Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro review: Big Display, Small Flaws

A brand new, greater 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 Sensible Band 8 Professional prices simply £59.99/€79.99 and whereas it has a wonderful show and lot of monitoring choices, there are some downsides which may make you suppose twice akin 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 obtainable on the Xiaomi retailer

As the larger brother of the Xiaomi Sensible Band 8 I reviewed just lately, the Professional mannequin contains 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 below 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 price sensor and bespoke charging port to which you magnetically connect the included charging cable. 

A TPU strap comes with the Xiaomi Sensible Band 8 Professional, that can match wrists that measure 135–205 mm. If you’d like an extended, shorter or completely different model of strap, there are many choices obtainable 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 way of 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 way of very simply.

It’s solely a bit factor, nevertheless it was extra work than appeared mandatory. 

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

Xiaomi says the Sensible Band 8 Professional has a water-resistant score of 5ATM, which suggests you possibly can swim in it so long as you’re not happening too deep although 50m needs to be lots for most individuals. It is strongly recommended to not use the band in a sizzling bathe although, so bear that in thoughts. 

You may get the Sensible 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 screen

• 1.74-inch AMOLED
• GG3 Strengthened glass
• At all times-on show

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

The 1.74-inch AMOLED show is evident 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 possibly make use of that defeat my outdated eyes, however for essentially 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 stable, with the occasional issue 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 a bit fundamental by way of design, as there’s no actual shaping to the contours of the body, only a little bit of a slab, nevertheless it does the job. The sunshine gray livery fixes these aesthetic quibbles because of its silver edge across the show.

You get an At all times-On show choice that reveals the time, and you may alter numerous different settings akin to auto-brightness and lift to wake. The sensors could be a bit sluggish, as I discovered a number of instances once 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 stage got here as much as one thing I may learn clearly within the solar.

This may be mounted in software program updates although, so I wouldn’t anticipate it to be an ongoing challenge for customers, no less than I hope not. 

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

A 60Hz refresh price retains the show scrolling alongside easily, and the truth that it’s produced from Gorilla Glass 3 bolstered glass ought to preserve it away from any main shatters should you unintentionally catch it on a door body or different impediment. After almost two weeks of continuous put on, I didn’t discover any scratches on the glass, so it additionally displays 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 possibly can swipe all the way down to learn notifications, as much as discover the app listing, left to entry the assorted widgets to well-liked options, or proper to search out the fast settings menu. As there’s no button on the Sensible Band 8 Professional, you’ll must swipe again by way of 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 Sensible Band 8 Professional helps all the principle music streaming providers 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 wish so as to add appointments manually. 

You possibly can obtain notifications and messages from texts, WhatsApp and different apps, however there isn’t a strategy to reply on the Sensible Band. It’s a bit completely different with incoming calls, as you possibly can select from just a few preset fast responses akin to, ‘I can’t discuss. Name me later?’.

Naturally, you possibly can 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 that you could have completely different watch faces for various functions, nevertheless it does appear a bit daft, as you possibly can quickly neglect what settings you will have for every one.

It may all be adjusted within the menu, however concentrate on this earlier than you unintentionally miss calls as a result of the incorrect 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 obtainable without cost, going from information-dense ones to basic analogue types, so that you’re certain to search out just a few that fit your wants and aesthetic preferences. 

You possibly can alter extra settings, in addition to take a look at the info collected about your well being, on the accompanying Mi Health app. This additionally lets you 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 Sensible Band 8 Professional does embody GNSS/GPS monitoring and Bluetooth, there’s no NFC within the international model (China does get the function). So should you had been hoping to make contactless funds with the band, that received’t be attainable this time round.  

Well being & Health Monitoring

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

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

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

How they differ by way of what they observe is one thing of a thriller, however should 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 price throughout actions, location by way of 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 Sensible Band 8, whereby it’s a helpful information for normal coaching, however doesn’t really feel correct sufficient for use should you require exact knowledge.

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

These can be overkill for most individuals although, so should you simply desire a strategy to regulate your exercise ranges, plus some well being monitoring, then the Sensible Band 8 Professional continues to be a good selection. 

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

A helpful functionality is the sleep monitoring on the system. Because the battery life spans a number of days, you possibly can preserve it on at night time, which means it may possibly extra intently take note of your metrics.

You’ll must allow the superior monitoring to get essentially the most out of the function (it’s off by default to avoid wasting battery life), which then provides you an in depth report of your sleep patterns and ranges. These might be considered day by day, weekly or month-to-month so you possibly can see whether or not you’re getting the proper 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 essentially the most half, the sleep monitoring appears first rate, though the band does wrestle to distinguish between mendacity down and sleeping. That’s truthful sufficient, however it may possibly skew the studies should you wrestle to get to sleep or choose 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 Sensible Band 8 Professional having the ability to run for round 5 days with the monitoring options enabled.

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

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

Martyn Casserly

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

There’s a battery saving mode on the system, that may make sure you get house 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. 

Value & Availability

You should purchase the Xiaomi Sensible Band 8 Professional immediately from the corporate’s website for £59.99/€79.99 nevertheless it’s not obtainable within the US.

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

When it comes to alternate options, Xiaomi’s personal Sensible Band 8 is a superb choice 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 Sensible 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 alternate options in our greatest health tracker roundup. 

Do you have to purchase the Xiaomi Sensible Band 8 Professional?

Selecting up an inexpensive health tracker as of late might be sophisticated, as there are such a lot of first rate choices obtainable.

The principle promoting level is the massive display, which is a stunning panel that’s straightforward to learn. Monitoring is stable, however not as correct as you’d discover on dearer fashions.

If you happen to’re proud of normal steerage slightly than exact readings, then this may simply be sufficient for those that simply need a simple strategy to monitor their well being, management their media and browse messages without having to drag out their cellphone, all for a value that received’t break the financial institution. 

Specs

• 1.74-inch AMOLED show (336 x 480)
• 60Hz refresh price and GG3 Strengthened glass
• Accelerometer
• Gyroscope
• Optical coronary heart price and pulse oximeter
• Ambient mild sensor
• 150+ sports activities modes
• Coronary heart price, 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