Huami Amazfit Cor 2: Fitness bracelet with color display & music control for $79.89

The Huami Amazfit Cor convinced us in the test. However, it was positioned relatively unfavourably between Mi Band 3 and Amazfit Bip, both in terms of price and functionality, so that it always flew slightly under the radar. Now the successor is released. The Huami Amazfit Cor 2 Fitness Bracelet could be considered a better Mi Band 3, but it has similar “problems” as its predecessor.

• Huami Amazfit Cor 2 Fitness Tracker
  • at GearBest for $79.89 | GearVita for $64.59

Technical data

Just an optical upgrade?

The optics of the Huami Amazfit Cor 2 don’t really change that much. You orientate yourself a bit more on the Mi Band 3 and manage to make the Cor 2 look more modern. This is achieved by rounding off the sharp edges and the slightly darker grey tone surrounding the display. That’s why the Fitness bracelet looks a bit more compact than its predecessor, although this isn’t the case.

Otherwise, the design is almost identical, the actual tracker merges almost seamlessly into the silicone wristband. In contrast to the Huami Amazfit Bip, the straps can’t be taken off so easily, a small screwdriver is needed.

In order to guarantee a pleasant wearing comfort, Huami reduces the weight by using a plastic housing made of polycarbonate. The Huami Amazfit Cor 2 also offers water resistance according to the ATM 5 standard. So you can take a shower with it or take a lane in the swimming pool, but you shouldn’t dive in the ocean. I also took a shower with the band, which the band also managed without any problems. However, I noticed that the touch screen actually reacts to the water jet if you don’t set up a screen lock and use the raise-to-wake function.

Workmanship & wearing comfort

The Huami Amazfit Cor 2 proves that Huami now knows how to build such a fitness tracker. The workmanship reveals no flaws or minor inconsistencies, the silicone band feels “high quality” and the materials used lie comfortably on the skin. This also leads to the fact that you quickly forget that you are wearing the band. It’s basically as thick as the Xiaomi Mi Band 3, but it doesn’t look that clunky because of the less curved screen.

The display brings colour to the table

The fact that the price is also one step above the Mi Band is justified by the 1.23 inch LC display, among other things. The screen of the first generation was also that big. Of course, we also rely on a color display again, which we already liked in its predecessor. Huami protects the Cor 2 with 2.5 D glass from possible scratches. This is a touch screen, the resolution of 80 x 160 pixels has apparently not been changed.

The touch-sensitive screen does its job really well and I like it a bit better than the Xiaomi Mi Band 3. After all, the icons are also well adapted to the display and almost always fill most of the screen, making it easy to avoid wrong clicks. However, the display is unfortunately so sensitive that it also reacts to the water jet when showering. You can handle this with a screen lock, but it’s still a bit annoying.

The color representation with its strong colors achieves its effect and after a short time you can easily orientate yourself. As we know from other Amazfit models, the brightness can be adjusted in five steps. In practice, 2/5 is enough for me. In strong sunlight the screen is more difficult to read, but then you can easily pull your arm up and avoid the problem.

As an Amazfit Bip user I can criticize the missing Always-On Display. I am simply no longer used to the fact that you have to turn your wrist to read the time so that the screen is illuminated, and it seems to me to be inefficient. Thanks to the transreflective display of the Amazfit Bip, it doesn’t have to be illuminated extra, you can’t activate the Always On mode on the Amazfit Cor 2 – too bad!

Operation

The English language can be selected for operating the Amazfit Cor 2. Over 90% of the operation of the Fitness Tracker is via the touch screen, the main starting point is the Watchface. The Mi-App has by the way still further Watchfaces in the Petto, pre-installed is only one. From here a Swipe brings you down to the battery display and the DND mode, a Swipe brings you up to the menu. I’ll elaborate on this in terms of “functionality”.

A swipe to the right takes you to the app shortcuts, where the weather and the music control are stored by default. But you can edit them and add Alipay, too; due to the lack of support this is rather secondary. A Swipe to the left, on the other hand, is a waste of time, there is no function hidden here.

Scope of functions

The fact that it’s more of a fitness tracker than a Smartwatch can be seen, for example, from the fact that it doesn’t have a particularly powerful processor or large internal memory. Again, the proprietary operating system is used, which was already used in the predecessor.

The functional range therefore includes for example the typical Fitness Tracker features such as pulse measurement, pedometer and also sports modes such as jogging or cycling.

Sports modes – the basic aspect

There are only two modes under “Workout”: Treadmill and Exercise. The running mode gives information about the time, distance and cadence as well as the current heart rate. The exercise mode provides information about time, calories burned and heart rate. So both modes are relatively rudimentary and the exercise mode a bit too general, especially if you do different exercises in a gym.

The integrated vibration motor gives feedback during start/pause and stop as well as per kilometer you have covered. Afterwards you get a short summary, which is more detailed in the Mi Fit app. This is still a heart rate diagram and divides the running unit into different areas (relaxed/locker/intensive).

On the band itself I miss the bicycle mode, which is directly integrated in my bip. But you can still use it, you just have to start it via the app. The data (time, distance, speed, pulse) are then displayed on the band with a short delay. That’s okay, at least, but I think you could have pre-installed this mode on the band.

For runners it is important to mention that the Amazfit Cor 2 is not equipped with GPS. In contrast to the Bip, this is a disadvantage, if you walk with your smartphone anyway, you have to use it to determine your position. The accuracy of the step counter is good in my eyes, I could not find any discrepancies worth mentioning in various tests.

Other functions: music control, notifications & time

There are of course other functions as well, such as timer, stopwatch and alarm clock. The alarm clock can also be switched on and off directly at the clock, as with the Bip. The time and rhythm must be set once using the Mi Fit app. A weather forecast is also integrated. As with the Amazfit Bip, this only works after successful synchronization with the Mi Fit app and saves the data for your location for 5 days.

A special function, however, is the music control. The Amazfit Cor 2 allows you to control your playback apps while pausing a song and playing the next or previous track. This was not possible with the predecessor and also not with the Amazfit Bip. The function is very minimalistic, limited to these three keys, but is really super practical for me in everyday life. Often play/pause is enough, but a volume key would still have been desirable. We successfully tested this with Spotify, YouTube, a podcast app and the smartphone’s integrated media player.

As with a Xiaomi Mi Band 3 or the Amazfit Bip, the Amazfit Band 2 can also display notifications. Unfortunately the access is a bit complicated, so you have to scroll into the menu and open the notifications. This is too “cumbersome” to deliver real added value in everyday life. That’s a pity, because the colorful display shows the messages relatively well, even if the form factor of the display is not particularly suitable for it in my eyes. If you attach a lot of importance to notifications, the Huami Amazfit Bip is a bit better for you.

NFC – unfortunately only with Alipay

The NFC integrated in Amazfit Band 2 was highly anticipated in advance. Unfortunately, this only works in combination with Alipay, Alibaba’s payment service. It works similar to Google Pay, but is hardly implemented in Europe. So you can safely ignore it here – too bad! With a real NFC support one could have served a large target group. We also know this problem from the Mi Band 3 in the NFC version.

More battery life despite a smaller battery

So not much has happened so far. But what has changed compared to its predecessor? The battery life has been improved a lot. With the predecessor you promised 12 days, with us in the test it was rather 8. But now there should be up to 20 days running time in it, we cannot confirm that exactly yet. But since we have currently used about 50% in a good 9 days, we are on the right track. That of course depends strongly on your use, but a good 10 to 14 days should be enough for almost everyone.

And this although the battery is reduced from 170 mAh to 160 mAh. Apparently Huami has built in a more energy-efficient processor and improved the energy management of the fitness bracelet. A magnetic 2-pin cable is used for charging, which takes a good 90 minutes to fully charge the Cor 2.

Mi Fit: The App for the Huami Amazfit Cor 2

As with most Amazfit products or the Mi Band 2, the relatively well-known Mi Fit app is also used for the Huami Amazfit Cor 2. Here you can see the cooperation between Huami and Xiaomi, who finally created the Mi Fit app. This app is available for Android and iOS and works very well overall, offers some options and has now been optically reworked.

Pairing the Fitness Tracker with your smartphone is super simple. Simply click on the plus sign in the upper right corner of the Mi Fit app, select “Band” and the Fitness Tracker will be searched via the integrated Bluetooth 4.2. Then a pairing request arrives on the tape, accept it once and the two devices connect and synchronize.

Under “Activity” you will find an overview of your already completed activities and can also start new activities from there. There you will also find the information about your sleep, if you track your sleep with it. Under “Profile” you can set up your account once and set your step goal and personal data, but also change various settings regarding your band. Notifications, alarms, events, display settings, watchfaces, pulse measurement, screen settings and more. If you want to change something, you can find it there.

Conclusion: Very good, but too special

Huami doesn’t change much with the Amazfit Cor 2. Somewhat fresher design, better running time and music control – that’s it. In my opinion, you don’t have to upgrade if you already have the predecessor. The price will probably settle at about $50, which makes the tracker very fair. This should replace the first generation in the long run.

If you want a bit more than the Mi Band 3, but want to get off cheaply, the Huami Amazfit Cor 2 is a good choice. For the same price, the Huami Amazfit Bip is still a bit better if you like the square design. GPS, integrated bike mode and above all the Always On display are worth their price. The Huami Amazfit Cor 2 is the better choice only if you need music control and the band design.

What fitness tracker are you currently using?