Amazfit Bip S review - A good fitness watch marred by bad connectivity - Android

Huami’s Amazfit series has always piqued my interest, not just because the company also makes the ultra-popular Xiaomi Mi Band, but because Amazfit wearables offer a ton of features at affordable price points. One of the biggest strengths of the Amazfit smartwatches we’ve reviewed in the past — the T-Rex or GTS — is their long battery life. However, we’ve so far been unimpressed by the software features and app experience these wearables bring to the table.

The Amazfit Bip S carries forward Huami’s tried and tested formula. It’s a follow up to the 2018 Amazfit Bip and retains the same squarish build that’s reminiscent of the Apple Watch. The screen size and lightweight body also remain largely unchanged. That said, there are some notable upgrades under the hood, including better water resistance, a more capable heart rate sensor, and an improved display. With all this and more, does the Amazfit Bip S manage to bury the ghosts of its predecessors? Read on for our full Amazfit Bip S review.

What is the Amazfit Bip S?

While Huami would very much like to call the Amazfit Bip S a smartwatch, it’s not really worthy of that status. It can’t take or make calls, it doesn’t support third-party apps, and its software experience is pretty basic.

It does bring a bunch of activity tracking features to the table. These include outdoor running, treadmill, cycling, walking, and swimming. Compared to the 2018 model, the only major difference here is the addition of swim tracking. The Amazfit Bip S comes with a 5ATM rating, which means it can withstand submersion up to 50m. In contrast, the original Bip could withstand a maximum depth of 1.5m with its IP68 rating.

Elsewhere, the Amazfit Bip S packs a bigger 200mAh battery, Bluetooth 5.0 (up from 4.0), an improved PPG optical heart rate sensor, a Sony 28nm built-in GPS chip, and the same promise of 40-day battery life.

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Amazfit Bip S: Price, availability, and competition

The Amazfit Bip S isn’t officially available in the US, but you can get it on Gearbest for $79.99. In India, where we reviewed the watch, it’s slightly cheaper at Rs. 4,999 (~$66) on Amazon.

In its own ecosystem, the Bip S sits between the $139 Amazfit T-Rex and the original Bip, which is still available in the US for a reduced price of $69.99. However, if you compare it to the competition, it’s much cheaper. Here’s how other budget fitness trackers with similar functionalities line up against the Bip S: Fitbit Charge 4 ($149.95); Fitbit Versa 2 ($199); Garmin Forerunner 45 ($149); and Garmin Vivosport ($193)

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That said, the Amazfit Bip S does make some compromises compared to the more expensive competition. For one, its polycarbonate body and silicone strap feel cheap compared to the rest. The seamless smartphone connectivity that you might take for granted on the Fitbits and Garmins is also a huge problem area of the Amazfit Bip S.

The full list of Amazfit Bip S specs can be found below.

Amazfit Bip S: The pros

First and foremost, the thing you expect from a fitness wearable is that it does what it’s built to do — accurately track fitness activities. In this aspect, the Amazfit Bip S is a huge improvement over the more expensive Amazfit GTS that I last reviewed. Step tracking on the smartwatch is pretty accurate, and when I compared it to the Apple Health app and Mi Band 4 the results were pretty close.

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Accurate step and GPS tracking

After an evening walk around the block, my Amazfit Bip S recorded 3,914 steps. In comparison, the Mi Band 4 registered 3,900 steps, while the Apple Health app on my phone counted 3,956 steps. The difference across all three platforms is marginal and that’s the first reassuring sign that the Amazfit Bip S does a good job of activity tracking.

The other impressive feature of the smartwatch is its in-built GPS. The Sony chip takes a minute or two to lock on, but works just fine for tracking runs and walks. In a 3km brisk walking session, the watch managed to trace my path perfectly. The slight issue was when I walked into my building complex. As you can see in the third screenshot, I seem to be walking through some buildings whereas I was walking just beside them. The path corrects itself later as I entered the garden area of my complex. So yeah, there are some small chinks to fix, but largely the GPS managed to run pretty decently.

What I also liked was that I could see a very clear satellite map of my route on the Amazfit app, with the ability to zoom into the exact start and finish points. I wish I could have tested the GPS accuracy in more challenging conditions, but the current lockdown situation here in India prevented me from going much further than my own neighborhood

Battery life for days

The biggest advantage of the Amazfit Bip S is its battery life. After eight days of usage, it still has 44% capacity left to exhaust. This was with all app notifications switched on, 30 minutes of GPS use every day, brightness at almost 60% (sometimes adjusted to 100%), and continuous heart rate monitoring.

Compared to the Apple Watch Series 4 that I was using before, the seemingly endless battery life was a huge relief. True, there’s no comparison between the Apple Watch and the Bip S from certain aspects, but if it needs charging after every few hours, the experience is that much more excruciating.