Amazfit Partners With Stryd to Bring Running Power to Budget Watches

Amazfit has confirmed a partnership with Stryd, the gold standard in running power meters, to integrate power-based metrics directly into its watch ecosystem. This is a real signal that Amazfit wants to compete beyond the budget tier and go after athletes already using Garmin, Coros, and Polar.

Stryd's footpod currently retails around $219 and pairs with watches like the Garmin Fenix 7, Coros Pace 3, and Apple Watch to deliver watt-based running data that goes beyond pace and heart rate. The integration with Amazfit opens that door to a much wider audience, including runners using the Amazfit Cheetah Pro or the T-Rex Ultra, watches that sit well below the $300 mark.

The real question here is adoption. Stryd's power model works best when athletes actually train to watts, set threshold power zones, and understand what a 280W effort means versus a 310W effort. That takes education and commitment. Garmin users who also own a Stryd already know the learning curve is steep.

Budget runners gravitating toward Amazfit for its price point may not be the crowd ready to invest $219 in a footpod on top of their watch. The hardware compatibility is the easy part. Getting entry-level athletes to train with power consistently is the harder sell.

Solid move from Amazfit. Not a guaranteed win. The partnership makes the platform more credible for serious runners, but real-world impact depends entirely on whether the user base follows through on the learning side.