The funds sports activities watch that appears something however

Amazfit Active Max

Use of knowledge

8.0/10

Pros

• Beautiful design with a vibrant 1.5-inch AMOLED show
• Aluminium physique retains it gentle however sturdy
• Strong navigation assist with offline maps and route
• 4GB storage permits you to save music and podcasts regionally
• Good worth for cash

Cons

• GPS lacks dual-band
• Display dims as battery drops
• Zepp app has come a great distance, however nonetheless might do with a little bit of polish

The Amazfit Active Max arrived earlier this month, simply forward of CES 2026. With its daring design and enormous show, it’s clearly positioned to catch the attention. This is Zepp Health pushing additional into the large-screen territory, with out pushing the value as much as match.

I’ve been carrying the timepiece since launch and placing it by way of its paces in day by day use. From coaching classes to sleep monitoring and on a regular basis duties, it’s been an opportunity to see how the expertise holds up over time. Here’s what I manufactured from it.

Amazfit Active Max: One minute evaluate

The Amazfit Active Max does precisely what it units out to do. It’s vivid, comfy and well-built, with dependable monitoring and battery life that goes the space without having fixed consideration. Health options cowl all of the fundamentals, and the Zepp Health app continues to get higher with every replace.

Sports monitoring performs surprisingly nicely, even when lined up in opposition to dearer watches. You don’t get all of the deeper coaching evaluation that manufacturers like Garmin are identified for, however you continue to get lots. Plus the information you get is constant and simple to work with each day.

For me, that is probably the most enticing watch Zepp Health has dished out up to now. And I’ve reviewed loads of their units through the years. The design feels extra polished, the display is a pleasure to have a look at, and the entire thing simply works with out being overcomplicated. If you need one thing that nails the fundamentals, seems good doing it and doesn’t break the bank, the Active Max is considered one of their strongest efforts but.

Amazfit Active Max could be bought from Zepp Health or Amazon*

Jump to

Design, hardware
Health & fitness tracking
Sports tracking
Smartwatch features

Design, {hardware}

Look & really feel

I wasn’t anticipating the Amazfit Active Max to look this sharp on the wrist. It’s bought that large, daring 1.5-inch AMOLED show that dominates the entrance, and it actually works. Everything feels greater, brighter and higher trying than you’d anticipate at this worth. Text is sharp, colors pop, and it’s simple to learn in full solar because of that 3,000-nit brightness.

Despite the scale, the factor doesn’t really feel heavy or cumbersome. I’ve somewhat slender wrists and it didn’t look misplaced.

The case measures simply over 48mm throughout, however Zepp Health has saved the burden down through the use of aluminium across the body and polymer elsewhere. Without the strap it’s beneath 40 grams, and that helps it sit comfortably on the wrist. I’ve worn it for full days, together with sleep monitoring, and barely observed it was there. The strap is silicone and tender sufficient to put on all day, with an ordinary pin buckle that stays put. It’s additionally a daily 22mm width, really easy to swap if you need a distinct look.

There are two facet buttons that turn out to be useful while you’re in the course of a exercise or simply don’t really feel like swiping. They’ve bought a strong click on to them and really feel nicely made. My one grievance is that they maybe sit a bit too flush in opposition to the case – so that you must push firmly for a press to register.

The general construct is sturdy. It’s not pretending to be a rugged journey watch, but it surely seems like it could actually deal with day by day knocks and splashes. With 5 ATM water resistance, you don’t want to fret about carrying it within the rain or rinsing it off after a exercise.

In black, which is the one possibility it is available in, the machine seems clear, minimal, with a little bit of a sporty edge. It’s the sort of design that works for each exercises and on a regular basis put on. You might simply costume it up or down, and make it look very fairly with some very nice watch faces.

For a timepiece this large, it’s surprisingly simple to reside with. Some outsized watches really feel awkward or top-heavy, however this one sits flat and stays put. It’s clearly been designed with wearability in thoughts. From the primary day I put it on, it simply felt proper.

Under the hood

The Active Max may look clear and easy on the skin, but it surely’s packing an honest set of elements inside. At the core is Amazfit’s newest BioTracker sensor. It combines 5 photodiodes and two LEDs to trace coronary heart charge, blood oxygen, together with stress ranges.

The sensor package deal covers all of the fundamentals. You additionally get an accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient gentle sensor, barometric altimeter, temperature sensor and a geomagnetic sensor. The altimeter and compass make it a superb match for mountaineering or path operating, and the temperature sensor logs ambient knowledge all through the day. It’s not pores and skin temp like in some newer wearables, but it surely’s nonetheless helpful for context throughout outside actions.

On the positioning facet, the watch connects to 5 satellite tv for pc techniques. It doesn’t use dual-band GNSS, so it sticks to single-frequency monitoring, but it surely nonetheless locks on shortly and held sign nicely in most situations. In open areas it stayed correct, and solely dense tree cowl or tall buildings precipitated minor drift. For a watch at this worth, that’s about what you’d anticipate.

There’s additionally a speaker and mic onboard, each neatly built-in. You can use them for Bluetooth calls or music playback, and whereas the speaker received’t blow you away, it’s loud sufficient. Inside, there’s a rotor motor for vibration alerts. It’s quiet, however the suggestions is clear and never too sharp. The entire factor feels nicely balanced for the sort of consumer this watch is geared toward. It’s not making an attempt to pack in each potential sensor, but it surely does sufficient to carry its personal for day by day well being monitoring and weekend actions.

Battery life

Battery life is likely one of the greater strengths of the Active Max. Amazfit says you may stand up to 25 days on a single cost, and whereas that’s with lighter use, the real-world numbers are nonetheless spectacular. I had many of the bells and whistles switched on, and it lasted nicely over per week without having to cost. No particular settings or tips. Just put it on and use it.

If you want having the always-on show turned on, you’re about 10 days. That’s nonetheless means forward of most smartwatches on the market. One factor you might discover, the show dims a bit if the battery is near empty.

GPS monitoring can stretch to 64 hours, which makes this watch a strong choose for anybody doing longer outside classes or multi-day occasions. Even after I added music playback whereas utilizing GPS, it nonetheless pushed by way of about 22 hours with out chopping out.

Charging takes a bit over two hours, so it’s not blazing quick. But with the sort of endurance you get, that cost time doesn’t actually matter. I by no means discovered myself stressing about battery proportion or planning round it.

Tech specs

Health & health monitoring

The Active Max retains tabs on coronary heart charge, blood oxygen, stress and extra. And all of it simply runs within the background when you’re carrying it. There’s additionally a helpful one-tap test that pulls in all the principle stats directly. You don’t must scroll by way of menus or launch separate apps to see how your physique’s doing.

BioCharge is Amazfit’s tackle a readiness rating. It’s been round for a couple of months and is likely one of the extra helpful options on this watch. It pulls in sleep high quality, stress, and different restoration metrics to provide you a easy quantity every day. It’s not as detailed as what you’ll get from Garmin or Whoop, but it surely’s an honest overview of how recovered you’re and whether or not you’re prepared to coach. PAI can also be right here should you choose a extra effort-based purpose, constructed round your coronary heart charge zones as an alternative of day by day steps.

Heart charge monitoring holds up nicely for day-to-day use. It stays constant all through the day and through common exercise. SpO₂ and stress monitoring have additionally been dependable.

Sleep monitoring has additionally been correct for probably the most half. It breaks issues down into REM, gentle, deep and awake, and in addition retains observe of in a single day coronary heart charge and respiration. It even logs naps, which loads of watches nonetheless miss.

The Zepp app provides you a sleep rating and some insights every morning. The knowledge received’t blow your thoughts, but it surely’s sufficient to identify patterns and perceive your restoration. Plus you get some extra novel info resembling hypopnea – which makes an fascinating learn.

A current revamp to the Zepp app introduced in a brand new badges system, and it’s really a enjoyable little addition. You now get a devoted spot within the app the place all of your achievements reside, like private bests, streaks and accomplished challenges. It’s not one thing you see on the watch itself, however within the app it provides your stats a bit extra life. The replace additionally freshened up the general look with softer colors and cleaner playing cards.

Sports monitoring

There are over 170 exercise modes on the Active Max, which appears like overkill, however you may cover those you don’t use and maintain the record manageable. The traditional stuff like operating, strolling, biking and energy is all there, and you may as well import routes and use offline maps, which is nice should you’re heading out with out your cellphone.

I examined it on a number of runs in opposition to a Garmin Forerunner 955. On a 7.5 km metropolis run, the Garmin logged 7.58 km, and the Amazfit got here in at 7.48 km, which sits nicely inside regular GPS variation for cease‑begin city routes. Average coronary heart charge was 140 bpm on the Active Max and 139 bpm on the Garmin, with peak readings of 160 bpm and 166 bpm. But for many of my different runs, the information was even nearer collectively – so this was really a little bit of an outlier.

The core coronary heart charge sample was comparable on each units all through my runs, together with sections with adjustments in tempo and rhythm. The Amazfit tends to stay barely larger on cadence, with 180 steps per minute for this 7.5K in comparison with 176 on the Garmin. Stride size was successfully the identical, sitting at 97 cm versus about 1 metre.

Where the numbers break up a bit is in operating dynamics. The Active Max reported a bit extra vertical motion, and floor contact time was shorter in comparison with the Garmin.

Training load and energy suggestions on the Active Max felt off, as a result of the watch had estimated my most coronary heart charge at 164 bpm utilizing a easy age-based calculation. Garmin had mine at 174 bpm primarily based on years of information. That impacts how zones are calculated and the way arduous a run feels within the summaries.

This is definitely a limitation launched with the newest model of the Zepp Health app – you may’t manually edit the max HR like you may beforehand. No doubt, within the coming days it is going to be resolved.

After exercises you continue to get tempo, coronary heart charge zones, energy, restoration time and a VO₂ max estimate proper on the watch, with a session abstract within the Zepp app. VO₂ max was about 42 ml/kg/min on the Amazfit, a couple of factors beneath Garmin, however once more that’s tied to how every ecosystem builds your baseline. Indoors, energy exercises and treadmill runs tracked nice too.  Overall it’s strong sufficient for on a regular basis operating and common coaching with out making you consistently query the numbers.

Smartwatch options

Finally, let’s discuss concerning the common smartwatch options. The Active Max covers lots, with out getting slowed down in extras you received’t use.

Notifications out of your cellphone come by way of immediately, and on Android you may even ship fast replies straight from the watch. It handles calls too. You can reply, reject or take the decision in your wrist utilizing the built-in mic and speaker.

Music controls and offline music storage are there, and iPhone customers get distant digital camera management which is a pleasant bonus. You may also ping your cellphone if it’s gone lacking within the sofa cushions once more.

Beyond that the watch helps calendar reminders, to-do lists, alarms, world clock, Pomodoro timers, climate, together with even a morning abstract with the day’s fundamentals. There’s additionally a fundamental voice memo function if you wish to shortly document one thing on the go. It locks while you want it to, has Do Not Disturb while you don’t need to be bugged, and retains observe of sedentary time with light nudges to maneuver round. Plus you may set up numerous different apps by way of the Zepp Health App Store.

If you’re in a supported nation, you additionally get Zepp Flow, which brings voice management into the combination. You can discuss to the watch to set reminders or launch apps, or simply ask common questions. It nearly features like a full-blown assistant. Plus it’s extra helpful than many of the voice management efforts I’ve seen on different funds watches.

There’s even some good quality-of-life stuff in-built. You can add digital membership playing cards to the watch, customise shortcut playing cards for fast entry to your favorite options, and test the temperature straight from the wrist. It doesn’t overcomplicate issues, however there’s simply sufficient right here to really feel like a correct smartwatch, not only a health tracker with notifications.

Amazfit Active Max could be bought from Zepp Health or Amazon*

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