What's The Average Lifespan Of Amazfit Smartwatches?

It's hard to say no to Amazfit smartwatches that offer more expensive models' features for as little as $70. Generally, the hardware in most affordable smartwatches can last a few years, but the bigger issue is software support. With Amazfit, you get about two to three years of updates (depending on the model), which isn't bad for a cheap wearable. But will the hardware stay alive until the support runs out? What's the average lifespan of an Amazfit smartwatch?

According to online users, Amazfit can be hit or miss. While the average lifespan is about three to four years, there's quite a lot of variation you can expect. For instance, one Redditor's experience is particularly telling: their Amazfit GTR 3 Pro barely lasted a year, but they also say their Amazfit Verge Lite is still functional despite being released in 2018. The same person stuck with the brand and reported that their T-Rex 2 smartwatch logged three years. Another Amazfit fan had an eerily similar experience: their Amazfit Neo bit the dust after a year and a half, but both the Verge Lite and GTS 4 Mini held on for three years or more.

There are outliers, including one user who saw his watch fail at the ten-month mark and another who held onto his for seven years. For the price, that's actually not half bad, and if you're lucky enough to fall into the average, you'll probably get at least three years out of your device. But what if it dies early? Well, it seems like overkill to complain about an 80-buck watch.

Just as the lifespan can swing from one extreme to another, so do the issues. A handful of users complained that the clock face (the top portion) came apart on their Amazfit Bip watches after exactly two years. The solution was simply to superglue the watch back together and go on with their day. Although it's not a clear pattern, some touchscreens can be dodgy, as shown by numerous people reporting either outright failure or a loss of responsiveness.

A more common pain point seems to be the buttons. For example, a proud user of an Active 2 Round is still rocking it despite both top buttons kicking the bucket, while another returned the watch when the top button failed after ten months. A truly unlucky person had button problems with both the GTR 4 and the Amazfit Bip6. In the best-case scenario, you'll have to contend with functional buttons that get a bit unresponsive at times.

Overall, getting a few years out of a cheap smartwatch is perfectly fine. The unfortunate trade-off with Amazfit is the lack of consistency between products, likely because of questionable quality control. Of course, cashing out a bit extra for a Google or Samsung smartwatch may hurt your budget a bit more, but chances are, you'll save your sanity and get a smoother experience. With both of these popular brands, you get longer software support (5 years in Samsung's case) and more robust hardware. So, what will it be? Saving money or saving your sanity?