05-06-2021, 10:52 AM
Now that I've had a bit more time, I've compared my two smart watches now a bit more in-depth
PT = Pinetime (running Infinitime 1.0)
AF = Amazfit Band 5
In terms of features:
Telling time-
PT- Once paired up with my phone, had no issues
AF- Same, but was a complete brick until I installed their app and gave them my data.
Pedometer-
PT- Works just fine.
AF- Works just fine. I walked 2.5 miles wearing both and got the same score within 30 steps on both devices.
Heart Rate Monitor-
PT- This either needs some work or I really need to visit the hospital. Reads my heart rate all over the place but consistently above 150 BPM. Thats about what most trackers read when I'm gasping for air after a run.
AF- This seems to work much better, my idle heart rate is closer to 80-90.
Media Playback controls-
PT- Once the pinetime has been on for a while, it will disconnect from my phone and Gadgetbridge will have a really hard reconnecting until I reboot the watch. When connected, it works fine.
AF- I cannot use it, as it only works with apps I don't use.
ON PINETIME BUT NOT AMAZFIT BAND 5-
Stopwatch-
Nothing special, but it works just fine.
Navigation-
Does not work with Google Maps, not that that is a bad thing. the Infinitime docs do not say what does work with navigation tho, so that's rough.
GAMES-
I did not ask for these but they're cute and I love them.
ON AMAZFIT BUT NOT PINETIME
# A lot of this is neat, but creepy that you cannot disable it. These are certainly not all welcome features.
Calories Burned-
Neat, but I don't know how to test its accuracy
Keeps a record of your physical activity over time
I like this more than I thought I would. Their app shows me charts and graphs of my physical activity over time
Tracks sleeping patterns
This gets way too analytical for me. This watch/app has the audacity to tell me to stop staying up so late, haha
Analyzes Stress levels-
This is a made up metric based on heart rate variability over time.
Alarm Clock
nothing fancy, but seems like a standard thing to have.
Event Reminders
nothing fancy, but seems like a standard thing to have.
Find Device (Find the smartwatch if you misplace it)
Haven't needed to test this, but something like this seems pretty handy
Bunch of different Watch Faces
This is where things get fun. If Infinitime could get a companion app that lets me install custom watch faces, that'd be amazing.
Set exercise goals
This is a good fitness thing, it lets you set goals like "walk 5000 steps per day", etc.
Weather-
I also didn't realize how handy this would be.
general better integration for Android notifications-
This watch can get notifications for incoming phone calls, texts, etc. I personally haven't used this but I like the idea. Wouldn't mind seeing this kind of integration on Pinetime (Hopefully with Pinephone)
In comparison, I got the Pinetime for $25(+20ish for shipping), and the Amazfit Band 5 for $35(Free shipping Amazon). I'm betting the Amazfit is sold so cheap for its feature set because it's subsidized by Amazon Alexa and whoever else it sells my data to.
PT = Pinetime (running Infinitime 1.0)
AF = Amazfit Band 5
In terms of features:
Telling time-
PT- Once paired up with my phone, had no issues
AF- Same, but was a complete brick until I installed their app and gave them my data.
Pedometer-
PT- Works just fine.
AF- Works just fine. I walked 2.5 miles wearing both and got the same score within 30 steps on both devices.
Heart Rate Monitor-
PT- This either needs some work or I really need to visit the hospital. Reads my heart rate all over the place but consistently above 150 BPM. Thats about what most trackers read when I'm gasping for air after a run.
AF- This seems to work much better, my idle heart rate is closer to 80-90.
Media Playback controls-
PT- Once the pinetime has been on for a while, it will disconnect from my phone and Gadgetbridge will have a really hard reconnecting until I reboot the watch. When connected, it works fine.
AF- I cannot use it, as it only works with apps I don't use.
ON PINETIME BUT NOT AMAZFIT BAND 5-
Stopwatch-
Nothing special, but it works just fine.
Navigation-
Does not work with Google Maps, not that that is a bad thing. the Infinitime docs do not say what does work with navigation tho, so that's rough.
GAMES-
I did not ask for these but they're cute and I love them.
ON AMAZFIT BUT NOT PINETIME
# A lot of this is neat, but creepy that you cannot disable it. These are certainly not all welcome features.
Calories Burned-
Neat, but I don't know how to test its accuracy
Keeps a record of your physical activity over time
I like this more than I thought I would. Their app shows me charts and graphs of my physical activity over time
Tracks sleeping patterns
This gets way too analytical for me. This watch/app has the audacity to tell me to stop staying up so late, haha
Analyzes Stress levels-
This is a made up metric based on heart rate variability over time.
Alarm Clock
nothing fancy, but seems like a standard thing to have.
Event Reminders
nothing fancy, but seems like a standard thing to have.
Find Device (Find the smartwatch if you misplace it)
Haven't needed to test this, but something like this seems pretty handy
Bunch of different Watch Faces
This is where things get fun. If Infinitime could get a companion app that lets me install custom watch faces, that'd be amazing.
Set exercise goals
This is a good fitness thing, it lets you set goals like "walk 5000 steps per day", etc.
Weather-
I also didn't realize how handy this would be.
general better integration for Android notifications-
This watch can get notifications for incoming phone calls, texts, etc. I personally haven't used this but I like the idea. Wouldn't mind seeing this kind of integration on Pinetime (Hopefully with Pinephone)
In comparison, I got the Pinetime for $25(+20ish for shipping), and the Amazfit Band 5 for $35(Free shipping Amazon). I'm betting the Amazfit is sold so cheap for its feature set because it's subsidized by Amazon Alexa and whoever else it sells my data to.