Huami has announced the newest addition to its lineup of Amazfit smartwatch fitness trackers, which are generally less expensive than popular counterparts from Garmin and Fitbit. The Amazfit Band 5 has typical fitness tracker features, such as a pedometer and heart-rate monitor, plus more advanced offerings like a blood oxygen saturation monitor and Amazon Alexa functions, all for $45.
There are a sampling of Huami-branded features that take a high-tech approach to health management. The watch’s BioTracker 2 heart rate monitor audits your resting heart rate and heart rate zones, and will alert you when your heart rate gets too high, according to a statement from Huami. OxygenBeats measures your blood oxygen saturation. The PAI, or Personal Activity Intelligence Assessment System, will interpret your daily heart rate into a score you can use to determine how much activity you need to stay healthy. When used with Bluetooth and “power-saving technologies,” Huami says the watch can last 15 days between charges.
The watch is packed with plenty more useful bells and whistles, like a sleep tracker and stress monitor. It can also be used for non-fitness tasks -- its Amazon Alexa capability means you can use the watch to set timers, make smart home commands, check notifications and more.
Huami has made some big promises for a smart watch with such a low price tag. If you want to test whether the Amazfit Band 5 lives up to Huami’s claims, you can buy it today on Amazon in the US for $45. The device will hit other markets in October. We previously reviewed the Amazfit Bip S, which we gave an 80 and noted it did a lot well for its price. The Amazfit series isn’t without its tradeoffs, but does seem to be a cheaper and useful alternative to other fitness trackers out there.
