Xiaomi Smart Band 8 review

Chinese language large Xiaomi returns with the most recent iteration of its Sensible Band sequence, however does this new era health tracker have what it takes to compete with the spectacular vary of different cheap wearables that buyers can select between as of late?

I lace up my trainers and take the Xiaomi Sensible Band 8 out for some train.  

Design & Construct

• Light-weight and cozy
• 5ATM water resistance
• Big selection of bands out there

The design of the Sensible Band 8 doesn’t depart an excessive amount of from these we’ve usually seen with health trackers over the previous few years. The unit itself is a pill-shaped steel body that measures 48mm x 22.5mm x 10.99mm and weighs 27g, all of which suggests it sits comfortably on the wrist.

The entrance is dwelling to the 1.62-inch AMOLED show, whereas the rear has varied sensors, which comprise the PPG coronary heart price, Ambient gentle, and 6-axis sensor, in addition to the charging port.

There aren’t any buttons or speaker grills, which helps the unit attain a water resistance for as much as 5TM (right down to depths of fifty metres for round 10 minutes), so you possibly can safely take it swimming and diving.

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The 2 foremost fashions are Gold and Black (which pertains to the encompassing color of the tracker’s steel body) and also you get both black or white TPU straps that may match wrists from 135–210mm. This time round, Xiaomi has gone all in on the straps and fittings, giving the Band 8 the Apple Watch therapy.

By way of the Mi retailer you should buy all kinds of bands, together with calf leather-based, double wrap-around, leather-based and steel chain straps, plus a choice of brighter colored TPU ones if you wish to preserve issues sporty. 

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There’s additionally a pendant clip, so you possibly can put on the tracker on a necklace. This might sound a bit like a nurse from the 70s, however you’ll nonetheless get notifications, a step rely (albeit not as correct as on the wrist) and different sensible options. Another choice is a clip that you should use to connect the Band 8 to the laces of your trainers. Coupling this with the devoted operating monitoring within the Mi Health app and also you’ll get a good stage of knowledge in your efficiency. 

It’s uncommon to see health trackers being given such a variety of fashion selections, as this type of factor is often reserved for sensible watches. However I believe it’s a intelligent transfer by Xiaomi, because it permits folks to personalise their gadget. That is all made extra interesting by the truth that the straps vary in value from £6.99 ($8.89) to £24.99 ($31.70), avoiding among the outrageous costs firms like Apple ask for theirs. 

It needs to be famous that the earlier Band 7 straps received’t work with the brand new becoming on the Band 8, so when you’re upgrading and pondering of bringing your outdated straps with you, you’ll be out of luck this time round. 

Show

• 1.62inch AMOLED show
• 60Hz refresh price
• At all times-On characteristic

The show now encompasses a 60Hz refresh price, it was 30Hz on the Xiaomi Mi Band 7,  which does make the scrolling on it look smoother than on just about all of the health trackers, and even some sensible watches, I’ve reviewed prior to now. It could possibly additionally attain a most brightness of 600 nits, 100 greater than the earlier mannequin, though I’ll admit I did battle to learn the knowledge displayed on it when in robust daylight. 

As you’d count on, the 1.62inch AMOLED panel appears nice, with robust colors and clear textual content on provide due to the 192 x 490 decision. Contact sensitivity is okay, however the show didn’t all the time recognise faucets to verify adjustments to settings. This could possibly be attributable to Xiaomi not wanting the gadget to by chance mistake stray touches and faucets as instructions. It wasn’t a giant downside, because the menu lets you realize while you’ve activated or disabled one thing, so that you a minimum of all the time knew if the response was there or not. 

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Xiaomi says the show is produced from 2.5D bolstered glass, which is a cloth used on a number of cheaper gadgets, presumably to maintain down prices. It’s honest to say that it in all probability received’t be as hardy as one thing like Gorilla Glass, nevertheless it appeared sturdy sufficient for the time I spent testing the Band 8, with no obvious scratches to be discovered on the floor.  

There’s an auto-brightness built-in and you may also activate the At all times-on characteristic if you’d like the Band 8 to behave as a type of wrist watch. This can value you battery-life, however the Band already performs admirably on this space, so it shouldn’t really feel like a giant deal. 

As with the straps, there are many different watchfaces out there at no cost within the app, and plenty of of them are properly designed, so you need to have the ability to make the Xiaomi Band 8 really feel personalised to you whereas additionally getting the information you need.  

Software program & Options

• Simple to make use of menus
• Loads of built-in apps
• Works with music, podcast and audiobook apps

The interface on the Xiaomi Sensible Band 8 may be very a lot on par with its predecessors and different trackers available on the market. The house display screen will be modified through the completely different watch faces talked about above, with the knowledge proven various. On some it is possible for you to to have immediate entry to your steps, coronary heart price, energy burned, time, date and remaining cost or a smaller choice of these metrics. 

Navigation is managed by swiping left, proper, up or down. From the house web page you possibly can swipe left or proper to cycle by the fast settings and different apps you can arrange within the Mi Health app. Up opens up the app menu the place you possibly can kick off exercises, take a look at your coronary heart price or loads of different options. Swiping down opens up the notifications space. Xiaomi doesn’t embrace a house button, so that you’ll have to swipe again to the web page you need, which could be a little tiresome, however the pages will not be too deep so that you rapidly get used to nipping across the interface. 

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You do now have the choice to set the suitable swipe to open up a web page the place you possibly can have fast hyperlinks to 2 apps, which ought to make it simpler to entry those you employ most. 

Other than the health-related options, which I’ll cowl beneath, you get some further instruments to make use of. The Xiaomi Sensible Band 8 is appropriate with music and audio apps, so you possibly can management the playback and quantity with out having to make use of your cellphone. There’s additionally a climate app (fed by the Mi Health app), torch, stopwatch, alarms, occasions (though this may’t decide up ones in your present calendar), in addition to controls to your cellphone that embrace enabling silent mode, a distant management for the digicam, and a discover my cellphone possibility that causes your handset to ring. 

You get notifications of messages that you simply’ve acquired, however you received’t have the ability to reply. It’s a special case with cellphone calls, as you possibly can reject them when you’re busy, however fireplace off a preset message, comparable to ‘In a gathering, I’ll name you later’. 

Connectivity is dealt with by Bluetooth 5.1 BLE, which pairs it along with your cellphone and the Mi Health app, all of which syncs properly. Sadly the shortage of GPS or NFC means you received’t have the ability to straight monitor your train routes or make funds with the Band 8, however this isn’t uncommon for a tool on this value vary. 

Well being & Health Monitoring

• Over 150 health modes
• Coronary heart, SpO2, steps, stress and sleep monitoring
• Health monitoring is sufficient

Most individuals purchase health trackers to regulate their well being in addition to a approach to get extra data on their train. In these areas the Xiaomi Band 8 is a superb companion, contemplating the worth. 

For on a regular basis well being, the gadget can monitor your heart-rate at intervals of 1-, 10- or half-hour, with the choice to arrange thresholds for low or excessive BPMs that set off notifications to warn you that you simply’ve hit these limits.

Compared to another trackers and smartwatches I’ve, the monitoring did appear slightly wayward at instances, however would nonetheless be a very good device for getting a basic image of your coronary heart well being – this isn’t a highend skilled operating watch in spite of everything.

It’s also possible to avail your self of the blood oxygen (SpO2) monitor, in addition to one other for stress, each of that are greatest handled as tough guides quite than precision medical trackers. 

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The sleep monitoring is arguably extra helpful than on one thing just like the Apple Watch, which regularly must be charging in a single day and subsequently not nice for monitoring your sleep out of your bedside desk.

Every morning you get a map of the evening’s sleep, with sections for deep, REM, and light-weight phases. You’ll additionally be told of while you went to mattress and acquired up, plus any waking situations within the evening.

There’s additionally the choice to allow respiration monitoring too, though I’m probably not positive how this really works when it comes to monitoring functionality. 

Once more, this all means that you can construct up an consciousness of how your sleep routine is working, with in all probability extra concentrate on the instances of sleep being essentially the most correct, as there’s no actual approach to know if the opposite metrics are on the cash or not as you’re unconscious once they’re taking place.  

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Xiaomi packs the Sensible Band 8 with specialised monitoring modes for over 150 completely different actions. These vary from regular train like strolling, operating, biking, swimming and aerobics, to extra unique (and barely questionable) athletic occasions comparable to Dragon boat racing, snowmobile using, and chess. Sure, chess. Or there’s checkers when you’re feeling extra energetic. 

Honest to say, I’d wager most of the modes do precisely the identical factor, however with the primary gymnasium and monitor primarily based ones lined, you’ll have the ability to monitor your health coaching properly with the Band 8. The shortage of GPS does imply you can’t monitor any routes for runs, walks, cycles rides or hikes with out your cellphone.

You’ll additionally want to recollect to both allow the auto-sensing of exercises, which will be hit or miss, or manually begin the tracker firstly of a session. 

The previous is unquestionably preferable when you’re a forgetful outdated sod like me. After a very good swimming session to check the waterproof nature of the Sensible Band 8 (it was nice) in addition to the monitoring, I completed and realised I hadn’t engaged the monitoring and as a substitute was informed I’d walked round a bit as a substitute.

When engaged correctly, I discovered the monitoring to be respectable, with the gadget sensing completely different ranges of exercise and stress all through the session. These embrace common tempo, restoration time, gentle, intense, VO2, cardio and anaerobic. You get a breakdown of the metrics on the Band, however for a extra complete file the information is synced to the Mi Health app (which replaces the earlier Zepp app). 

There’s additionally a scores for Coaching Effort, which lets you know the way laborious you’ve pushed your self, with a Vitality rating that awards factors throughout the week to assist inspire you to get out and train. 

The Mi Health app is an efficient accompaniment to the Band 8, providing the flexibility to view your progress, high quality tune which well being metrics you need the Band to trace in additional depth, plus a spread of different settings for messages and different apps which might be a bit difficult to regulate straight from the app. For those who’re considering digging into your well being knowledge, then count on to spend a while within the Mi Health app, which needs to be no unhealthy factor.  

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One potential draw back is that most of the monitoring options are disabled on the gadget by default. So it takes a short while to get issues correctly up and operating as you slowly realise which bits will not be recording after which repair that by enabling the characteristic. 

I additionally bumped into a couple of situations the place the app didn’t monitor places or knowledge, despite the fact that the characteristic was enabled. However, hopefully, this shall be fastened in future updates. 

Battery Life & Charging

• 190mAh battery
• Spectacular longevity
• Moderately fast recharge instances

Top-of-the-line options of the Xiaomi Sensible Band 8 is the battery life.

With all the extra superior monitoring disabled (mainly how the gadget is preset out of the field) you’ll get two weeks of life from a single cost from the 190mah cell, which is good.

When you begin enabling issues like superior sleep monitoring, always-on show, fixed coronary heart price monitoring and different settings, this may mainly be minimize in half. However, that’s nonetheless higher than many smartwatches can handle. 

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Xiaomi features a bespoke charging cable within the field (however not the charger), and hooking a useless Band 8 as much as this may have you ever again at 100% in round an hour.

Value & Availability

The Xiaomi Sensible Band 8 prices £39.99/€49.99 to purchase direct and also you also needs to discover it out there for comparable quantities and even cheaper from Amazon and different retailers. Xiaomi doesn’t promote straight into the US, however on the time of writing it was out there on Amazon US for $49.99.

For across the similar value you might additionally have a look at the Amazfit Band 7, which prices £49.99/$49.99 and comes with a smaller 1.47inch show, albeit one which’s slightly wider than on the Band 8. It’s additionally waterproof to 5ATM, has an At all times-On characteristic, and loads of well being and sport monitoring choices.  

For those who’ve acquired extra to spend, then the brand new Fitbit Cost 6 is a extra superior tracker, with a superb coronary heart price sensor, compatibility with Google Maps, and which syncs with most gymnasium gear. You’ll have to spend a premium for this high quality although, because it is available in at £139.99/$159.99. 

To see the present decide of the crop, check out our greatest health tracker chart. 

Do you have to purchase the Xiaomi Sensible Band 8? 

The Xiaomi Sensible Band 8 is a properly made, good trying health tracker that’s packed filled with options.

The health and well being knowledge is detailed and offers you an excellent overview of the state of your physique and exercise ranges throughout the board. The interface flows properly due to the 60Hz show, though may nonetheless do with some polish when it comes to navigation and which helpful settings are disabled out of the field. 

The monitoring isn’t world-class, however that’s probably not what you’d count on from one thing on this value vary. As a substitute, you get a great tool for monitoring your well being, controlling parts of your smartphone, and one which received’t should be charged every evening.

As finances trackers go, I’d say that is the brand new benchmark.  

Specs

• 1.62-inch AMOLED Contact Show, 192 x 490 decision
• As much as 600 nit brightness
• Excessive precision 6-axis sensor
• PPG coronary heart price sensor
• Ambient gentle sensor
• 5ATM waterproof
• Bluetooth 5.1 BLE
• 190mAh battery
• TPU Strap size: 135mm–210mm
• 48mm x 22.5mm x 10.99mm
• 27g