Amazfit Bip
Can we forgive this fitness-focused smartwatch’s rough edges and shameless Apple resemblance since it’s so cheap? Matt Tate straps himself in for a fortnight…
Looks like an Apple, tastes like a bargain
DAY 01
My first impression of the Amazfit Bip? A shameless Apple Watch lookalike with a suspicious bargain-bin RRP. Like Apple’s market-leading smartwatch, it’s a square design with rounded corners, and at a glance it can be difficult to tell the two tickers apart. Pick up the Bip, though, and you’ll immediately notice the difference.
The watch itself is quite a lot thinner than its wallet-busting inspiration, and at 18g the case is 9g lighter than the smallest aluminum Apple Watch. It’s plasticky rather than premium. As someone who has worn both, I can tell you that it feels like less of a presence on your wrist, which is good – although the standard silicone strap feels predictably cheap. You can switch it out for something more upmarket, but I’m not sure why anyone would. It’s not bothering me.
There’s a single physical button on the side of the device that’s used to illuminate the always-on 1.28in touchscreen and navigate through the menus. The brightness is fine when the Bip is activated, but I’m struggling to make out the time without pressing the button, which isn’t ideal. You can tweak the settings so the watch lights up when you look at it, but this is turned off by default to help save juice. The screen itself is 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass. Like the rest of the watch, it looks and feels budget, because that’s what it is.
I can prove to my friends that I did indeed go for long walk now, as the standard watch face shows my step count for the day. Or there’s the optional heart reading to show how I excited I got when stumbling upon an ice-cream van. You can use a number of alternative faces too, which vary from useful to a little bit useless. I liked the retro-gaming-inspired design in particular.
Navigate the main menu and you’ll find a disappointingly temperamental weather app, an alarm, a timer and a compass, as well as activity-tracking options for your runs, walks, cycles and treadmill sessions. But since there’s no way of adding more apps, the Bip feels more like a budget fitness tracker than a certified smartwatch.
The Bip’s almighty vibrations will make sure you’re kept bang up to date with any bickering in your group chat
DAY 03
From the Mi Fit app you can check sleep stats and weight – harrowing revelations that I prefer to steer clear of. Only two hours of deep sleep? Are you sure?
DAY 05
I often forget I’m wearing this watch. Well… until it sends a thunderous vibration through my wrist when a notification comes through. Swipe up on the homescreen to see a list of notifications from an app selection that includes Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram and Twitter. You can’t respond to them from the watch, but the almighty – and apparently un-turnoffable – vibrations will make sure you’re kept bang up to date with any bickering in the group chat. You’re also able to view and reject incoming calls without reaching for your phone. Don’t expect to be paying for your milk with it, though, as there’s no NFC.
DAY 08
I’m no Olympian in waiting, but I’ve found the Bip performs well as a fitness watch… with a few caveats. Having GPS on board is great, but it can take an annoyingly long time for it to find a signal. And it’s not just GPS that frustrates – I’ve also had problems waiting for the phone app to connect to the watch.
I’ve gone on a few runs with the Bip where it was joined by a Fitbit Alta HR on my other wrist. The two were near enough in agreement about distance covered, heart rate and average pace. I can’t see the Bip being a must-have gadget for pro runners, but that performance is impressive considering the price.
DAY 13
If you were playing smartwatch Top Trumps, the Amazfit Bip would fancy itself in the battery-life department. It boldly promises 30 days with regular use and up to 45 if you turn off notifications. It’s still chugging along with a lot of juice in the tank after almost two weeks, so I’m inclined to believe it.
DAY 14
It’s easy to dismiss the Bip as a Christmas-cracker Apple Watch imitator, but that would be doing it a disservice. It does all of the fitness-tracker basics plus phone notifications; and while there are shortcomings, they’re easier to accept once you remember how little money you handed over for this thing.