Amazfit has quietly pushed a lot of sport-watch DNA into a sub‑$200 package with the new Active Max — a large, bright AMOLED watch that promises marathon‑level battery life and a suite of training tools that usually live on pricier Garmins and Apple Watches.
The headline numbers are hard to ignore: a 1.5‑inch 480×480 AMOLED that can spike to 3,000 nits, a 658 mAh cell rated for up to 25 days of typical use (13 days with heavy use in some marketing materials), and support for more than 160 sports modes. Amazfit is selling that combo for about €169.90 / £169 / $170, and it goes on sale December 30, 2025.
Built to keep going
If you want a simple reason this watch matters, it’s endurance. At 39.5–56 g depending on whether you include the strap (most coverage lists 39.5 g without strap), the Active Max avoids feeling like a brick while packing a battery more commonly found in dedicated outdoor devices. Amazfit quotes up to 64 hours of continuous GPS tracking and roughly two hours to charge — figures that, if they hold up in real life, make the Active Max a solid choice for long runs, multi‑day hikes or people who hate daily charging.
The case is aluminium alloy with strengthened glass rather than sapphire, and the watch is rated to 5 ATM. Two pronounced side buttons and a minimal bezel around the flush AMOLED give it a purposeful, sporty look rather than trying to be a fashion statement.
Fitness and recovery where it counts
Amazfit has loaded the watch with training and recovery features: automatic detection for many workouts (including strength rep counting), automatic heart‑rate zone detection, a BioCharge energy metric to estimate your daily readiness, HRV and sleep analysis, SpO2 tracking and alerts for abnormal readings. Post‑workout summaries show training load and recovery status in the Zepp app, and the watch can share data with platforms you might already use like Strava, adidas Running and Google Fit.
That emphasis on real training data — not just step counts — is what positions the Active Max as a Garmin rival for people who don’t want to pay Garmin prices. If you care more about ecosystem friction than battery life, remember Zepp OS is Amazfit’s own platform; it’s cross‑platform but not as tightly integrated with iPhone as watchOS. (That’s part of why some users prefer the deep pairing Apple offers on its devices — see coverage of Apple’s changing watch sync policies for context.) Apple to Disable iPhone–Apple Watch Wi‑Fi Sync in EU as DMA Deadline Looms
Maps, music and sensible extras
A standout for the price is offline navigation: topographic maps, contour maps and ski‑resort maps are available on the watch itself, so you can navigate routes without a phone in your pocket. That makes the Active Max especially interesting for trail runners and backcountry skiers who want basic topo navigation at a fraction of the usual price.
There’s 4 GB of onboard storage for music and podcasts, Bluetooth 5.3, a built‑in mic and speaker for calls, and NFC for contactless payments in supported regions. Amazfit also bundles an AI coach feature in the Zepp app — it’s designed to give guided plans and adapt training based on your metrics. That’s part of a broader trend of bringing more intelligent navigation and coaching to mobile devices and services; for example, phone navigation is getting conversational AI helpers, which changes how we expect devices and maps to interact on the go. Google Maps gets Gemini: A Conversational AI Copilot for Navigation
Where it trims corners
For the money you do accept a few compromises. Zepp OS delivers cross‑platform compatibility but can feel less seamless than native phone/watch pairings. Materials are solid but not premium — strengthened glass instead of sapphire — and there’s no Wi‑Fi on many models. Availability of NFC payments and region‑specific features varies (EMEA often gets Zepp Pay support), and Amazfit’s performance claims will need independent testing to confirm things like the 25‑day battery life in everyday use.
Who should consider it
If battery life, offline maps and a strong set of training metrics are your priorities, the Active Max packs an unusually complete feature set for ~€170. It’s especially appealing for runners and outdoor athletes who want long runtimes and route navigation without paying flagship prices. If you’re embedded in an ecosystem that prizes seamless pairing or want premium materials and advanced smartwatch apps, a more expensive device like the Apple Watch or higher‑end Garmin might still win out.
Amazfit’s tactic is familiar: deliver the measurements that matter for training and recovery, then undercut the price. For casual users who want a bright screen and long battery life, the Active Max will be hard to ignore. For devotees of polished smartwatch ecosystems, it’s a tempting budget compromise — but not a full replacement.
Price and availability: the Amazfit Active Max is available now from Amazfit’s store and select retailers, priced around €169.90 / £169 / $170 and shipping from December 30, 2025.