Amazfit Bip S - S review as Extraordinary, Super, Superb
The first generation of Amazfit beeps has literally achieved worldwide success, still remaining one of the most popular wearables in the economic sector to which it belongs. Several variations have followed, improving for example the autonomy but giving up the integrated GPS. With the advent of Amazfit Bip S instead we can find all the magic of the first generation with truly significant improvements, which will make you fall in love with such a device again. Let's find out then in our full review.
Inside the sales package we find the following equipment:
- Amazfit Bip S;
- Charging base with magnetic connection;
- Instruction manual.
Compared to the past generation, the new Amazfit Bip S maintains the design and materials that have made it defined as "toy", but in reality we find some differences such as the use for the case of two different plastics, glossy on the front and rough / matt on the back thus giving greater elegance and premium feeling to the wearable. However, the case is slightly wider than the first generation beep, so if you are wondering if it is possible to recycle the charging base, the answer is negative.
Further note of elegance is found in the physical button located on the right profile of the case, made of 316L stainless steel in which a color point is inserted combined with the tone of the watch. The button only performs the function for accessing the menus, back function or, by pressing it for a long time, it can call up a sport activity that you have set as your favorite.
On the back of the case we find a substantial improvement regarding the new PPG biotracker sensor, even more reliable thanks to a sensor area 3 times larger and with LED intensity 7 times greater, thus allowing greater accuracy in detecting heart rate . Certainly we are not in the presence of a medical certified product, but compared, for example, to good quality pulse oximeters, the recorded value was similar. It must be said, however, that the reliability of the sensor is appreciable more during long-term monitoring than during the immediate phase of the interrogation of the requested data.
Also on the rear case of Bip S we also find the magnetic pogo pins for charging the device via a dedicated base. And autonomy is one of the strong points of this device which, thanks to a 200 mAh battery, can guarantee you from 20 to 25 days of continuous use without ever having to be recharged. Values perhaps far from the 40 promised by the company but decidedly excellent and in any case variable based on the use you will make of it. In any case, the data I found are net of having received at least 250 notifications per day including calls, cardiac monitoring H24 and having used the wearable for at least 45 minutes a day with active GPS.
Even the strap improves compared to the previous generation, as there is an anti-dirt treatment, although perhaps this has been forgotten for the passer-by who in the coloring I tested after a few days of use began to show some signs of yellowing. The loop, however, integrates a small protrusion to improve the closure of the strap thus avoiding the annoying flag effect. The possibility of replacing by means of a quick release mechanism remains, choosing from the many solutions offered on the market, considering that we are dealing with a 20 mm pitch.
The wearability of the watch is really comfortable thanks to a weight limited to 31 grams, making you also forget to have it on your wrist. In addition, the silicone strap allows good breathability of the skin, avoiding discomfort and redness during the most agitated activities with intense sweating.
Before we talked about autonomy and its yield is also due to the presence of a 1,28-inch color display with a resolution of 176 x 176 pixels of transflective type, which hit by direct sunlight improves in terms of sharpness , making it ideal for outdoor sports. It is true that we perhaps have washed out colors and with sunglasses the readability is not the best, but those who approach this type of product do not seek perfection in terms of color brilliance or definition but rather seek simplicity of use. Moreover, the display is protected by a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 glass and 2.5D processing with anti-fingerprint treatment.
Overall, the display does its job very well, showing the data we need, even if given the small size, the characters used are small and therefore if you have vision problems, perhaps it will be better to go to other devices. In the dark hours the display is visible by means of the backlight, settable on different manual levels. Moreover, the display is activated by means of a physical button or by the gesture of the wrist if activated by the app settings.
As always we have the possibility to change the watchfaces, in order to have a different style every day. We find several of them in the companion Amazfit app but the community is already working to bring many others, even more beautiful and personal.
You might also like: Changing watchfaces on Amazfit Bip S is a breeze with this app
Having said that, let's move on to the essence of this Amazfit Bip S which offers a new 28nm GPS chip supplied by Sony, which offers dual GPS + GLONASS navigation, resulting quite accurate in tracking the route during sports activities, but above all this will allow you to use the stand alone wearable, that is, without having to resort to the smartphone, if not later to import the data recorded in the app.
The connection takes place via Bluetooth 5.0 and also Bip S enjoys the 5 ATM waterproof certification, thus allowing it to be used in complete tranquility in the shower but above all also during swimming, both in the pool and in open water. In fact, a further improvement of the Bip S is related to the sports that can be monitored, now 10 of which are: OUTDOOR RACE, TREADMILLS, CYCLING, SPINNING, FREE STYLE (to be used for example for weight lifting etc ..), WALK, SWIMMING IN OPEN WATERS, POOL, ELLIPTICAL and YOGA. From the contextual menu it is then possible to view the history of the latest sports activities carried out as well as set the automatic pause, the alarm for heart rate, warning for distance traveled or walking pace or enter the swimming pool measurement to monitor the distance traveled in it.
Amazfit also equips its Bip S with a new menu called PAI, which is a scientific indicator of the state of health that measures the impact of physical activity on the heart, stimulating the user to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Put simply, based on your daily performance, you will be given a score with relative advice on how to increase it, perhaps advising you to perform a certain physical activity for a specific period of time.
But the improvements at the software level do not end here as Amazfit Bip S also integrates a music controller, which will allow you to manage music and multimedia content from your smartphone, on any platform such as music player, Spotify, Youtube etc .. allowing you to put in play / pause, skip the track forward or backward and increase / decrease the volume. Also confirm the basic features such as weather, alarm, timer, stopwatch.
The smart side of Bip S is limited to receiving notifications, the last 10 are shown with the only possibility of reading / eliminating them without the possibility of answering, as well as for calls it is possible to change or reject the call as the device is not equipped microphone and speaker. In any case, the notifications were punctual and precise and are no longer merged by app but shown individually. Moreover, in deleting the notification from the smartwatch, this will also be eliminated from the smartphone while the defect remains of not being able to view the emoji, let alone images, given the nature of the display.
To access the functions provided by the watch, we can swipe from right to left or vice versa, accessing a sort of widjet that will redirect us to the music player, historical steps taken during the day, PAI value, heart rate and weather detection or by pressing the physical button that will give us access to the full menu of the software. From the home if we swipe from the bottom up we access the notifications while if we swipe from the top down we access the system toggles through which to access the music controller, lock the screen, act on the backlight that can be set on different levels and finally access DND Do Not Disturb mode, including the smart one which will recognize autonomously when we go to sleep and therefore disable the turning on of the screen and eventual receipt of notifications until our awakening. In fact, among the various parameters monitored by Amazfit Bip S we also find that of sleep, a rather truthful and precise result.
All monitored data will be conveyed in the Amazfit app of the same name, through which it is possible to set some additional settings but above all enjoy even more in-depth analysis of the monitored activities, displaying maps and graphs. Finally, there is synchronization of data from Google Fit, Strava and WeChat.
Conclusions
Amazfit Bip S is a wearable that offers both smart and basic sports functions, perhaps minimal but all performed in a semi-professional way. A product that is undoubtedly suitable for those who approach this type of product or for those who begin to carry out sporting activities without giving up the possibility of staying connected through notifications. The possibility of being exploited, however, even alone, without having to resort to the smartphone, makes this Bip S a truly phenomenal product net of the sale price to which it is offered. The practically infinite autonomy and the accompanying software make this Bip S one of the most interesting fitness trackers on the market, perhaps not a best buy, but certainly one of the most complete and reliable that you can find on this price range, among the other compatible for both iOS and Android systems, without distinction of functionality between the two operating systems.
Too bad for the lack of devlbarometer / altimeter on the flagship product of the Bip series….