Amazfit’s collaboration with Hyrox, the latest CrossFit alternative, is prominently featured, highlighted by advertisements in the app and a top recommended workout on the tracker. I opted to pay for a subscription to Wild.AI ($6 per month), a platform that helps women tailor their workouts based on their menstrual cycles. While cycle tracking on the watch is complimentary, Amazfit does not integrate with Natural Cycles, a popular period-tracking app. Zepp Coach, which provides a daily suggested workout, is now also available for free, having previously been known as Zepp Fitness and priced at $30 annually.
A notable improvement from my last experience with an Amazfit watch is the transparency regarding its privacy policy. Previously obscured, the policy is now prominently displayed on the product page, along with mentions of data protection through Amazon Web Services and compliance with GDPR regulations.
The battery life is advertised as lasting up to 10 days; however, with all continuous health monitoring features active—the sleep breathing monitor, low blood oxygen alerts—I experienced closer to five days of use. Similar to Garmin devices, it greets you in the morning with a cheerful report, though Zepp’s version is often hilariously inaccurate. Additionally, the weather app within Zepp can be notably off, sometimes reporting temperatures as much as 20 degrees higher or lower than the actual conditions outside. It also displays Zepp’s PAI fitness metric, which aggregates heart rate, age, and gender but lacks real-world relevance, fading increasingly into the app as its utility declines.
Screenshots courtesy of Adrienne So
Ultimately, the automatic strength-training recognition does not perform as well as promised. Having engaged in regular strength training recently, I found it quite frustrating to have to tap my watch each time I switched exercises. The Active 2 claims to automatically recognize 25 different strength-training moves, but it failed to identify basic exercises like pull-ups, bodyweight squats, and push-ups among others.
With all this considered, it’s impressive that Amazfit has packed such an extensive array of features into a device priced at only $100. For many years, various models of the Fitbit Charge have been my go-to recommendation for fitness trackers due to their affordability. However, the Active 2 outshines the Charge 6 in virtually every aspect, including aesthetics. It’s almost inconsequential that its performance isn’t flawless or thoroughly reliable. Almost.
We’ll need to wait and see if Amazfit can resolve these minor inconveniences, such as recalibrating the temperature readings in your local area. When all the Active 2’s capabilities are finally in sync, it will certainly be a game-changer for budget-conscious consumers.
