The $80 Amazfit Bip 6 is a budget Apple Watch with much better battery life

The Amazfit Bip 6 enters the wearables arena with a compelling offer: a feature-packed smartwatch at an impressively low price. In a market flooded with options, the Bip 6 stands out by delivering tools typically reserved for higher-end models — without the hefty price tag. Its design and functionality are reminiscent of Fitbit’s now-discontinued Versa lineup, offering an Apple Watch-like experience without the Apple ecosystem.

At the heart of the Bip 6’s appeal is its bright 1.97-inch AMOLED display. Budget smartwatches and lower-priced fitness trackers often skimp on screen quality, but the Bip 6 delivers sharp, vibrant visuals that make device interactions enjoyable.

The display’s size is a major draw, with dimensions echoing the Apple Watch on my opposite wrist. Thanks to the square shape, it fits tons of text and stats on the screen. With a max brightness of 2,000 nits, it’s easily readable, even on sunny runs.

I appreciate the variety of watch faces, ranging from classic analog to more techy, data-packed options loaded with specs and graphics. I particularly like the flat, tempered glass display and the integrated band design. I’m not a fan of excessive holes in my straps, but the silicone band makes for a great gym companion. It’s breathable, washable, and doesn’t trap sweat. I tested the red strap, which appears dark orange in person. The watch is also available with a black, charcoal, or stone band for a more neutral look.

In line with my mother’s common quip, “If it’s heavy, it’s probably expensive,” I wasn’t surprised to find the Bip 6 is quite lightweight. Made from aluminum alloy and fiber-reinforced polymer, the watch doesn’t feel excessively cheap — especially for a sporty accessory — but I wouldn’t wear it to a formal event.

While AMOLED displays often mean shorter battery life, the Bip 6 holds its ground with a 14-day battery life claim — outlasting most competitors at this price. Even with heavy use, it comfortably lasts up to six days.

During testing with the always-on display enabled, while tracking GPS workouts and sleep, the Bip 6 drained about 16% of its battery in 24 hours. Results will vary depending on usage, but this performance clearly outpaces devices like the Apple Watch.

This efficiency makes the Bip 6 a convenient, low-maintenance choice for anyone who doesn’t want to be tethered to a charger. When charging is necessary, the Bip 6 ships with a magnetic charging puck compatible with any USB-C cord. I’m all for seeing the end of proprietary chargers, but until then, the puck does the job just fine.

When it comes to fitness tracking, the Bip 6 packs a punch for just $80. The watch supports more than 140 sports modes, far more than most budget devices. I didn’t try out every single one (obviously), but I did get a kick out of some of the quirky options, including multiple types of dance, foosball, kite flying, and swinging on a swing (which I can confirm, is tiring if you pump your legs).

The watch also includes a built-in GPS, a feature not always found at this price point. However, it isn’t flawless (see the map above). For example, south of Waikapoki Fish Pond, you can see the Bip 6 recorded me on the wrong side of the road. Still, after multiple runs, the total distances on my Apple and Amazfit smartwatches were nearly identical. For casual fitness tracking, the Bip 6 offers sufficient accuracy.

The watch also locked onto the GPS signal within seconds before each workout and counted down while I waited. This might sound unnecessary, but I loved knowing something was happening instead of wondering how long I’d be standing at the end of my driveway.

In terms of heart rate data, the Bip 6 performs admirably compared to the Apple Watch as well, at least when you consider it’s a fraction of the price. As shown in the graph above, the budget watch doesn’t align perfectly with the pricier one, but it stays within five or so beats throughout the workout. Like its GPS tracker, its heart rate sensor should be accurate enough for basic activity tracking.

On device, the watch also provides real-time heart rate data within the workout screen as well as heart rate zone labels. These zones are labeled as warm-up, fat-burning, aerobic, anaerobic, and maximum. I love using similar tools on my go-to wearables as they can help me work out more intentionally. It’s good to see Amazfit make the data it collects as useful as possible.

Sleep tracking on the Bip 6 was also imperfect. Compared to my Pixel Watch 3, a notably accurate sleep tracker, the watch tended to overestimate my core sleep session by 30 minutes or more. More significantly, if I woke up for a short period, it closed out the sleep session. So if you wake up to feed a baby and go back to sleep after, for example, the rest of your sleep is recorded as a nap rather than as overnight sleep.

Of course, users will find a range of additional health and wellness tracking along with the stats I’ve keyed in on. The watch tracks steps, calories, stress, VO2 Max, and more. It also offers considerable analysis, including a Readiness score similar to Fitbit’s, and plenty of personalized insights on the device and in the Zepp app. In general, I’m continually impressed with the companion app’s intuitive design and breadth of insights.

Finally, a new food logging tool via the Zepp app lets you scan food labels and automatically upload nutritional details using your phone’s camera. If counting calories is a facet of your health journey, it’s convenient to have this tool and all your stats in one place.

Beyond the gym, the Bip 6 includes a few smart features not always seen in lower-end wearables. First, it packs a built-in microphone and speaker for taking calls or for listening to music from the wrist. Like the Amazfit Active 2, it also adds offline maps for navigation. The download and positioning process takes some setup, but once you have the area you need on your watch, you can access turn-by-turn routing. The tool needs refinement, and can’t compare to what you’ll find in Garmin’s ecosystem, for example, but it’s a good start.

Meanwhile, Zepp Flow, the onboard AI assistant, allows for voice control — useful for hands-free navigation and tasks like checking the weather or notifications. The tool is limited in scope but adequately responsive. It’s useful if you’re in private and prefer navigating your watch out loud rather than tapping around for details (especially if you hate smudge marks on your touchscreen).

That said, Zepp OS is straightforward and works well for basic functions, but it lacks the robust ecosystem of bigger players, like Wear OS or watchOS. It’s specifically limited if you’re after third-party apps. On the flip side, the OS is compatible with both Android and iOS phones, rather than being locked to just one audience.

The Amazfit Bip 6 strikes an excellent balance between price and performance. At just $79.99 it’s a great device for someone who doesn’t need all the bells and whistles of a premium smartwatch but still wants comprehensive fitness tracking, a bright AMOLED display, and smart features like call functionality and offline navigation.

The biggest drawback to the watch is its limited ecosystem. Not only does it look an awful lot like the Fitbit Versa line, but it lacks app support like those devices as well. To be fair, there isn’t much at this price point that can do any better.