A feature-packed contender for the budget smartwatch crown
The Amazfit Active 2 delivers an impressive mix of smartwatch and fitness features at a budget-friendly price. It punches well above its weight with full mapping, external sensor support, and a bright AMOLED display. While its new design may divide opinion, and elements like heart rate tracking still aren't, the overall experience remains smooth. And with so many features packed in—and at such a competitive price—it’s easy to overlook its flaws. If you want a capable, feature-rich smartwatch without breaking the bank, the Active 2 is an excellent choice.
Pros
- There are tons of features for the price
- Full mapping and ability to pair external sensors
- Smart features and fitness tracking works well
Cons
- The makeover won't appeal to everybody
- Software lagging is still present
- Heart rate accuracy is still not great
Amazfit has established a strong reputation for cramming high-spec features into affordable smartwatches, and the Active 2 continues that trend.
Announced back at CES 2025 in January, the follow-up to the original Active—one of our top recommendations for those on a budget since its launch in 2023—has undergone significant changes.
With a redesigned case and features such as offline maps and an AI voice assistant, the Zepp Health brand provides exceptional value for $99 (or $129 for those upgrading to the premium version). As ever, though, Amazfit’s challenge is balancing the sheer number of features with a clean user experience and smooth software.
Has it achieved this with the Active 2? It’s certainly not perfect, but Amazfit once again shows that you don’t have to spend big to get an excellent smartwatch. Here’s our full review.
Price and competition
The big story is the price for the Amazfit Active 2. It costs £99/$99, a pretty sizeable price drop from the Amazfit Active, which launched with a £150/$150 launch price. That puts it below the Amazfit Balance and watches like the GTS and GTR 4 in the brand’s range.
As mentioned, there’s also a premium Active 2. It allows contactless payments and upgrades the display glass to a more scratch-resistant sapphire lens. This also sees the price jump up to £129/$129.
Of course, Amazfit isn’t the only company delivering ultra-budget watches to consider. We also rate the Huawei Watch Fit 3 (£139.99), Honor Watch 5 (£129.99) and the Xiaomi Watch S4 (£129.99).
Those are all feature-packed smartwatches with AMOLED screens, and the Active 2 sits well with the competition when you compare specs sheets.
Design and display
The Active 2’s look is a departure from the Active in one obvious way: it’s now round instead of square. Aluminum is also out, and stainless steel is in, with a polymer case that I’m not convinced gives it the same understated, likable look of the previous Active. If you like your smartwatches to be small and light, with a case size that’s just shy of 44mm and a weight of just under 30g, you should be happy with what’s on offer.
While most will either like or be a bit divided by the Active 2’s look, I’m confident they’ll have the same gripes as I did about the fiddly silicone strap that comes with the non-premium version of the Active 2. It’s just so awkward to get on and off. I’d have preferred the Active 2 premium leather strap and a more traditional strap setup. Thankfully, it’s a 20mm quick-release band that does mean you can put something else in its place.
Interacting with the watch is now done through two physical buttons and a now smaller (and rounder) 1.32-inch, 466 x 466 resolution AMOLED touchscreen. That is a bump in resolution on the Active’s screen, and it’s a nice, bright one that is kept on at all times.
I did have to turn it up to near full brightness when in bright outdoor light, though. A smart always-on display mode will ensure the screen is on when needed. In terms of overall quality, it’s not the best screen you’ll find on an Amazfit smartwatch. For the price, however, it’s more than good enough, and it shows that you don’t have to spend big to get a good AMOLED screen.
One thing you miss out on from the Active 2 premium is sapphire glass, which better protects the screen against scratches. Here, you’re getting 2.5D tempered glass instead—one that remained scratch-free during testing.
The level of waterproofing remains the same as on the original Active, giving you something with a 5ATM rating. That makes it suitable for submerging in water up to 50 meters deep. There’s support for both pool and open-water swimming, and I’ve done some of the former with it. It’s been absolutely fine to use in water, locking the screen while it’s tracking your swims.
Smartwatch features
Once you accept there are compromises to be made for a smartwatch with such an affordable price tag, the Active 2 is perfectly fine in most departments.
I’ve used it on both an iPhone and an Android, and the main differences are in a few features that are unlikely to be dealbreakers for most users. On Android phones, you can access the smartphone camera control, while iPhone users can utilize the quick reply feature.
ZeppOS 4.5 runs the show, which is generally an operating system and user interface that is easy to grasp. I believe you might encounter a bit of lag in some areas, especially when using more power-intensive features like mapping, but it’s not the type of performance drop that renders the Active 2 unusable.
Despite needing a slightly bigger display, I think notifications are handled well. The widgets for information like weather and music playback controls are well-optimized, too, and there’s a good mix of watch faces to choose from, both on and off the watch.
Off the watch, you’ll find the app store, which features third-party apps like Sonos and GoPro; however, it seems dominated by native apps that add functionality or introduce some games to the watch.
Zepp Flow, the brand’s voice assistant, has also replaced the Amazon Alexa support offered on the original Active. It joins the offline voice assistant that’s been present on Amazfit smartwatches for a few years.
With Flow, you can inquire about the weather, have messages read aloud, and use it to reply to messages. While Flow’s responses aren’t immediate and may take a few seconds to process your requests, its onboard microphone efficiently captures queries on the first attempt. However, it has limitations compared to Alexa, as it cannot search for current events and primarily relies on the data pulled from the app, your personal information, and the smartwatch’s settings.
The most significant aspect you miss from the Active 2 Premium is the Zepp Pay support, which might be more of a dealbreaker than the ability to quickly respond to calls or take photos from the watch face. Keep that price in mind along with what you do receive, and there’s more than enough smartwatch for most users.
Health tracking
While the Active 2 lacks robust health monitoring features, it does promise to help you track metrics such as heart rate and blood oxygen levels. Additionally, you can view multiple health metrics from a single measurement, set up low and high heart rate alerts, and see when stress levels are trending negatively.
While tracking my heart rate, the graph displaying the data appeared to align with that of other monitoring devices I used, yet the minimum and maximum range data often skewed to higher values.
Meanwhile, Zepp Health’s readiness scores mirror the readiness metrics of Oura, Fitbit, and Garmin, evaluating your energy levels for the day.
Specifically, the metric examines physical and mental recovery data, resting heart rate, and skin temperature, among other factors. It aims to simplify whether you’ve achieved a proper balance among these elements.
I’ve been wearing the Active 2 alongside a Garmin Fenix 8 and Oura Ring 4. Initially, the readiness insights appeared high for the first few days and then began to stabilize, providing similar readings.
Sports and fitness tracking
The name ‘Active’ sets high expectations for what this smartwatch can achieve, and it’s safe to say there are plenty of features available to monitor your fitness and overall wellbeing.
For those looking to gradually increase their daily movement, there are standard step tracking features and Zepp Health’s PAI Health scores, which should integrate better into the overall daily activity tracking experience. And although you can modify aspects like step goals and tracking, the motivation aspect lacks elements that promote daily movement.
There’s definitely a lot more happening in sports tracking, where I often feel that Zepp Health can be susceptible to offering too much, which can feel overwhelming. Just looking at the app screen and seeing the many fitness-related icons gives you that sense.
The sports tracking features are impressive, and there’s much to appreciate. It includes built-in GPS that supports the five major satellite positioning systems, along with new antenna technology to enhance tracking accuracy.
I The GPS performance was found to be acceptable but, unsurprisingly, not entirely in alignment with the distance tracking of a Garmin sports watch. A closer examination of the GPS tracks indicates a much more complicated route as well. For metrics like pacing, it performed adequately, although heart rate tracking appeared inaccurate for both average and maximum readings.
However, it is at least possible to pair Bluetooth heart rate monitors (and running/cycling meters) to address those heart rate issues and even introduce additional metrics. Zepp Health also explores training insights, providing information on training load, VO2 max scores, and suggested recovery time.
You also have access to the Zepp Coach and the Zepp Coach Chatbot, in addition to viewing records, accessing training templates, and reviewing race predictions. Factors such as VO2 max scores and insights like training effect measurements largely aligned with what was tracked using a Garmin watch paired with a heart rate monitor.
The Active 2 also has the ability to share and sync data across a range of apps, which is a plus point. Sending data to Strava was easy, and there’s support for apps like TrainingPeaks to make it a better training companion and Komoot to make it a better navigation one.
Mapping and navigation
On the navigation front, there are free offline maps available, and it’s rare to find maps on a watch that costs so little. This support even includes ski resort maps. To get maps onto the watch, you’ll need to sync them from the app, which, depending on how much of a location you want to download, can take some time. It’s worth placing the watch on the charger during this process. You can then view maps from the maps app or access them during activities that support following maps.
Having used maps on the Amazfit T-Rex 3, I’d say the experience is slightly different. The loading of different maps, for instance, is quite slow. Additionally, you can’t simply swipe on the screen to navigate through the maps. You need to use the on-screen virtual buttons to zoom and move around, which makes for a quite sluggish experience. I also think a bigger screen is missed here. If you’re out on a ramble and have enough time to deal with the slow map processing, the support works fine. However, if you’re in a rush, the experience can feel a bit frustrating to use.
You can also use navigation tools, including a back-to-the-start mode. First, you must upload a route to the watch, which can be done by importing a .FIT file or using a previously tracked route. Ensure you are using one of the supported modes that works with navigation, which includes running, cycling, skiing, and open-water swimming. In navigation mode, your route will be plotted on the map, helping you know whether you’ve deviated from or remained on the correct course.
These prompts can be played through the watch or paired earbuds. Is it the best navigation available on a smartwatch or sports watch? No, it isn’t. Is it effective and usable on this watch? Just about, and that makes it a good addition for us.
Sleep monitoring performance
Sleep tracking on the Active 2 has been generally good; the core sleep data was never significantly inaccurate compared to other strong sleep trackers like the Oura Ring 4. However, it could improve in areas related to assessing how well you’ve slept.
Like the previous Active, it can sometimes record slightly longer sleep durations (30 minutes to an hour) on certain nights. On other nights, it aligns nicely with a device like the Oura Ring. Examining my sleep data reveals that when I experience poor, short sleep, the sleep scores reflect this. The analysis of sleep stages aligns closely with Oura, particularly regarding REM and deep sleep patterns.
The heart rate figures captured during sleep weren’t abnormally high, similar to Garmin’s figures.
Additional features include the option to track your sleep by maintaining a bedtime journal and noting your mood upon waking, helping to correlate with the data.
It also monitors hypopnea, a breathing-related disorder. However, similar to other health features, it’s not approved by regulators.
You’re also going to see a daily sleep insight in the app, which includes suggestions like relaxing, doing a short workout, or considering caffeine intake. Yes, these are fairly general insights, but for someone who is starting to pay closer attention to sleep and looking to improve their habits, these can be useful bits of information.
If that’s not all, the app features a dedicated screen that offers sleep sounds and music to help you achieve a better night’s sleep. The premium version provides additional monthly and weekly insights and assessments of your sleep statistics.
Battery life
The Active 2’s battery performance is impressive if you’re okay with keeping the screen off most of the time and effectively using Zepp Health’s battery management options.
However, the 270mAh battery capacity is less than the 300mAh unit in the original Active. This unsurprisingly results in decreased battery life, now lasting 10 days with regular use instead of 14 days.
With heavier usage, it lasts five days instead of 10. I found that keeping the screen in always-on mode caused the battery to run out after four days. However, if you disable that feature and aren’t overly concerned about continuous blood oxygen or stress monitoring, it will last even longer—and is definitely capable of going over a week.
When tracking exercise, GPS battery life is advertised at 21 hours, an improvement from 16 hours on the Active. Using it for an hour resulted in a 10% battery drop, while almost two hours of outdoor running caused the battery to decrease by just over 20%, even while using the mapping feature. If you track outdoors for a few hours weekly, it should be adequate; any longer, and it may feel like a stretch.
The battery management mode is also very well designed. It shows you not only what’s draining the battery and how much you’ve used since your last charge but also the actions you’ve performed. This helps you better understand which functions are consuming the battery.
All in all, while the Active 2 may use less battery, it still allows you to avoid charging every few days.
