30 thoughts on “Huami Amazfit Stratos 3 Specifications – Best Budget Triathlon Watch?”

1. Still no ANT+ receiver. Still no Stryd support. Garbage.

   1. harsh!
      but i know where you’re coming from.

2. Does it support Stryd?

   1. I doubt it, except MAYBE as a footpod (which I also doubt)

3. The second OS is for the low power CPU. Android consumes to much for a weeks long usage. A restart on Stratos (Android 5.1) can take up to four percent of battery life. WiFi is not new on the device. Pace and Stratos uses for OTA firmware upgrades. As far as I know it it possible to connect your watch to your phone via WiFi:
   https://support.amazfit.com/hc/en-us/articles/360012458813-How-do-you-connect-to-Wi-Fi-

   And of course you can install a file manager for file transfer if you don’t like USB connection:
   am****@gm***.com&ts=5ae578ed&actionButton=1#gid=0" rel="nofollow ugc">https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pb57QyfujDuinAUmUH2siISLN_3SginTyGz4H_npjTo/edit?userstoinvite=am****@gm***.com&ts=5ae578ed&actionButton=1#gid=0

   1. 2x cpu: yes i get it. but what’s the point in having a wearOS watch when you can’t always use wearos? the amazfit site warns that there is a delay when switching the OS, i’d imagine it’s a notable delay. The WiFi *IS* on the amazfit china page – that may well mean the chip can do it but the software can’t. connecting to a phone via wifi sounds interesting

      1. AmazfitOS – the GUI and the SW logic behind the watch is written for Android. If you want to use its sports functionality, AmazfitOS and Android should run. On the other hand, if you wear the watch for activity tracking and as a timepiece, the low power environment is enough (e.g. Bip family has great battery life). It is not a WearOS device, this is why using as a smartwatch is PITA (no appstore on the watch, different CPU architecture, stock Android apps are not designed to small round screen). I meant that their first generation sports watch (Pace) had WiFi. At least the firmware upgrade uses it. See this video at 4:30:
         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJpiLSiOE6U

         Altough Huami has some hardware issues (battery draining, falling watch ears), the real problem is their buggy software and limited after sales support.

4. After years of use and abuse with a Fenix 2, it died, and I gave the Stratos a shot. That watch stopped taking a charge exactly one day after the warranty expired. Not wanting to pay the huge price-tag for a newer Fenix 5plus, I opted for a VivoActive 3. THe VA3 is not without its limitations, but is perfectly functional. I even used it (with hMSport connect IQ app) during a triathlon this past weekend. Worked great.

   The point is that even the lowly VA3 felt like an upgrade over the Stratos, despite not being a premium “multisport watch”. Stratos claims 24/7HR tracking, but in reality it checked it once every few minutes. For activities, the HR monitor was a random number generator, and in no way was based on reality. It had onboard weather app that never had the right weather. It recorded activities, but could not export a usable file (although does share with Strava…. with one caveat, not indoor activities like swimming and treadmill). It supposedly runs as a layer atop WearOS, but doesn’t have access to any apps.

   I am not quite sure what the upgrade is for the Stratos 3? The Stratos 2 had excellent battery and a nice looking screen. The OS looks the same, it doesn’t include navigation or mapping, no streaming music, no indication that they’ve improved the half baked app, no information about improvements to the HR sensor, and nothing on the ability to use third party sensors like power meters.

   I am definitely interested to see some reviews, and know what is being touted as an upgrade. For the Stratos2 almost every review I could find was from folks reviewing it as a smart watch, and failed to dive into the nuances of using this for a sports training device (except here). No one mentioned that 24/7HR tracking was every few minutes, not every second like Garmin. No one mentioned it would be impossible to export or share a pool workout to Strava. That the interval workout creator was so utterly limited.

   It was a nice watch. I was very frustrated at the timing of its death, one day after the warranty ended, but it looked great and I could manage my workouts with it. I use a separate bike gps, so power meter and navigation aren’t necessarily top priority. All that said, the VA3 was about the same price as the Stratos2 (both $179 at time of purchase), and feels like such a more complete, well thought out device, with a rich ecosystem of apps that actually add new functionality! Unless folks reviewing this are being blown away, I am going to stay away. I will be closely monitoring deals for Fenix 5 plus (ebay?) after the Fenix 6 is released in a few days, and the gotta-have-it folks all migrate to something that will bebarley marginally improved (especially if there is nothing more onboard than what the 945 has).

   1. I saw your ‘make cool shit’ reiteration 😉
      the sort fo things you are asking to see are fair enough but never come out until people get their hands on the watch. announcements are very limited in themselves.
      previous model: my review was the first one and it was super-detailed – https://the5krunner.com/2018/05/04/amazfit-stratos-review/ . i kinda wasted my time doing it as i didn’t get enough sales to justify more than a week i spent on it so i don’t know if i will repeat the feat, although i did like it.
      F6 is today

5. it looks good and on real photo looks great. You can see them here https://vosveteit.sk/pozrite-si-nove-amazfit-sports-watch-3-amazfit-gts-a-amazfit-x-na-prvych-realnych-fotografiach/

6. Is it possible to change the language from Chinese to English?

   1. Wait for the “international version” sure this supports English out the box, I wouldn’t go as far to say I’ve been burned by Chinese with English firmware, but sometimes Chinese will show under program icons and in the menu’s, which while no show stopper is annoying.

      1. +1

7. And the glass is… ?

   1. Touch screen – AF coated Corning Gorilla 3 generation tempered glass (Amazfit Smart Sports Watch 3), AF + AR-coated sapphire (Amazfit Smart Sports Watch 3 Elite Edition). the touch screen can be entirely disabled for sports usage.

8. Do you know whether it’s possible to program or record swim splits with rest intervals using the Stratos 3? Something like recording the split for 50m and then a 30sec rest intervals.

9. Nice watch but I’m skeptic that Huami can provide a stable firmware. My old Stratos works but it crashes sometimes.. And some old bugs are still not fixed.. (intervall training, crash upon long runs, The watch must be resetted every 2 months). Huami watches are not suitable for serious Athletes. Unfortunately….

   1. fair point but the buttons on both my Edge 530 and Forerunner 945 did not work properly and were not suitable for a serious athlete. I get what you are saying though.

      1. Are there problems with FR945? What would you suggest for serious athlete? Thx

      2. 1 yes eg battery seems to drain faster than expected. ohr is better than most but still nto accurate.gps is alright
         2 945+stryd+hrm-tri,+assioma…oh, and more training

10. Can you please make a review for this watch?

    Thanks!

    1. 😉 These things cost money! Requests from full supporters are always given more weight when i device what to review.

11. After reading your in depth review of the original Stratos i gave it a shot. Worked really well for a couple of months until the HR sensor protective cover fell off. Some moisture got inside and that was that. Got a new watch under warranty and all was good until the same thing happened on the new one as well. This time one month after the warranty expired. After some digging online i found out that a lot of people had the same problem. There are even videos of the issue on youtube.
    There were some software bugs but those were minor issues (sometimes syncing with Strava took a couple of hours)
    Although the new Stratos looks great, the last one left a bad taste and even though it’s “cheap” it’s still cca. 200$ for a watch that fell apart 2 times in 12 months.
    So i’m still on the lookout for the next budget friendly smartwatch, if that even exists 😀

    1. not sure which country you are in but the UK/EU has a 24 month LEGAL ‘warranty’ that the RETAILER MUST honour. If you get a replacement then the two year clock is re-set. For a refurb unit it is probably only a year.
       but i take your points.
       I had not heard of that particular issue.

       1. Sorry for the late reply
          I did manage to get a full refund, but it took a while.
          I also live in EU(Cro) but it apears that 2year warranty law does not apply here.
          There is a bunch of electronic products that have “only” 1 year warranty in Croatia.
          I am looking now at Suunto 5 or FR 245 since that is my max budget, and they don’t fall appart after 6-7 months of use.
          Thanks for the advice
          P.S.
          I know its a bit of a stretch, but out of those two mentioned, whitch one would you recommend?

       2. 245
          suunto 5 good too
          the 2 year law is an eu one. companies may very well tell you it isn’t the law but that doesn’t mean its true. however i think after one year they only have to repair it unless it’s not fit for purpose
          your contract is with the RETAILER. buy it from amazon.it and get it shipped to you

12. Hi! I’ve recently ordered a Global Version of the watch. Hope it reaches in time. Meanwhile, it’d be greatly appreciated if you’d post a full review of the watch capabilities.
    Cheers man!!

    1. hi there, the capabilities/specs are as listed above. Remember I have to buy these devices and then spend about a week of my time preparing and writing a review

13. Is there a way to have a Triathlon mode on ?

    1. Yes, there is.

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