I tested Apple Watch SE 3 vs Amazfit Active 3 Premium for 2 months: Here’s which one I’d buy
I tested the Amazfit Active 3 Premium earlier this year and loved it. It’s definitely one of the best affordable fitness trackers you can buy. But it got me thinking: how does this $169 fitness tracker hold up against the Apple Watch SE 3 at $249-$329?
Investing in one of the best fitness trackers is an important part of your fitness journey, and you don’t want to waste that money on a smart watch that can’t keep up. There are three essentials when it comes to fitness trackers: ease of use (including durability and battery), fitness features and sleep tracking.
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The Apple Watch SE 3 is Apple’s budget fitness tracker, with seamless Apple ecosystem integration, two size offerings and an 18-hour battery life.
Apple Watch SE 3 vs Amazfit Active 3 Premium: Specs compared
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
Amazfit Active 3 Premium |
Apple Watch SE 3 |
|---|---|---|
|
Price |
||
|
Colors |
Black, white, blue |
Midnight, starlight |
|
Size |
1.32-inch screen |
1.57-inch screen or 1.78-inch screen (I tested smaller) |
|
Weight |
54.6g |
23.6g / 32.9 grams |
|
Battery life |
Up to 12 days |
18 hours |
|
Charging time |
Under 2 hours |
Under 1 hour |
|
Connectivity |
Bluetooth |
Bluetooth (+Cellular for $299 + data) |
|
Durability |
5 ATM |
5 ATm |
Apple Watch SE 3 vs Amazfit Active 3 Premium: Price
The Amazfit Active 3 Premium is $169 from Amazon U.S. and £169 from Amazon U.K.Comparatively, the Apple Watch SE 3 is $249 from Amazon U.S. and £219 from Amazon U.K. for the non-cellular version.
If you want cellular, the price goes up to $299/$329 for 40mm/44mm + cellular and £289/£319 for the 40mm/44mm + cellular version. Your watch’s mobile carrier must be the same as your iPhone for data to work.
Obviously, the winner here is the Amazfit Active 3 Premium. It’s $80 cheaper than the cheapest (smallest) Apple Watch SE 3, and $160 cheaper than the biggest cellular model.
Winner: Amazfit Active 3 Premium.
Apple Watch SE 3 vs Amazfit Active 3 Premium: Design
The Apple Watch SE 3 comes in two size options: 40mm and 44mm. As I have wrists best described as “spindly,” I opted for the smaller size. It fit my wrist perfectly — didn’t look too big or too small, and felt weightless.
The model I tested weighs just 23.6g, which is more than double lighter than the Amazfit Active 3 Premium. The A3P weighs a pretty hefty 54.6g. When I was wearing the A3P, I didn’t think it was overly heavy until I put on the SE 3. Whether or not this is an issue for you will depend on your preference.
If, like me, you have spindly or weak wrists, you’ll probably get on with the design of the SE 3 over the A3P. Personally, the Apple Watch felt better to wear. The A3P bordered on being too big for my wrist, but anyone with normal-sized wrists should be fine with the 45mm case/1.32-inch screen.
Yes, the Apple Watch case is 40mm, but it has a 1.57-inch screen. Effectively, this means the watch body is smaller, but the screen is bigger, resulting in smaller bevels. Both the A3P and the SE 3 have a durability rating of 5 ATM, which means you can swim with either.
I prefer the look and feel of the Apple Watch SE 3, but the A3P is still a good-looking watch — especially for just $169. I would happily sacrifice the Apple aesthetic for those $80+ savings. Even though I’m giving this win to the Apple Watch, the Amazfit is still a worthy competitor.
Winner: Apple Watch SE 3.
Apple Watch SE 3 vs Amazfit Active 3 Premium: Fitness features
You can get tons of Apple Watch apps in the Watch app store, but for the purpose of this comparison, I used Apple’s built-in apps.
I loved how the Apple Watch linked perfectly with my Fitness app, and I loved how the A3P linked perfectly with my Zepp app (which you can sync with Apple Health). I also love how both apps give you medals and awards, which helps with motivation.
Both the Fitness app and Zepp app have a comprehensive analysis of running cadence, vertical oscillation, ground contact time and stride length. I found it easy to analyze my heart rate zones in both Apple’s Fitness app and Zepp’s app.
If you’re a runner, I think you’ll get on just fine with either the Apple Watch or the Active 3 Premium. Both have detailed, digestible and clear data. There’s little difference in terms of functionality and clarity.
However, there’s one major difference between the Apple Watch SE 3 and the Amazfit Active 3 Premium: BioCharge.
BioCharge is a Zepp feature that analyzes your sleep, exertion and fatigue levels to provide you with a readiness score. BioCharge helps you figure out if you are in shape to push yourself or you should take a rest day. Things like HRV, interrupted sleep, or prolonged fatigue affect your BioCharge. Surprisingly, Apple has no such feature without downloading third-party apps.
I would honestly buy the A3P just for BioCharge. I go to bed excited to see what my BioCharge will be in the morning, and for this reason, Amazfit wins.
Winner: Amazfit Active 3 Premium.
Apple Watch SE 3 vs Amazfit Active 3 Premium: Sleep tracking
I’m going to caveat this section by saying I know you can get third-party sleep tracking apps for the Apple Watch, but as I was testing the core functionality of the Apple Watch, I used the built-in sleep tracker.
In terms of scannability — how quickly you can glance at sleep data and glean meaning from it — the Zepp app wins. Take a look at some example data. On the left is Zepp, and on the right, you’ll see Apple Health.
You can tap on both graphs, which displays more data.
Image 1 of 2
Of course, you can also show weekly, monthly and even yearly data on both apps. Both the Apple Watch SE 3 and Amazfit Active 3 Premium have detailed, comprehensive sleep tracking.
However, I think the Amazfit Active 3 Premium just ekes out the win here due to its HRV tracking.
Apple Health only takes “snapshots” of HRV, while the A3P continuously tracks HRV for more accurate numbers. Zepp makes HRV a much bigger deal.
Above is a comparison of how Apple Watch and Zepp track HRV. As you can see, the Zepp app has comprehensive HRV data. This really helps me understand what might interrupt my sleep, and what I can do to improve my rest (the answer is to not drink alcohol).
Winner: Amazfit Active 3 Premium.
Apple Watch SE 3 vs Amazfit Active 3 Premium: Battery
I’m just going to put two numbers here and let you do the math.
Amazfit Active 3 Premium: 288 hours.
Apple Watch SE 3: 18 hours.
Which watch do you think wins this round?
Yes, it’s the Amazfit Active 3 Premium. The battery life on the Apple Watch SE 3 actually makes me physically angry. I hate how it tells me I haven’t achieved my hourly standing goal — yes, because I had to charge the watch halfway through the day, hence I wasn’t wearing it. Having an 18-hour battery life in 2026, when Amazfit can manage 12 days, is ridiculous.
Apple can’t even justify it by saying the Apple Watch SE 3 does much more than the Amazfit Active 3 Premium, because it doesn’t.
The only thing the SE 3 can do that the A3P can’t is better Apple ecosystem integration. You can get a cellular watch, so theoretically you could leave your phone at home and rely completely on your watch. You can also reply to texts with Siri and the watch keyboard, and use Apple Pay.
Everything else? Yeah, the A3P can do it. Amazfit even has a daily readiness score — BioCharge, which I discussed earlier — that beats the Apple Watch. I really don’t understand how Apple lags so far behind on the battery front. There’s no excuse for it.
Winner: Amazfit Active 3 Premium.
Apple Watch SE 3 vs Amazfit Active 3 Premium: Verdict
I would buy the Amazfit Active 3 Premium, and it’s not even close. Sure, I’d miss the delightful design of the Apple Watch SE 3, but I would rather spend my personal money on the Active 3 Premium. You get so much more for your money.
On top of better sleep tracking, equally as accurate (or inaccurate) heart rate tracking and workout tracking, you get a daily BioCharge and fatigue tracking.
While serious Apple lovers might want to get the Apple Watch purely for ecosystem integration, aesthetics, or status, I think most people would be better off saving their money and grabbing the A3P. If you weren’t planning on getting the cellular Apple Watch anyway, the Amazfit does (almost) everything the SE 3 does.
So, I’d be buying the Amazfit Active 3 Premium. Which fitness tracker would you get?
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