Amazfit might be preparing watches with solar charging. The Zepp app code hinted at it

Today, solar charging in smartwatches almost exclusively means Garmin – and a significant surcharge. But now it seems that Amazfit, a brand known more for affordable prices, wants to enter this league. Clear traces of watches that will charge directly from the sun have appeared in the code of its Zepp app.

What the Zepp App Code Revealed

The server Gadgets & Wearables, which delved into the code of Zepp app version 10.5.0 – the very app Amazfit uses to control its watches – drew attention to the possible solar watches. In a so-called APK teardown, an analysis of the application’s installation package, it found variables describing light intensity, solar panel type, and input power from charging. Furthermore, the app now distinguishes whether the watch is charging from the mains or from the sun – which makes no sense for devices without a solar panel.

Garmin Still Dominates Solar Watches

Garmin has taken solar charging in watches the furthest with its Power Glass and Power Sapphire layers on Fenix and Instinct models. Finnish Suunto takes a similar approach with its Vertical series. However, these models are not cheap: for example, the flagship Garmin Fenix 8 Solar costs 22 thousand Czech crowns. If Amazfit, which prides itself on its price-to-performance ratio, brought solar charging significantly cheaper, it could convince many customers.

What We Don’t Know Yet

The rest is a matter of speculation. The code did not reveal either the model name or the release date, and it’s entirely possible that the feature won’t make it into the final version – which is not uncommon for work-in-progress code. It is speculated that a solar panel would be particularly suitable for outdoor series like T-Rex or Falcon, and that the watches will likely opt for an energy-efficient memory-in-pixel (MIP) display, which is easily readable even in direct sunlight, instead of AMOLED. However, we don’t know this for sure yet.

Would Amazfit solar watches at a fraction of Garmin’s price appeal to you?

Sources: Gadgets & Wearables, Notebookcheck