Not really seen much about smart watches discussed here, but I wanted to share my new purchase experience in case anyone else is considering either an upgrade or a completely new purchase.
I’ve only had a smart watch since May 2019 after buying an Apple 4 series in the US whilst on holiday. With the release of iOS 18, Apple have decided they will no longer support the 4 series with iOS updates.
So I decided it was time for another watch but I didn’t want to buy a brand new Apple watch with it’s poor battery life. My 4 series only ever lasted 24 hours on a single charge and apparently little has changed across the Apple series of watches. Anyway, as Amazon has just had a Prime couple of days, I ended up buying an Amazfit Balance smart watch which is compatible with both Apple and Android.
I own an iPhone 14 Pro and so on receipt of my new Amazfit Balance following the usual out of the box software update, I paired it up with my iPhone. It was reasonably straightforward enough, though for the first 24 hours, I didn’t really receive any notifications on the watch. I discovered I had to delve into the Zepp App and toggle notifications on, something which isn’t in my view particularly intuitive. Anyway after doing a factory reset on the new watch, the notifications began appearing and now 4 days in to purchase, all appears to be functioning perfectly.
I’m particularly impressed by the battery life on the watch, after charging the battery to 100 percent after unboxing, here I am 4 days later with 64 percent battery life remaining, something my Apple watch is just not capable of.
There’s still lots for me to learn about the functionality of the Amazfit Balance, but so far, I’m impressed. NFC support isn’t great, but apparently if you use a curve card, there shouldn’t be any issues. I don’t use my watch to make payments anyway, so I’m not that fussed. All in all, I’m happy with the watch and with the £150 I paid for it on Prime Day.
Sounds good for you, hope you get on OK with it. Too sporty for me though. I just would like a smart watch that monitored my heart rate and blood pressure [there is a BP issue] and was capable of NFC, oh, and told the time reliably. R-
Yes, the watch won’t be for everyone especially I suspect for die hard Apple fans for example.
The watch does measure heart rate. I just did a comparison with my medical grade pulse oximeter, one of those things that clamps on a finger jobbys, and the watch literally mirrors the reading on it.
I also like the fact that the watch has a traditional round face. I definitely got fed up with the Apple design.
I guess how long a piece of kit lasts on a single charge, many wouldn’t care less, but here I am with my new watch 6 full days from a 100 percent charge and I’ve still got 41 percent of life left in it. I’ve made calls using the watch and I’m getting notifications all day long from my home security cameras, emails etc, so I think it’s doing great on that front.
I can honestly say, I personally like this Amazfit Balance much more than my Apple 4 series, which is now confined to my bedside drawer unlikely to see service again.
As a runner I’ve used Garmin forerunner watches for years, since before “smart watch” was a thing. Now that Monzo and Santander support GarminPay, and I get all notifications on the watch and great battery life, there’s no reason for me to consider anything other than my fr 965.
