I’ve been testing Amazfit smartwatches for a superb few years now so I’ve a good suggestion about what’s good and never so good about carrying one.
On the nice entrance, I’m all the time stunned by the sheer stage of options it manages to cram in. Generally on the detriment of the expertise you’ll take pleasure in, however a minimum of it presents a lot in all departments.
At occasions the wearables provide higher sports activities and health monitoring than significantly costlier smartwatches and likewise promise (and usually ship) robust battery life. Crucially, the agency is regularly evolving to be higher smartwatches each in design and in smarts.
Certainly one of my largest gripes with just about each smartwatch Zepp has launched has been with the companion app. Now the clue is within the title right here. It’s a companion, which in my eyes ought to be one thing that works in tandem together with your smartwatch. An important companion app ought to assist preserve your time spent there to a minimal whether or not it’s checking your well being stats or altering a watch setting.
Mike Sawh
The issue was that I didn’t wish to spend an excessive amount of time inside that app of which you’ll see variations of above. It was busy, not all that intuitive and total was a cumbersome expertise.
Fortunately, Zepp Well being has realised it was time to sort things and with the current launch of its Zepp App 9 replace, it feels prefer it’s been listening.
The replace arrived at a time once I was again dwelling with the Amazfit T-Rex 3, top-of-the-line new Amazfit smartwatches you should buy proper now.
The headline adjustments to that app in keeping with Zepp Well being was the redesigned interface, the addition of latest exertion scores to assist customers assess whether or not they have been in fine condition to train, a devoted dashboard to coronary heart well being and stronger concentrate on its AI-fuelled sleep and health coaches.
Mike Sawh
A sight for sore eyes
Altering the interface was an absolute precedence and now what you will have is one thing that feels extra grown up and visually, extra glanceable. It’s cleaner, simplified and now feels prefer it’s providing you with a transparent option to get a snapshot of your knowledge or go deeper into it.
It’s an app that’s clearly taken some inspiration from the apps tied to the Whoop and Oura, which is sweet to see. These two screen-less wearables place an enormous emphasis on spending time in these apps, so Zepp’s seemed on the proper apps for inspiration.
The exercise tab has all the time been one of many messier features of the earlier variations of the app and whereas I’m not but seeing the worth in utilizing Zepp’s AI Coach Chat options proper now, having the ability to see a clearer breakdown of exercise-fuelled metrics and ensuring your exercise historical past is clearly positioned on the prime of this part makes it simpler to see the info that issues.
Whereas I remained unconvinced by Zepp’s AI-fuelled health options, I’m glad to see that its sleep-focused Aura ones get their very own tab. I do know most smartwatch house owners that observe day and evening actually care about sleep and this presents a technique to bypass every little thing else within the app to see these metrics, insights and options that wish to provide help to get a greater evening’s sleep.
Mike Sawh
Zepp’s system part stays the place to tinker with watch settings, discover watch faces and get entry to Zepp’s App Retailer, which isn’t as much as Apple or Google’s requirements as an app retailer, however is getting higher.
There are literally apps right here that I’d wish to obtain and use on an Amazfit smartwatch! It was this part of the app that’s wanted tidying and labelling higher, each of which Zepp Well being has accomplished right here.
Whereas it’s simple to miss the significance of a superb companion app while you goal to spend the least period of time in it, it’s a part of the package deal. If a part of that package deal isn’t fairly proper, the general expertise goes to be both.
That’s why it was vital Zepp Well being made adjustments did. It ought to’ve been accomplished a very long time in the past, however it’s higher to do it than by no means in any respect.
At a time when nice, funds smartwatches are as a lot of a battleground because the excessive finish ones, these software program adjustments give Amazfit smartwatches one other weapon in its armoury to make them a extra fascinating purchase.