Amazfit Falcon £499
Amazfit is a smartwatch company based in Hong Kong which specialises in fitness wearables. The Falcon features a titanium body, a 42mm sapphire crystal touchscreen, four buttons and liquid silicone strap. We used the buttons rather than the touchscreen when wearing gloves and they performed well.
The app behind the Falcon is the Zepp OS, which has access to multiple third-party applications as well as the Zepp Coach, which allows you to plan your training and rest days.
Health metrics that can be measured include heart rate, blood oxygen, stress levels, breathing rate, sleep quality, and sleep breathing – with a ‘Personal Activity Intelligence’ system.
Heart rate is measured via the watch itself and you can connect a chest strap should you wish. During a Zwift race, and with a Wahoo Tickr chest strap for data comparison, the Falcon tracked well, reading within 1-2bpm of the TICKR for the most part. However, at times the Falcon was slow to respond.
To test the GPS we rode a twisty loop with some forested areas where the signal is often a little hit and miss. Using a Wahoo Elemnt Bolt for reference the Falcon matched it perfectly. The Falcon and Zepp app also integrated seamlessly with Strava to upload workouts and data.
The Falcon’s battery life is impressive. A week of gym sessions and indoor rides without GPS, saw it drop to just 54%. However, even when using it for several hours of high accuracy GPS riding outdoors, it was still only down to 20% after 14 days.
All told, the Amazfit Falcon is great value for money, offering similar materials and features used by far more expensive competitors. The execution of some aspects could be improved; the app isn’t quite as easy to use as some competitors and heart rate tracking accuracy is variable.
However, the battery life is exceptional, and it ticks a big aesthetics box. Andy Turner www.amazfit.com