Those on the hunt for an inexpensive fitness tracker now have one more option to consider in the form of the new Amazfit Band 7. The new wearable arrives as a successor to the Amazfit Band 5 from 2020, and the two-year wait has brought a number of useful upgrades. The Amazfit Band series is designed for those who prefer fitness trackers over smartwatches.
Compared to smartwatches, fitness trackers or fitness bands usually have smaller displays. That said, recent models like the Xiaomi Mi Band 7 Pro have begun to blur the line with their larger-than-usual displays. Fitness trackers also tend to be more comfortable to wear for longer periods, due to their small form factor and lightweight design.
Zepp Health has made some big changes with the design of its latest Amazfit Band. The display is now larger with the AMOLED screen measuring 1.47 inches and this increases the viewing area by 112 percent. It also gives the device more of a rectangle-like appearance. In comparison, the predecessor had a smaller screen housed within a pill-shaped case. Speaking of which, the newer version's case is made of polycarbonate and is attached to a silicone strap. Like a lot of wearables, the Amazfit Band 7 is rated 5 ATM for water resistance, so it will survive immersion in water to a depth of up to 50 meters. The fitness tracker is sold in Beige and Black but buyers can choose to purchase additional straps in green, blue, pink, and orange.
The Amazfit Band 7 Runs Zepp OS
The new fitness tracker runs Zepp OS, the same operating system available on the Amazfit GTR 3 series. The new OS brings a handful of useful mini-apps and is also much better at handling power consumption. One feature that has been carried over from the Amazfit Band 5 is support for Amazon Alexa. The voice assistant is built in and provides access to a wide variety of functions right from the wrist. Owners can call up Alexa to set an alarm or reminder, get a translation, or control a compatible smart device. Unfortunately, there is no speaker, so feedback is provided on the screen.
There are more than 50 watch faces (with support for Always-on Display) to choose from, 8 of which are customizable. Owners also have the option of uploading their own photo to use as a wallpaper. Then there's the new sensor for health tracking. The BioTracker 3.0 PPG sensor allows for 24-hour tracking of heart rate, blood oxygen, and stress levels. The wearable will send an alert when the heart rate is too high or too low, when the SpO2 level is low, and when the stress level is high. The fitness tracker can also be used to monitor sleep and will even record sleep breathing quality at night. Women's health tracking is also available, as is support for 120 sports modes, a significant jump from the 11 offered with the Band 5. Amazfit has also added a built-in Virtual Pacer function that allows owners to compete against their previous results.
Other features include Find My Phone support, music playback control, a built-in stopwatch, call and app notifications, and a weather app. As a result of the larger display, the fitness band now also packs a larger battery as well, which can provide up to 18 days of power in typical usage mode, 12 days in heavy usage mode, and up to 28 days in battery saver mode. Despite all of the upgrades, the Amazfit Band 7 will retail for $49.99, that's only $5 more than the Amazfit Band 5 cost at launch.
Source: Amazfit