Zepp recently announced the Amazfit Bip 3 Pro smartwatch for $69.99, the same price as the Amazfit Bip U Pro, but which one of the two wearables is the better buy? Amazfit's Bip smartwatches are known for being affordable and offering great battery life. The first model was called the Amazfit Bip and was released in 2017, but didn't make it to the United States until the following year.
The original Amazfit Bip sold for $99 and featured a transflective display, a built-in GPS chip, and a battery life of up to 45 days. While newer models are now cheaper and pack more features, none of them have been able to match the battery life of the first watch in the series. This is in part due to the additional hardware and software features added to newer smartwatches.
The Amazfit Bip 3 Pro and Amazfit Bip U Pro are easily distinguishable, thanks to the former being significantly larger. However, they are made from the same materials and have the same rectangular dial and single button design. Both smartwatches have a polycarbonate case, a display protected by 2.5D glass, and 20mm quick-release silicone straps (textured straps for the Bip 3 Pro). They are also both rated 5 ATM for water resistance. The Amazfit Bip 3 Pro is slightly heavier at 33.2 grams and is available in Black, Cream, and Pink, while the Bip U Pro weighs 32 grams and can be purchased in Black, Green, and Pink.
Both Watches Have Blood Oxygen Level Monitoring
One of the upgrades the Amazfit Bip 3 Pro brings is a bigger display. Compared to the 1.43-inch screen of the Amazfit Bip U Pro, its screen measures 1.69 inches. However, the Bip U Pro's LCD IPS display has better viewing angles and better color reproduction. It also has a higher 302 x 320 resolution. In contrast, the Bip 3 Pro uses a TFT LCD panel which has the advantage of being more energy efficient but isn't as sharp and doesn't have a wide viewing angle. In addition, its 240 x 280 resolution is also lower, and will be noticeable as a result of the size of the screen.
Both watches have a BioTracker 2 PPG sensor for all-day heart rate tracking and blood oxygen level monitoring. They also have support for sleep tracking, stress tracking, and menstrual health tracking. Zepp has equipped both smartwatches with support for tracking over 60 different sports activities that include the basics such as walking, running, and swimming as well as martial arts, boxing, and archery. While both have support for location tracking, the Bip 3 Pro should be better at tracking since it has support for four satellite positioning systems, unlike the Bip U Pro which has only one.
On the other hand, the Bip U Pro has a gyroscope and a geomagnetic sensor (electronic compass). It is also the only one with Amazon's Alexa voice assistant built-in, and with the microphone, owners can call up the assistant just as they would on their Echo smart speaker or Fire TV. Unfortunately, there is no speaker, so it can't be used for calls. The Amazfit Bip 3 Pro packs a bigger battery capacity that provides up to 14 days of typical use or seven days of heavy use while the Amazfit Bip U Pro will provide up to nine days of typical use and last five days in heavy usage mode.
The Amazfit Bip 3 Pro has the advantage of a bigger display, better battery life, and more accurate and faster location tracking. On the other hand, the Amazfit Bip U Pro has a higher quality display, an electronic compass, and an on-wrist voice assistant. Both smartwatches are compatible with iOS and Android devices. However, while the Amazfit Bip U Pro works with devices running Android 5.0+ and iOS 10.0+, the newer Amazfit Bip 3 Pro is compatible with devices running a minimum of Android 7.0 and iOS 12.0 and above.