Sports Technology Companies Unveil Fitness Updates and New Smartwatches

Ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show, Apple announced significant updates to its Fitness+ service and presented compelling user activity data. Concurrently, details emerged about an upcoming iOS update designed to enhance third-party smartwatch functionality. Meanwhile, the smartwatch market saw new contenders with the launch of Amazfit's Active Max and Huawei's GT Runner 2, the latter of which has undergone independent GPS accuracy tests.

The tech world gears up for CES with Apple's Fitness+ updates and new smartwatch launches from Amazfit and Huawei, alongside a crucial iOS update for third-party smartwatches.

Apple Fitness+ and Watch Insights

Apple rolled out several updates for its Fitness+ service on January 5th, with additional programs slated for release later in January, February, and extending into 2026.

• New Multi-Week Workout Programs:

  • "Make your Fitness Comeback" integrates HIIT, Strength, and Yoga, featuring three 10-minute workouts per week for each discipline.
  • "Build a Yoga Habit in 4 Weeks" offers two 10-minute workouts weekly, balancing slow and energetic sessions.
  • "Back-to-Back Strength and HIIT" provides three 20-minute workouts per week, evenly split between Strength and HIIT.
  • "The Strength Basics in 3 weeks" includes three weekly workouts, each focusing on a different body area to establish correct technique. This program became available on January 12th.

• New Artist Spotlight Workouts: Five new workouts featuring KAROL G are currently available. Three additional workouts from Bad Bunny are scheduled for release on February 2nd.

• New Time to Walk Episodes: Episodes featuring Penn Badgley and Mel B have been released, with an episode featuring Michelle Monahan expected later in the year.

• Upcoming 2026 Workouts: Future workouts in 2026 are slated to feature social media personalities such as Allie Bennett (Treadmill), TwinSauce (Dance), and Remy Park (Yoga).

A comprehensive study conducted between 2021 and early 2025, involving 100,000 Apple Watch participants, revealed compelling user activity trends:

• During the first two weeks of January, over 60% of users increased their daily exercise minutes by more than 10% compared to their December average.
• Approximately 80% of these users maintained increased exercise levels through the second half of January.
• A remarkable 90% of that group sustained elevated exercise levels through February and March.

Apple Watch data shows over 60% of users boosted their exercise minutes in early January, with sustained increases for a significant majority through March.

A 'Ring in the New Year' reward is currently available for users who successfully close all three activity rings for seven consecutive days in January.

iOS Smartwatch Enhancements

The iOS 26.3 update is anticipated for public release later this month. This crucial update is expected to enable third-party smartwatches to receive actionable smart notifications, allowing users to respond directly rather than solely dismissing them. A noted limitation of this feature is that notifications cannot be received on more than one device simultaneously.

New Smartwatch Releases

Amazfit has introduced the new Amazfit Active Max smartwatch, priced at $169.

• Display: It boasts a 1.5-inch AMOLED display with an impressive 3,000 nits brightness.
• Key Features: Includes offline mapping capability, voice control functionality, approximately 170 pre-loaded sport profiles, and 4GB of internal storage for offline content. NFC for payments is compatible with Curve accounts in Europe.
• Battery Life: Claims a substantial battery life of 25 days under standard use, 10 days with the always-on display, and 64 hours when utilizing GPS.
• Physical Specifications: Weighs 39.5g (including band) and has a water resistance rating of 5ATM.

The Amazfit Active Max offers a vibrant 3,000-nit display, offline maps, and up to 25 days of battery life at a competitive $169 price point.

The Active Max is positioned as a larger version of the Amazfit Active 2, which is priced at approximately $100 and includes maps but features a smaller screen and reduced battery life. The watch band attachment poles are designed to rotate with the strap, potentially enhancing comfort.

Huawei launched the GT Runner 2 smartwatch, now available outside the US for 399 EUR / 349 GBP. Huawei reported shipping 200 million wearables and over 55 million Watch GT Series units globally by 2025.

• Key Features: Offers optimal training load tracking, Running Ability Index (RAI), running power metrics, dynamic recovery guidance, and smart training plans. It supports free-diving up to 40 meters and will include NFC payment support with Curve.
• Design: Features a breathable fabric strap, a full titanium alloy metal case, and a 3,000 nit display protected by Kunlun glass.
• Battery Life: Claimed battery life is 32 hours in GPS mode and 14 days in smartwatch mode (gesture-based).
• Physical Specifications: Weighs 43.5g, has a thickness of 10.7mm, and a case diameter of 43.5mm.

Huawei highlighted the GT Runner 2's dual GNSS antenna design, which includes one antenna in the watch case and another in the titanium bezel, separated by an aqua-colored isolation ring. This design aims to improve GPS accuracy in challenging environments, such as urban areas with tall buildings, by matching satellite transmission polarization. The company also described a method of blending GPS data with mapping data to maintain tracking accuracy when GPS signals are lost, such as in tunnels. Huawei presented internal tests indicating high accuracy levels for distance and pace.

Independent real-world tests, conducted with final-release firmware, evaluated the GT Runner 2's GPS accuracy against multiple competitor units:

• GPS Accuracy: The tests observed minor to significant deviations in both easy and moderate GPS scenarios, including open roads and mountain switchbacks, with deviations of up to 50 meters from the actual track during climbs. In urban environments, the watch often tracked on the road rather than the sidewalk or crosswalk, which was noted as a potential "lock to road" behavior that did not always reflect the runner's actual path. In a long tunnel section, the watch demonstrated maintaining a straight line, performing better than a Garmin Forerunner 970 in that specific scenario, although errors were noted before and after the tunnel.
• Elevation Accuracy: Elevation tracking showed consistent drift across multiple runs, including one instance where elevation readings went negative when near sea level. While one older run registered reasonably accurate elevation, a consistent pattern of deviation was observed in more recent tests.
• Heart Rate Accuracy: The heart rate monitoring functionality performed well during the tested runs.

Independent tests of the Huawei GT Runner 2 revealed minor to significant GPS deviations, particularly in challenging environments and urban settings, though heart rate accuracy was strong.

Huawei stated that its algorithms were optimized for road running and that performance should remain competitive, indicating they would investigate the test results. Independent testing experience suggests that early GPS accuracy issues are often linked to antenna design or hardware factors rather than solely software updates. The GT Runner 2 features a titanium alloy case, a breathable strap, a display visible in bright sunlight, free downloadable onboard maps, various training features, and audible alerts via a built-in speaker.