The original Amazfit Bip is probably the best budget friendly smartwatch that you can buy right now. It was originally $99 but came with built-in GPS, some decent fitness tracking abilities, and long battery life. But there have been leaks and rumors about the next Amazfit Bip 2 arriving soon – like any day now.
From what I’ve gathered the Amazfit Bip 2 will look much the same as the original (I’m happy about that), feature some new color options, have a larger battery, a slightly smaller display, and be waterproof for swimming. The original Bip was only splash-proof.
I’m assuming since it’s rated for swimming that it will now support swimming as an activity but we’ll see. It would be a great kayaking watch for me. :) I just don’t like wearing super expensive watches out on a dirty lake. That’s one thing that is so great about the Bip. No, I wouldn’t want anything to happen to it either but if something did I wouldn’t be out $400 (Apple Watch) or $700 (Garmin Fenix).
The Bip also just has a nice look to it. It’s very comfortable to wear and looks good on pretty much any size wrist. It reminds me of the Pebble Time a bit in style and function though it’s missing the ability to respond to text messages and, of course, that Pebble personality that I miss.
I’m a fan of transflective displays and this is the type of technology the Bip uses. It’s one of the reasons why the Bip gives you that long battery life. It’s also very readable in bright sunlight. Most budget fitness trackers are hard to read in sunlight. Garmin uses the same technology on their watches. The best thing about the Bip is definitely the battery life. It is SO nice not to have to charge it but maybe once every week or two, depending upon how much the GPS is used.
Yes, my Apple Watch Series 4 does everything but I still have to charge it pretty much every day and that gets to be a drag, especially on weekend trips and vacations.
So, I’m hoping the Bip 2 will still have that awesome battery life. I’d like to see an improved heart rate sensor. The original Bip tested out okay but at times the HR sensor was off. I’d also like to see improved GPS accuracy, although the original is pretty good considering the price.
I’m also hoping more activities are supported. The Bip supports hiking but I’d like the compass and other location information to be accessible while the activity is running.
Beyond that, it would be nice to respond to notifications and for the Bip to be just be a little more interactive and fun to wear like a Pebble. Hey, Fitbit hasn’t listened to me, so maybe another company will…
The Amazfit Bip 2 is a watch that I will certainly be reviewing. It looks like the price of the original Bip has recently dropped so I’m expecting an announcement very soon. View the current price on Amazon. As stated before, I believe the Bip is still the best smartwatch out there for less than $100 and I would expect the Bip 2 to carry on as a great option as well.
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