Amazfit Bip U Pro review: Don't come for Alexa, but stay nevertheless

Huami’s Amazfit smartwatches range from basic to high-end, from sports-focused to fashion-focused. The Amazfit Bip U Pro comes from the company’s cheap-and-basic category of devices. Even so, it’s got plenty of higher-end features for its price tag. Read Android Authority‘s Amazfit Bip U Pro review to find out if it’s worth your money.

What you need to know about the Amazfit Bip U Pro

• Amazfit Bip U Pro: $69.99/Rs. 4,999/£59/€69

The Bip U Pro is the successor to last year’s Amazfit Bip U. Everything from the design to the watch’s core specifications remains the same. That’s not really a bad thing because the Bip U was an impressive smartwatch for its price. However, there are a few features that set the Bip U Pro apart from the previous model.

The Amazfit Bip U Pro comes with built-in Amazon Alexa smarts. It also has standalone GPS this time, as well as a compass. All these attributes are missing from the original Bip U, making a compelling case for the Pro’s $10 price increase.

In the broader wearables landscape, the smartwatch carves out a neat space for itself. There are very few fitness watches with GPS that come in at this price point. Sure, you have a bunch of options if you want to go for a fitness band instead, but if it’s a larger screen and standalone GPS that you need, you’d be hard-pressed for choices.

Key specs and features of the Amazfit Bip U Pro include a 1.43-inch IPS LCD color display, over 60 sports modes, blood oxygen monitoring, 5ATM water resistance, 24/7 heart rate monitoring, and sleep tracking. The smartwatch is available in Black, Pink, and Green color options.

How is the design of the Amazfit Bip U Pro?

I received the pink color model of the Amazfit Bip U Pro for the review, although I personally prefer black because it goes with everything. That said, the pink colorway is not at all bad. It’s the same subtle candy pink Apple uses on the Apple Watch Series 6.

The watch’s display looks larger than it really is due to the large bezels surrounding it. The bottom bezel with the Amazfit branding is especially thick.

There’s a crown on the right side of the watch that acts as a button for navigation. Unfortunately, it doesn’t rotate.

Because the Bip U Pro is one of Huami’s most basic smartwatches, don’t expect any metal or fancy materials anywhere. The casing of the device is made of polycarbonate. The straps are made of cheap silicone that traps sweat underneath. My wrist would quickly get itchy during walks or workouts, forcing me to remove the watch and clean the straps out with soap and water after. Then again, it’s always a good practice to regularly clean your watch straps as sweat and dirt can cause skin breakouts.

Overall, the Amazfit Bip U Pro’s design may resemble that of the Apple Watch with its square display, but the build quality is nowhere near as premium. The company could have done better for the price. Even the cheaper Mi Band 5 I have uses superior materials compared to the Bip U Pro. The smartwatch is lightweight, though, so that’s a plus if you don’t like a lot of bulk around your wrist.

How well does Alexa work on the Amazfit Bip U Pro?

The Bip U Pro boasts Amazon Alexa as one of its top selling points. This isn’t the same Alexa you’d expect, though.

You’ll have to log in to your Amazon account from the Zepp app to authorize Alexa to work on the watch. Mind you, that setting is buried under an obscure name in the app (Profiles > My Devices > More > Add account), and you would have wasted some time finding it if not for the aforementioned path. It’s also not helpful when the watch gives you a vague prompt to connect Alexa in the “device section.”

Once you have Alexa up and running, you can program the crown button to act as a shortcut for the voice assistant. Otherwise, you’d need to access Alexa from the app list, which is a far lengthier process.

I was quite disappointed that when the watch wasn’t synced to the Zepp app on my phone, the voice assistant just failed to connect. The issue here is with syncing. If you don’t use the Zepp app for about 30 minutes, it automatically goes out of sync with the smartwatch until you fire it up again on your phone. It then takes a few seconds to sync the data, and only once that’s done can you start using Alexa again on your wrist.

That issue defeats the purpose of having a voice assistant on the watch. You can’t summon Alexa using your voice, and due to the syncing issues, I was only able to get the assistant working about once every five times. However, when it does work, you can ask Alexa to set an alarm, check the weather, play news briefings, and more. This, it does without a hitch.

What else can it do?

Just like the Bip U, the Pro variant performs the basics just right. Fitness tracking for activities like walking and cycling was accurate in my experience. Basic step tracking, distance calculations, and heart rate monitoring worked without a hitch. Spot blood oxygen checks were also largely in line with the reading from my Apple Watch Series 6 and fingertip pulse oximeter.

I couldn’t take the watch out for a swim or to the gym owing to COVID-19 restrictions, but there are plenty of activity modes to help you track more serious workouts.

As far as sleep tracking is concerned, the Bip U Pro was precise about my bedtime and wake-up time down to the minute. It tells you the proportion of deep sleep, light sleep, REM, and awake time. Its nap tracking is also on point, so if you snooze for half an hour during the day, the watch will keep a record.

Also check out: The best cheap fitness trackers you can buy

Where I felt the device is lacking is in its measurement of sleep breathing quality. The Bip U Pro evaluates the quality of your breathing while you’re sleeping by taking SpO2 readings on an hourly basis. However, the analysis you get is bleak.

The Zepp app categorizes your sleep breathing as mild, suspected low risk, suspected medium risk, or suspected high risk. My analysis remained “mild” throughout my usage, but there’s no explanation for what any of these metrics mean.

One new addition to the Bip U Pro is built-in GPS. It works as well as most other standalone GPS watches from Amazfit. Don’t expect it to be on target completely. The GPS map tends to go through buildings and walls sometimes, but it should be good enough if you want a basic sense of where you’ve been.

Anything else?

• Zepp app: The connecting app provides comprehensive data for activities in the form of charts and graphs. It’s easy to understand, but the app could be better in terms of its overall UI and navigation. It’s currently a bit all over the place, and it could take a while to locate things for first-time users.
• Battery life: You don’t have to worry about running out of juice on the Bip U Pro. It can typically last for nine days, and that’s more than satisfactory. The watch can charge to 100% capacity in two hours.
• Third-party apps: As is the case with all Amazfit smartwatches, third-party app support is quite sad on the Bip U Pro. Don’t expect it to connect to music apps or many fitness apps. However, it can connect to Alexa, Strava, and Apple Health. Out of these, you can only access Alexa on your wrist.
• Music controls: You can control your workout music directly from your wrist using the Bip U Pro, but it doesn’t come with dedicated music storage.
• Microphone: There is a microphone on the watch for when you have to talk to Alexa, but you can’t answer incoming calls with it.

Amazfit Bip U Pro specs

Value and competition

With its $69.99 price, the Amazfit Bip U Pro is undoubtedly a value-for-money fitness watch. It stacks up against the Xiaomi Mi Band 6, which is about $20 cheaper but uses connected GPS instead of built-in GPS.

You can also consider getting the Amazfit Band 5 that packs a blood oxygen meter, Alexa support, and 5ATM water resistance for $50. You’ll just have to make do with connected GPS.

The HUAWEI Band 6 can also be a worthy opponent. For one, it features an AMOLED display that’s a step up over the Bip U’s LCD screen. It also boasts a 14-day battery life, all-day SpO2 monitoring, and 96 workout modes. The Fitbit Inspire 2 is also a good option, but it’s a bit pricier at $98. However, you do get the advantage of the Fitbit app that’s much better than the Zepp app, and a free one-year trial of Fitbit Premium.

Also read: The best Amazfit smartwatches you can buy

Amazfit Bip U Pro review: The verdict

If you are looking for a basic fitness tracker with loads of features to start your workout journey, the Amazfit Bip U Pro should be a good buy. More than its Alexa smarts, you can pick this one over the original Bip U for the standalone GPS. However, if you were pulled towards the product for its voice assistant support, you might want to reconsider or check out its predecessor, which doesn’t have Alexa and will save you some cash.

You’ll also be better off looking elsewhere if you want a flawless syncing and app experience. Connectivity can always be improved with a software update, but the app needs to be more intuitive and reworked to remove repetitive features. Third-party app support can also be improved if Huami chooses, but it seems that’s not an area of focus for the company.