Three budget sports watches, three very different training priorities

Coros’s Pace 4 leads for serious distance runners, while Amazfit’s T-Rex 3 Pro and Balance 3 target outdoor explorers and mixed-training users.

For runners and outdoor athletes working with a budget of about RMB1,500, Coros’ Pace 4 stands out as the most focused option for serious distance running. According to the product details reported by Ride MTB, the watch weighs just 32g and uses a 1.2-inch AMOLED touch display, with battery life rated at up to 41 hours in GPS mode and 19 days in everyday use. It is built around training tools rather than lifestyle extras, with running fitness metrics, race forecasts, personalised marathon plans and a Virtual Pacer for structured sessions.

That positioning fits runners who log regular half-marathons or marathons and want light weight, reliable positioning and recovery guidance. The summary provided with the lead article says the Pace 4 also supports dual-band positioning, which should improve route stability on tree-lined paths and in more challenging terrain. Coros also appears to have pushed voice functions and heart-rate sensing into the design, strengthening the watch’s appeal for those who care more about training precision than app ecosystems or smart features.

For users who spend more time on hills, trails and campsites than on roads, the Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro is a more obvious alternative. Notebookcheck describes it as a rugged smartwatch with more than 160 sports modes, 24-hour heart-rate monitoring, blood oxygen, stress and sleep tracking, plus offline navigation. That makes it better suited to hiking, navigation in poor coverage and general outdoor use than a slim running watch. The trade-off is obvious: ruggedness, size and weight come at the expense of everyday comfort, especially for office wear.

A third option, the Amazfit Balance 3, sits between those two extremes and is aimed at people who train regularly in the gym as well as outside. The lead article highlights its HyperCoach system, which assesses training load and recovery, while also covering running, cycling, swimming, triathlon and HIIT. Wareable’s review of Amazfit’s broader sports-watch line notes that the brand’s devices can offer wide sport coverage, third-party app sync and detailed training analytics, although accuracy may lag behind higher-end rivals. In practical terms, that makes the Balance 3 a sensible choice for users who want one watch for structured indoor training, routine fitness tracking and long battery life, even if its heavier body and weaker phone integration make it less convincing as a daily smartwatch.

In short, the buying decision is less about one universal “best” watch than about use case. Coros’ Pace 4 is the strongest fit for committed runners who want minimal weight and race-focused tools. The Amazfit T-Rex 3 Pro is the better pick for outdoor exploration and offline navigation. The Balance 3 works for people whose training is mixed, frequent and gym-led. For occasional runners who only go out a few times a month, the lead article’s warning is well made: many of these functions will simply go unused.