First look: A stylish and slim design
The Amazfit Bip 5 Unity draws attention with its slim and elegant design. The first good thing I noticed when I held it in my hand was its light weight. Weighing 28 grams without the strap, the dial was as light as a feather. Even the silicone strap was comparatively light. The light weight makes it seem as if the smartwatch comes with a plastic build, but its middle frame is made of stainless steel, which impressed me. At 10mm thick, it is also much thinner than other models in the competition. For comparison, the more expensive BIP 5 has a thickness of 11.2mm and its bottom frame is made of plastic. The smartwatch certainly feels sturdy, which should handle everyday wear-tear without any problem.
The BIP 5 Unity comes with an anti-bacterial liquid silicone strap that is flexible and soft. It supports quick release, which is easy to detach or reattach from the dial. Overall, I found the BIP 5 Unity to have a sturdy build and stylish design and at the same time, it was comfortable to wear.
Display and software
The Amazfit Bip 5 Unity has a vibrant 1.91-inch TFT display. However, if it had an AMOLED display like the more affordable OnePlus Nord Watch, the display could have been an all-rounder. However, in my short usage, I found the display quality of the BIP 5 Unity to be good. The colours were vivid and there was no problem in reading fine details outdoors. The display showed clear information even in bright sunlight, whether I was checking my heart rate, doing a light walk or reading notifications while walking.
It gets Zepp OS 3.0, which is a fitness-focused software. It gets more than 100 watch faces to make the smartwatch fashionable and give it a new look every day. Many of these watchfaces also show you all the important details related to fitness on the dial. From classic analog design to modern digital interface, there is a watch face to suit everyone’s taste.
Amazfit has kept the details of the chipset behind the scenes, but I found the UI quite smooth. Switching to different tabs and swiping in all four directions was fast without any lag. At the same time, the loading time of apps was also comparatively less. There is a single button on the right side of the frame, which is used to open the apps page, activate Alexa voice assistant or turn-off/restart. By swiping right or left on the home, you can see widgets, selected workout shortcuts and heart rate data etc. At the same time, a down swipe from the top will take you to quick toggles and an up swipe from the bottom will show you notifications.
120+ Sports Modes
Amazfit Bip 5 Unity has a lot to offer for fitness. It has more than 120 sports modes, which is more than most models among its competitors. It claims to automatically detect and track six workouts like walking, running, treadmill, elliptical, rowing machine. I wore it and walked indoors and found that it automatically detected indoor walking. Along with all these workouts, BIP 5 Unity can also be used for swimming due to 5 ATM water resistance built in it. It claims to store the data of all the workouts in an organized manner, so that you can track insights like your heart rate, calories burned and recovery time in detail through the Zepp app on your mobile phone. BIP 5 Unity has Bluetooth 5.2 version to connect to mobile and make calls.
Health tracking features
Amazfit Bip 5 Unity can track not only fitness but also health, for which it has many other health tracking features including heart rate sensor, blood oxygen saturation sensor (SpO2), sleep monitoring. In my initial usage, I matched its heart rate tracking data with the data of two premium models of Apple and Samsung a couple of times, the results were almost the same. This smartwatch also claims stress monitoring. The company says that by wearing BIP 5 Unity on the wrist while sleeping, it records factors like sleep quality, daytime nap, light or deep sleeping pattern and sleep breathing quality. With this smartwatch, women can also track their menstrual cycle.
Battery, Connectivity and Other Features
Amazfit claims that the Bip 5 Unity can last up to 11 days with normal usage. This makes it ideal for those who forget or are lazy to plug their devices on charger from time to time. The Bip 5 Unity also has a battery saver mode that claims to extend battery life by up to 26 days. This mode prioritises basic functionality like timekeeping and turns off battery-draining features. However, it is important to note that battery life may vary depending on usage habits. Constant pairing with a phone also affects battery life. I didn’t get much time with it, so I can’t make any claims about its exact battery life.
Amazfit Bip 5 Unity pairs with the smartphone using the Zepp app. The pairing process was fast and easy. After pairing, the smartwatch can view notifications on the mobile and also control music. You can also find the paired smartphone through the watch. The company claims that Zepp OS gives you access to more than 70 downloadable apps and games. It also shows weather updates and alarms can also be set in it.
My initial opinion
The Amazfit Bip 5 Unity enters a competitive Indian smartwatch market, where its elder brother – the Bip 5 – already exists. Priced at Rs 6,999, it is about a thousand rupees more expensive than the Bip 5 and competes with its main rivals OnePlus Nord Watch and Honor Choice Watch It is more expensive than the Rs. 10,000. While I missed the AMOLED display in it, its slim design with stainless steel frame impressed me at first glance. It also has important features like Bluetooth calling along with plenty of sports modes and health tracking features. Also, the battery life claimed by the company is also impressive. However, the real performance of any device is known only after putting it to the test.