Amazfit - Balance

Awesome review. Better than something I'd see on Tom's Guide or Android Central. I already own the Bip 6 and Balance, as well as GTS 4. You were spot on in every aspect.

Not a poor man’s smartwatch, but a reasonable person’s who doesn’t feel the need to spend a lot more money for a brand name, that maybe does one or two things better. But I understand your concern. I have several Amazfit watches, the GTS 4, the Bip 5, and the Balance. None have been anything short of excellent. There are some things that a Samsung or Apple or Pixel may do better, but those things may not be worth spending hundreds of dollars more.

Got fed up with waking up tired and not knowing why, so I went full psycho and wore/used multiple trackers at once to see which ones actually match up. TL;DR at bottom. **The setup:** \- Oura Ring 4 \- Samsung Galaxy Ring \- Fitbit Charge 6 \- Garmin Venu 3 \- Withings mat under my mattress \- Cheap Amazfit as control **What I found:** Oura was consistently the most accurate for sleep stages. Like, within 5-10 min of when I actually remember falling asleep/waking up. The HRV data correlates scary well with how I actually feel. BUT and this is the kicker—the Fitbit Charge 6 at $179 was maybe 85-90% as accurate as the $399 Oura. For most people that's probably good enough. Samsung Galaxy Ring surprised me. No subscription, solid accuracy, but you NEED a Samsung phone or it's basically useless. The Withings mat was weird. Some nights dead accurate, other nights it logged me as asleep when I was literally reading in bed. Partner movement throws it off. **Biggest surprise:** The cheap Amazfit ($89) wasn't terrible?? Sleep duration was accurate, stages were hit or miss. If you just want basic data it works. **What actually improved my sleep:** Honestly tracking alone did nothing. What helped was: \- Seeing my HRV tank after drinking (even 1-2 beers) \- Realizing my "good" sleep nights correlated with room temp under 68°F \- Noticing deep sleep crashed when I ate late **TL;DR:** \- Got money? Oura Ring 4 \- Budget king? Fitbit Charge 6 \- Hate wearing stuff? Withings mat (if you sleep alone) \- Samsung user? Galaxy Ring is solid \- Broke? Amazfit Balance does the basics Happy to answer questions. Been down this rabbit hole way too deep. wrote up a longer comparison with prices and specs if anyone wants it: [https://sleepupgradehub.com/the-best-sleep-trackers-of-2025-reddit-s-top-picks-373007](https://sleepupgradehub.com/the-best-sleep-trackers-of-2025-reddit-s-top-picks-373007)

I bought Balance after Garmin Venu and Venu 2 (that imo worse than 1). I can say that Balance is a better watch than Venu. But the biggest difference for me is the app. Garmin apps are just the worst that I used with any smartwatch before. Garmin connect is not getting any serious updates for years and was not good initially. It is a well well-known issue with losing connection on iPhones that they can't fix for years. I don't know about other brands like Polar and so on, but I don't recommend Garmin till the moment when they make a new app

I went from an Amazfit balance to the oneplus watch 3. They are both brilliant watches. The reason I changed is because I wanted OS wear, and a decent battery life. I love everything about the OnePlus watch 3. 5 days of battery life, great display. Access to play store.

Depending on what features we are talking about, Garmin Venu 3 and Amazfit (Balance, TRex) both are delivering strong battery.

I’ve been through Apple Watches, Samsung watches, Garmins, etc and eventually landed on an Amazfit Balance. Everything works very well and battery lasts forever. Also the housing is very durable. Would definitely recommend it!

100%. Zepp is so much better than Garmin Connect!! I had to get rid of my Forerunner 245 because it would ALWAYS bug with the app. I never had issues with Zepp/Zepp Life with my Mi band 7 and Amazfit Balance. The app is so much more intuitive to use. In Connect it would be a pain to try to check workouts

An entry level Garmin like the Forerunner 55 that my gf owns really do look like a very cheap and low quality product. When you buy Garmin you pay a large percent of the price for the brand name and the social recognition it will give you. I own my Amazfit Balance for the last 6 months and I couldn't be happier. Great product, looks great, amazing battery life, good gps for accurate running paces and a LOT of features that you don't get in other "premium" brands for watches at an equivalent prive like HRV, training load, touch screen

I’ve been using the Forerunner 970 since the day it launched, and I have to say—it’s been one of the most reliable fitness watches I’ve owned. I run almost every day, usually 3.5 to 4 miles, and in all that time I’ve only had the watch crash once. Sleep tracking? Spot on every single night. There hasn’t been a single day where it failed to track. That kind of consistency is what makes me stick with Garmin. What I also love is the overall look and feel. The watch is comfortable enough for all-day wear, and the OS/UI is simple and intuitive. That might not sound flashy, but when you’re checking data every day, simplicity matters more than fancy animations. For comparison, I also own an Amazfit Balance. On paper, it has a much richer UI. But in practice? I find it frustrating. Something as basic as checking my training readiness or sleep score takes too many taps and swipes. It looks “pretty,” but it’s not functional. That’s why it sits in my drawer unused while the Forerunner is on my wrist 24/7. Now, about the recent Fenix 8 Pro launch—I see a lot of people freaking out about the price. Here’s my take: Garmin’s lineup is huge. You can start with an entry-level watch like the Forerunner 55 or 165 at around $150 (often even cheaper with deals), and go all the way up to the MARQ series that runs $3,000+. The Fenix 8 Pro is just one model in between. If you think it’s overpriced, that’s fine—skip it. There are so many other options that cover different budgets and needs. Personally, I don’t want my watch to be a mini-smartphone. I already carry my phone everywhere. I just want my watch to nail fitness tracking—runs, recovery, sleep, HR, VO₂ max—and not get bogged down with bloatware or unnecessary “smart” features. Garmin, for me, hits that sweet spot. So yeah, I’m really happy with the Forerunner 970. It’s reliable, simple to use, and does its job extremely well. As for Garmin’s pricing across models—I honestly don’t get the outrage. If one model feels too expensive, there are plenty of others to choose from.

I think one of the major critiques has been the 'readiness' score that Amazfit has traditionally used is pretty crap. Even with poor rest and sleep, the score shown is quite high. They've introduced Biocharge now, which is more similar to Garmin's body battery and it will decline throughout the day and with exercise. This has been better, but it still isn't awesome. The one thing I will say, is that I tried Amazfit a couple of years ago, and returned the device disappointed. I got the Balance almost a year ago and they've come a very long way, and it replaced my Garmin. They are definitely improving, and I feel like the traction this strap is getting, along with the other devices and their price points is propelling them to improve their algorithms. The hardware is there.

I have a balance and really like it. It definitely under counts steps. My wife has an older gts 4 mini. Under counts steps.