I’ve been using the Amazfit Stratos for the past 3 months after my FitBit decided to stop working. I was looking for an alternative since I wasn’t too happy with the newer versions of the Fitbit range of devices. I also was looking for a watch where I didn’t have to twist my hand multiple times or tap a screen to get to see the time.
The only options were one of those hybrid watches like TicWatch with two different screens or a Hybrid watch with an analog dial and smart tracking. While looking around online on the Indian stores, I came across the Amazfit line of watches, which checked some of the boxes, which I did some research on. Thanks to the discounts during the online sale season, I found a great deal and bought the Amazfit Stratos.
Here are five things I really like about the Stratos which make it stand out from the rest of the fitness trackers and smart watches. I won’t go into most of the fitness tracking features, since most products provide similar features.
1. The screen always tells the time
The watch always shows the time. Even when the watch face is not lit, the screen always tells time. It’s readable in most lighting conditions. In low-light situations, you still need to turn on the screen to see the time. Here’s a pic that shows the screen in both conditions, in the backlight on and in the passive screen off modes.
No more smart gestures of twisting the arm to get the screen to turn on anymore!
2. Long Battery Life
Despite the always-on screen, with my usage, I get about 4 – 5 full days of usage before I need to charge the watch. This is with me wearing the watch up to 23 hours a day, with continuous HR (Heart Rate) tracking on. The Stratos takes up to an hour to charge fully.
3. Water Resistant
The watch is absolutely water resistant up to 50m – which means you can even go swimming with the watch on. This also means that if you want to clean the watch, run it under a tap and wipe it clean.
4. Scratch Resistant Gorilla Glass Screen
The Stratos comes with a Gorilla Glass-protected watch screen, which means that it keeps the screen free from scratches. Most of the older fitness devices and smartwatches I owned over the years came either with plastic or glass screens, most of which were scratched up in under a month. After 6 months of usage, the displays were so scratched up that reading the displays took quite an effort.
The Stratos, despite the many dings and hits it’s received over the months has remained scratch-free.
5. The Look!
The Stratos, with it’s carbon-styled body, Ceramic bezels and it’s transreflective always-on screen, give it a rugged body which also looks great. The always-on display makes it work like a regular watch always telling the time, and not one of those darkened black screens which grace most smart watches when they are in power-saving mode.
If you are looking to get one of these, check out the Amazfit Stratos listing on Amazon.
