Original article excerpt
Server-side extracted preview paragraphs from the original source.
How does the latest Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra stack up against the Garmin Fenix 8? Here's what I discovered after living with both for a month.
ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.
When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.
ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form.
The Garmin Fenix 8 has been one of my favorite sports watches for the past couple of years, and while it is on sale as we anticipate the Fenix 9 release, it is still an expensive watch. Amazfit has been challenging Garmin with affordable watches. The company recently started releasing flagship models priced closer to Garmin's flagship offerings, but they can still save you a couple of hundred dollars.
For the past month, I have been running, biking, hiking, and living with flagship watches from both companies to see if Amazfit is worth saving some money as the brand continues a steady launch of watches in 2026.
Also: I tested the best sports watches in 2026: Here are the latest and greatest watches, no matter your budget