Xiaomi’s Smart Band 8 Pro is a cheap and easy way to track health, control media and get notifications in an Apple Watch-style design

A brand new, larger model of a health tracker from Xiaomi that makes a satisfactory impression of a smartwatch. However how good can or not it’s with a price ticket this low?

The Xiaomi Good Band 8 Professional prices simply £59.99/€79.99 and whereas it has a superb show and lot of monitoring choices, there are some downsides which may make you suppose twice comparable to the dearth of NFC for contactless funds.

Try the competitors in our greatest health tracker chart.

Design & Construct

• Sturdy development
• Waterproof to 5ATM
• Loads of straps out there on the Xiaomi retailer

As the larger brother of the Xiaomi Good Band 8 I reviewed just lately, the Professional mannequin includes a bigger show, which in flip makes it a bit extra of a presence on the wrist.

The 46mm x 33.35mm x 9.99mm dimensions means it’s moderately compact and light-weight at 22.5g (with out the strap), so it sits comfortably beneath a shirt or jacket sleeve. 

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

A steel chassis is a welcome shock at this worth, and the sleek strains of the body are uninterrupted by any buttons or dials. On the underside there’s the optical coronary heart charge sensor and bespoke charging port to which you magnetically connect the included charging cable. 

A TPU strap comes with the Xiaomi Good Band 8 Professional, that can match wrists that measure 135–205 mm. If you’d like an extended, shorter or completely different fashion of strap, there are many choices out there on the Xiaomi Retailer.

I’ve to say that placing on the watch and fastening the band is a bit fiddly. There’s a stud that goes by the holes within the strap, you then slide the remainder of the strap into holders so it doesn’t flap about. The issue is the fabric is a bit grippy, so it doesn’t slide by very simply.

It’s solely just a little factor, however it was extra work than appeared vital. 

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

Xiaomi says the Good Band 8 Professional has a water-proof score of 5ATM, which suggests you’ll be able to swim in it so long as you’re not happening too deep although 50m must be a lot for most individuals. It’s endorsed to not use the band in a scorching bathe although, so bear that in thoughts. 

You may get the Good Band 8 Professional in two colourways – mild gray and black. This not solely applies to the strap but in addition the display encompass. On the black mannequin, it’s a shiny black which blends in with the panel. Whereas the sunshine gray scheme has a silver casing that appears extra premium. 

Display

• 1.74-inch AMOLED
• GG3 Strengthened glass
• All the time-on show

Because the show is the one a part of the Good Band that you simply’ll be interacting with more often than not, it’s job that Xiaomi has fitted an honest panel.

The 1.74-inch AMOLED show is obvious and lots simpler to learn than some smaller bands I’ve used. It runs at a decision of 336 x 480, giving it a pixel density of 336ppi, which is greater than sufficient for a panel this measurement.

There are nonetheless some busy watch faces it may make use of that defeat my outdated eyes, however for probably the most half textual content and readouts are discernable with out the necessity to take off my glasses or maintain the band near my face. 

Responses are strong, with the occasional problem of tapping targets within the corners of the display. Swiping is all good, with easy transitions between the menu pages.

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

The oblong panel does look just a little primary when it comes to design, as there’s no actual shaping to the contours of the body, only a little bit of a slab, however it does the job. The sunshine gray livery fixes these aesthetic quibbles due to its silver edge across the show.

You get an All the time-On show possibility that exhibits the time, and you may regulate numerous different settings comparable to auto-brightness and lift to wake. The sensors generally is a bit gradual, as I discovered a number of occasions after I was out strolling and pulled up my jacket sleeve to see the time, solely to have to attend a second or two earlier than the brightness degree got here as much as one thing I might learn clearly within the solar.

This may be mounted in software program updates although, so I wouldn’t count on it to be an ongoing difficulty for customers, a minimum of I hope not. 

The utmost brightness is listed at 600 nits (and proved this after I examined it with a lightweight meter), which must be sufficient luminescence for many conditions, though the Good Band 8 Professional did really feel underpowered in shiny sunshine.

A 60Hz refresh charge retains the show scrolling alongside easily, and the truth that it’s made out of Gorilla Glass 3 bolstered glass ought to maintain it away from any main shatters in case you by chance catch it on a door body or different impediment. After practically two weeks of continuous put on, I didn’t discover any scratches on the glass, so it additionally reveals a little bit of toughness to outlive the everyday.  

Software program & Options

• Appropriate with Android 8.0 and above or iOS 12 and above
• Easy to grasp interface
• Loads of helpful options built-in

Xiaomi makes use of its personal software program for its sensible bands and trackers, which has a easy and easy-to-use interface.

From the house display you’ll be able to swipe right down to learn notifications, as much as discover the app record, left to entry the assorted widgets to in style options, or proper to seek out the short settings menu. As there’s no button on the Good Band 8 Professional, you’ll have to swipe again by the menus to return to the house web page. 

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

There are many helpful options baked into the software program, other than the vary of health-related ones I’ll cowl beneath.

As you’ll discover with most sensible bands, you get the usual array of timers, stopwatches, media controls (the Good Band 8 Professional helps all the principle music streaming companies in addition to podcast and audiobook apps), plus climate, reminders and calendar apps. The latter can’t entry your Google calendar or different third-party ones, so that you would want so as to add appointments manually. 

You possibly can obtain notifications and messages from texts, WhatsApp and different apps, however there isn’t any solution to reply on the Good Band. It’s just a little completely different with incoming calls, as you’ll be able to select from just a few preset fast responses comparable to, ‘I can’t discuss. Name me later?’.

Naturally, you’ll be able to arrange don’t disturb and different restrictions on the band, however one factor I seen was that whenever you switched to a brand new watch face, the settings don’t keep in place. I feel the thought is you can have completely different watch faces for various functions, however it does appear a bit daft, as you’ll be able to quickly overlook what settings you’ve got for every one.

It may possibly all be adjusted within the menu, however concentrate on this earlier than you by chance miss calls as a result of the flawed don’t disturb was on otherwise you don’t auto observe an train session as a result of the setting isn’t enabled. 

There are a variety of handsome watch faces out there totally free, going from information-dense ones to basic analogue kinds, so that you’re sure to seek out just a few that fit your wants and aesthetic preferences. 

You possibly can regulate extra settings, in addition to take a look at the information collected about your well being, on the accompanying Mi Health app. This additionally means that you can import knowledge from the Zepp app utilized by a number of rival sensible bands and trackers, making it seamless to transition from one platform to the opposite. 

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

Whereas the Good Band 8 Professional does embrace GNSS/GPS monitoring and Bluetooth, there’s no NFC within the world model (China does get the function). So in case you had been hoping to make contactless funds with the band, that received’t be potential this time round.  

Well being & Health Monitoring

• 150+ sports activities modes
• Coronary heart charge, SpO2, stress and sleep monitoring
• Monitoring is sweet however not super-accurate

It’s uncommon to discover a sensible band or health tracker today that doesn’t provide a daft variety of monitoring modes for various particular sports activities or actions.

Xiaomi doesn’t break this development because the Good Band 8 Professional gives over 150 modes, starting from the extra regular strolling, working, biking, swimming, as much as the extra unique ones comparable to fishing, somatosensory video games (I don’t know both), and even eSports.

How they differ when it comes to what they observe is one thing of a thriller, however in case you’re doing it then there’s most likely a mode for it. 

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

The sensors onboard can monitor your coronary heart charge throughout actions, location by GPS, plus there are alternatives for manually checking your blood oxygen (SpO2) and stress ranges. I discovered the monitoring to be on par with most bands I’ve tried round this price ticket, together with the Xiaomi Good Band 8, whereby it’s a helpful information for normal coaching, however doesn’t really feel correct sufficient for use in case you require exact knowledge.

For the latter, you’ll have to go up the costlier choices comparable to an Apple Watch SE (2022) or a devoted working watch just like the Polar Pacer. 

These could be overkill for most individuals although, so in case you simply desire a solution to regulate your exercise ranges, plus some well being monitoring, then the Good Band 8 Professional remains to be a good selection. 

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

A helpful functionality is the sleep monitoring on the machine. Because the battery life spans a number of days, you’ll be able to maintain it on at night time, that means it may extra intently take note of your metrics.

You’ll have to allow the superior monitoring to get probably the most out of the function (it’s off by default to save lots of battery life), which then provides you an in depth report of your sleep patterns and ranges. These could be considered every day, weekly or month-to-month so you’ll be able to see whether or not you’re getting the precise ranges of relaxation. There’s a respiratory tracker that’s in beta stage, however I don’t actually understand how that works, so its accuracy can solely be guessed. 

For probably the most half, the sleep monitoring appears first rate, though the band does battle to distinguish between mendacity down and sleeping. That’s truthful sufficient, however it may skew the stories in case you battle to get to sleep or desire to lie in mattress for some time after waking. 

Battery Life & Charging

• 289mAh battery
• Lasts round 5 days with monitoring enabled
• Recharges in round 90 minutes

Battery life is sweet, with the Good Band 8 Professional having the ability to run for round 5 days with the monitoring options enabled.

In fact, you could possibly lengthen this for longer by turning off a number of the extra in-depth monitoring, however when you will get a working week coated with all of it turned on, that appears a little bit of a waste. 

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

The 289mAh battery could be totally replenished by attaching the bespoke magnetic charging cable and plugging it in for round 90 minutes. 

There’s a battery saving mode on the machine, that may make sure you get residence if the vitality ranges are low, however that does cut back the band into primarily only a watch till you energy it up as soon as extra. 

Worth & Availability

You should purchase the Xiaomi Good Band 8 Professional instantly from the corporate’s website for £59.99/€79.99 however it’s not out there within the US.

There are sometimes offers out there so it is perhaps value watching the Xiaomi website for just a few days earlier than shopping for to see if a discount seems. Most different Xiaomi wearables are often out there from Amazon (together with within the States), together with the Good Band 8 and Smart Band 7 Pro however the 8 Professional isn’t there on the time of writing.

By way of options, Xiaomi’s personal Good Band 8 is a good possibility that forgoes the bigger display and GPS however does provide a less expensive worth (£39.99/$49.99), a lot of the identical function set and an extended battery life.

Amazfit is one other firm that excels within the inexpensive tracker sector, with its Amazfit Good Band 7 overlaying a lot of the identical floor because the Xiaomi mannequin however for round 20% much less on the ticket worth.

You’ll discover a number of different options in our greatest health tracker roundup. 

Must you purchase the Xiaomi Good Band 8 Professional?

Choosing up an inexpensive health tracker today could be sophisticated, as there are such a lot of first rate choices out there.

The principle promoting level is the big display, which is a beautiful panel that’s straightforward to learn. Monitoring is strong, however not as correct as you’d discover on costlier fashions.

For those who’re pleased with normal steering reasonably than exact readings, then it will simply be sufficient for those that simply need a simple solution to monitor their well being, management their media and skim messages while not having to drag out their telephone, all for a value that received’t break the financial institution. 

Specs

• 1.74-inch AMOLED show (336 x 480)
• 60Hz refresh charge and GG3 Strengthened glass
• Accelerometer
• Gyroscope
• Optical coronary heart charge and pulse oximeter
• Ambient mild sensor
• 150+ sports activities modes
• Coronary heart charge, SpO2, stress and sleep monitoring
• 289mAh battery with bespoke charging cable
• Waterproof to 5ATM
• Android 8.0/iOS 12 and above
• TPU detachable strap (will match wrists that measure 135–205 mm)
• 46mm x 33.35mm x 9.99mm
• 22.5g