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When you think of a top running watch, certain brands like Garmin and Coros probably come to mind — but we can bet a top dollar that Amazfit is not one of them. This may be about to change, though. The Chinese brand has just launched its best running watch yet. The Amazfit Active 3 Premium is refreshingly sleek, surprisingly well-built and jam-packed with tracking features — all for $169.99.
This is a budget fitness tracker and is not advanced enough to satisfy the needs of professional runners, but then it is not meant to. The Amazfit Active 3 Premium was designed primarily for fitness beginners and casual exercisers “working towards their first clear goal,” according to the brand. In other words, it is an entry-level device for those who prefer simple, actionable insights to the complex, data-heavy analysis favored by Garmin and other high-end brands.
Amazfit Active 3 Premium review
Amazfit Active 3 Premium: Design
- Compact, elegant and comfortable to wear
- Durable stainless-steel bezel and scratch-resistant sapphire glass
- Vibrant 1.32-inch AMOLED display
Key specs
Display: 1.32-inch AMOLED – 466 x 466
Always-On: Yes
Dimensions (inches): 1.77 x 1.77 x 0.43
Dimensions (mm): 45 x 45 x 11 mm
Weight (without strap): 1.34 oz (38g)
Colors: Silver, blue and white
Finish: Stainless steel
Battery life: Up to 12 days
GPS: Yes, single-band
Compass: No
Altimeter: Yes
Water resistance: 5 ATM
NFC payments: Yes, Zepp Pay
Compatibility: Android 7.0 and above, iOS 14.0 and above
Storage: 4GB internal storage
At a glance, the Amazfit Active 3 Premium seems almost identical to the Amazfit Active Max we tested a couple of months ago. Both watches are pleasantly compact and unobtrusive, look great on the wrist, and come with detachable silicon straps and engraved-style tick markers on a round bezel. However, look closer, and you will spot some key differences.
To start with, the Active 3 Premium has a slightly smaller AMOLED display than the Active Max (1.32-inch vs 1.5-inch). This alone makes it look sleeker and more like a regular everyday smartwatch than a serious fitness tracker. Secondly, the Active 3 Premium features more buttons (four versus the Active Max’s two) — a design tweak that makes it easier to control with sweaty hands or gloves halfway through a run.
The Amazfit Active 3 Premium is also significantly more durable than the Active Max. That is because its bezel is made of stainless steel, which is more resistant to shocks, corrosion and high temperatures than aluminium alloy. It also comes with scratch-resistant Sapphire glass on the screen, whereas the Active Max has no display protection at all. They share the same 5 ATM waterproof rating, though. Both can be safely used for surface-level swimming and shallow-water activities, but they are not waterproof enough to withstand deep dives and high-pressure water jets.
We really enjoyed our time with the Amazfit Active 3 Premium. This smartwatch is a joy to wear. We liked its elegant looks and how light and comfortable it was (so much so that we frequently forgot we were even wearing it), and that it looked just as good with our activewear as it did with more casual clothing. We would recommend the Amazfit Active 3 Premium to anyone tired of bulky, rugged wearables. That said, some people may find this smartwatch a bit too small to suit their style.
We had no issues with using or navigating the display. It is bright, vibrant and easily readable in direct sunlight, and it did not lag or freeze during power-intensive tasks. The only slight complaint is with excessive smudging — the Amazfit Active 3 Premium seems to collect more fingerprints than other running watches we have tested. However, it is not a deal-breaker, given that this smartwatch can be controlled entirely with the side buttons.
Amazfit Active 3 Premium: Features
- Robust workout tracking tools
- GPS, offline maps and turn-by-turn navigation
- Basic smartwatch capabilities
The Amazfit Active 3 Premium is a fitness tracker through and through. While it does come with an app ecosystem and a decent selection of smartwatch features, such as Bluetooth calls, music control, NFC payments via Zepp Pay and calendar notifications, for example, it is more focused on measuring and analyzing exercise performance than keeping up with day-to-day activities. Thanks to that, this smartwatch does not feel overloaded with pointless widgets and niche features.
The Amazfit Active 3 Premium tracks more than 170 different activities, but it is geared predominantly to runners and race walkers. It offers an impressive range of running metrics, many of which you are more likely to see in premium wearables for athletes rather than budget wearables. These include posture monitoring (detection of overstriding, hunching or improper head position during running), lactate threshold assessment (the exercise intensity at which lactate begins accumulating in the bloodstream faster than it can be removed), ground contact balance tracking (tracking the symmetry between left and right foot ground contact time) and running rhythm analysis (assessing whether your breathing, foot strikes and body movements are synchronized).
Despite offering all these stats, the Amazfit Active 3 Premium is still very beginner-friendly, featuring a multitude of running workouts and adaptive running plans (a key selling point for those new to this form of exercise). It does a relatively good job of explaining stats without relying on complex terminology or over-emphasising the need for constant progress — something that Garmin wearables get a lot of slack for.
Put simply, the Amazfit Active 3 Premium is like a pocket-sized running coach — ready to fine-tune your workouts, help shield you from potential injuries and share your achievements with others.
The Amazfit Active 3 Premium also comes with GPS and offline maps, as well as turn-by-turn navigation, automatic rerouting and point-to-point route planning. These features are not as detailed and advanced as those we have seen in Garmin and Suunto wearables, but they are good enough for basic navigation and phone-free outdoor workouts.
Amazfit Active 3 Premium: Performance
- Up to 12 days of battery life
- Single-band GPS not as accurate as dual-band GPS
- Relatively accurate heart rate measurements
According to the manufacturer, the Amazfit Active 3 Premium has up to 12 days of battery life with “typical use” or up to 7 days with “heavy use”, which then drops to 24 hours in the continuous GPS mode. Based on our experience, that seems about right. Our usage was somewhere between “typical” and “heavy” — we wore the Amazfit Active 3 Premium during the day and at night, tracked at least four workouts per week, and occasionally used GPS when training outdoors. On average, our testing unit lasted around 10 days on a single charge.
Moving on to tracking performance, the Amazfit Active 3 Premium did a relatively good job outdoors. We tested its mapping capabilities during two day-long hikes in the dense Welsh woodlands and when running around the local park. The smartwatch estimated our location with enough accuracy to prove a reliable workout companion.
However, the Amazfit Active 3 Premium’s tracking is not always very precise. It uses single-band GPS instead of dual-band GPS, so its signal may not be as strong in more dense, challenging environments. As such, professional trail runners and wilderness explorers may prefer a smartwatch with more advanced geolocation features.
We compared the smartwatch’s heart rate measurements with the data we obtained using the Whoop MG screenless tracker, Oura Ring Gen 4 smart ring and Polar H9 chest strap heart rate monitor, and found that the heart rate readings accurately reflected the intensity and training load of our workouts. The tracking precision decreased during high-intensity activities (above 150 bpm), but that tends to be the case with most budget-friendly fitness trackers. Sleep and stress measurements were quite accurate, too.
On the other hand, some aspects of workout tracking could use some improvement. The Amazfit Active 3 Premium tended to underestimate our steps and upper-body movements (a stroke rate in indoor rowing, for example), and it did not seem to pick up certain strength exercises, either. However, this did not have a significant impact on our overall user experience, and it is not something that we would fret about in a wearable at this price range.
Should you buy the Amazfit Active 3 Premium?
The Amazfit Active 3 Premium is a great budget-friendly smartwatch for novice runners and casual exercisers. It is durable, relatively accurate and comfortable to wear, and offers comprehensive workout-tracking features and plenty of beginner-friendly training insights. It looks great, too. The Amazfit Active 3 Premium may not have the most advanced GPS or mapping features, and its screen smudges too easily, but that is not something we would expect at such an affordable price.
✅ Buy it if: You are a beginner or casual runner looking for a sleek, reliable smartwatch on a budget.
❌ Do not buy it if: You are a seasoned running pro looking for a premium wearable with advanced GPS and mapping capabilities.
If the Amazfit Active 3 Premium is not for you
The Amazfit Active Max is an excellent alternative to the Amazfit Active 3 Premium. Both watches cost around $169 and come with similar features, but the former has a larger display and longer battery life. However, it is also slightly less durable.
If you are not a fan of Amazfit, consider the Coros Pace 4 instead. This sleek and lightweight smartwatch boasts good tracking accuracy, advanced workout-tracking features and up to 19 days of battery life. However, it lacks offline maps and costs around $80 more than the Amazfit Active 3 Premium.
Looking for something more premium? Then you can’t go wrong with the Garmin Forerunner 965. This smartwatch costs four times more than the Amazfit Active 3 Premium, but that step up in price is reflected in its specs. This flagship Garmin running watch comes with more advanced navigation tools, a richer app ecosystem and almost twice as long battery life.
Amazfit Active 3 Premium: How we tested
We spent nearly a month testing the Amazfit Active 3 Premium, looking into its design, durability, features, day-to-day performance and ease of use. We wore this smartwatch during the day and at night, when doing gym-based workouts and while hiking and running outdoors. We also compared the sleep, steps and heart rate measurements taken by our Amazfit Active 3 Premium with the data we obtained using the Whoop MG screenless tracker, Oura Ring Gen 4 smart ring and Polar H9 chest strap heart rate monitor.
