Huami came into the spotlight as the maker of Xiaomi’s Mi Band wearable. It went public last year (even before Xiaomi), and has a number of really cool wearables under its own Amazfit lineup. I was using its Amazfit Pace (Chinese version) for the past one year and recently shifted to its newer brother, the Amazfit Verge. Despite its basic appearance, the Verge clearly is an updated model in the lineup, coming in a refined design with better features. I have spent a considerable amount of time with the review unit (maybe a bit more than what I had imagined before writing its review), so I have a thorough understanding of how it performs in your daily use case scenarios.
Amazfit Verge Review: Design
Amazfit Verge may not be the best looking circular smartwatch around, but it sure is a good looking option. If you are in the search for a watch that’s smart, compact, well built, and feature-rich, the Verge won’t disappoint. 
The watch has a very snug fit and the compact size ensures that it stays in place throughout the day. The watch case is made out of reinforced plastic, so nothing fancy like the ceramic body on the Amazfit Pace. However, the plastic is of good quality and in more than a month, I haven’t got any major scratches or wear and tear marks on the device. Personally, the design highlight for me is the way the straps connect to the main body of the watch. While the straps are standard and swappable via a spring mechanism, they connect to the watch seamlessly. On first glance, you’d easily mistake that it’s a one piece design. The silicone staps does not feel cheap and in fact, I find it of better quality than the ones I have on the Pace.
What I have got with me is the black model. It comes with a dual tone finish (Black+ Light Grey) and looks pretty premium. The orange accents on the top and the orange power button (there’s just one button like the Pace) make the watch’s design pretty unique. However, Huami has ensured that the overall design is subtle and nothing flashy. So, the watch should blend well with all your attires.
There’s a 1.3-inch OLED (43mm) display on the front. Note that this is a full circular display with a pretty high 360 x 360 resolution, so no black bars at the bottom. I’ll talk about the display in detail in the next section.
There’s a speaker on the left and power button and microphone on the right. After reading this, I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that the Amazfit Verge can make and receive phone calls via the connected smartphone. The bottom features pins for charging and the heart rate sensor.
The watch is IP68 certified, so it’s water and dust proof, however, note that you can’t take the watch out for swimming or even shower. In my personal experience, Amazfit watches are built to last. So, any kind of accidental exposure to such an environment doesn’t really break the device. However, it’s best to be safe than sorry.
I have seen that a lot of people don’t like the compact design on the Verge. They call it plasticky and basic. I had my doubts as well, especially after seeing the initial pictures of the device. However, the design has grown on to me. I like that it’s non-intrusive and compact. It’s just 46 grams so I really don’t feel weighed down by the watch. At the same time, it feels premium, has all the bells and whistles of a premium smartwatch and has a unique look.
I can wear it for an entire day without noticing it in my hand and I feel that’s how fitness-centric smartwatches should be. Watches like the Stratos and Galaxy Watch are the ones you show off. And the Verge is the one that stays with you all day long, keeping a close eye on your fitness and health.
Amazfit Verge Review: Display
I’m dedicating a separate section for the display of the watch because that’s the biggest part of any smartwatch. One thing is certain, the Amazfit Verge has got the best display in the entire Amazfit range. The OLED display is really beautiful with rich colors and stellar touch response.
Considering how the Pace, BIP, and Stratos come with transreflective displays, the colors on this watch are refreshing to look at. However, outdoor visibility takes a hit. You’ll make out time and maybe a few other details under direct sunlight, but it can’t compete with the displays on its older siblings. Personally, I’m not someone who spends a lot of my time outdoors, directly under the sun, so I’m pretty satisfied with the display on the Verge.
Having an OLED display has a lot of advantages. Apart from the rich colors, you also have a low power Always on Display. I hate seeing a lot of smartwatches that are rendered useless in the display off mode. This is where the AOD comes into the picture. The Amazfit Verge has an option where you can enable always on display. This will keep time on the screen all the time. It changes according to the watch face, which is pretty neat. Despite the slightly increased battery usage, it’s definitely useful in your day to day life.
Apart from the power button to switch on the display, you can also double tap the screen to light it up. Or just lift your wrist to reveal the watch face. The overall experience is smooth and flawless.
Amazfit Verge Review: Usage
I’ll take you through the Verge’s UI before I start talking about the watch’s features in details.
If you have used an Amazfit Watch before, you’ll be familiar with the Verge’s UI as well. You can double tap the screen to wake and there are nearly 10 watch faces pre-installed. Among them, there are three to four watch faces which are really cool and I personally have been using these special watch faces throughout my review period. There are some funky options as well, so if you are feeling particularly bold one day, you can try out these watch faces which have unique animations and colors.
Note that, the watch comes with default AOD turned off. You have to manually go in the settings to turn it on.
A simple click of the power button or double tap on the screen turns on the display. You are greeted with the watch face up front.
Swipe from left to right on the screen and you’ll meet the XiaoAI assistant. For a non-Chinese user, it’s of practically no use. Also, you need your phone paired to use this feature. In the assistant menu, there’s your calendar too. Swiping from right to left from the watch face takes you to the assigned menus.
I have personally set my pedometer counter to come up with a single right swipe. After the assigned menus, you’ll meet the app drawer. Given that this is the Chinese version of the app, it took me a while to get used to the app icons. But looking at the icons, you get a fair idea of what’s inside.
You can always use Google translate (camera mode) to get an idea about the apps inside the drawer. To make your life easier, this is the order of the apps.
- HR (Heart Rate)
- Activities (Outdoor running, Outdoor walking, Outdoor cycling, Treadmill running, Indoor cycling, Elliptical, Hiking, Wild running, Skiing, Tennis, Football). Note that each mode is customized to its specific activity. For example, in football mode, there are options like first half, second half and so on. The same applies to each sports activity mode in the app.
- Sleep
- Activity Stats
- Phone / Call
- Alipay
- Bus Card
- MIJIA (Smart Home)
- Music
- Weather
- Alarm Clock
- Timer
- Stopwatch (can run in background)
- Schedule / Calender
- Compass
- Himalaya App (Podcast Player)
- Maps
- Mi TV
- Settings
I had an issue syncing my Himalaya Podcast app on the phone with the watch. I am hoping a future update will fix the issue.
From home/watch face, you can swipe down to access your notifications. App notifications from apps like Twitter, Slack, Whatsapp show in detail. However, you can’t reply to notifications. Something like a quick reply feature seen on Fitbit Versa would have been handy, but unfortunately, you’ll have to access your phone if you want to revert back to the text.
You can drag any notification to the right to dismiss it. Or just drag to the left to silence that app. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a dismiss all option for the notification menu and if you have twitter or WhatsApp notifications turned on, you’ll often find the place filled with a lot of notifications.
Now, let’s take a look at some of the watch’s features in detail.
I have started jogging and the Amazfit Verge has been my daily companion. The pedometer on the device seems pretty accurate and it’s smart enough not to easily register false step counts.
In the outdoor running mode, the watch comes with a rich interface which shows you all the necessary information like distance traveled, average speed, total time elapsed, heart rate, and so on. In this particular mode, you can further swipe right to get more details like heart rate pattern throughout your jogging period, and even a rough map of your track.
Once you end the outdoor jogging mode (swipe left and there’s one ‘Pause’ and a ‘Finish button’ with a flag icon), you get a summary of the job with a lot of details. Since it’s all in Chinese, you’ll have a hard time figuring out the exact information, but you do get an idea of all the important details at one glance.
As for sleep tracking, it may not be the best out there but I feel it does a pretty decent job. Unlike the cheap Mi Band 3 which for some reason always thought my deep sleep wasn’t more than an hour every day, the Amazfit Watch is a bit more forgiving. Personally, I feel the watch gives you a pretty fair idea about your overall sleep, like the total time in bed, deep sleep timing, light sleep timing, time of sleep, and getting up time. It’s light and compact enough not to weigh your down in your sleep, so you actually won’t mind wearing it in bed.
The heart rate sensor on this device is one of its biggest highlights. The Verge occasionally checks your heart rate to ensure that everything is fine. In fact, if you keep your phone on the side, you’d often notice that the heart rate sensor’s green light flickers at regular intervals. This means that the watch is checking your heart rate between set intervals. As Huami explained at the time of launch, the Verge can detect unusual heart rate patterns automatically and these occasional checks are a part of that process. As for the accuracy of the heart rate shown on the watch, it’s pretty good. There have been one or two cases where I was jogging and the heart rate was under 80 (which was pretty surprising). However, I realized that the watch had a loose fit and that could be the reason why the HR was inaccurate. Once I re-strapped my watch firmly on to my wrist, the HR monitor was back to normal.
Coming to the phone call experience, it’s pretty neat. As I mentioned above, the watch has its own loudspeaker and microphone, so you can make calls using the paired smartphone. The phone app has options like call logs, contacts, and even a dial pad. Once you make or receive a call, you have the option to mute, increase/ decrease volume, end it, or even transfer it to the smartphone. The loudspeaker is decent and you can hear the other person if you are in a quiet environment. However, the microphone isn’t that great and unless you are loud, the person on the other side is going to have a hard time understanding what’s being said. But this feature does come in handy when you are driving or want to quickly take a call without accessing your smartphone.
Rest of the features work well. I like the fact that the stopwatch runs in the background and you don’t have to keep it turned on at all times. The alarm clock works as it should and the speaker on the device is decent enough to wake you up every day.
Overall, the features of the Amazfit Watch work as described.
Amazfit Verge Review: Battery Life
I wasn’t expecting anything exceptional with the watch’s battery life given that it features an OLED display. I have turned on the AOD since I hate seeing a blank black screen on my watch at any moment. Plus, the brightness is set to automatic as it does a pretty decent job adjusting the backlight by itself.
With daily runs for like an hour, always connected smartphone with a lot of notifications, limited use of its music controls, and occasional sleep tracking, the Amazfit Verge survived for 3 days on average. I didn’t find it necessary to squeeze more out of the watch since I hate to keep features turned off just to save on the battery. It defeats the very purpose of getting the watch.
I feel 3 days is pretty decent for this watch as what comes next is its fast charging capability. You can easily get the watch charged from 4% to 100% in just one hour! In fact, if you just keep it plugged in for 15 minutes, the watch charges up to 30-35%! That’s good enough to get me through the entire day with all the features running.
So despite the average battery life, the fast charging on the Amazfit Verge definitely makes it an easy to use everyday smartwatch.
Amazfit Verge Review: Conclusion
When I decided to get the watch for review, I was a bit skeptical. The basic design in the pictures made it look like a cheap kid’s watch, and the features were what you’d usually get on any other smartwatch. Further, the watch was in Chinese, which was going to be a hindrance in everyday use.
However, the Verge has definitely grown on to me over the course of time. I love the compact and lightweight design and in real life, the black version looks pretty neat and premium. There’s nothing cheap about this device and it goes with practically any attire. Despite the less than impressive outdoor viewing experience, the OLED display on the watch is beautiful on most occasions. The colors are rich and the text is crisp. The UI on board is smooth and responsive. The features work as described and even the connection with my smartwatch is lag free which means I get all of my notifications in real time.
What I miss is Wear OS, which would have made this watch perfect with additional app support. Also, the XiaoAi assitant is useless for me. I would be much better off with Google Assistant on board.
It’s definitely an upgrade over the Amazfit BIP and rivals the Ticwatch E which comes with WearOS on board. If you are looking for a TicWatch alternative, this is definitely worth checking out.
In short, I would definitely recommend the Amazfit Verge if you are getting it for somewhere around $150.
Now that the English version is out, I don’t find a lot of competitors that are going to be better than the Verge in its price segment.
