The Amazfit PACE smartwatch is a GPS running watch with a heart rate monitor. The device just launched in November 2016. Find out how if the Amazfit PACE smartwatch is worth the price today.
What is the Amazfit PACE?
Huami just launched its Amazfit PACE smartwatch in the United States. The smartwatch has been available (and popular) throughout China for the past few months after launching earlier in 2016.
The PACE is part smartwatch, part fitness tracker (of course, the same can be said about most devices on the market today).
However, this is targeted specifically at the fitness market. It comes with features like GPS tracking and a continuous heart rate monitor, for example. You can also check your notifications from the PACE’s always-on display.
But where the PACE truly shines is in its ability to deliver new notification to you, including things you don’t find on other fitness trackers or smartwatches.
The PACE will track things like the speed and cadence of your run, for example, as well as calorie burning, elevation, and altitude.
Active fitness enthusiasts will also appreciate the device’s durability. It comes with an IP67 rating and a ceramic bezel that prevents it from getting dinged up during your run. It also supports wireless headphones and comes with 2.4GB of usable onboard storage – so you can leave your phone at home during your next run.
Surprisingly, the smartwatch can last 11 whole days on a single battery charge (according to Amazfit). However, if you’re using the device’s full feature set (including GPS and heart rate tracking), then battery life drops to 36 hours.
If you’ve never heard of Amazfit, then that’s okay. They’ve released a number of popular devices throughout the past year, including the Moonbeam, Equator, and ARC fitness trackers.
They’re the team behind Xiaomi’s budget trackers. Globally, Amazfit is the world’s second largest wearables manufacturer. The PACE is the company’s third wearable device.
Amazfit PACE Pricing
The Amazfit PACE is available for $129 USD through Cyber Monday 2016.
After Cyber Monday, the price will bump up to $159. You can purchase the smartwatch in red or black colors.
You can exclusively buy the smartwatch through the official Amazfit website here: https://www.amazfit.com/shop/pace?variant=25112
Amazfit PACE Features
The Amazfit PACE comes with all of the following key features:
-Run Tracking: Track your runs and capture data like your pace, heart rate, calories, distance, time, speed, cadence, maximum/average moving pace, maximum/average moving speed, maximum/average cadence, altitude, elevation gain, elevation loss, and minimum/maximum altitude.
-Works Without a Phone: Leave your phone at home on your next run. Amazfit lets you connect wireless headphones to the smartwatch to enjoy music playback. The smartwatch has 2.4GB of onboard storage you can load up with your tunes.
-GPS: Track your route and distance with built-in GPS (again, no need to bring your phone on the run).
-Notifications: Receive all of the notifications you would expect on a smartwatch, including incoming calls, messages, emails, and notifications from other apps.
-Automatic Heart Rate Monitoring: The Amazfit PACE automatically tracks your heart rate throughout the day and will continuously monitor it during a workout.
-Ceramic Bezel: The bezel is durable and resistant to scratching, according to Amazfit.
-IP67: IP67 certification means that the smartwatch is resistant to dust, rain, splashing, and accidental submersion (it’s not officially waterproof).
Amazfit PACE Tech Specs
The Amazfit PACE comes with all of the following tech specs:
-Display Size: 1.34” 320×300 resolution
-Display Type: Transflective LCDC
-Weight: 1.9 oz (54.5g)
-Processor: 1.2 GHz Core
-Storage: 4GB total (2.4GB available)
-RAM: 512MB
-Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0 /BLE + Wi-Fi
-Battery Life: 36 hours (with continuous heat rate monitoring + GPS), 5 days of regular use (with the GPS enabled) / 11 days of non-tracking use
-Water Rating: IP67 water and dust-resistance certified
-Heart Rate Sensor: Optical (PPG)
-Tracking: GPS + GLONASS
What Do Customers Have to Say About the Amazfit PACE?
The Amazfit PACE has been popular throughout China since launching earlier in 2016. Today, the Amazfit PACE is well-reviewed by both Chinese and western users, with reviews mentioning all of the following pros and cons:
Pros
- Excellent tracking (especially at this price range)
- Tracks features you wouldn’t expect from other smartwatches and fitness trackers, including speed, cadence, altitude, elevation gain, etc.
- Very reasonably-priced ($159)
- Excellent battery life (36 hours to 11 days, depending on your usage)
Cons
- Battery life drops to 36 hours when using the GPS + continuous heart rate monitoring, although Amazfit frequently mentions its “11 day” battery life
- We don’t have much information about the long-term durability of the device, since it’s a relatively new device
About Amazfit
Amazfit is a China and US-based wearable technology company known for its PACE, ARC, Moonbeam, and Equator devices.
Amazfit is owned by Huami and is the exclusive wearables provider for Chinese electronics giant Xiaomi. Amazfit began its partnership with Xiaomi in 2014. Amazfit and Xiaomi have sold over 25 million Mi Bands around the world, which is why Amazfit calls itself the world’s second largest wearables manufacturer.
Huami is a privately-held company based in Beijing and Mountain View, California.
Amazfit PACE Review Summary
The Amazfit PACE is one of the few smartwatches in this price range that comes with all of the above features built-in. Most sub-$150 smartwatches are very basic, and few have GPS support.
The Amazfit PACE lets you leave the phone at home thanks to its built-in GPS and onboard music playback (through wireless headphones). Plus, you can track things like distance and time as well as unique things like your cadence and elevation gain.
Overall, the Amazfit PACE is a well-reviewed device in China that is finally making its way stateside.
You can get it for a special discount for Cyber Monday 2016, but after that, the price will rise to $160. Either way, the Amazfit PACE is a very strong device for this price range.
