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Amazfit — Balance Ultra / Balance 3 / T-Rex Ultra 2 / T-Rex 3 Pro / T-Rex 3 / Cheetah 2 Ultra / Cheetah 2 Pro — 10 August 2026
the5krunner insight: This is a modest update, and it is only relevant if you swim in a pool or row indoors.
Zepp Health has extended the swimming and workout controls that reached the Active 3 Premium last week across most of its current range. Manual Rest lets pool swimmers mark the end of a swim and the start of recovery by button press, and FTMS support lets a rowing machine send power and distance straight to the watch. The Balance 3, Cheetah 2 Ultra and Cheetah 2 Pro gain Athlete Defaults alongside the Balance Ultra, while the standard T-Rex 3 is the one model that does not receive Always Locked. The T-Rex Ultra 2 and both T-Rex 3 Pro sizes do.
- Manual Rest marks the end of a swim and the start of recovery in pool swimming, separating the two in the workout data and breaking the swimming down by stroke.
- FTMS support lets compatible rowing machines, including the Concept2 RowErg, send power and distance to the watch instead of the watch estimating from wrist movement.
- Athlete Defaults turns on Workout Do Not Disturb, switches off workout alerts and sets GPS to maximum precision in one action (Balance Ultra, Balance 3, Cheetah 2 Ultra, Cheetah 2 Pro).
- Always Locked keeps the touchscreen locked for the whole workout while the physical buttons stay active (not on T-Rex 3).
- Route Preview supports panning and zooming before and during a workout.
- Map zooming has been refined.
- Alarm creation and management have been simplified.
Full release notes: Amazfit product update
No updates this week
Checked and nothing to report for the week ending 15 August 2026: Garmin, COROS, Suunto, Polar, Wahoo, Hammerhead, Samsung and Huawei either had no release in the window or released stability and bug fix updates only. Garmin shipped its heaviest run of releases in weeks and none of it qualified: the Fenix 8 series took stable 22.41 and beta 23.24, the Forerunner 970 and 570, Venu 4, Venu X1 and vivoactive 6 took beta 18.23, the Fenix 7 and Epix 2 families took beta 27.15, and the Edge 550, 850, 1050 and MTB took betas 32.19 and 32.20. Every one of those changelogs is device resets, wake word detection, radar pairing and translation corrections. Garmin has also confirmed that ECG is disabled in Fenix 7 series beta software going forward. Samsung’s only in-window release was the August security patch for the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro.
Previous edition: #10 Deep Dive Feature Files: Week Ending 8 August 2026
Quick answers
What is new in the latest Amazfit Balance 3 firmware update?
The update adds Manual Rest for pool swimming, FTMS support for rowing machines, an Always Locked screen mode and Athlete Defaults, which applies your usual training settings in one action.
What does Manual Rest do on the Amazfit Balance Ultra?
It lets you press a button to mark when swimming stops and recovery begins during a pool session. The watch then separates the swimming and rest periods and breaks the swimming down by stroke.
Can the Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro connect to a rowing machine?
Yes. The update adds FTMS support, so a compatible machine such as the Concept2 RowErg sends power and distance to the watch rather than the watch estimating from wrist movement.
What is Athlete Defaults on the Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra?
It is a single setting that turns on Workout Do Not Disturb, switches off workout alerts and sets GPS to maximum precision. Balance Ultra, Balance 3, Cheetah 2 Ultra and Cheetah 2 Pro receive it.
Does the Amazfit T-Rex 3 have the Always Locked screen mode?
No. The standard T-Rex 3 is the only model in this release that does not get Always Locked. Every other watch covered by the update receives it, including the T-Rex Ultra 2 and both T-Rex 3 Pro sizes.
Which Amazfit watches received the August training update?
Balance Ultra, Balance 3, T-Rex Ultra 2, T-Rex 3 Pro in 48mm and 44mm, T-Rex 3, Cheetah 2 Ultra, Cheetah 2 Pro and Active 3 Premium.
Last Updated on 15 August 2026 by the5krunner
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tfk is the founder and author of the5krunner, an independent endurance sports technology publication. With 20 years of hands-on testing of GPS watches and wearables, and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, tfk provides in-depth expert analysis of fitness technology for serious athletes and endurance sport competitors. ID
