Maps get easier to manage

This adds support for deleting maps, resuming downloads, updating maps and handling other map operations from the Zepp Health app. The path is Zepp Health app, Device, Map Management and then the icon in the upper right corner.

That sounds like admin work, because it is. But offline maps are one of those features that only feel good when the boring stuff works properly. If downloads fail, storage fills up or you cannot easily clear regions you no longer need, the feature quickly becomes more hassle than it should be.

The update also improves map downloading when the watch battery is low. Balance 3 can now download maps while charging in that situation, which should make large offline map transfers less fussy.

Better route handling on the watch

Routes also get a bit of attention. Zepp Health says the maximum number of stored routes on the watch has been improved, with support now going up to 100 routes.

Route navigation text has also been cleaned up. The wording on start point setup and destination arrival pages should now be clearer.

There is also a change to offline round-trip route planning. Balance 3 now supports three options: Save Route Only, Save Route and Navigate and Start Navigation Only. That gives users a bit more control over whether they simply want to generate a route for later or start following it immediately.

Turn alerts during route navigation have also been adjusted. Zepp Health says it has optimized their sensitivity.

Runners get new data fields

The update adds a Lap GAP data field for Outdoor Run and Trail Run. This can be set through the workout settings data page under the pace class, with options for Last Lap GAP and Current Lap GAP.

There is also a new HybridCharge data field during workouts. That sits under the Other Class section in the workout data page settings.

Support for writing HRV data to Apple Health has also been added.

The altitude fix is worth watching

One line in the release notes stands out: “Optimized the accuracy of workout altitude data.” That is interesting because, in my recent 7.5K Balance 3 versus Garmin comparison, elevation was one of the obvious mismatches. Garmin recorded 49 metres of ascent and 26 metres of descent, while the Amazfit logged 6 metres gained and 4 metres lost on a mostly flat lake route. 

That does not automatically mean the new firmware will make Balance 3 match Garmin. Altitude can vary between platforms because of GPS, barometer behaviour, correction algorithms and how each brand processes the workout after the fact. But it is good to see Zepp Health touching this area, because distance, heart rate and cadence were already quite solid in that test.

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When we covered the campaign in May, the appeal was clear. The Kickstarter route put Ring PRO at $299 for early backers, well below the $479 store bundle, although it came with the smaller Mini Charger rather than the fuller PRO Charging Case.

But production appears to have hit a few snags. Ultrahuman’s own store also now shows Ring PRO shipping from mid August, so it is not a Kickstarter-only delay.

What the update actually says

The latest message, sent to backers as Project Update number four, thanks people for their continued support and lays out the new timeline in plain terms. Shipments are now expected to begin from August 10th.

Ultrahuman frames the slip as a quality control issue rather than a supply problem. The update says the company is taking extra care as it scales production. Each ring is being individually finished and checked before it leaves the line, and this process is taking longer than planned.

It closes with a note that the backer survey used to collect shipping details has already gone out. Anyone who has not received it is asked to get in touch directly.

Worth remembering before getting too frustrated

Crowded projects often run into delays. Everyone would probably agree, it is better than rushing out a smart ring with charging issues, sensor problems or inconsistent battery life.

And none of this means the ring will not arrive. Ultrahuman has shipped Kickstarter hardware before with the original Ring and Ring Air. The company’s language around quality checks during scaling is a common explanation in wearable manufacturing. Titanium unibody builds with a cut away safety feature like ProRelease are not the easiest components to mass produce quickly without defects.

But, while a single delay is easy enough to shrug off, once the shipping date moves more than once – backers are naturally going to start comparing notes. Predictably, the community reacted swiftly to this latest postponement on social media platforms like Reddit, expressing frustration.

We still don’t doubt the Ring PRO will ship soon, especially now that both Kickstarter and the regular store point to August. For now, anyone still waiting should keep an eye on their inbox for the backer survey, as that looks like the next step before orders actually start moving.

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When we covered BodyFit back in early June, the interesting bit was not just another connected scale appearing on the market. It was the way Withings had taken one of the more useful ideas from its higher-end Body Scan line and pushed it into a more fitness-focused product.

The handle is the point

Most smart scales still suffer from the same problem. You stand on them, they send a signal through the lower body and then the software estimates what is going on elsewhere. That can be useful for trends, but it is still a fairly blunt way to look at body composition.

BodyFit does things differently because of the retractable handle. Hold it during a weigh-in and the scale can send the signal through the upper and lower body, rather than relying mostly on foot-to-foot readings. That allows it to break results into six zones, covering the arms, legs and trunk.

That is the feature Withings is leaning on for the UK launch. The company says the scan is up to three times faster than most segmental analysis smart scales, while still delivering data that would usually require more specialist equipment.

Of course, we would still not put it up there with DEXA. But home scales still live in the real world of hydration, timing and user consistency. As a daily trend tool, this is a far more interesting setup than a basic weight and body fat reading.

The GLP-1 angle

The timing is not accidental. With GLP-1 weight loss drugs now a much bigger part of the conversation, people are paying more attention to what they are losing, not just how much. Dropping weight quickly can look great on a graph, but the useful question is whether that reduction is mostly fat or whether muscle mass is also sliding.

That is where BodyFit has a more obvious role. Withings is positioning it as a way to see whether fat loss is happening while muscle is being protected. The app shows an animated zone-by-zone body scan and classifies the muscle-to-fat balance across the body.

This will not replace clinical testing for people who need medical precision. But for someone training, dieting or using GLP-1 medication, it could provide a clearer home signal than ordinary weight tracking.

More coaching, less spreadsheet work

Withings is also pushing BodyFit as a coaching product, not just a measurement tool. The scale works with the Withings app to track calorie balance and generate habit-based recommendations between weigh-ins.

That sounds useful, as long as the advice stays grounded and does not overreach. The best version of this product would be one that spots direction of travel and nudges users accordingly. Gaining muscle in the legs but losing too much mass in the arms? That is actionable. Losing weight but seeing muscle trend down across several zones? That is also actionable. Generic motivational chatter would be less useful.

Withings says BodyFit uses Bioelectrical Impedance Spectroscopy with 13 frequencies up to 800 kHz. It also says the technology has been validated against DEXA, with up to 99% correlation for fat mass and up to 98% for muscle mass. Those are big claims, and the usual caveat applies. Correlation in validation testing does not mean every home reading will be perfect. Still, multi-frequency BIS with a handle puts this above the simpler smart scales that mostly guess from the feet.

A more focused Withings scale

BodyFit now sits in an interesting place in the Withings range. It is not trying to be the full bathroom health station that Body Scan aims to be. So it occupies a middle-ground.

That makes the £229.95 UK price easier to understand. It is still a premium scale, but not priced like the top Withings models. If you are someone trying to understand the difference between weight loss and body recomposition, this scale may be of interest. Check it out on the Withings website.

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That idea is not new, of course. WHOOP helped make the screenless band feel serious, Fitbit Air pushed the concept into a simpler mainstream direction and Amazfit and Polar are doing their own thing. Rogbid wants in as well.

A familiar idea at a low price

The Loop Air follows the basic screenless tracker formula. You wear it, it collects health and fitness data in the background, then you check everything later in the companion app. That should appeal to people who do not want another screen lighting up on their wrist every few minutes.

Rogbid says the band uses a lightweight aerospace-grade aluminium alloy frame and an ergonomic design for all-day wear. It also supports vibration alerts, so the idea is not just health tracking. It can still handle discreet notifications without turning into a mini smartwatch. Unlike other screenless devices, this one has a single physical button.

The health feature list is fairly long for a $59.99 product. Rogbid is claiming ECG monitoring, 24/7 heart rate tracking, blood oxygen measurement, skin temperature, stress analysis and sleep tracking across different sleep stages. There is also a Family Care feature for keeping an eye on another person’s key health data remotely.

On the fitness side, Loop Air supports sports modes such as running, cycling, hiking, fitness training and jump rope. It can record steps, distance, calories and workout time. Rogbid claims GPS route tracking, but it is not clear from the listing whether this works independently from the band or through the phone app.

The hardware is the easy part

This is where a bit of scepticism helps. Making a screenless tracker is not especially difficult now. Strip away the display, keep the sensor module, add a band, connect it to an app and you have something that looks broadly similar to the category leaders.

The harder part is turning that data into something people trust and want to check every day. That is where larger brands have the advantage. Google, WHOOP, Oura, Garmin and Amazfit can invest in algorithms, long-term trend analysis, coaching tools, recovery metrics, integrations and app design. That software layer is where the real value sits.

Rogbid is talking about AI-powered health insights, which sounds good, but this is the part that needs testing rather than accepting at face value. Cheap hardware can capture numbers. Good software explains what changed, why it changed and what the user should do next without drowning them in generic advice.

Price makes it interesting

At $59.99, Loop Air does not need to beat the bigger names outright. It only needs to offer a decent enough experience for people who like the screenless idea but do not want to pay WHOOP-style money or commit to another subscription.

The 5 ATM water resistance helps its case, as does the claimed seven-day typical battery life and more than 30 days of standby time. Magnetic charging keeps things simple, and the colour options are Black, Gray and Pink.

The post Rogbid Loop Air shows how cheap the screenless tracker idea can get appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.

What makes this one interesting

A grainy lifestyle photo would normally be easy to dismiss. Companies post background props all the time and most of them never turn into real leaks.

What changes the calculation here is the source. This came from Amazfit’s own regional account about a week ago rather than a random fan post. So the image deserves more scrutiny even without confirming anything outright.

The watch design is the real driver of the speculation. This watch looks chunky, round and built for outdoor use. Six buttons appear to line the case, and the screen reads as flatter and dimmer than the AMOLED panels Amazfit normally ships, fuelling talk of a MIP based outdoor watch. Perhaps even a solar one.

Here is a mockup we created based on the Instagram post.

What is worth noting is that the image does not show an obvious solar panel, so that part should stay speculative. What it does suggest is a rugged T-Rex-style watch, along with a display that does not appear to have the usual glossy AMOLED look.

Why the solar theory is not random

The most interesting part is that this does not arrive in a vacuum. A few days before that post, we looked inside the latest Zepp Health app build and found fresh references to solar-related features, including solar intensity, watch face input power and case-back input power. That does not prove a solar Amazfit watch is launching tomorrow, but it suggests Zepp Health is preparing the software side for some kind of solar-enabled device.

That is why the mystery watch feels more significant than a random teaser image. If Zepp Health really is working on solar support, the next question becomes what kind of watch would use it. An AMOLED model would be the less convincing answer, unless the company has developed some innovative technology. A rugged watch with a low-power MIP display makes a lot more sense.

Put those bits together and the T-Rex theory starts to look pretty reasonable. The company has said that they are planning at least one more T-Rex variant in the latter part of the year. So we might be getting T-Rex 4 or/and perhaps a solar version of the same.

A detail that complicates the theory

One thing still does not sit right. The watch is shown upside down on the wrist in the photo, which is too strange a detail to wave away.

It makes the whole image look slightly off, and it leaves room for less exciting explanations. Maybe it was a rushed marketing asset thrown together without much care, or maybe AI assisted editing reshaped the image somewhere along the way.

Even so, the official source keeps the theory alive. A random account posting this would be easy to ignore, but an official Amazfit regional page doing the same is a different story entirely.

The post This odd Amazfit teaser could point to a solar T-Rex appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.

Map downloads get proper management

The most important change for many will be the new map download management section. Users can now delete, resume, update and manage map downloads from the Zepp Health app, under the device map download area.

That sounds boring, but it fixes one of those small annoyances that can make offline maps feel clunky. If you use the Cheetah 2 Ultra for travel, trail runs or races away from your usual routes, map handling needs to be simple. A watch with offline navigation only feels useful if the map side does not require too much fiddling.

The update also optimises map downloading at low battery. Many of us have been there. Map files tend to be the sort of thing people remember a few hours before a trip.

More route storage and cleaner navigation

Route storage also gets a lift. The watch can now store up to 100 routes, which gives the Cheetah 2 Ultra more breathing room for users who keep multiple running, hiking or travel routes on the device.

Route navigation text has also been improved. The wording on start point settings and destination arrival pages should now be clearer.

There is also a change to route planning on the watch. Offline planning of out-and-back routes now offers three options: save only, save and navigate, or navigate only. That makes more sense than forcing every planned route into the same workflow.

Training screens pick up new data fields

The update adds a “round GAP” data field for outdoor running and trail running. This sits under training settings, data page, pace category, where users can choose GAP for the last lap or current lap.

HybridCharge also appears as a training data field. That can be added through training settings, data page, other category, HybridCharge. This should make the watch more useful for people who already use Zepp Health’s newer training load and recovery tools, especially as the broader Zepp OS 6 rollout continues across the current Amazfit line.

The release notes also mention improved accuracy for elevation data from training, along with better sensitivity for turn prompts during route navigation.

Apple Health HRV support is the standout extra

The other addition worth mentioning is support for writing HRV data to Apple Health. Amazfit watches already offer plenty inside the Zepp Health app, but Apple Health support still matters.

This July firmware does not turn the Cheetah 2 Ultra into a different watch. It does something more useful for existing owners. It improves the bits that affect day-to-day training, route handling and data sharing. Definitely worth a download.

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Easy to adjust to

The first thing I noticed is the new interface does not take long to pick up. Anyone coming from a recent Amazfit watch should get the hang of it fast, because the basic logic still feels familiar.

That is a good thing, because a sports watch interface can go wrong fast if a redesign tries too hard to look differnet. Zepp OS 6 dodges that trap. It changes the layout but it does not make you relearn the watch from scratch.

After a short time with the Amazfit Balance 3, the new system felt natural enough. I was not stopping to think about where everything had gone, which is usually a decent sign with this kind of update.

The main swipes have changed

The biggest change is what happens from the watch face. Swipe left now and you get a list of exercise shortcuts, swipe right and you get the full app list.

That is different from the old setup. Before, swiping left took you to customisable shortcut cards, while swiping right scrolled through individual widgets like BioCharge, movement, heart rate and other daily stats.

Those screens have not gone anywhere. They now live as cards, which you reach by swiping up from the watch face. Tap a card and it opens up that widget. So in a sense, that does require extra effort to reach.

This is probably the biggest adjustment of the lot. Zepp Health has pulled the daily health and activity panels out of the left and right swipe flow and tucked them into a card stack instead. In theory that gives the interface a cleaner structure, with workouts on one side, apps on the other and glanceable cards sitting above.

The settings page feels familiar

The area that seems to have changed the least is the settings page. A swipe down from the watch face still gets you to the quick settings, so the core behaviour stays familiar.

The main difference that I’ve noticed is that notifications now sit on the same page, below the settings options. Before, notifications had their own separate swipe position. In Zepp OS 6 it feels more folded into the control area.

I am not sure that is obviously better or worse. It is just different, and it might make the interface feel more compact, but I would not call it a major improvement day to day.

Better structure, but not a dramatic upgrade

So what’s the takeaway?

I would be careful not to oversell Motion UI. Zepp OS 6 does change the way the watch is organised, but after using it on the Balance 3, I do not see a huge difference in everyday use. The interface feels intuitive and familiar, and that works in its favour. But it does not suddenly make the watch feel like a completely different device.

I suppose there is a case for saying the new design is more logical. Exercise shortcuts on the left and apps on the right make sense, while moving BioCharge, movement, heart rate and similar panels into cards gives them a more consistent home.

There is also a case for saying this is mostly a rearrangement. If you used the old interface comfortably, Zepp OS 6 does not feel like a huge leap forward. It feels more like Zepp Health has tidied the furniture, rather than rebuilt the room.

For now, watches that have fully moved to the new system include the Balance 3 and Balance Ultra, along with the Cheetah 2 Ultra and Bip Max. Several more devices are due to receive Zepp OS 6 over the next month, including the recent T-Rex models, Balance 2, Cheetah 2 Pro and Active 3 Premium.

Outside reaction to Motion UI has been mixed, which lines up with my own experience. Some users like the cleaner vertical card system, while others miss the old widget-style navigation and the extra choice it gave them. After using it on the Balance 3, I sit somewhere in the middle. Zepp OS 6 is easy to learn, but I am not convinced it changes daily use as much as the Motion UI branding suggests.

The post I tested Zepp OS 6 Motion UI on the Amazfit Balance 3 appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.

This refresh basically bridges the gap between the older model and the newer Balance 3, giving it a serious software boost. You will still find a few missing pieces here and there, but it is a massive step closer to the current flagship.

Balance 2 gets the newer recovery tools

HybridCharge gets further changes. Now the watch itself has the feature, in addition to the smartphone app.

Amazfit also swapped out Full Recovery Time for Next Hard Session. This appears to be more than just a name change but we don’t know the full details just yet. Presumably, instead of counting down a generic recovery window, it tells you exactly when your body can handle another intense workout. That is exactly what you want to know if you are tracking running, hitting the gym, or prepping for a HYROX race.

HYROX tools move across

The update introduces dedicated HYROX training templates. You get half-distance and quarter-distance simulations alongside specific setups for race day preparation. This addition turns the watch into a serious tool for structured competition, just like the Balance 3.

You also get a new HYROX strategy feature to map out your race. It builds a plan around your goals, offers real-time course guidance, and previews the next stage.

Finally, the watch now works with Helio Core Motion accessories during HYROX races and simulations. Which means Balance 2 is the next watch to play nice with Helio Strap Pro.

The remaining gaps are now smaller

Resting heart rate syncing is another upgrade here. The Zepp Health app can now sync your saved resting heart rate data right after you pair a new device. If you switch between multiple Amazfit devices, the app pulls data from the watch you wore and pushes it to your other devices.

This fix solves a headache for people who swap watches. Using one watch for workouts and another for daily wear used to mess up your health metrics. Now you get a much cleaner, consistent picture of your resting heart rate across the board.

Zepp Flow also picks up some nice usability tweaks. The voice assistant now responds faster, offers flexible volume control, and gives better notification reminders. You can also use voice commands across more workouts, system apps, and HybridCharge data.

The update adds a quick shortcut for map navigation during workouts. Golfers get smarter hole-switching logic and timely map download reminders to keep things seamless on the course.

The team tuned the altitude algorithm to eliminate weird spikes in your total ascent and descent data during outdoor sessions. I actually noticed this when testing out some Amazfit watches and comparing with Garmin. Hopefully it resolves the issue.

With this release, the older watch pretty much goes toe to toe with the Balance 3 on software features. You miss out on Zepp OS 6.0 and iOS Notification Forwarding for now. Strava Live Segments will arrive later on the roadmap in October.

The post Amazfit Balance 2 gets much closer to Balance 3 with new update appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.

Design, fit and comfort

SomniPods 3 are clearly built around side sleeping. Each bud weighs just 3.3 grams and the body sits low in the ear, so they feel closer to a shaped sleep plug than a normal wireless earbud. Plus they are made of very soft material.

That makes a real difference once your head is on the pillow. They are not invisible, and you can still feel that something is in your ear, but the shape avoids the bulky pressure point you get from most everyday earbuds. So they are very comfortable.

Fitnexa says you need to insert them at a slight angle, rotate them into place and keep the logo horizontal, with the charging contacts facing downward. I would not skip that step, because the position changes how securely they sit and how much they press against the outer ear. Also make sure you put them in the right way around, one of them is marked with L, the other R.

The tips and wings give you enough room to experiment, which is important. A poor fit makes them feel more intrusive and also weakens the passive noise isolation.

I started with the tips that came fitted on the earbuds, which I think were size M. They felt fine at first, but after a night or two I kept waking up to find the buds lying next to me. Switching to the larger tips and wings, both size L, fixed that for me, and after that they stayed put overnight. These larger ones sit really flush in my ears.

In the box you’ll find a whole bunch of different sized tips and wings to play with. Mind you, they are not the easiest things to change – so it takes a bit of patience, but it is worth the effort. With sleep earbuds, the right fit is not just about comfort. It also affects how well they stay in place and how much outside noise they block.

Beyond sleep, I found that the design also works for daytime use. They can pass as compact Bluetooth earbuds, plus you get the benefit of noise isolation.

My impression is that Fitnexa has the hardware direction right. The small shell and low profile felt more comfortable for sleep than most other options I have tried. Once the fit is sorted, the next question is what you actually listen to through them.

Setup and app

Setup runs through the Fitnexa app, which is available for iPhone and Android. You create an account, pair the earbuds and then manage the main features from the device dashboard. The process is straightforward, so it’s pretty much a basic Bluetooth earbud setup.

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The firmware update is the one step worth doing before any serious testing. Fitnexa specifically recommends updating the earbuds before use, and that makes sense here. Firmware can affect battery life, connection stability, mode switching and sleep tracking.

The app acts as the control centre for SomniPods 3. It handles mode selection, sleep sounds, tap controls, firmware updates, sleep history, private alarm and bedtime reminder. That gives the earbuds much more depth than simple sleep earplugs, but it also makes the app a big part of the overall experience.

What I didn’t like is that this should feel like a simple product. But the app does feel overly busy, which is not exactly what you want for something used at bedtime. But more about that later.

There is also a paid tier. The good news is that the earbuds do not feel locked down without it. The basics are included, including many soundscapes and sleep tracking, so you can use SomniPods 3 properly without adding another subscription. The extra AI coaching is there if you want more personalised guidance, but it feels like an add-on rather than something you really need.

Sleep modes

SomniPods 3 are at their best at night, which makes sense given what they are built for. The three available modes sound slightly complicated at first, but they start to make sense after a few nights.

Bluetooth Mode is the simple one. The earbuds stay connected to the phone, so you can play Spotify, podcasts, YouTube, audiobooks or anything else. The audio quality is actually pretty decent, too. I would use this mode for winding down, but it is also the least “sleep bud” mode because the phone stays in the loop.

Beyond sleep and winding down, you can also use Bluetooth Mode during the day for casual listening. The added benefit is that you can switch ANC on when you want a bit of noise cancellation.

Sleep Mode is the proper bedtime setting. It cuts Bluetooth media audio and switches to built-in sounds stored on the earbuds. The app also provides a wide selection you can choose from. That makes the experience calmer and more predictable, with less chance of a notification, autoplay or random volume change disturbing you.

Auto Mode is the most interesting option and the one I used on most nights. Plus, I would switch on ANC for a couple of hours to tune out my noisy upstairs neighbours. This mode lets you fall asleep with your own audio, then switches to Sleep Mode once the earbuds detect sleep.

For me, this is the ideal combination. It works best if you are happy for your podcast or playlist to stop once you are asleep.

That is the main thing to understand. SomniPods 3 give you flexibility, but they also make you choose your bedtime routine. If you want streamed audio all night, Bluetooth Mode is the answer. If you want a more controlled sleep setup, Sleep Mode or Auto Mode makes more sense.

I like the idea of this flexibility. The modes are genuinely useful. But you need to understand what each of them does.

The trade-off is control. You cannot currently import your own sounds for offline playback. If you already have a favourite brown noise file or a long ambient track that works for you, you will need Bluetooth Mode for that. The offline sounds make sense for battery life and simplicity, but they also lock you into Fitnexa’s library.

Noise reduction and sleep sounds

Noise reduction is where SomniPods 3 feel more convincing as sleep earbuds than as regular ANC earbuds. Fitnexa quotes up to 32dB of ANC and up to 42dB of total noise reduction when passive isolation is included, but the second figure tells the fuller story. These earbuds rely on the seal from the tips as well as the active noise cancellation.

That combination works best with steady, repetitive noise. Fan hum, air conditioning, distant traffic, ticking clocks and hotel-room background noise all fade back once the earbuds are seated properly. As do my neighbours. The buds do not create total silence, but they do make those sounds easier to ignore.

They are less convincing against sharper, less predictable noise. Voices nearby can still come through. That is the realistic limit here. SomniPods 3 reduce the edge of night-time noise rather than removing the room around you.

The sleep sounds are a bigger part of the experience than I expected. The three basic on-bud sounds in Sleep Mode are fine in a pinch, but they are not the best way to use the earbuds. The app sound library is better, especially the brown noise options, and it feels less repetitive.

Overall, the ANC helps, but the best results come from the full combination: fit, passive isolation and masking audio. SomniPods 3 are not for people chasing total silence. They are for making ordinary night-time noise fade into the background enough that you stop focusing on it.

Battery and alarm

Battery life is good, but it depends heavily on how you use the earbuds. With ANC off, Fitnexa says you can get up to 12 hours on a single charge. Switch ANC on and that drops to around 6.5 hours.

The useful part is that the app lets you choose how long ANC stays active. For me, running it for about two hours on the Auto Sleep Detect setting was enough, before the earbuds switched back to non-ANC mode. Used that way, you can stretch them to over nine hours of overnight use.

This is why timers and Sleep Detect are useful. If you use Auto Mode, the earbuds can start with your chosen audio, then move into a more sleep-focused setup once they detect you have fallen asleep. Plus you get the option of choosing how long ANC stays on, which helps avoid burning through battery when you may no longer need full noise cancellation.

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The charging case is good for topping up to 48 hours of total battery life. It is compact enough for a bedside table and gives the earbuds somewhere obvious to live during the day.

Plus you get the fast charge feature, which is useful for this kind of product. A 10-minute top-up is rated for up to 2 hours with ANC off, or 1.5 hours with ANC on. That is handy if you realise at bedtime that the buds are low, although it does not remove the need to keep the case charged.

There’s also a private alarm that you can set via the smartphone app, but I would treat it with some caution. It plays through the earbuds, so it can wake you without disturbing someone else. But Fitnexa recommends it mainly for naps or shorter sleep sessions, because the earbuds need to remain powered on until the alarm time.

There is also the obvious practical issue. If a bud falls out while you are asleep, you may miss the alarm. For a nap or a light backup wake-up, it makes sense. For an important early start, I would still set a phone alarm as well.

Sleep tracking and AI

Sleep tracking is the feature I am least convinced SomniPods 3 need as a standalone extra. It has a role because Auto Sleep Mode depends on sleep detection, but the actual sleep stats feel less essential.

They are interesting enough to glance at in the morning, but they add more weight to an app that already does a lot. It feels a bit tacked on. If detailed sleep data is what you want, a smartwatch, fitness band or smart ring will give you a better picture.

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The missing piece for me was the payoff. The app gives you sleep history and some insights, but it did not really change how I used the earbuds. With a Garmin, Fitbit, Apple Watch or smart ring, sleep data feeds into recovery, readiness or training context. Here, it mostly sits on its own.

The earbud form factor is still interesting because it looks at sleep from a different position than a watch or ring. Sleep-position and movement data could be useful if Fitnexa makes it more actionable, but I would not buy SomniPods 3 for sleep stages or a sleep score.

AI coaching sits in a similar place. It may appeal if you want to use the wider Fitnexa wellness app and log things like food, drink and exercise, but that starts to feel separate from the earbuds themselves. Limited chat credits also make it feel more like an optional extra than a constant coach.

For me, the hardware still carries the product. And it does this well. The fit, noise reduction and bedtime audio are the reasons to use SomniPods 3. The tracking and AI are there if you want them, but they are not the main story.

Technical specs

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A strong result where it counts

I tested the newly released Amazfit Balance 3 against a high-end Garmin Forerunner during a 7.5km run in sweltering European heat, with temperatures above 30°C. Garmin recorded 7.53km, while the Amazfit came in at 7.50km. That is a difference of just 30 metres across the full run, which is an excellent result for the Balance 3.

The Garmin logged a total time of 44:44, while the Amazfit showed 45:14.99 for workout time. That difference needs a little context. At the start of the run I was fiddling with the Balance 3 controls, so the first kilometre was slightly messy on the Amazfit side. That shows up clearly in the lap data.

Garmin recorded the first kilometre at 5:48/km. Amazfit had it at 6:12/km. After that, the two watches were on par. Kilometre two was 5:53/km on both. Kilometre three was 6:00/km on both. Kilometre four was 5:57/km on both. You get the idea.

That makes the headline average pace look a little worse for Amazfit than the actual run suggests. Garmin finished with an average pace of 5:56/km, while Balance 3 showed 6:01/km. But remove the untidy start from the mental calculation and the Balance 3 looks much more convincing.

Heart rate was better than expected

The heart rate result was just as good. Balance 3 is a large watch and I have small wrists, so I was not expecting miracles from the optical sensor. Large watches can move more during runs if the fit is not right, especially when the case has more surface area sitting above the wrist.

But the Balance 3 is also relatively thin, and that seems to help. It sat better than I expected and the numbers were very close to Garmin. The Forerunner recorded an average heart rate of 146 bpm and a max of 162 bpm. The Amazfit recorded 144 bpm average and the same 162 bpm max.

That is a strong showing. It does not prove the Balance 3 will match Garmin in every workout, especially during intervals, cold weather runs or anything with lots of wrist movement. But for this steady outdoor effort, the heart rate data was more than good enough.

The cadence numbers also lined up well. Garmin recorded 176 spm average cadence and Amazfit recorded 175 spm. Stride length was identical at 0.94m. Ground contact time was close too, with Garmin at 259ms and Amazfit at 253ms.

Vertical metrics were not quite as tight. Garmin showed 8.0cm vertical oscillation and 8.4% vertical ratio. Amazfit showed 8.6cm and 9.2%. That is not wildly off, but I would treat those numbers as directional rather than directly interchangeable between platforms.

The watch feels different from older Amazfit models

The Balance 3 is a good-looking watch. The display is large, sharp and easy to read outdoors, which helps during a run when you only want a quick glance rather than a stare-down with your wrist. It feels more polished on the wrist than many sporty watches, without looking like a fragile dress watch.

What’s worth noting is that tThis model has five buttons, which makes it feel different from other Amazfit watches. That is partly useful, because physical controls make sense for sport. But there is also a learning curve, and that explains part of my messy start.

Zepp OS 6 also changes the feel of the watch. The design is slightly different from previous versions and the interface takes a little adjustment. It is not difficult, but it is not something I would judge after five minutes either. The hardware is strong, but the interaction model needs a few runs before it becomes second nature.

Garmin still wins on interpretation

The bigger gap was not distance, pace or heart rate. It was interpretation. Garmin rated the workout as threshold, high aerobic, with a 3.7 aerobic training effect, 0.0 anaerobic effect and an exercise load of 134. Amazfit rated the same run much harder, with 5.0 aerobic training effect, 3.1 anaerobic training effect and a training load of 335.

That is a major difference. The heart rate data was close, so this looks like an algorithmic difference rather than a sensor problem. Garmin saw a controlled threshold-type effort. Amazfit treated it as a much heavier session.

Granted, Garmin has a lot more data on my as I have been wearing their watch for years. So I suspect that is part of the reason it judged my effort differently.

Power was also different. Garmin recorded 316W average and 513W max, with wind data enabled. Amazfit showed 300W average and 367W max. Running power is still very platform-specific, so I would not read too much into the absolute numbers. It is better used for trend tracking inside the same ecosystem.

Elevation was another mismatch. Garmin recorded 49m ascent and 26m descent. Amazfit recorded 6m gain and 4m loss. The route was mostly flat around the lake, so the Amazfit figure is more plausible.

Early verdict

This was a better result for the Amazfit Balance 3 than I expected. GPS distance was almost spot on, heart rate held up well, cadence was basically identical and the lap pacing after the first kilometre was very close to Garmin.

The caveat is that Garmin still feels stronger once you move beyond raw tracking. Its training effect, load, power and elevation handling tell a more familiar story for serious training analysis. Amazfit gives you a lot of data, but some of the interpretation still feels more aggressive.

For most runners, the Balance 3 did the core job well here. It tracked the route accurately, kept heart rate close and produced usable running dynamics. For those who rely heavily on training load and performance modelling, Garmin still has the edge. But with each passing year, Zepp Health is reducing that gap.

View Balance 3 on Zepp Health, Amazon.

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