Words: Apurva Chaudhary
The Amazfit Balance positions itself as a hybrid smartwatch that bridges the gap between dedicated sports watches and everyday smartwatches. At ₹14,999, it promises features that typically come with a much heftier price tag – and surprisingly delivers on most of them.
Design and Build Quality
The watch features a 1.5-inch AMOLED display that’s brighter than your future, with impressive specs – 480 x 480 resolution and effective automatic brightness adjustment. However, there’s a catch – unlike premium competitors, it lacks sapphire glass protection. The aluminum frame keeps the weight down to just 35g, and at 10.6mm thin with a 46mm case diameter, it maintains a sleek profile while offering enough screen real estate for easy viewing.
The rotating crown, while functional for navigation, feels less robust than the rest of the build. Think of it as the sensitive artist in a family of athletes – it gets the job done, but requires gentler handling than you might expect from a sports watch.
Performance and Features
During our extended testing, the GPS proved incredibly precise – offering sidewalk-level accuracy. The watch achieves instant GPS acquisition and provides clear navigation with uploaded GPX files.
The watch includes comprehensive navigation features for uploaded routes, supporting GPX files with breadcrumb navigation. While it’s not quite as sophisticated as dedicated sports watches’ mapping systems, it’s more than adequate for most users’ needs.
Battery Life and Power Management
Remember the good old days when watches just… worked? The Balance brings back that feeling, but with smart features that don’t demand a daily charging ritual. In our testing with regular use and all sensors active (but without Always On Display), we achieved 14+ days of battery life – impressive for a watch this capable.
Even with daily hour-long workouts, the watch comfortably lasts 10-12 days between charges. For serious endurance athletes, expect about 4-5 days of battery life with intensive GPS use and activity tracking – still remarkably good compared to premium smartwatches that need daily charging. During GPS training sessions, battery drain averages about 5% per hour, making it reliable for those long-distance runs and hikes.
When you finally need to charge, the watch goes from empty to full in about an hour. This impressive battery performance puts the Balance closer to dedicated sports watches than typical smartwatches in terms of longevity.
Health and Wellness Features
The Balance plays health detective with impressive dedication. Its sleep tracking is like that friend who remembers every detail of last night’s party – catching not just your main sleep but even those “I’ll just rest my eyes” moments that turn into accidental naps. No need to tell it you’re going to bed; it figures that out faster than you do.
Heart rate monitoring strikes a clever balance: checking in every 5 minutes during your day, then switching to stalker mode during workouts when every beat counts. The SpO2 and stress monitoring features are there too, though treat them more like friendly suggestions than medical advice.
The readiness score feature seems to have skipped a few lessons in recovery science. Even after a full day of intense activities – combining morning runs, gym sessions, and evening workouts – it routinely shows scores above 90%, suggesting you’re primed for more training. This optimistic assessment often contradicts physical fatigue levels, making it less reliable as a training guidance tool.
The temperature sensor, meanwhile, seems to have taken a permanent vacation, consistently reporting 31-32 Celsius regardless of whether you’re chilling in an AC room or baking in the sun. At least it’s consistent in its confusion.
Software Integration
The Zepp app handles the software side of things, and while it’s not as polished as some competitors, it receives regular updates. The watch has received two significant software updates in two months, showing active development.
The AI features, while prominently marketed, prove less practical in real-world use. They often feel more like checkbox features than truly useful tools, suggesting that Amazfit might better serve users by focusing on core functionality rather than AI capabilities.
Music management requires old-school file transfers, as streaming service integration is notably absent.
We’re Impressed:
– Outstanding battery life across all usage scenarios
– Precise GPS tracking for most activities
– Comprehensive sleep tracking with nap detection
– Competitive pricing
– Excellent display quality
– Lightweight yet premium build
We’d improve:
– Display protection could be more robust (missing sapphire glass)
– Rotating crown durability concerns
– Limited music streaming options
– Temperature sensor provides unreliable data
– Screen size only available in one variant
– AI features need refinement
Verdict
The Amazfit Balance successfully delivers on its promise of bridging the gap between sports watches and smartwatches. While it has its quirks – particularly in music management and some sensor accuracy – it nails the fundamentals of what makes a great fitness-focused smartwatch. The combination of precise tracking, impressive battery life, and regular software updates makes it a compelling option at its price point.
For INR 14,999, you’re getting a capable device that competes with watches costing twice as much. Just keep it away from open water swimming, and maybe invest in some screen protection. For everyone else, particularly those tired of daily charging routines, the Balance offers an impressive package that’s hard to beat in this price range.