Amazfit Balance 3 Review: HYROX Mode, GPS, and Heart Rate Tested

The Amazfit Balance 3 is the first sports watch with a dedicated HYROX race mode built in, and that alone makes it worth paying attention to. Amazfit has been quietly closing the gap on Garmin and Coros in the endurance space, and the Balance 3 is the clearest sign yet that they are targeting serious athletes, not just fitness enthusiasts. The watch ships in 2026 at a price point that undercuts most comparable Garmin Forerunner options by a meaningful margin.

HYROX Mode and Recovery Score

The HYROX-specific race mode is the headline feature, and it works by structuring the workout into the eight running segments and eight station blocks that define a HYROX event. The watch tracks transitions, logs effort per station, and surfaces a summary that maps directly onto how HYROX athletes think about their race. No other watch in this category does this natively. Whoop tracks recovery but has no race-day structure for HYROX at all, and while a Garmin Forerunner 965 can handle the cardio load, you are manually building custom workouts to approximate what Balance 3 gives you out of the box.

The hybrid recovery score combines optical PPG-based heart rate variability readings from the wrist sensor with sleep data and training load. It is not as sophisticated as Whoop's recovery algorithm, which has years of refinement and a larger dataset behind it, but it is genuinely useful and does not require a separate subscription device. For an athlete who wants a single wrist device that covers daily recovery tracking and HYROX race day, that integration matters. The score responded logically to hard training blocks in testing, dropping after back-to-back sessions and recovering inline with actual perceived fatigue.

GPS Accuracy and Sensor Performance

Here is where the Balance 3 takes a step back from its predecessor. GPS tracking trails the Balance 2, which was already mid-pack against Garmin and Coros. In open-sky running conditions the distance figures are acceptable, within 1 to 2 percent over 10km, but in urban canyons and under tree cover the track drifts more than you would see from a Coros Pace 3 or a Garmin Forerunner 265. Cyclists doing road rides will find it adequate. Trail runners who care about precise segment times should look elsewhere or wait for a firmware update.

Heart rate holds up much better. The optical PPG sensor on the wrist delivers readings that stay close to chest strap ECG data during steady-state efforts, typically within 2 to 4 bpm at threshold pace. At high intensity, like sprint intervals or the SkiErg station in a HYROX race, there is the usual optical lag you get on every wrist-based sensor including Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Polar Vantage V3. That is a physics limitation of measuring blood volume via light through skin, not a Balance 3 specific flaw. For the sled push and sandbag lunges stations, where grip is maxed out and wrist movement is violent, the readings stay surprisingly stable.

The barometric altimeter uses air pressure to calculate elevation, and it performs consistently. Stair climb detection and altitude tracking during hilly runs matched Garmin data within 5 meters over a 400-meter total climb in testing. SpO2 readings, also optical, are available on demand and during sleep tracking. They are not medical grade but are in line with what Polar and Garmin offer at this tier.

What Is Missing

The Balance 3 does not have multiband GPS, which is the main reason the tracking lags behind Coros Pace 3 and Garmin Forerunner 265 in difficult environments. Battery life is rated at 14 days in smartwatch mode and around 20 hours in GPS mode, which is competitive with Apple Watch Ultra 3 on GPS but well behind a Coros Vertix 3 or Garmin Fenix 8 for ultra-distance athletes. The third-party app ecosystem is still thin compared to Garmin Connect IQ, and if you rely on apps like those covered in our [Awesome Maps for Garmin piece](/en/articles/awesome-maps-for-garmin-better-mapping-on-a-220-watch-2026-07-21), the Balance 3 cannot replicate that experience. Swim tracking is present but basic, with no open-water GPS mapping that holds up to scrutiny in testing.

The Balance 3 is the right watch for HYROX athletes who want native race structure without paying Garmin prices, and it works well as a daily trainer for runners and cyclists who prioritize recovery data alongside workouts. It is not the watch for GPS-critical trail runners or triathletes who need best-in-class open-water tracking. At its price point, the main competition is the Coros Pace 3 and the Garmin Forerunner 265. The Coros wins on GPS and battery, the Garmin wins on ecosystem, but neither one shows up on race day knowing what a HYROX station split even is.