Amazfit Balance : Full Scientific Review (Best Amazfit Yet!)

🟡 Twitter: @QuantifiedRob
* Affiliate (paid) links support the channel by earning me a commission on any sale, and it doesn't cost you any more! My opinions are completely my own, and this content is not sponsored.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
👇 At least $30 off any new WHOOP membership, affiliate* (paid) link, supports the channel!👇
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
👇Amazon Affiliate* (paid) links. Supports the channel, doesn't cost you any more!👇
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬BEST WATCHES▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
📸My Gear* (paid links, supports the channel and doesn’t cost you any more)📸
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Intro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
License code: OBLD6VBBCTRDFZQP

Timestamps:
00:00 Quick Intro
01:17 Heart Rate Test 1 : Indoor Cycling
05:41 Heart Rate Test 2 : Running
08:33 Heart Rate Test 3 : Outdoor Cycling
11:46 Heart Rate Test 4 : Weight Lifting
14:32 Sleep Stage Test 1 : Performance
19:09 Sleep Stage Test 2 : Comparison
20:52 GPS Consistency Test
24:26 Final Conclusions and Limitations

Amazfit finally made a watch that doesn’t totally suck! This is the Amazfit Balance, which has the new BioTracker 5.0 PPG sensor, which makes this the first Amazfit device I tested that actually measures my heart rate at least somewhat reliably. It definitely isn’t perfect, but it might just be good enough. In this video we are going to test the heart rate tracking performance of the Amazfit Balance during different types of exercises, and we will additionally test the sleep stage tracking performance and the GPS tracking accuracy of this new Amazfit device. As always, I don’t want to waste your time, so there are timestamps on the timeline. Let’s get started!

Hello everyone, for those of you that are new to the channel, my name is Rob and I am a postdoctoral scientist specializing in biological data analysis. Now, amazfit devices have historically performed terribly in my testing, and like I said, the Amazfit balance is the first watch to break this trend. Sadly, the one thing that Amazfit generally does really well does not reflect back in this watch, namely the nice design of most watches. Amazfit devices generally have quite beautiful screens and a good design, but I personally find the Amazfit Balance quite chunky and not so good looking, However, that is a subjective opinion, and that’s not what you’re here for. Let’s focus on some objective testing instead, and let’s start with the heart rate tracking performance.

The watch is significantly better than anything Amazfit has produced previously. However, it still isn’t that great. It has quite good heart rate tracking for more static exercises, but it struggled for cycling outside and weight lifting. The sleep stage tracking also wasn’t great, but the GPS tracking on the other hand wasn’t too bad. Also, and I know this is subjective, but I really don’t like the way it looks. Amazfit generally does such a good job at making watches with a really nice screen and relatively slim design, and this thing is just a bit too bulky for me. But of course the latter is very subjective. All in all, I would give this watch 3 out of 5 stars.

[TheQuantifiedScientist]

🔵 Newsletter: www.robterhorst.com
🟡 Twitter: @QuantifiedRob
* Affiliate (paid) links support the channel by earning me a commission on any sale, and it doesn't cost you any more! My opinions are completely my own, and this content is not sponsored.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
👇 At least $30 off any new WHOOP membership, affiliate* (paid) link, supports the channel!👇
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

[MarlosDamasceno]

T-REX 3 please! Tumbs up who wants it as well!

[bradholder]

This Bro is def LEGIT! Always check out his videos before I buy any fitness tech... Appreciate you King and all the hard work you put into these tests and content! 🤙

[florian]

The sleep stage tracking has just been updated by Amazfit for the balance. I have noticed a significant change in the sleep phases compared to the previous firmware, so an update for the Sleep Stage Test would be very nice to see if there is an improvement.
I guess there is only one YouTuber who can do this Test properly. Keep up the great work!

[MrMorton]

Really excellent to see so many companies making significant improvements this year! Next five years ought to be very interesting!

[TheFreefallExplorer]

Thank you for this review, and continuing to review Amazfit watches! I just recently bought an Amazfit Balance and while I kept in mind all the previous results of the older watches from your review, I wanted to take a chance on this one. This review coming out now gives me more confidence I'll stick with it. Surprisingly, my few days of sleep with the watch have been accurate in terms of duration (sleep/wake), so this is where things my vary for each person.

[antoniomoreira]

Thank you, Rob, for your amazing work. I would never buy a watch without first seeing your review. I was expecting the Amazfit Balance review since the watch was launched! You definitely make the best reviews!

[urajit]

I really appreciate the hardwork you've put in reviewing these devices. Honestly most of the reviewers offer similar content on the devices. This sort of creates an echo chamber in terms of reviews which are not even evidence based.
Keep up the good work!
And I am waiting for your complete review of fitbit charge 6.

[menifo]

Thank you for still reviewing Amazfit watches Rob! I thought you had given up on them. I'm still waiting for the Huawei GT4 Pro to make my final decision as to which of the two will wrap around my wrist. After watching your review, the Balance is a good contestant, mainly because of the plethora of metrics that is providing.

[WetterFlug]

Excellent review! Thank you for the best reviews of these devices available on youtube. Have been watching your channel for a while now and am still amazed by the work you put into making these reviews.

[simdencard]

Could you please retest the Amazfit Balance as it recently had an update supposedly making the heart rate tracking more reliable.

[UserSuper]

Everytime i want to but new watch, i will find this King .. thanks a lot bro

[malgorzatachp]

That's not bad 😊 I just bought amazfit balance and I like it, I think it's enough for me.

[gabrielskoczek]

I came for a amazfit review and you eneded up changing my mind on it. Thank you for your hard work! The precision is really relevant for me! You're worth a sub for sure. Also I was really happy to see my hometown on your gps tracking to work

[SaultiBalldeip]

Might be worth running some tests again on the Balance now that Zepp OS 3.5 and Zepp Flow just launched, could prove some improvements. Thanks as always for the precise reviews.

I was tempted to sell my Galaxy 4 Classic for the GT4 but their app is meh...I am leaning towards the Balance.

[John-elsv]

One question about the heart rate testing:

Correlation for indoor cycling and outdoor running are both at 0.95. But outdoor cycling is 0.65. Given how the first 2 fared, there should be little reason why the 3rd fared given the 2 factors: indoor/outdoor and cycling/running.

Another thing about this is the individual sessions analysis, there are outdoor cycling sessions where there are periods with totally missed signals (could this mean the watch wasn't worn properly, or maybe watch hanged?) and sessions where the watch performed to the level of the 0.95 tests.

This suggests that there are perhaps other factors at play.

On the sleep tracking, yea it has been mentioned by quite a few reviewers that it is generally inaccurate, whivh affects the readiness level as well. Hope Amazfit can solve this through OTA updates, otherwise it shouldn't be relied on for making decisions.

And one last mention: Apple watches seem to be the most accurate but unfortunately can only be used by those with apple phones from what i'm aware of, same goes for samsung.

Edit: I've read a number of comments saying the heart rate is very accurate for them when comparing with the polar heart rate tracking device, and some others that speak of accurate sleep stats from other videos. Given that sensors' results depends on many different factors including skin colour, weight etc., could it be an issue with the tester or the fit of the watch?

This is only considering what was covered in this video, with at least over a dozen factors not mentioned.

[hbee]

Wow such a great analysis. Really wanted to see how much better the Amazfit Balance has become, since they've been pretty vocal about their accuracy improvements. This is my first time on your channel and when I saw the Balance vs heart strap analysis I was thinking it'd be great if this guy laid out how the other watches performed when set up with the same strap and BOOM there is was in the next minute. Really good job man, damn.

[aaakmm]

I like the addition of running into the testing procedure. I think that you need to test this watches also on another person. I know it is not feasible to do it in a detailed manner but even some very small test would be greatly beneficial to show between subject variability of results.

[muchjokez]

I've had this for almost a year and can agree with this review of the watch. They've recently updated the watch but they still need to seriously improve the sleep tracking

[jasonw]

Bro, you made a great job that helped us a lot to transparently understand the performance of the watches instread of receiving the promotions and advertising everyday. Very cool man.