00:00If you're thinking about getting your first smartwatch but don't want to spend Apple Watch money,
00:05let me put you on to the Amazfit BIP6. I've been using this $80 smartwatch for about three months,
00:11so in this episode of Buyer's Skip, I'll take you through my biggest pros and cons
00:16and break down why I think it's the best Apple Watch alternative for the price.
00:22The first thing I noticed about the Amazfit BIP6, it doesn't look or feel cheap. You get a bright
00:28AMOLED display, clean Alunum case, and it even comes with a quality band,
00:33though you can find a bunch of additional low-cost bands on Amazon.
00:37The Zepp Companion app offers both free and paid watch faces. I like this one that gives me weather
00:42and health data at a glance. There are also a bunch of useful little apps built in, like voice memos,
00:48compass, and a phone finder that I can assign to these side buttons. Not only is the UI actually
00:53snappy and responsive, you've got all the standard wellness features you'd expect from a modern
00:58smartwatch. Fitness tracking, step counting, workout coaching, sleep monitoring, SPO2 readings,
01:03even stress notifications. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it's a lot more than you'd
01:08probably expect for the price. There's also an AI assistant if you're into that, and you can pay
01:13extra for a Zepp Aura subscription that gives you access to personalized health reports and a wellness
01:17assistant, but I honestly didn't feel like I was missing anything without it.
01:22Now we need to talk about the obvious. The Amazfit BIP6 looks, and behaves,
01:26a lot like an Apple watch. But the experience depends heavily on what phone you're using,
01:32because even though it looks like an Apple watch, the BIP6 actually works better with Android than
01:36an iPhone. But as an iPhone user, I still got all my notifications on the screen, including Apple
01:42specific apps. That said, I had to pull out my phone if I wanted to respond to anything, whereas
01:47Android users can reply directly on the wrist. Oddly, I can take a call from my iPhone right on the
01:53BIP6,
01:54since it's got its own microphone and speakers. As far as fitness and health data goes, the BIP6 has
01:59nearly as many features as Apple watch. At least the features that the average user would want to have.
02:04For example, it has irregular heart rate alerts. The only sensor that the SE has that the BIP6 doesn't
02:10is a skin temperature sensor. Otherwise, for something like hypertension, you'll need a Series 11,
02:16which brings the price up a lot more. But one area where the BIP6 has any Apple watch beat is
02:23battery
02:23life. Amazfit rates the watch at two weeks of battery life, compared to the barely all-day battery
02:29life of most Apple watches. In my experience, that does get cut down to under a week once you turn
02:35on
02:35features like always-on display, deeper sleep monitoring, and the active heart rate monitor,
02:39but still huge difference. I also like how the dock is just a tiny magnetic platform that can use
02:45any USB-C cable, even if I'm a little worried about losing it. There are replacements online for less
02:51than 10 bucks if that happens. What about navigation on the BIP6? Well, the watch can't just use Google
02:56or Apple maps. Instead, you use the Zep Mobile app to select and download maps and workout routes
03:01directly to the watch. These maps use quite a bit of the watch's meager storage,
03:06but for off-grid hiking, I could see it being useful.
03:11So, do I think you should buy or skip the Amazfit BIP6?
03:15If you need a basic smartwatch, I think it's totally worth the $80 price tag,
03:20especially if you're on Android. But even as an iPhone user, I didn't find limitations
03:24that annoying. I've got Bluetooth earbuds for media playback control, and when it comes to notifications,
03:30I honestly liked having the watch serve as a sort of filter that kept my phone in my pocket,
03:36except for the most important messages I actually needed to respond to.
03:39But if health and safety features like hypertension and fall warnings are important to you,
03:44an Apple Watch makes more sense, even with the comparably meager battery life.
03:49That's it for my review of the Amazfit BIP6, but if you want some more options,
03:54be sure to check out our smartwatch buying guide, and if this video helped you,
03:57leave a like and subscribe. I'm Clayton Ashley for Tom's Guide, take it easy.
04:14I'm going to try to catch it in one take. Okay. And I immediately...
04:19Whoa!
04:19Whoa!
04:19Whoa!
04:20Whoa!
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