A common reader request I get goes something like this: what should I buy if I don’t want a smartwatch but want basic fitness tracking? When I suggest alternatives like budget fitness bands or smart rings, I get an unsure hmm and a displeased scrunch of the nose. After a few more back-and-forths, I usually find that many people do want a smartwatch. They just don’t want one from Apple, Samsung, Garmin, or Google. They want something more akin to ye olde Pebble or this retro-chic $56 Casio. For those folks, consider the humble Amazfit Active 2.

Amazfit’s shtick is delivering an outsized bang for your buck. The Active 2 starts at $99.99. For $30 more, you get a fancier version with an extra leather strap and a more durable sapphire crystal lens. There’s a 2,000-nit OLED touch display, upgraded health sensors, new sleep and heart rate algorithms, offline maps, and the Zepp Flow AI assistant. There’s also the Zepp Coach for personalized training plans and a mini app from Wild.AI, which gives diet and workout recommendations based on your hormonal and menstrual cycles. You won’t find dual-frequency GPS on this watch, but it has built-in GPS with access to five satellite sy …

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