Amazfit Band 5

Amazfit Band 5

The Amazfit Band 5 is a fitness band released in September 2020. Amazfit is a brand from Huami Technology, the exclusive supplier of smart fitness bands for Xiaomi. Huami is one of the largest smart wearable manufacturers in the world, best known for making the Mi Bands.

The Amazfit Band 5 is using a Dialog DA14697 processor. This is a popular processor for fitness bands and can also be found in the Samsung Galaxy Fit and the Mi Band 5. The Amazfit Band 5 and Mi Band 5 are both produced by Huami and are nearly identica. The Amazfit Band 5 comes with a couple of extra features for a small price increase. An SpO2 sensor and a microphone for Alexa support are the incremental features.

This watch is using a proprietary operating system for Huami smartwatches. While there are some available apps on the band itself, the number is minimal and you do not have access to a 3rd party app store such as the Google Play Store.

Design

The Band 5 sticks with the standard slim rectangular band design with a plastic case. The watch is available in black but you can get a green, orange or black band. From a design perspective, the band is not premium but it does looks attractive.

Amazfit Band 5 Colors

While the Amazfit Band 5 is quite small at 47.2 × 18.5 × 12.4 mm, it is similar to most other fitness bands. The band is not the slimmest with a thickness of 12.4 mm but it only weighs 12g. It is comfortable and can be worn while sleeping.

The Band 5 comes with a 15mm silicone interchangeable strap. The strap is comfortable and quality is acceptable for this low price point.

You can interact with the watch using the touchscreen. At the bottom of the screen is a capacitive home button. The touchscreen works very well with no lag. Fonts, menus and icons can easily be read and navigation is not too complex.

The Mi Band 5 has a 5ATM water resistance rating which allows for swimming and showers. The watch has a swimming mode that allows the screen to be locked. Salt water or chlorine could be problematic so make sure to rinse, wipe and dry the watch after swimming.

Screen

The screen of the Amazfit Band 5, while small, looks good. The 1.1″ AMOLED Touchscreen, with 126 x 294 pixels delivers a good-quality visual experience. Indoors the display is excellent while outdoors is decent as well.

Huami does not indicate what screen protection is provided which is disappointing. Since it is not a rugged watch, we expect protection to be limited. That being said given the low price, build quality appears to be good.

Unfortunately, the watch does not have an always on screen option. The watch allows for custom watchfaces which is a nice feature.

Battery

The Amazifit Band 5 comes with a 125 mAh battery. Huami claims that typical usage battery life is 15 days and watch mode battery life is 25 days. Real world battery life is typically over 10 days which is good.

Connectivity Features

From a connectivity perspective, the Amazfit Band 5 has limited functionality when compared to full featured smartwatches. The band can only receive notifications and there is no ability to respond to notifications from the band.

Even setting up these one-way notifications requires manually whitelisting the Zepp app on your phone. Duplicate notifications are another common complaint from owners. Not the most polished notification experience for a smartwatch.

Some users have had success with the 3rd party app ‘Notify and Fitness for Zepp’ to respond to notifications With this app, when a notification comes in, you can open the music control menu, select a pre-written response and press the play button to send. Note that by doing this you will lose the music control capabilities on your smartwatch.

As this is just a basic fitness band, there are a number of features missing that you would normally find on a smartwatch:

  • Does not have a speaker or microphone
  • Cannot answer or place calls via Bluetooth
  • Does not have a camera
  • Does not have cellular connectivity
  • Does not come with GPS
  • Does not have Near Field Communication (NFC), hence you cannot make payments

That being said it does allow for some additional useful features which is impressive for this price range.

Amazfit Band 5 Features

Health and Fitness Features

The Band 5 comes with 4 sensors: Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Heart Rate Monitor (HRM), Pulse Oximeter (SpO2). These cover quite a bit of fitness functions and even some health areas. These sensors allow you to track the following 11 metrics: Blood Oxygen Level, Calories, Distance, Fitness Level, Heart Rate, Menstrual Cycle, Sleep, Steps, Stress, Swimming, VO2 Max.

Also included are 11 different sports modes.

Amazfit Band 5 Sports Modes

Heart rate accuracy at rest, casual activities or steady state runs is relatively accurate. For casual tracking, this may be adequate but could be a concern if you are looking for high tracking accuracy for your sports or fitness goals. However with interval training, short bursts of activity or high intensity training, accuracy is poor. Tattoos, hair, sweat and even skin color are factors that impact accuracy as well.

This is a common problem with nearly all wrist based optical heart rate monitoring. While there are a few exceptions that do a pretty good job on heart rate monitoring, such as the Apple Watch 6, serious trainers should look into a chest strap for best heart rate accuracy.

Zepp App

The Amazfit Band 5 uses the Zepp app, which is decent but not best in class. While the app has a lot of functions and features, it is not the most refined or easy to navigate. You can see how the Zepp app ranks on our Smartwatch Apps Page.

Internal Photos

Known Issues

As this watch has just recently been released, there are no common known issues.

Verdict

Nearly identical to the popular Mi Band 5 but with a blood oxygen sensor and Alexa voice assistant. Nice screen, good battery life and adequate fitness and health functions. Excellent buy overall especially if the price premium over the Mi Band 5 is small in your region.

Specifications

General

Read Review
Watch Type Fitness Band
Gender Unisex
Release Date September 2020
Operating System Proprietary - Amazfit OS
App Zepp
Supported Devices Android 5.0+, iOS 10.0+
Processor Dialog DA14697

Design

Shape Rectangular
Case Size 47.2 × 18.5 × 12.4 mm
Case Material Plastic
Weight 12g
Strap Width 16 mm
Strap Material Silicone
Interchangeable Strap Yes
Watch Colors Black
Input Touchscreen
Water Resistance 5 ATM

Screen

Screen Size 1.1"
Screen Type AMOLED Touchscreen
Resolution 126 x 294
Pixels per Inch Not disclosed
Always On No
Custom Faces Yes
Screen Protection None

Battery

Typical Usage Battery Life (Days) 15
Watch Mode Battery Life (Days) 25
GPS Mode Battery Life (Days) N/A
Charging System Magnetic
Capacity 125 mAh

Features

Notifications Receive Only
Bluetooth v5.0
Bluetooth Calling No
Bluetooth Music No
Speaker No
Microphone No
Camera No
Cellular No
Near Field Communication (NFC) No
Payments No
WiFi No
Voice Command Alexa
Memory None
Sensors Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Heart Rate Monitor (HRM), Pulse Oximeter (SpO2)
Tracking Blood Oxygen Level, Calories, Distance, Fitness Level, Heart Rate, Menstrual Cycle, Sleep, Steps, Stress, Swimming, VO2 Max
Sport Modes 11
Warranty 12 Months

Summary

Unique Features Alexa voice assistant
Advantages Good price for specs
15 day battery life
Good quality screen
Good fitness and sports apps
Disadvantages Cannot respond to notifications, no emoji support
No GPS
No app store with third-party apps
No NFC or payment capability
Verdict Nearly identical to the popular Mi Band 5 but with a blood oxygen sensor and Alexa voice assistant. Nice screen, good battery life and adequate fitness and health functions. Excellent buy overall.

Published: January 26, 2021

Amazfit Band 5 - WatchSmarty
Amazfit Band 5

The Amazfit Band 5 is nearly identical to the popular Mi Band 5 but with a blood oxygen sensor and Alexa voice assistant. Excellent buy overall.

Product SKU: Amazfit Band 5

Product Brand: Amazfit

Product Currency: USD

Product Price: 35

Price Valid Until: 2023-01-01

Product In-Stock: InStock

Editor's Rating:
6.8