The Amazfit Bip S is the beefed up version of the Bip smartwatch from the popular wearable maker, Huami. The Bip S is an improvement from the latter, but both the S and the standard version fall in a very close price point. The new variant adds more sports modes, improved waterproofing feature and always-on display. I used this watch for about two weeks now and it's definitely one of the best watches I tried at this segment.
Amazfit Bip S Review
In the sea of smartwatches in the country, Amazfit is trying to get a good reputation of being a dependable brand for fitness and health tracking. Does this transcend with the Amazfit Bip S? Let's find out in this review.
Review Summary:
Pros
- Lightweight
- Long battery life
- Progressive App support
- Affordable GPS watch
Cons
- Low screen resolution
- No on-board storage
Design
For a budget smartwatch, the Amazfit Bip S is surprisingly great in terms of aesthetics. It comes with a squarish form factor that mimics the Apple Watch. In fact it comes with the same design as its predecessor, the Amazfit Bip. The body is still made up of polycarbonate material which, in a way, is plastic but we think that it does not look cheap at all. We love the matte texture of the watch, and also the grip and feel to it when using. Our review unit comes with a Carbon Black colorway which is of dark grayish or charcoal tone.
The 20-mm watch band is made up of TPU material. It's not the softest in its class but it's not that rigid either. It just have the right amount of flexibility to wrap around your wrist. The watch is very lightweight with its 31-gram weight. I don't mind wearing it when sleeping at all. Thus, this is a good device in continuous sleep tracking. I also notice that sleep tracking is somewhat accurate; however, just like any watches or bands in its class, it could mistakenly tag you as asleep mode when your lying down and not moving.
Display and Navigation
The display comes with a 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Its screen rejects fingerprints which is also a plus point for us. Of course, the Always-On display stands out as well as the five levels of brightness. However, it does not have the best pixel resolution, and it's also not as sharp as the LCD-touting smartwatches in this price range. On top of that, there are also tons watch faces to choose from, and the ability to customize watch faces is also a nifty feature. The raise to wake feature works just fine.
The 1.28-inch Transflective colour TFT display is very sensitive to touches. Although, in rare occasions, you need to tap a little harder to hit those activity modes. But for this price point, I have worse from experiences from other brands. To be fair, the display is excellent in broad daylight. The more light that reflects into the display, the clearer the screen registers. The transflective colour display is simply a winner in outdoor environment; it's not as clear as the LED panel but for sure it's surprisingly clear.
There's a circular side key button on the right which is very convenient to use. It also acts as back and menu buttons depending on where you are in the interface. You can touch-navigate the watch in four directions. Likewise, long-pressing is needed in some instances like choosing a watch face or dismissing a workout in a certain activity mode.
Unbox: Amazfit Bip S Unboxing, Set-up, First Impressions: A Very Promising Smartwatch
Software and Fitness Tracking
The Amazfit Bip S boots with Amazfit OS. It's easily one of the most progressive wearable OS. Software-wise, it has the basic features expected from an activity tracker; but it's not as profound as Apple's Watch OS or Google's Wear OS. I find the companion app very useful and easy to use. It's connected to the Bip S via Bluetooth 5.0.
There are 10 workouts which includes Yoga, Outdoor Run and Swimming. I liked the Freestyle Mode since I'm using it for my daily home workout routine. It tracks the calories I burned and my real-time heart rate while doing the workout. The Amazfit Bip S is also rated with 5ATM waterproofing. This means that it is safe to use for both pool and open-water swimming.
You can store up to 5 watch faces in the watch. Using the app could store you up to more than 40 watch faces, Huami also promises for more updates in the future. The main interface only gives you 5 shortcuts - Music, Status, PAI, Heart Rate and Weather. Of course, you can access these by swiping left or right from the main interface.
Swiping down from the main interface will give you access to the quick toggles like Do Not Disturb, Screen Lock, Brightness and Music. While swiping from the bottom will pull up notifications. Activating Do Not Disturb mode will prohibit your phone from pushing notifications to your watch. You can also set from which app you would like to fetch notifications in the Amazfit app.
You need to pull out your phone in order for you to interact or reply with the notifications. Swiping to the end of the notifications will give you the "Clear All" function to dismiss all these updates.
The music function is compatible with apps like Spotify and even Youtube. You can skip tracks, play, pause and even turn up the volume. Of course, some of the basic stuff are still there like the timer, stopwatch, alarm, and more.
Continuous Heart Rate Tracking and PAI
Activating workouts like running or walking includes the confirmation of GPS in the watch which is a chore to me. If you do these presets properly, the Amazfit Bip S will track your activities accurately. It also pauses workouts when you stop moving. The continuous heart rate monitoring is also a strong suit for the watch. It gives detailed information to your heart rate zones - Relaxed, Warm Up, Fat Burning, Aerobic, Anaerobic and Maximum.
One of my favorite features is the Personal Activity Intelligence or PAI. It is a new metric native to the Bip S and other Amazfit devcies. This feature basically translates how much activity you've done for the day by using your heart rate data along with proprietary software, algorithm and basic demographics information to determine whether the user maintains a good fitness lifestyle.
What's good about this statistics is that you can also share it to your friends in the Amazfit App's social section. This is like the Activity Rings in Apple Watch to keep users motivated.
Connectivity, Sleep Tracking and Battery Life
The Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity is quite stable. I happen to use the Bip S with an iPhone, and it serves the basic purpose of pushing notifications. The app is also exceptional in iOS. On top that, I rarely experienced disconnecting issues when using the watch.
The Amazfit Bip S is also a winner when it comes to battery life. Huami says that the watch comes with 40-day battery life if you're just doing basic functions. In our experience, we had 14 days of continuous usage with fair to moderate usage. This means that I don't have to charge it at the end of my day. This is always a great idea for the sleep tracking feature. And speaking of sleep tracking, the Bip S gives a sleep analysis score that's based on sleep duration, bedtime and quality of sleep. It also compares your sleep data to other users.
Verdict: Should You Buy Amazfit Bip S Smartwatch?
The Amazfit Bip S is a very dependable watch for the basic activity tracking and pushing notifications from your phone. Though Huami is marketing it as a smartwatch, I could say that it's a fully realized activity and sleep tracker with a very competitive price point. In the Philippines, you can get it for about Php 3,500 to Php 4,000 (USD 70 to USD 80); you may check it out via Amazfit Authorized Store in Shopee.
The Bip S definitely gives good value compared to other smartwatches in this price range. It's supporting app is very informative and easy to use. Plus, regular updates to the firmware is also a proof that Huami is constantly improving the Amazfit Bip S's capabilities.
To be honest, if you're looking for a solid entry-level smartwatch that aces basic features like activity tracking, sleep monitoring, pushing of notifications, and motivations to workout, you can never go wrong with the Amazfit Bip S. This wrist computer is very easy to recommend.
Key Specifications:
- 42 x 35.3 x 11.4mm at 31 grams
- 1.28-inch ( 176 x 176 pixels)
- Always-on reflective touch display
- 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection + AF coating
- Push Notifications
- 10 sports modes
- Optical heart rate sensor
- Tri-axis Accelerometer + Tri-axis Gyro
- Bluetooth 5.0 LE
- Compatible with Android and iOS
- Music Control
- GPS + GLONASS for route tracking
- 5 ATM, Water Resistant up to 50 meters
- 200mAh battery, 40 days battery life
