Amazfit Bip U: A mix of affordability, utility and functional design

While mobile phones have negatively impacted sales of wristwatches, these have also ensured wristwatches are getting reinvented into truly smart gadgets. From smartwatches by Seiko in the 1990s to the latest by Apple and Samsung, these have come a long way, both in terms of design and technology. One of the latest to have been launched in India is the Amazfit Bip U (made by Huami, part of Xiaomi). In fact, on its launch day itself on Amazon, the Amazfit Bip U became the highest seller product in the wearable category.

So, what worked for this product?

Design: Most square smartwatches have a design similar to that of Apple Watch, and the Bip U isn’t any different. Without getting into the ‘why mimic’ or ‘why copy’ debate, this design is very functional. The Bip U has a large 1.43-inch screen (320×302 pixel resolution), making visual display very clear. It also has four built-in watch faces, but you can replace two of the built-in watch faces from a selection of 40-plus online watch faces in the Zepp app. This can mean a new design on your wrist every day for about two months. At 31 gm, it’s very light.

But while the screen looks good, its strap looks very flimsy.

Usage: The Bip U is water-resistant up to 50 metres, so you can wear it for swimming. In conjunction with the Zepp app, you can record walking distance, speed, heart rate changes, calories burned, and almost all data you need while exercising. While the Bip U uses the mobile phone GPS, the Bip U Pro has a built-in GPS.

Smartwatches like these aren’t medical devices, and shouldn’t be used as one, but these offer you basic data on blood-oxygen level, stress levels, sleep quality monitoring, and heart rate tracking and so on. The Bip U also has a menstrual cycle tracker, which records menstrual and ovulation periods, and sends alerts before these arrive.

Where it truly stands out is battery life—while using almost all its functionalities, the battery life on my test unit lasted six days. This is much better than even Apple Watch, which needs to be charged every second day.

Affordability: The Bip U is priced Rs 3,999, which makes it quite affordable, and that’s perhaps why this product is seeing good demand. It’s a mix of affordability, utility and a functional design. I wish it had a better-quality strap, though.

• Estimated street price: Rs 3,999