Wearable manufacturer Huami has launched the latest addition to its smartwatch lineup. The new wearable is called Amazfit Verge and some of its notable features include GPS, smart home integration, AI voice assistance, 5-day battery life, and the ability to place phone calls. While many of these features are quite common in big name smartwatches, the price point at which they are offered in the Amazfit Verge is significantly less than what you’d spend on something like a new Apple or Samsung wearable.
Smartwatches and fitness trackers have been on the market for years. They have become quite popular and in most cases act as extensions of our smartphones, sending us notifications and tracking our activity in more convenient ways than ever before.
Like many other electronic categories, competition is fierce and choosing the right model for your lifestyle can be a cumbersome process. These days it seems like folks are gravitating towards options made by either Apple, Samsung, or Fitbit, but this means that most of our watches look the same aside from a unique band or case material.
For this reason, going with something from a lesser-known brand like Amazfit Verge can be a compelling reason to simply shake up your wardrobe a bit. Of course it also helps that Verge packs in features that we’ve come to expect from the more popular options, albeit with some caveats.
Phone Call Support
If you’re hoping to hear that Verge has support for cellular connectivity, you’ll be bummed to find out that its phone call support requires Bluetooth connectivity to a compatible smartphone. The good news in this is that you won’t need to give $10 per month to your cell carrier to have LTE on-the-go, but the savings comes at the price of needing to keep your phone nearby.
Smart Home Integration
The Amazfit Verge lets users control smart home devices in the Mijia ecosystem. If you haven’t heard of it before, that’s not too surprising since it is not typically found in big name smart home gadgets. That being said, quite a bit of the Mijia gear on Amazon is fairly cost-effective, meaning you could pick up some items for less than some of the more popular brands.
iOS & Android Support
Amazfit Verge is compatible with iOS and Android devices once the Amazfit Watch companion app is installed on them. Neither of the listings on the App Store or Google Play has stellar ratings, but the Android app does come out ahead with more than a full star rating higher than its iOS counterpart.
Pricing & Availability
Perhaps the most compelling part about the Amazfit Verge is its price. By launching at $159.99, Verge significantly undercuts recently-released Apple and Samsung wearables. Verge can be pre-ordered today with an anticipated ship date of December 18th.
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