Choosing between square vs round in the Amazfit Active 2 lineup

Zepp Health just announced the Square version of its Active 2 watch. It shares a lot with the Round model I reviewed earlier this year, but there are a handful of differences worth noting.

Square vs round is more than just shape

At first glance, the new Square variant looks like a simple form factor change. But it’s more accurate to say it matches the Round Premium model in most hardware respects. Both watches have a stainless steel bezel, sapphire glass on the display, two physical buttons, built-in speaker and mic, full sensor suite and support for offline maps. Both also skip cellular connectivity.

The screen on the Square is bigger at 1.75 inches, compared to the 1.32-inch display on the Round. Resolution and brightness are strong on both, with each peaking at 2000 nits. The Square’s larger panel doesn’t come with a noticeable battery penalty either. It houses a 260 mAh battery, just shy of the 270 mAh in the Round, and battery life claims are exactly the same: up to 10 days of regular use or 21 hours of continuous GPS.

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Both use the BioTracker PPG 6.0 sensor setup and support the same five-satellite positioning system with circularly-polarised antenna tech. Water resistance is rated at 5 ATM. Bluetooth 5.2 BLE is standard across both models. So no differences there.

The same applies to the NFC chip. Although it is worth nothing that this is really only usable for contactless payments in Europe.

A few software and storage quirks

The software version is one of the areas where they currently differ. The Square comes with ZeppOS 5.0 out of the box. The Round model still runs on 4.5, though an upgrade to version 5 seems likely in the near future. Zepp has a habit of rolling out these updates in batches, so this gap may be short-lived.

Music storage is another point of separation. The Round Premium edition includes onboard music support, while the Square doesn’t offer it yet. It might just be a temporary omission. That feature was added to the Round through a later software update, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the same happen here.

What isn’t known yet is how much internal storage the Square actually has. The Round version only leaves around 100MB of usable space, which limits how much you can actually do with music or maps. It’s probably the same on the Square model, but we’ll have to wait for confirmation.

A few other things to keep in mind

Weight is nearly identical. The Square weighs 31.4 grams, while the Round Premium is just a shade heavier at 31.65 grams. You’ll only really notice the difference if you’re comparing it to the lighter Round Standard, which drops to 29.5 grams and ditches some of the higher-end materials and features.

That brings us to price. The Square retails at $150. That puts it just above the Round Premium’s $129 and well above the Round Standard’s $99. There’s only one version of the Square for now, and it only comes in black. The Round gives you a bit more choice, along with the above-mentioned Standard and Premium variant.

So which one should you pick?

The rectangular screen might not be to everyone’s liking. So that is an important consideration. If you like it and want the newer ZeppOS 5 out of the box, it is a decent choice. I have not reviewed that one yet but if it performs anything like the Round (and there’s no reason to think it won’t) – you will be happy with it.

If you prefer a more classic round design, the Round Premium or Standard make a good case. The latter misses out on some of the fancy build materials and the NFC chip, but comes with everything else. You can check out the full Active 2 range on the Zepp Health website or Amazon.

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