Amazfit Active 3 Premium 45mm (Sapphire, GPS)

Amazfit Active 3 Premium 45mm (Sapphire, GPS)

By Amazfit · Smartwatches · Phones & Computers

  • 1.32-inch AMOLED display 3000 nits
  • Up to 12 days battery life
  • 5 ATM water resistance
  • 4GB storage
  • Five-satellite GPS with offline maps

Lowest price seen
~$169.99 (approx.)
from $169.99 at Amazon

Prices are snapshots. Check the current price with the store.

Summary

A 45 mm stainless-steel and sapphire running watch with offline maps, four physical buttons and a bright AMOLED screen, aimed at beginners and casual runners. Check the GPS before you buy: it is single-band only, not dual-band, so tracking wanders more in dense or obstructed places.

Strengths

  • Sapphire glass and a stainless-steel frame give it a premium feel for the price.
  • Four physical buttons work with sweaty, wet or cold hands.
  • Offline maps and turn-by-turn navigation are unusual at this price.
  • A bright AMOLED display stays readable outdoors.
  • Battery lasts about a week with training as a daily smartwatch.
  • Beginner-friendly training plans add lactate threshold, running dynamics, VO2 Max and recovery.

Weaknesses

  • The GPS is single-band, not dual-band, so tracking is weaker in dense or obstructed places.
  • The 1.32-inch screen feels small because of a thick bezel, and it smudges easily.
  • Heart rate is less reliable at high intensity and can fail altogether over tattoos.
  • The 4 GB of storage is shared, which limits how many offline maps and tracks fit.
  • No automatic workout detection.
  • The strap can be fiddly to attach.

Verified specifications

Display1.32-inch AMOLED, 466 × 466 px, 353 PPI, up to 3,000 nits; always-on display supported.
Case size45 × 45 × 11 mm; 38 g without strap.
Materialsstainless-steel frame over a polymer body; sapphire glass screen with an anti-fingerprint coating.
Controlsfour physical buttons plus a touchscreen.
SensorsBioTracker PPG (5PD + 2LED) for heart rate and SpO2, plus accelerometer, gyroscope, geomagnetic sensor, barometric altimeter, ambient light sensor and temperature sensor.
Positioningsingle-band GNSS across five satellite systems; no dual-band.
Storage4 GB onboard, shared by offline maps, audio, apps and watch faces.
Battery365 mAh; up to 12 days typical, 7 days heavy use, 4 days with always-on display.
Water resistance5 ATM.
ConnectivityBluetooth 5.3, microphone and speaker, Bluetooth calling, Zepp Pay NFC.
Strap20 mm silicone with a classic pin buckle.
OSZepp OS with the Zepp app (Android 7.0+ / iOS 14.0+).
Full research notes and sources

GPS accuracy

The watch locks onto five satellite systems but listens on only one frequency band, and that single-band limitation is the most consistent criticism across reviewers. In one 5.5 km head-to-head against a Garmin, Gadgets & Wearables measured 5.50 versus 5.52 km with an average pace of 5:58 versus 5:56 per km, which it called about as close as you could realistically hope for. Trusted Reviews found distance tracking a little off next to a dual-band watch, with differing pace data, but good enough for many runners. The Run Testers says the setup performed pretty well but warns you might find issues on routes known to trouble GPS. In dense or obstructed terrain, expect the trace to wander more than a dual-band watch.

Heart rate and training

Gadgets & Wearables measured an identical 135 bpm average and 155 versus 154 bpm max against a Garmin, and its running dynamics matched closely too: cadence 173 versus 172 spm, stride length 97 cm on both, ground contact 260 versus 265 ms, vertical oscillation 9.1 versus 8.3 cm, and power 298 W versus 311 W. Live Science compared the sensor against a Whoop MG, an Oura Ring Gen 4 and a Polar H9 chest strap: readings followed workout intensity but precision dropped above 150 bpm. Trusted Reviews was the most critical, finding that average and maximum readings did not exactly match a chest strap, and it recommends pairing an external strap for accuracy. One owner could not get readings at all on a tattooed arm where a Garmin worked, and commenters confirm the tattoo issue shows up on other watches. The onboard Training Library sessions (run-walk, tempo, recovery) are well presented and beginner-friendly, though recovery suggestions tend to run longer than a Garmin’s.

Battery life

Amazfit rates the 365 mAh cell at up to 12 days typical, falling to 7 days under heavy use and about 4 days with the always-on display. Live Science measured about 10 days per charge in mixed use. Trusted Reviews measured roughly 6% drain per hour of GPS, implying closer to 16 hours than the claimed 24, and flags GPS battery life as shorter than claimed. Reddit owners report a solid 5–6 day watch in office use with always-on from 6am to 6pm. Turning the always-on display on has a real cost: ZDNET says it will cut battery life in half.

Price and value

Amazfit launched the Active 3 Premium at $169.99 in the US, £169 in the UK, €169.90 in the EU and AU$239 in Australia, and US reviewers saw it at $139.99 at Best Buy, Walmart and Target between April and July 2026. One owner in India paid about ₹20,000 ($215) at launch, against roughly ₹6,500 ($70) for the older Active 2, and a Canadian owner listed CAD 249 at launch. At $139.99 it is a strong buy for a beginner or casual runner who accepts single-band GPS and a small display; at the $169.99 launch price it is fair-to-good. Above about $170, or for serious runners who need accurate GPS in tough terrain, comparing the Coros Pace 4, Suunto Run or Garmin Forerunner 165 makes more sense. The Zepp app and offline maps are free, so there is no locked-in running cost; optional nylon straps and third-party services like Runna and TrainingPeaks are sold separately. Nobody has published a defect rate, so treat the smudging, bezel and GPS grumbles as known trade-offs rather than faults.

Which model this is

This is the Amazfit Active 3 Premium, a round 45 mm running watch from Zepp Health, sold in Apex Silver, Atlas Blue and Aero White. In this generation there is no non-Premium Active 3, and “Premium” means sapphire glass plus NFC, not a cheaper sibling; do not confuse it with the larger 48.5 mm Active Max or the older Active 2. The model code A2559 from the listing could not be confirmed on any non-seller page, so treat it as unverified.

ASIN B0GM2ZTFLX.

Sources

Manufacturer:

Independent reviews:

Owner reports:

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