Even if watches today are still telling time, they sure traveled a lot from their primary purpose. Modern watches are designed and build for specific situations. The customer that likes to hang out outside and practicing the favorite sports wants a watch capable of providing useful information, from heart rate to the tracking of performances and so on. Somewhere along the way, telling time isn’t enough for a modern watch.
What’s Amazfit?
Huami hit the market back in 2014 and has become one of the essential wearable device company around the world. The industry is leading Amazfit produce smartwatches and activity trackers like the Stratos, BIP, and Cor which track your activity, without compromising on the style or performance.
Huami is also the exclusive provider of wearable technology for Xiaomi (known for making the Mi Band). Xiaomi is China’s most crucial seller of electronic items at the moment.
What’s the brief description of Amazfit Stratos?
The Amazfit Stratos is a multisport GPS watch that is almost entirely connected. You can use it for 14 sports (running, walking, swimming, mountaineering, skiing, soccer, cycling) triathlon including. It has Wi-Fi connectivity, optical cardio on the wrist, activity tracker, embedded mp3 music player and many advanced functions for training and athlete tracking.
When it comes to functions, the watch is similar to the Forerunner 735XT (a triathlon watch), but its price is a lot cheaper than of Forerunner. The Amazfit Stratos is a serious competitor with Garmin, Suunto or Polar.
The latest smartwatch in Amazfit’s lineup of fitness wearables includes advanced performance tracking technologies and smart functions in a fresh and exciting design.
You’re going to be able to record all sorts of aspects of your daily fitness (distance traveled, taken steps, heart rate, burned calories, and even sleep quality) and optimize the performance with VO2 max metrics and exercise load (TD).
The watch allows you to get notifications for SMS, emails, phone calls, Snap, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitters and other apps from your phone. Don’t forget that you can also listen to some music as well.
The sturdy craftsmanship recommends outdoor use. The carbon fiber detailed housing, the polished ceramic bezel, and the 5ATM water resistance turn it into a rugged watch for the sports and outdoor activities.
The features, the build and all the other things you need to know about Amazfit Stratos
The company took the fitness watches to the next level with Amazfit Stratos so let’s take a closer look at the main aspects of the watch.
Design
What makes Stratos stand out from the previous models is the reality that it’s a smartwatch both on the outside and inside. It has a somewhat bulky appearance, but its flat tire-lade display looks rather good.
The watch is made with a ceramic bezel that surrounds the Gorilla Glass-covered top which many are going to notice at a glance. The encased stainless steel buttons and the carbon fiber etch around the case complete the waterproof build, rending the Stratos into one tough smartwatch. The anti-scratch glass and the 32-104F degree working temperature sure help with its ruggedness.
Despite the build and its rugged build, the watch is rather lightweight. The 1.3-in touchscreen always-in display is quite large so reading it is a breeze. There’s also a high contrast presentation and backlight, even though the viewing angles could be better.
As it provides a comfortable fit, the heart rate reading is accurate as well.
The interface
Even if you’re familiar to smartwatches, you’re still going to need some time to get used to navigating through the software.
You may need some practice until running smoothly through the apps. However, the touch screen is quite user-friendly.
For instance, you can use the red trimming button for powering the watch, but also for navigating backward in the user interface. An opposite button helps you navigate the other direction through the interface.
There are many controls for operating the fitness-based tasks, but it’s the touchscreen that provides the easiest way to run the Stratos. Truth be told, there’s going to be a learning curve when it comes to the button layout.
The Amazfit Stratos is compatible with iOS and Android Smartphones. You don’t need to sync it with your phone 24/7 as it can also track activities as it comes with GPS chip. Use some Bluetooth wireless headphones for listening to some locally stored music.
The faces are easy to customize, but some settings may be a bit tricky to access.
When it comes to battery life, it all depends on how you’re using the watch. It comes with a 5-day battery expectancy, but everything that you’re using on the watch is going to affect the battery life.
Fitness functions
Amazfit Stratos impresses with both the design and the fitness-ready functions, especially considering the price.
There are many functions that you can use for walking, running, swimming, cycling, mountain climbing, hiking, and so many other sports. You may, for instance, trigger the lap function so that you can time the repetitions when you want to obtain a lower time running around the local pond.
No matter what you’re doing, you can pause and check your progress. There is not an Auto-pause feature, but we all know that fitness enthusiasts like to get in control over their metrics.
GPS and GLONASS aren’t very fast, but they’re accurate, which is far more critical. So it’s the built-in heart rate sensor that ensures constant heart rate detection.
The Stratos also includes support to sync with Bluetooth accessories and the ability to track VO2 max. You can keep an eye on the oxygen you consume during your workout sessions.
What are the minor flaws?
The good surpasses the bad, and you should focus on the good.
However, the watch could use a better battery and a more reliable sync ability. Some think that the buttons could be more responsive as well.
What’s our verdict?
All in all, considering the buck you’re paying, the Amazfit Stratos is a dependable and accurate smartwatch that any outdoor enthusiast is going to like, especially if the multi-sport functions match his/her lifestyle.
RESOURCES
Amazfit Stratos review: Page 3 | TechRadar
Amazfit stratos in-depth review : should you really buy it?
