So I have wondered about this, but it doesn't explain why the battery life would be better — unless the idea is that they're losing money on the devices by using advanced batteries because they want to track you.

Regardless, I don't give the Amazfit (Zepp) app access to my location, and the watch itself doesn't have wifi connectivity. I suppose they can see my IP address when the app phones home, but I don't really care that the company knows my approximate location.