A game-changer under Rs 15,000

According to market intelligence firm Counterpoint Research, the Indian smartwatch market saw record shipments last year, driven by increasing penetration of smartwatches and an influx of low-cost devices. One such brand, which has been very well accepted in India and offers a range of smartwatches, which mainly fall in the budget category, and cater to those looking for affordable Android watches, is Amazfit.

Zepp Health-owned Amazfit has a wide portfolio of smartwatches offering value for money and the recently launched Amazfit Active stands out as a capable smartwatch that supports Bluetooth calling, “Daily Readiness Score ” and provides useful useful features like menstruation. Bicycle tracking, among others. The new Amazfit Active brings together useful functionalities and simple-yet-sturdy design in a smartwatch that falls in the sub-Rs 15,000 segment. Here is my full review of the Amazfit Active smartwatch.

Amazfit Active design, display, looks and build

This is a quintessential Amazfit smartwatch and exemplifies its design spirit. It features a sleek square dial, made from a combination of aluminum alloy and plastic materials, reminiscent of the typical Amazfit design. The Amazfit Active is no different from the Amazfit GTS and Amazfit Bip 5 smartwatches, with a smooth rectangular design language, and is quite light, weighing just 24 grams. Apart from being lightweight, the smartwatch is ideal for sleep tracking due to its comfortable and relaxing design. The Amazfit Active features a bright and beautiful 1.75-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 390 x 450 pixels. The panel's colors are vivid and smooth with very responsive touch controls via taps and swipes, with the option to keep the display always on if desired.

The aluminum case offers a sturdy feel, complemented by a silicone strap. However, the lavender purple version that I reviewed comes with a titanium case, complemented by a vegan leather band. The quality of the vegan leather strap was disappointing and started to wear out within a few days of regular use. The smartwatch also has a convenient button on the right side, which provides easy access to menus and various functionalities, which can be further customized. There is a microphone right next to the button, while the speaker can be found on the left side. On the back of the watch, a plastic case houses all the sensors along with a magnetic pin for quick charging.

The Amazfit Active comes with a range of comprehensive health monitoring capabilities: the smartwatch tracks various metrics including heart rate, stress levels as well as blood oxygen levels. A great addition is the waterproof design rated at 5ATM, which allows swimming up to 50 meters with the device, thus, making it suitable for swimming and aquatic activities.

Amazfit Active Software and Pairing

Running on Zepp OS 2.0, like all other Amazfit smartwatches, it offers a smooth and seamless user experience, devoid of any lag. Zepp OS is an intuitive OS and easy to familiarize yourself with, and it also offers a range of high-performance smartwatch features. In fact, Zepp OS is one of the best operating systems after Google's Wear OS.

The Amazfit Active smartwatch offers easy access to essential features like notifications, music controls, weather updates as well as multiple watch faces. Some of the best features supported by the device include Bluetooth calls, Amazon Alexa support, and the ability to store music, which enhances its functionality. However, it does not support contactless payments. However, some people may find the companion app a bit cluttered.

In case of displaying notifications from both native and third-party apps, to fully read the notifications, one has to tap to expand them. Making calls via Bluetooth is also easy. In addition to the watch faces on the companion app, if desired, one can create one's own watch faces using one's own images.

Amazfit Active Health, Sleep and Fitness Tracking

Amazfit Active smartwatch comes with multiple functions like sleep monitoring, menstrual cycle tracking for women, breathing exercises, step counting, voice memo recording. The device also features an accelerometer that allows indoor workout tracking as well as sleep monitoring. On the other hand, biometric sensors monitor heart rate, temperature, and blood oxygen level.

Smartwatches are excellent at health tracking and mostly provide accurate results. The sleep tracking feature also proved reliable, accurately reflecting sleep duration. The one-tap measuring feature effectively measures heart rate, stress levels and blood oxygen saturation within 45 seconds, providing a quick overview of health status. This allows easy tracking of key health metrics in less than a minute each time throughout the day.

The smartwatch also has built-in GPS functionality, which is very useful for tracking outdoor exercise sessions. However, GPS and heart rate tracking can give inaccurate results during intense workouts. Amazfit has also jumped onto the artificial intelligence (AI) bandwagon with the AI-powered Zepp Coach, which can be accessed through a companion app, and leverages artificial intelligence to provide personalized fitness recommendations and workouts.

My favorite is the “Readiness” feature of smartwatches, which is essentially an all-day tracking feature, as we've seen Fitbit and Garmin do with their wearable devices. The Readiness feature gives you a rating out of 100 based on heart rate variability, quality of sleep breathing, and resting heart rate. Scoring green means you are doing well.

Amazfit Active battery life and performance

The Amazfit Active has a 300mAh battery, with a claimed battery life of 14 days under normal usage and up to 10 days with heavy usage. The company also promises up to 30 days of battery life in battery saver mode on a single charge. The battery life of the Amazfit Active is really great. During my usage, which included regular tracking of heart rate and workouts and with the display always on, the battery lasted between 11-12 days, which is impressive and slightly less than the company's claims. If you're content to rely only on the rise-to-wake function and don't use power-intensive features like GPS or continuous heart rate tracking and all the health tracking features, this watch can easily last a long time.

Amazfit Active Decision

The Amazfit Active positions itself as a contender against the likes of Fitbit Versa and Garmin Venu Sq. This is not a top-tier smartwatch that competes with Apple, Samsung or Google. This smartwatch priced under Rs 15,000 comes with a sturdy and well-crafted design and offers great functionality and health tracking features.