Exceptional value for money
The Amazfit Active 2 is one of the best sub-£100 smartwatches you can buy right now.
Good overall smartwatch experience
Solid fitness tracking performance
Full mapping support on a sub-£100 smartwatch
Silver bezel feels a bit cheap
Performance not buttery smooth for all features
Misses NFC payments from Active 2 Premium
Key Features
Trusted Reviews IconReview Price: £99
Built-in GPSDespite the sub-£100 price tag, the Amazfit Active 2 comes with built-in GPS for improved exercise tracking accuracy.
Long battery lifeThe Amazfit Active 2 can last up to 10 days before needing a top-up.
160+ sports modesThe Amazfit Active 2 can track over 160 kinds of exercises.
Introduction
The Amazfit Active 2 is the follow-up smartwatch to the Amazfit Active, which sees not only a change in look, but also how much it’ll cost to get one on your wrist.
What was previously a sub-£150 smartwatch is now a sub-£100 one, but that doesn’t mean you’re getting shortchanged on features. The Active 2 is packed with smarts to track your fitness, including one you’d typically have to pay more for.
The non-premium Active 2 tested here lacks a few features of the premium Active 2, but it’s not enough to make it feel like you’re getting an inferior budget smartwatch.
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Design and screen
Now features a rounded design
Includes smaller AMOLED display
Waterproof up to 50 metres
As mentioned, there’s an Active 2 premium with the non-premium version mainly missing out on tougher sapphire crystal glass to protect the display against scratches, and a leather strap.
Amazfit Active 2
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The Active 2 sees Zepp Health move from a square design to a round one that’s a touch bigger. Its 43mm case still makes it a pretty diminutive watch to wear, which means it should suit those with skinnier wrists.
It’s a light watch too, weighing just 29.5g, so if you don’t like a bulky smartwatch, you’ll like the lack of heft here. The case is made of polymer and silver stainless steel, and I’d say it’s probably the part that I like the least about the design. I’d have preferred sticking closer to the all-black look on the original Active that seemed more understated yet sleek.
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That silver bezel surrounds a 1.32-inch, 466 x 466 resolution AMOLED touchscreen display, with just a slither of black bezel circling it. It’s a pretty bright, vibrant screen, though I did need to turn it up to near full brightness when using it in brighter outdoor light. The colours are a touch oversaturated, so it’s by no means an impeccable screen, but swiping and tapping feel nice and responsive.
Amazfit Active 2 screen
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There are now two physical buttons instead of the one, which I think is a good thing and does generally make interacting with the Active 2, especially for workouts, a lot more intuitive.
With the non-premium version you’re getting the pick of a red or black silicone strap that’s finicky to put on. There’s a pretty standard buckle with a strap that needs to be tucked underneath. This can create quite a tight fit and is a nuisance to take it on and off, though it’s all in aid of ensuring a reliable fit for monitoring.
Amazfit Active 2 strap
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It offers the same level of waterproofing as the first Active, so it has a 5 ATM rating, making it safe for showering and swimming, as long as you don’t go deeper than 50 metres, which I imagine most people won’t.
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Performance and software
Works with Android and iOS
Runs on ZeppOS 4.5
Zepp Pay only on premium Active 2
Zepp Health uses its own operating system, ZeppOS, which remains compatible with Android and iOS. I’ve used it with both smartphone platforms, though there are some features you’ll miss out on pairing to one over the other. For iOS users, you lose the ability to perform Bluetooth-connected calls, and for Android, you’re missing out on being able to remotely take smartphone photos.
Amazfit Active 2
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With the premium and non-premium Active 2, the big omission is Zepp Pay, which lets you make contactless payments. What you do get is the ability to view notifications, control music playing on your smartphone, view weather reports, and use features like Zepp’s voice controls and AI-powered voice assistant. You also get access to Zepp Health’s watch face and app storefronts.
The Active 2 runs on the latest ZeppOS 4.5, which brings richer notification support and in general makes using the smartwatch for communicating a bit slicker. While the screen is small, reading and dealing with notifications is largely stress-free. The user interface is pretty clean apart from a widget feed that can feel a touch cramped on the small screen.
Amazfit Active 2 widgets
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Crucially, Zepp Health has recently updated its companion smartphone app, which was a bit of a mess previously. It is now more polished and does a better job of putting your health and fitness stats front and centre.
The app storefront does include third-party apps, but this isn’t a Google Play or Apple App Store situation. You’ll spy apps for things like controlling your Sonos system or GoPro, but there are also a lot of native apps here, some free and some paid. It’s good to see at least that Zepp Health is offering app store access on one of its cheapest smartwatches, which means you can enhance its powers.
Amazfit Active 2 apps
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Tracking and features
Over 160 workout modes
Built-in GPS and free full mapping
Offers strength training and Hyrox modes
The Active 2 sits underneath Zepp Health’s lifestyle category, which I interpret as providing a balance of workout and wellbeing features without necessarily giving you the best features Zepp has. Those are exclusive to its premium Cheetah and Falcon smartwatches.
That’s not to say you don’t get a lot here, including features I wouldn’t expect to find on a smartwatch at its sub-£100 price point. Along with 164 workout profiles, you can pair up external heart rate monitors and cycling and running power meters. You can share data with the likes of Strava and TrainingPeaks, and you have access to free offline maps and turn-by-turn navigation.
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Amazfit Active 2 navigation
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As a fitness and sleep tracker, you’ve got a dedicated widget on the watch to show off your daily steps and hours you’ve spent being active, with the option to adjust goals on the fly.
I found daily step counts were within 500 steps of another fitness tracker, though the distance covered seemed to be a few kilometres short, and calorie burn estimates were much lower, too.
Amazfit Active 2 step tracking
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For sleep, it’ll score your sleep, offer insights on your data, capture duration and sleep stages. You can also view additional information in the app to see heart rate activity and respiratory rate during that sleep.
I found much of the sleep data to be pretty consistent with the Oura Ring 4 I also took to bed. Data like sleep duration and sleep scores were similar, with the Active 2 typically taking a bit longer to detect when I’d fallen asleep. Average heart rate data was similar, as was deep sleep data, though the time registered for when I stirred and woke up were considered shorter periods compared to the Oura Ring.
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Amazfit Active 2 sleep tracking
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While the daily sleep insights do not offer anything particularly groundbreaking, they can provide useful information on why it’s good to have regular wake-up times and why naps can actually be beneficial.
There’s also Zepp Health’s PAI Health score, which relates to performing activities that increase your heart rate. The idea is to hit a score of 100, or as close as possible.
I found the Active 2 to be a pretty competent performer in when tracking sports and exercise.
When I used it for outdoor workouts like runs, the distance tracking wasn’t spot on with a dedicated, more expensive sports watch, but for things like average and calorie burn estimates, it felt a lot closer than it did for daily activity tracking.
Amazfit Active 2 exercise tracking
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For pool swims, metrics like distance tracking and pacing were very similar to those of a dedicated sports watch. Heart rate performance wasn’t fantastic, with average and maximum heart rate readings reported higher than those of a heart rate monitor. Thankfully, if you care about heart rate, you can pair Bluetooth heart rate monitors to your watch to fix that.
While the Active 2 doesn’t include any regulatory-approved health features, it will do things like continuously monitor heart rate, skin temperature, blood oxygen levels, stress and with the revamped app, uses a lot of that data to fuel its Readiness scores. These scores aim to offer insight into your energy levels for the day. Oura, certain Garmin watches, and other smartwatches offer this.
Amazfit Active 2 companion app
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I compared readiness readings across devices and on some days, those readiness scores told me the same story. On other days, the scores seemed higher on the Active 2 compared to Garmin and Oura’s scores, suggesting I was in much better shape for a busy day.
Delving into some of those individual metrics and heart rate graphs tended to tell a similar story, with average maximum and minimum readings tending to trend higher. As always, these metrics are what I’d consider guidance rather than definitively telling you how you should spend your day.
Battery life
Up to 10 days battery life
Up to 5 days in heavy usage
Takes 2 hours to charge from flat
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The Active 2 actually includes a smaller capacity battery than the last Active, and that does seem to lead to shorter overall battery life. It’s up to 10 days with typical usage, 5 days with heavy usage and up to 19 days when using its battery saver mode.
Amazfit Active 2
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I found that in heavier usage, including keeping the screen on at all times, the battery lasted around 3-4 days. Add more intensive workout and health monitoring features, and will be less than that.
If you’re not keeping that screen on and going lighter on core smartwatch, fitness and health features, you can absolutely get a week out of this watch. Maybe a bit longer. The useful battery manager mode on the watch and app tells you how much the battery has dropped since you last charged it and shows the features you can disable to push things further.
It uses a proprietary charging setup like the previous Active, and to power things up, it will take a couple of hours to get it from 0 to 100%. There’s no fast charging support mode here, but overall, while the battery numbers have dropped on paper, it never feels like the Active 2 badly underperforms on the battery front.
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Should you buy it?
You want the best value smartwatch for under £100
It’s hard to knock the Active 2 for what it offers in features and performance for less than the competition.
You want the best screen and look on sub-£100 smartwatch
While you do get an AMOLED display and generally likeable look, there’s arguably better quality displays and designs for in and around the price of the Active 2.
Final Thoughts
It’s actually quite surprising just how much the Amazfit Active 2 packs into its small body. It’s a big upgrade in features, if not necessarily one in looks in our book. If you compare it to what else you can pick up for less than £100, it’s pretty well unmatched.
No, it’s not perfect in all departments, but there’s plenty to like, and it seems to have set the bar for what a cheap smartwatch should and can be capable of doing.
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How we test
We thoroughly test every smartwatch we review. We use industry standard testing to compare features properly and we use the watch as our main device over the review period. We’ll always tell you what we find and we never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Worn as our main tracker during the testing period
Heart rate data compared against dedicated heart rate devices
FAQs
Can you make calls with the Amazfit Active 2?
Yes, you can make phone calls with the Amazfit Active 2. To make calls you need to be paired to your smartphone as the Active 2 requires being paired to your phone over Bluetooth.
How long does the Amazfit Active 2 last?
The Amazfit Active 2’s advertised battery life is up to 10 days in a typical usage scenario, 5 days with heavy usage, and up to 19 days in its battery saver mode.
Full Specs
|Amazfit Active 2 Review|
|---|---|
|UK RRP|£99|
|USA RRP|$99|
|Manufacturer|Amazfit|
|Screen Size|1.32 inches|
|IP rating|Not Disclosed|
|Waterproof|5ATM|
|Battery|270 mAh|
|Size (Dimensions)|43.9 x 9.9 x 43.9 MM|
|Weight|31.7 G|
|ASIN|B0DSPWKJW4|
|Operating System|ZeppOS 4.5|
|Release Date|2025|
|First Reviewed Date|07/03/2025|
|Colours|Black|
|GPS|No|