that it works quite well. Yes, after all day use you will see some of the prints on the display in the evening, but it's definitely not as terrible as the models without this treatment.
In general, I was also satisfied with the wide range of graphic designs of the dial. There is about 50 of them in the app, so you can adjust the look of the watch the way you like it.
Bip U has a very rich sensor equipment in comparasion to the price tag. In addition to the standard features like accelerometer, gyroscope or heart rate sensor, there can also be found a pulse oximeter measuring the oxygenation of blood.
31.5.2021
ALL ABOUT: Pulse oximeter – Why is it important, and what does it tell us? (1/2)
Sure, a nice display and decent equipment is pretty much useless if the watch only lasts a day. Let's be real, charging the watch everyday is not a blast. Amazfit Bip U lasts up to 9 days, which is an admirable performance in this price range. After four days of using the watch without any sports activity, I ended up with 54 %.
As far as the measurement is concerned, the highest possible heart rate measurement frequency is every minute (during sports activities every second) and the measurement with a pulse oximeter can only be started manually.
When you are on the main screen, swiping up gets you to notifications from your phone, swiping down to control center - Do Not Disturb mode, alarm clock, brightness control and shortcut to settings. To tell tthe truth, both movements are not the smoothest, but as I am repeating myself a lot... It is a really affordable watch.
If you swipe right and left, you see all the other widgets - phone music control, weather, PAI fitness score, stress data, blood oxygenation, heart rate and also an overview of your day (number of steps, calories burned, minutes spent, etc.).
Everything else then takes place in the menu, which can be opened by pressing a button. Elsewhere, outside the main screen, the button works like a "Back" button. Holding it down opens a selection of sports activities. And holding the button down for a longer period of time turns the watch off (about 7 seconds).
During the day, Bip U tracks the number of steps you take and you can also set your personal goal. That is, how many steps you want to make each day. It also evaluates how many minutes you spent doing an activity during the day, what distance you walked, and how many calories you burned.
In addition, you will also find info on your current heart rate, the average resting pulse and also all the data in a timeline. The same goes for blood oxygenation, which you can start manually.
The watch also measures you stress and it either measures it when started manually, or it can be set up in the app to measure stress every five minutes. In the application, it is strangely called "All-day pressure monitoring", which I would rather imagine for a barometer. :)
At night, you might appreciate the monitoring of all sleep phases (light, deep and REM phases), as the watch, on a scale from 0 to 100, evaluates the quality of your sleep, the data is then compared to other Amazfit users and it is also able to offer you solutions to improve your sleep.
To help you calm down, there are breathing exercises available and women will certainly appreciate monitoring of the menstrual cycle.
The presence of a heart rate sensor and the possibility of obtaining position data from the phone predestines Amazfit Bip U for sports activities. There are over 60 sports activities, starting with running, cycling and walking, and ending with more special sports like archery, horseback riding or cricket.
When I took the watch on my run, the GPS from the phone connected in about 2 seconds and the watch showed four data on the screen. The first screen shows stopwatch, distance, pace and heart rate and the second screen shows step cadence, calories burned and average pace. The last two screens then reveal real-time heart rate and pace diagrams. That gladdened me a lot.
A disadvantage is that the watch does not have integrated GPS. I always have a phone in a running belt under my T-shirt and that can not give a good record, because the GPS signal simply does not pass to the phone through all the layers. :)
In addition, the watch has a few features beyond that, such as automatic activity pause, high heart rate alert, tempo or distance.
Of the smart features, you might appreciate the most notifications from the phone, which can also display emojis. Additionally, you will find the weather, music control from the phone, countdown stopwatch, stopwatch, Pomodoro tracker (most often used in the studio), world times, remote cowntdown timer (also works on iOS) and a handy function Find my phone.
In truth, only the best. From my perspective, I see it as one of the best low-priced watches, not only for its rich sensor equipment, many function and an impressive display, but also because the watch just looks damn good. Yes, when looking closely at the watch, you can see it is a inexpensive smartwatch as the workmanship is not the best, but considering the price tag? It's all forgiven.
If somebody asked me what low-budget watch to buy, I will definitely recommend Amazfit Bip U, because it would be hard to actually find something better on the current market. The only alternative is perhaps Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite, which does not have a pulse oximeter, but instead it has a GPS.
