There's a lot of sub $100 smartwatches to choose from
The Amazfit Bip 3 Pro has got a global launch – after being launched in Brazil back in June.
The smartwatch retains the $60 price tag of the Bip U Pro – with a modest upgrade in specs and a better design.
The Bip 3 offers a slightly tweaked design, with a larger 1.69-inch TFT display. That’s the biggest sacrifice here, using a lower resolution display panel (237ppi) that pales (quite literally) in comparison to the full AMOLED you’ll find on its more expensive watches.
It’s still pretty thin, with dimensions of 44.2 x 36.6 x 7.6mm.
It’s still usable, but does contribute to an overall feeling of cheapness on the device. However, the rest of the Bip 3 does stand up to scrutiny.
There’s a PPG heart rate monitor and GPS built in. That means it’s a decent workout partner – and one of the cheapest smartwatches with GPS you’ll find on the market.
The Zepp app, which the Amazfit smartwatch feeds into, is a decent workout and health tracker – and plays nicely with fitness platforms such as Strava – which makes it a decent budget option for cost-conscious runners.
It’s rated at 5ATM water resistance, so it’s good up to 50 meters, and boasts built-in swim tracking too, along with over 60 sport profiles.
And there’s a quoted battery life of 11 days, which should last a week with heavy use.
There’s been a fierce battle at the budget end of the smartwatch market, with Xiaomi, Amazfit and the likes of Redmi and Poco all aggressively releasing sub $100 smartwatches.
The latest Poco Watch, from the former Xiaomi subsidiary, offers GPS and an AMOLED display for just €79 ($84/£66.) However, Amazfit is one of the few budget smartwatch brands to release properly in the US, which gives it a massive advantage.