Big specs and low price out of China
The next Amazfit smartwatch has landed – and the Amazfit Ares is another all-out attempt to woo lovers of the outdoors.
Hot on the heels of the Amazfit T-Rex, the Ares outperforms its older brother in nearly every respect. It’s another rugged device with 70 sports tracking modes and a heap of advanced biometrics aimed at serious athletes – and even has dance such as Zumba listed alongside running, cycling and swimming.
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Let’s head back to the build. Amazfit takes a pretty scattergun approach to the design of its devices, and the Ares is no different. Boasting an octagonal shape, with three physical buttons, it’s got an old school Casio feel to the device.
The screen itself is a 1.28-inch, 206 x 640 pixel resolution display, which itself has the corners cut for the case. So it will be interesting to see what kind of display real estate is used, and that it’s not just a small area in the middle of the display. It has a silicone strap which isn’t replaceable – so you’ll need to choose
There’s a heart rate sensor, as you’d imagine – and sports analysis goes a step further than the Amazfit T-Rex. It uses the PAI score to rate your weekly activity and ensure you’re getting your full quota of exercise, at elevated heart rates, and Firstbeat has chipped in with its VO2 Max and heart rate variability metrics too.
Firstbeat’s algorithms will conjure up metrics like Recovery Time, Training Load and Training Effect, which will be familiar to anyone using advanced Garmin watches such as the Forerunner 645 or even Fenix 6.
It weighs 48g and is water resistant to 50 metres, which is pretty much standard in the sports watch world.
And like most of its cohorts, the Amazfit Ares boasts a 14 day battery life – and 23 hours of GPS tracking, making it no slouch for endurance runners. That means it offers Garmin levels of staying power, and totally outmanoeuvring the Apple Watch and even Fitbit Versa 2.
Amazfit is launching so many wearables at the moment, it’s getting a little tough to differentiate. On the surface the Amazfit Ares looks a better proposition than the Amazfit T-Rex, and it’s cheaper. At 499 yuan, that translates to $70. That means we could see a sub-$100 price tag when it lands outside of China – which is incredible value.
And while we have been dismissive of budget Chinese smartwatches historically, Amazfit has constantly impressed us with its feature set, quality of partner app, and of course, value for money.