Image source: Zepp Health

Amazfit Balance’s lesser-known skill: On-demand blood pressure readings

Did you know your Amazfit Balance watch has the ability to measure blood pressure? This feature is only accessible in certain countries, but there’s a workaround for that.

Not many watches offer blood pressure tracking. Recent editions of the Samsung Galaxy Watch are amongst a the select few with this capability. This is a feature we strongly believe will become standard in the years ahead.

To date, Zepp Health has enabled blood pressure tracking exclusively in the Amazfit GTR 3 Pro – a watch released back in 2022. The device uses an algorithm that determines your blood pressure through the watch’s optical sensors. These sensors are the same ones used to monitor your heart rate.

Essential readingTop fitness trackers and health gadgets

Initially, the GTR 3 Pro offered on-demand readings. Later, the company introduced automatic tracking of blood pressure during sleep, although this feature was only available in China. Most likely due to stringent international regulations when it comes to that sort of thing.

We’ve had a number of Amazfit watches since then, however none of the with the ability to measure blood pressure. But this has changed now.


The Amazfit Balance can also measure blood pressure

It is a little-known fact that the Amazfit Balance can also perform on-demand blood pressure readings. However, similar to the GTR 3 Pro, this feature is restricted to certain countries. If you don’t live in one of the approved regions, a workaround shared on social media suggests creating an account set to Singapore.

This will allow you to download the software from the Zepp OS store. Afterward, you simply run the app whenever you wish to take a blood pressure reading.

Amazfit Balance blood pressure
Image source: YouTuber Peterson Reis

Check out the short Youtube video below showing the process. It comes from YouTuber that goes by the handle Peterson Reis.

The app explains that you need to wear your watch tightly during the reading and sit still until the measurement completes. The watch will start to do its thing and 30 seconds later it will spit out your systolic and diastolic blood pressure reading.

Of course, these measurements are not medical-grade. In fact, a disclaimer before taking a reading clarifies that the results are for reference only and not suitable for diagnosis or treatment. That’s no surprise.

Having said that, third-party testing of this functionality on the GTR 3 Pro, conducted a few years ago by the First Hospital of Peking University, confirmed its accuracy within 5.14mmHg for systolic and 4.88mmHg or less for diastolic pressure. Which is not bad.

Moreover, the GTR 3 Pro utilises the BioTracker 3.0 engine. The Amazfit Balance, on the other hand, incorporates the fifth generation of this engine. So it’s logical to assume it should offer improved accuracy.

It remains to be seen whether Zepp Health will release this feature internationally. They did not do so for the GTR 3 Pro, leaving us somewhat skeptical. However, for those eager to explore this functionality, the workaround mentioned above is available!

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Ivan Jovin

Ivan has been a tech journalist for over 7 years now, covering all kinds of technology issues. He is the guy who gets to dive deep into the latest wearable tech news.

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