Amazfit Launches Two New Watches Aimed Squarely at Garmin

Amazfit has unveiled two new additions to its smartwatch lineup, the flagship Balance Ultra and the more accessible Balance 3, both built for the premium sports-watch buyer who would typically shop Garmin. The two watches bring hardware upgrades, a new processor, and a deep set of hybrid training tools.

Both models share a 1.5-inch AMOLED display at 480 x 480 resolution with sapphire glass and 3,000 nits of peak brightness, a jump from the 2,000 nits on the Balance 2. A new processor delivers up to 2.5 times faster rendering and 12 times faster map refresh, and onboard storage doubles from 32GB to 64GB for offline maps. Both watches carry dual-band GPS with six satellite systems, offline topographic maps, a dual-mode flashlight, a 10ATM water rating with dive support, and military-grade durability.

The Balance Ultra is the high-end model: a Grade 5 titanium frame, 57g weight, a 780mAh battery rated up to 30 days of normal use or 50 hours of GPS, priced at $600 and sold exclusively in titanium. The Balance 3 comes in titanium or stainless steel, offers up to 21 days of battery and 41 hours of GPS, and starts at $370 for the stainless steel version. Both run Zepp OS 6 and support third-party platforms including Strava, TrainingPeaks, Komoot, adidas Running, and Intervals.icu, plus external accessories like heart rate monitors, power meters, and Stryd foot pods. The Balance 3 is available to pre-order now.

The headline software push is hybrid training. Both watches add tools called Training Balance and Hybrid Charge for athletes juggling strength and endurance work, plus a dedicated HYROX training library with personalized race strategies based on venue layouts and post-race analysis.

The HYROX focus is the most telling part of this launch. Amazfit is building features around one specific, fast-growing competition format rather than chasing general fitness, a sign of how central hybrid training has become to the wearable conversation. By baking in a HYROX library and race-specific strategy tools, Amazfit is targeting exactly the kind of committed, equipment-buying athlete that Garmin has long owned, and doing it with software tailored to where the sport is actually heading.

The pricing is the other half of the strategy. At $600 for the Ultra and $370 for the Balance 3, Amazfit is offering titanium, sapphire, dual-band GPS, offline maps, and multi-week battery life at numbers that sit well below comparable Garmin Fenix and Epix models, which routinely run $800 to $1,000 or more. The pitch is straightforward: most of the premium hardware and endurance features serious athletes want, without the flagship price tag.

Amazfit has spent the past couple of years methodically positioning itself as the credible Garmin alternative, and this launch continues a clear pattern. Its recent Cheetah 2 Ultra and Cheetah 2 Pro watches drew the same comparison, offering titanium builds and month-long battery at a fraction of Garmin's cost. Each release chips away at the assumption that premium sports-watch features require premium prices, and the Balance line extends that pressure into the hybrid-training category specifically.

The broader story is the intensifying battle for the serious-athlete wearable, a segment Garmin defined and dominated for years. Apple and Samsung have pushed into rugged "Ultra" tiers, Google has reworked Fitbit, and Amazfit keeps undercutting everyone on price while matching the spec sheet. For consumers, the competition is producing better hardware and aggressive pricing across the board. For Garmin, a brand whose pricing power rests on owning the endurance and multisport niche, a $600 titanium watch with a dedicated HYROX mode is exactly the kind of challenger it can no longer dismiss.