I had my finest run in Las Vegas sporting the $100 Amazfit Lively 2

As an avid runner, I can’t lie — CES is among the hardest weeks of the 12 months. Between the lengthy hours, frequent appointments, and the Las Vegas Strip itself, it may be arduous to get my miles in. However, when Amazfit tells me it has a brand new inexpensive smartwatch with a built-in GPS and greater than every week of battery life, I discover a approach to make an exception. So, with a couple of hours of free time and a few heat January climate, I strapped on the Amazfit Lively 2 and laced up my sneakers.

Earlier than I might get to my miles, I first needed to unbox the Amazfit Lively 2 and pair it to one of many a number of telephones I delivered to CES this 12 months. And truthfully, that’s the place the surprises began — I didn’t anticipate the Lively 2 to really feel fairly so polished after I pulled it from its field. Normally, after I check out a budget-minded smartwatch or health tracker, I anticipate a reasonably low-cost construct and sometimes an Apple Watch-like design. Amazfit’s Lively 2 doesn’t really feel like both of these issues.

Alright, I ought to most likely point out that I’m utilizing the elective Lively 2 Premium model of Amazfit’s newest watch, which prices $130 as a substitute of $100, however that’s not why the wearable feels so good. Sure, the Premium moniker signifies that the watch comes with a quick-release leather-based strap and a harder sapphire glass face, however that’s about it relating to bonuses over the bottom mannequin. All the pieces below the hood is identical — an identical batteries, chipsets, and exercise varieties.

So, whether or not you spend $100 or $130, the Amazfit Lively 2 is a surprisingly slim smartwatch with a stainless-steel bezel that feels fairly sturdy whenever you press both of the 2 management buttons. You’ll want these buttons — along with the 1.32-inch AMOLED touchscreen — to deal with every little thing from beginning your exercise to checking the climate, and I’m happy with how sturdy they really feel.

I’m additionally happy with the general design of the Amazfit Lively 2. It impressively balances the road between a traditional-looking mechanical watch and a feature-loaded smartwatch, making it one I’d comfortably put on whereas understanding and at a dinner or a extra formal event.

In fact, with a reputation like Lively 2, you’re most likely simply as inquisitive about how the health tracker fared throughout my miles on the strip. Effectively, after a couple of misfires at the beginning — it took me a minute to determine which button paused the run and which marked my laps — I’d must say it saved up fairly effectively.

As I typically do, I strapped the Amazfit Lively 2 to at least one wrist and the Garmin Intuition 3 (which simply began testing) on the opposite. Then, I headed from my resort right down to the well-known Las Vegas signal on the backside of the strip — nearly three miles every manner. And, though the winter winds tried to blow me away, I had no hassle pausing the Lively 2 at every highway crossing, nor did I really feel prefer it struggled between the tall on line casino towers. After I returned to my resort, I seen that the Lively 2 had stayed inside five-hundredths of a mile of my Intuition 3 — not too shabby for a $100 wearable.

Amazfit’s coronary heart fee monitoring was fairly near Garmin’s in the course of the run, too. My Lively 2 completed only one beat per minute quicker than my Intuition 3 (153 bpm vs 152) and confirmed a fairly constant vary over the course of my miles. Unusually, each time I seemed down at my watch whereas transferring, it appeared just like the Amazfit had me a number of beats per minute larger than the Garmin, however it labored out fairly carefully in the long run.

Oh, and operating is simply a tiny fraction of the actions the Amazfit Lively 2 can monitor — it simply occurred to be the best for me to attempt. Apparently, the budget-conscious watch helps greater than 150 actions, so I’ll must dip into no less than a couple of extra earlier than I can provide a remaining evaluation of monitoring accuracy.

Earlier than I can render a lot of a verdict on the Amazfit Lively 2, there’s nonetheless quite a bit that I’ve to do with this $100 smartwatch. That mentioned, I’ve been completely impressed by my 36 hours with it. For a watch that prices 1 / 4 of what the Garmin Intuition 3 prices at retail, the Lively 2 saved up via my total run by way of distance and coronary heart fee. And, when you think about simply how wearable it’s, given its slim, easy design, the Lively 2 may be value grabbing simply in case you want a journey companion.

In fact, earlier than I can inform you to hurry out and purchase one, I’ve to see simply how effectively Amazfit’s promise of 10 days of battery life holds up. It’s quite a bit for a watch to make it previous every week when it has this a lot of an emphasis on health, and I’m optimistic that the Lively 2 will come shut. When it dies, although, I’m trying ahead to utilizing its charger. Sure, it’s a proprietary puck, however it doesn’t include the USB-C cable connected, that means that you would be able to plug it into any spare cable you’ve got mendacity round. It’s not so simple as providing Qi help, however if you happen to’re going to do a proprietary setup, I don’t thoughts this one a lot.

When you’re already fascinated with Amazfit’s remarkably inexpensive smartwatch, you may seize yours down under or wait a couple of extra weeks for my full impressions. Both manner, I believe you’ll be stunned by what you get on your cash.