Amazfit Stratos review - English - The low down on fitness & sport tracking - garmin alternative?

[@JRsReviews]

MY LINKS: Follow Active JR * WEBSITE: www.activejr.com * INSTA: instagram.com/activejrofficial * FB: facebook.com/activejrofficial * KZbin: kzbin.info

[@3100032]

The best review of this in youtube so far. All i've needed to know - you've told. Big thanks

[@pungusattah]

If this could have an indoor rowing sport mode or, it could have the ability to link to a concept 2 that would be amazing

[@LuisRomeroPlasencia]

Hi, many thanks for the review. One question, on the sports tracking part, what is the App that appears in Black? Is it the same as the main App that appears in White? Or ismit something different?

[@vonyp6018]

awesome review as always

[@TechyAgent]

Hey, thanks for the comment on my page! Are you on Instagram? Or twitter? I’d love to shoot you a private message, maybe talk how we can collaborate at some future point.

[@JRsReviews]

Hey Eric, Followed you on Insta and Twitter. But here are my links MY LINKS: * WEBSITE: www.activejr.com * INSTA: instagram.com/activejrofficial * KZbin: kzbin.info * FB: facebook.com/activejrofficial

[@johnmanley4528]

Really comprehensive video. Thanks Jon. I have the Garmin VA3. I don't see enough there to convince me to get this and ditch my VA3. It seems a bit buggy, but certainly has alot of features for that price range. It looks alot more bulky that the VA3 also.

[@JRsReviews]

Thanks John. I wished I still had the VA3 to our side by side, but I think they are pretty similar size. The VA3 is a better watch due to the overall experience and app

[@johnmanley4528]

Active JR The VA3 is around 43 grams so it is a good bit lighter. But, the Stratos is definitely light compared to your 5X!

[@JRsReviews]

I need to get access to a VA3 again to a good look I think

[@cvthigpen]

I don't see ANT +, is that correct?

[@JRsReviews]

That’s correct

[@dawoodkvali4185]

Hi John, kudos for the very detailed video with all the real time data. Amazed the way you presented. Please tell me how to track gym workouts(like weight lifting) in this watch. You mentioned as it can be tracked under non GPS mode which shows accurate data on calories burnt and HR!!!. Please let me know on this as I'm very much confused whether to go with this watch or with fitbit versa(as it has dedicated gym workout tracking but no inbuilt GPS). Awaiting for your early reply!!!

[@JRsReviews]

Hi, it does not have a dedicated gym workout mode. But I suggest you use cardio mode

[@MrRichieCZ]

Hello and thanks for your review. I can tell you that your review is probably best on the YT about these watch... I have seen a lot of them because I'm waiting for my Stratos watch for Month and i still dont have them... But EN version was on E-bay for 127 USD so hopefully it will be pricefull to wait some time.

[@JRsReviews]

Thank you. It will come down in price for sure, jsut like anything

[@saschaBman]

Hi Johnny thanks for that it was very informative. One thing thou about calories . It seems like it does not count calories when I'm inactive . And if I do move it's very low calorie count is there a way to change that I am using the versa at the same time and by the time I wake up in the morning I have already done 600 calories . Inactive obviously but the stratos does not include then and I do relly in correct caloy count . Thank you s

[@anshulkamra8355]

Thanks for the review ! Any thoughts after a year ? I'm thinking of either Stratos or the VA3

[@JRsReviews]

Still a good option for the price

[@vs200712]

Very good review. With regard to indoor gym activity (HIIT, cardio, weights) which profile did you choose? I would like to capture Current HR, Max HR, Average HR, cal burnt, HR zone, time elapsed etc). Also, does the device also tracks all day HR including Resting HR? Finally, if I have Strava Premium, can I also export non GPS activities to it? Please advise.

[@Andi1zg2hr]

Best review ,deaply ,short,many argumentes...

[@JRsReviews]

Thank you very much

[@Aboulchad002]

Great review

[@JRsReviews]

Written review at www.activejr.com/amazfit-stratos-review-the-good-the-bad-budget-fitness-watch/

[@saschaBman]

Hey john thanks for the video it was very informative. One question info have .

[@quirogan]

Hi, does it provide alarms for interval training? That would be a deal breaker for me. I'd really appreciate your kind feedback!

[@beersiam2926]

Thanks for the informative review. I have a problem with the caller id when pairing with Samsung Note FE running on Oreo. It shows "unknown" instead of the caller name even though i granted all the contacts permissions. After uninstalling and reinstalling several times, it's still the same But when pairing with IPhone, it shows names flawlessly. Any advise ? Thanks a lot

[@jandeville]

Could you analyze the Amazfit Stratos 3 as well (in comparison with the stratos 2)?

[@JRsReviews]

Later down the line

[@jasonstar9825]

I have been looking forward to this. Still waiting for mine to be delivered from China!

[@JRsReviews]

Have you got an English version?

[@jasonstar9825]

They said it was yes... bought it via AliExpress

[@JRsReviews]

Let me know how you get on with it

[@jasonstar9825]

Active JR sure will do!

[@buksi771]

hi :) i would like to ask you what are the main differences between Startos and Garmin Forerunner 235? i am looking for a watch for half marathons and some easier trail runnings (10-15km with max. 500m elevation) and they have a very similar price tag (at least in my country) and i'm a bit stuck which is the better choice...and I'm a bit worried that maybe the Stratos can look too big on a girl's hand...thanks for helping me :)

[@johnnyboy4711]

golden cheetah i have it plz expand on this

[@zacharycatledge]

I have Bluetooth connection between the watch and phone problems with my note 9 I can be right by the watch with phone and it will keep disconnecting did u have these problems?

[@vedi85]

thanks bro for the review. in my android i only suffer 1 time that i need to factory reset to reconnect my amazfit stratos. maybe thats the bug on IOS. they need to update the app fast or people gonna leave their product

[@JRsReviews]

Maybe it was just an iPhone thing. I can say since the latest update the other day, (after the video completion) it’s not happened since

[@PoetWithPace]

wonder if they would send me a freebie? Although the new Fenix Garmin would be a nice freebie also ;-)

[@ВукашинСтошић]

Can you create your own interval workouts for running?

[@medwatt]

Your max cycling speed at 11:22 was 190.3km/h. What sort of bicycle do you ride ?

[@JRsReviews]

I did look into that and it was an error with the speed sensor data

[@adonisio1]

I have heard many times that Stratos is too big and bulky but in your video, it looks alright on your wrist, maybe you have a big wrist?

[@SebastianMartinez-qi9iy]

this watch doesn't calories while I'm not working out, If I go for a bike ride early in the morning, it gives me 500 burned just for the ride. But when I check my total calories burned at the end of the day is something like 600 calories total, what a disappointment. I have reset to factory settings, review my weigh and height are accurate and I have made sure the the watch it has the continuous heart rate feature on. Does anyone has a similar issue and has being able to resolve it?

[@GeorgeTJ]

What screen protector would you recommend for Stratos?

[@yozzaa]

Just a heads up for those invested in the Xiaomi ecosystem, if you buy the International English Version you cannot use it with Mi Fit or the Mi Home App. Won't matter for most users but those like me who thought this would have equal features to the chinese version, well it doesn't.

[@JRsReviews]

But it does have a dedicated app?

[@yozzaa]

Unsure what you mean exactly? As I understand it...International Version: Amazfit App and Strava. Chinese Version: Amazfit App, Google Fit, Mi Fit, NO Strava and lastly compatibility with Mi Home app to control your Xiaomi smart devices, (and of course its all in chinese unless you flash a translated rom) .

[@yozzaa]

Which in my case Xiaomi smart devices means all my lighting , a robot vacuum cleaner, short throw laser projector, mi box, rice cooker, smart plugs, smart scales and a kettle. Which is mainly why I'm a bit miffed.

[@JRsReviews]

That’s not great. They need to try and go with one app solution

[@yozzaa]

Yep and thanks for your review, gave me a definitive insight at the capabilities of the International version as opposed to a lot of the garbled info I've been finding prior.

[@cesareolivieri7228]

why is it so, that the burning calories and distance is constantly on 0?

[@chebokli]

Hi, would you be so kind and make a comment on altitude/elevation tracking performance? I have major problems with that. While in let's say Running activity, or Climbing, altitude seems to be pretty good, but after the activity is ended, data on the phone app is totally wrong. Like Max is few hundred meters higher than reality, Altitude gain higher, sometime Altitude Loss is bigger then gain - but the start and end point are same, etc. Also the chart usually shows Max to Min instead of fluctuating (when going up and down the hill, the hill should be visible in the middle of the chart...) - i've seen this on your chart in the video, that's why i am asking about your experience about that. Thanks!

[@JRsReviews]

I will give it a test when hiking this weekend

[@jeanniecalo5123]

Great product ,I like it

[@BradWilsonNYC]

I'm a Bip owner, and generally satisfied, but I'm tempted by the better build and look of this device, as well as the additional services it provides. Is this a worthy upgraded from the Bip?

[@JRsReviews]

It’s a great upgrade. You need to decide if you will use the extra features and if so then go for it

[@robertscott3342]

I bought this watch and love it but there are some downsides i dont know if i can get past. The hr monitor is not very accurate. It can be off as much as 20 beats per minute. The other issue is the temperature doesn’t seem to auto update until i refresh app. So these are important features to me that i hope can be fixed with an update but not as of today. Debating whether to get a refund.

[@JRsReviews]

Hi, what activities are you finding the HR monitor out?

[@robertscott3342]

Active JR just sitting down resting it can be off 10-20 beats. Getting my hr elevated on a treadmill and stopping , comparing it to the treadmill hr sensors you grab and the amazfit hr it can be a lot more off. My wife also has a fitbit hr that i put on the opposite arm and we checked and it was off by 10-20 beats. Her reply was “well that is basically useless then”. Battery life great, visibility in sunlight great, looks like a mans watch , got lot of compliments. It has also been 3 days 8hrs since last charge and i still have 24% but i havent used gps much yet 👍.

[@JRsReviews]

I only found the HR sensor was off with cycling, running and normal use it was fine. I was however testing against a chest strap connected to another device

[@felixjaquez4391]

So, viewing the review i can conclude that this watch is totally fine for running (even without chest strap) and use full enough for swiming. Am i correct?

[@JRsReviews]

Yes, based on my testing. It’s fine for cycling with a chest strap

[@Senzabluff]

How is the heart rate? Can you match it with a garmin heart rate band?

[@JRsReviews]

Heart rate other than for cycling and wrist activity is fine. And no, you cant as they are ANT+

[@ShaharKelley]

I have some questions regarding notifications and getting info from my Xiaomi watch. Will it notify my of all incoming email? (those I see on my cellphone screen of course) Can I read them on my watch? If not, how much is being shown? What about other notifications? How much of them can I read on the watch? What about alarms, will it get the alarms I have on my phone or do I need to set them separately on the Stratus? What about incoming phone calls - will it show me the caller's name from my contacts or just the number? Thanks

[@JRsReviews]

Hi. The mail, sms notifications are just the name and in my case one line of the msg. The calls come through as the name. Alarms is just one alarm

[@ShaharKelley]

So basically, the notifications are similar to those I see at the top of my cellphone's screen? Any sound or vibration to go with them? Thank you for your quick reply.

[@ShaharKelley]

And yet another question. All reviews state that it will play music stored on the watch, butt will it also control the music player on my phone? If it does, will it control any music player? Again, many thanks for your reply.

[@JRsReviews]

You get a vibration yes

[@JRsReviews]

I have only been able to control the music stored on the watch.

[@iwansantoso2327]

how about this watch durability after user regularly running 6 month???

[@JRsReviews]

Its a solid watch

[@tennsimpson8907]

Would you recommend this over the Fitbit Ionic ?

[@JRsReviews]

It’s a big question. I think for the price this has a lot more features for fitness. The Ionic is pretty limited

[@tennsimpson8907]

Thanks for the response

[@JRsReviews]

No problem and thanks for watching

[@sm753]

Can you connect and export data to Google Fit?

[@JRsReviews]

I was not able to no

[@jeffholthus3030]

Since it will connect to Strava, you can use RunGap to get it to just about anything else.

[@JRsReviews]

Does that mean you can automate the data transfer with RunGap?

[@jeffholthus2009]

Active JR I did not see where RunGap interfaces with Amazfit directly. It supports many many common fitness platforms however. I run with Apple Watch or Garmin and share to Runkeeper, Garmin and/or Strava depending on which not tracking directly. All other major platforms also. Usual annoyances with each platform maybe reporting slightly less distance Etc depending on its own algorithms. RunGap is a must. Small $ in app purchase for swag bag which unlocks all platforms. Several are free to start. Keep up the great work sir.

[@JosHendrikx]

With the pace you can pair it to the mi fit app (in addition to the amazfit app) and then link the mi fit to Google fit.

[@pinksquid1468]

What type of phone do you have iPhone or Android.?

[@JRsReviews]

I use a pixel 2 and an iPhone X for testing

[@ericsharma2606]

It seems to be a fake hr sensor

[@JRsReviews]

It’s certainly not

[@BuckRogers2491]

The HR sensor is definitely real, though it's kinda unpredictable. With continuous HR on, it seems to be "smart" about activating. Continuous on a Garmin, at least the ones with the Elevate sensor, is 1 second sampling at all times. On the Amazfit Stratos, it seems to do what Garmin was doing on pre-Elevate watches, and that is activating at periodic intervals and when it senses movement. For the $162 price this thing can be found for, it's a steal.

[@MegaMarkoni]

You are wrong!

[@Dovakeen79]

No streaming music is a killer i dont know anyone that still actually downloads music to there pc.

[@JRsReviews]

I agree. Music streaming is main stream now that downloading is almost gone.

[@yassersaadawy9623]

I think it is no way near to garmin in terms of accuracy, consistency, build quality and battery life. You have less for a much less price.. If they keep updating it, it has the potential to lead the market and displace fitbit, sunnto and other less premium products before hitting garmin. Eg early samsung beginnings vs apple..

[@JRsReviews]

Its certainly giving Fitbit a run for its money, but I agree its not on par with a Garmin Fenix or a Suunto. It could potentially give a VA3 good run

[@JRsReviews]

Just one more point, the accuracy was on par with a Fenix 5x for 3 times the price. The data shows that

[@yassersaadawy9623]

Active JR ok. I don't think they can replace any product of the more premium companies at least in the near future. Because in terms of accuracy and consistency, it depends not only on reliable sensors but also detailed data analysis from different sensors and different consumers to build up a reliable algorithm.. This takes years of hard work.. That's why VA3 will still be more accurate and consistent (I think). To me, stratos is still immature. May be the low selling price would make them spread widely enough to collect more data to correct and refine their algorithms.. But here is another weak point.. Their software update and upgrade is crippled..however, things can change in the coming years.

[@JRsReviews]

Have used on? Do you know you can export the data and use it in Golden Cheetah? And look at the data in depth. I

[@yassersaadawy9623]

Active JR woow what a project! Thanks for the tip

[@parvezahmedjalil4762]

If you're selling the Stratos let me know... PM me thanks (based in UK)

[@blesonthomas]

If u don’t want to cry over 700 pounds,u must see this! Nicely biased review in my opinion! My request to garmin is to bring down prices and stand with heads up!

[@JRsReviews]

How is it biased. I actually recommend this watch for most people and clearly say the Fenix 5 devices are too much of a watch for most people

[@cesareolivieri7228]

why is it so, that the burning calories and distance is constantly on 0?

[@cesareolivieri7228]

why is it so, that the burning calories and distance is constantly on 0?