Amazfit Neo review
Although the smartwatches of the moment offer more and more functions that would also allow you to leave your smartphone at home, there are many who do not appreciate all this technology and who therefore still wear classic and simple watches on their wrist, whose only smart function seems to be that of the alarm clock. The generational leap could be traumatic in this sense, but the new Amazfit Neo thinks to meet them, which is configured with a look decidedly inspired by the step, but offering a smart base to monitor the main health indices. So let's find out together Amazfit Nei in our full review.
The sales package is in perfect Huami style, with some key specifications reported on the sides of the box while on the front we have the image of the product. A negative note that I personally make to the company is that of having introduced a tear-off opening, which therefore no longer allows the packaging to be closed. Anyway inside we find
- Amazfit Neo;
- USB-A cable with charging base equipped with magnetic pins;
- multilingual instruction manual including Italian.
Amazfit Neo is a simple smartwatch both in terms of design specifications, and is made entirely of plastic, recalling the style of the 80's wristwatches which overall is also quite modern, graceful and not at all toy. The case is embellished with some contrasting writings in white that indicate the functions of the 4 buttons positioned on the profiles, 2 on each side, as well as some inserted in red that give a sporty look to the small wearable and the company logo printed. at the bottom.
The strap is made of silicone which offers excellent wearability, as well as a breathability of the skin much higher than expected, thanks to the many holes that therefore allow the watch to be fit for any type of wrist. Comfort also guaranteed by a low weight of only 32 grams, giving a sense of extreme lightness.
However, the classic quick release joints are not present and I honestly did not understand if the strap can be replaced or not in case of breakage, but at the moment the problem does not arise because this is rather resistant. Passing on the back of the case, we can see a small hole where a small speaker is hidden below that emits only a buzzer sound, as well as the PPG BioTracker 2 sensor, to be clear the same that we have seen on Amazfit Band 5 than on others wearable of the most expensive brand.
In fact, the goodness of the measurements was on a par with his companions, with excellent precision compared for example with finger pulse oximeters, as well as giving the possibility to monitor the heart rate 24/7 and be warned of any anomalies, such as exceeding of a certain BPM threshold.
We are talking about a smartwatch with dimensions equal to 40,3 x 41 x 11,7 mm, therefore a low thickness that contributes to comfort even in physical activity. Moreover Amazfit Neo enjoys resistance to diving up to 5 ATM, thus allowing you to wear it even in the shower or in the pool, even if this sport is not part of the range of activities that can be monitored.
Not providing who knows what smart functions, Amazfit Neo uses a high contrast STN LCD display, to be clear, the same that is used on Casio-type smartwatches, therefore a 1,2-inch monochrome screen that also returns an excellent color backlight blue. The backlight can be enabled via a wrist gesture, even only in certain time slots, or by holding down the BACK button we can activate it permanently and then repeat the same operation to turn it off. This function is useful for example at night, where it would be impossible to display the time.
On the contrary during the day, the readability is really excellent and also enjoying a true Always On Display, it could also be useful to deactivate the backlight during the day. On closer inspection, the screen appears to be divided into two blocks, but in reality the panel is single and divided simply by a circular plastic insert, which detaches the area of the system icons.
The basic information is basic but essential, in fact we find the date, time (both in 12 / 24H format), 3 icons that identify if the alarm is activated, do not disturb mode and disconnection from the smartphone. In the upper part of the display, on the other hand, we have dynamic information, which therefore varies according to the chosen function, which can be selected using the UP and DOWN buttons on the left.
We have information about the steps of the day, with relative progress bar that fills up as we reach our goal. Then we find the value of the distance traveled, calories burned (also in this case the progressive bar above appears), the weather data fished from the smartphone. Then we have the chronometer which can be activated or ended using the SELECT button, while with the UP button we can define the laps or with the BACK button we can reset. The number of revolutions reaches a maximum value of 9 while 3 values can be viewed below the timer.
Continuing to move in the system interface we have the possibility to view if an alarm is activated with the relative time set, but the function will only be set via the companion app, for a maximum of 5 alarms. We are then shown the PAI value, the heartbeat with real-time measurement, the remaining battery charge, and finally we can set the Do Not Disturb function, choosing between OFF / ON or SMART mode, again using the SELECT button. With SMART mode active, Amazfit Neo will automatically disable the reception of notifications and display backlighting, when it realizes that we are sleeping.
Each function corresponds to an icon, which is displayed in the small dedicated area we have talked about poco before. All the collected data and the smart possibilities of Amazfit Neo take place by means of association with our smartphone, via the ZEPP app, using a Bluetooth 5.0 BLE which has proved to be reliable and always ready. In fact, if you move away from the smartphone exceeding the range of action of Bluetooth, as soon as you return to this range, the watch will connect immediately, in addition to the fact that I have noticed a much greater speed in receiving notifications than other devices.
As mentioned before, the app that manages everything is ZEPP, in which you can find all the data collected by the Amazfit Neo, which are also enriched with those relating to sleep monitoring, dividing it into phases (light / deep / REM) and possible monitoring of afternoon naps (starting at 11:00 and for values longer than 20 minutes). For the rest of the app we know it by heart, so what interests us is that we could define the apps from which to receive notifications, as well as possibly disable the sound for certain actions, in fact by pressing the keys, a BEEP will always be issued to some it might annoy: here you can disable it from the appropriate menu.
We have mentioned notifications, but if on the one hand it is smart that we can receive them from any app installed on the smartphone, what we will see on the Amazfit Neo display is only a generic icon and a counter that identifies how many notifications we have pending. Only the BIP will warn you as there is no vibration and furthermore, since there is no dedicated system menu, if you do not give weight to the buzzer, you will not be able to view afterwards whether you have notifications to read or not. The same goes for calls, as as long as the call is active on the phone, you have a flashing icon and its BIP but if the call is lost you will not be able to know if not by looking at the smartphone. Still regarding the calls, you can silence the ringtone but not reject them as well as the caller ID number is displayed only for a fraction of a second, to be then replaced by the generic message of an incoming call (actually if the name of the ID is 6 characters, this will be displayed fixed).
The ZEPP app also becomes fundamental if you want to monitor a sporting activity or better just WALK, RUN and CYCLING, as these activities will be started from the smartphone and then see the screen change on the Amazfit Neo display, in which information will be displayed of duration, distance and heart rate. With the SELECT button we can pause or restart the activity but to end it you will have to act on the smartphone. Furthermore, an intelligent function is the fact that as long as the sports monitoring function is active, it will not be possible to scroll through all the others by clicking on the UP and DOWN buttons.
Amazfit Neo performed well in the veracity of the data collected. In fact, compared with an Apple Watch 3, in the classic day without physical activity, the calculation of the steps was higher by about 5%, but if our day is enriched by fast walks and / or running, then the Huami wearable it will overestimate the total number of steps at the end of the day by about 15%. In any case, a decidedly excellent value if compared to many fitness trackers or for example to the Versa 3, which costs over 200 euros and yet it was not accurate nor reliable. Sleep was also overall more accurate than Amazfit band 5.
We just have to talk about autonomy, which is entrusted to a 160 mAh unit, which in relation to what we have just told ourselves, gets a 5% daily discharge, thus giving up to 20 days of use with a single charge. Recharging takes place by means of the dedicated base, very well made even if the cable is a bit short, in about 2 hours.
PROJECTED IMPACT
Amazfit Neo has a price of 39,90 euros on the official Italian shop of the brand, perhaps slightly high if compared to Mi Band 5 or the same Amazfit Band 5, but street price the product can also be purchased at poco less than 30 euros. In any case, an honest figure for the goodness of the product and the features offered, always reminding us that in its own way the wearable is aimed at a particular niche of users, which at the moment has no choice in this sense except by turning to the Neo. But the beauty of this watch is that even people like me, who have always worn ultra-modern smartwatches, can find in this Amazfit Neo a simple but functional solution to cover their smart needs in everyday life.
Mógł być niezłą alternatywą połączenia zegarka i opaski, ale… właśnie, pomijając brak wibracji, ale jak można było zrobić kilku sekundowe powiadomienia !!! Brak info po kilku sekundach o połączeniu w telefie spowodował, że telefone wylądował w koszu