At a look
Skilled’s Ranking
Professionals
- Comfy to put on
- Loads of well being monitoring options
- Wide selection of straps to personalise gadget
Cons
- Monitoring isn’t all the time super-accurate
- No NFC
- No GPS
Our Verdict
A strong price range health tracker with loads of options. The accuracy is typically a bit off, however as a normal information to your well being and health it’s among the best round.
Worth When Reviewed
$49.99
Finest Costs At this time: Xiaomi Sensible Band 8
$47
Chinese language big Xiaomi returns with the most recent iteration of its Sensible Band sequence, however does this new technology health tracker have what it takes to compete with the spectacular vary of different cheap wearables that customers can select between nowadays?
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
- Wide selection of bands obtainable
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 implies it sits comfortably on the wrist.
The entrance is residence to the 1.62-inch AMOLED show, whereas the rear has varied sensors, which comprise the PPG coronary heart charge, Ambient mild, and 6-axis sensor, in addition to the charging port.
There are not 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.
This time round, Xiaomi has gone all in on the straps and fittings, giving the Band 8 the Apple Watch therapy.
Martyn Casserly
The 2 primary 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 can 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.
Martyn Casserly
There’s additionally a pendant clip, so you possibly can put on the tracker on a necklace. This may appear 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 good options. An alternative choice is a clip that you should utilize 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 an honest degree of data in your efficiency.
It’s uncommon to see health trackers being given such a variety of fashion selections, as this form of factor is often reserved for good watches. However I believe it’s a intelligent transfer by Xiaomi, because it permits individuals to personalise their gadget. That is all made extra interesting by the truth that the straps vary in worth from £6.99 ($8.89) to £24.99 ($31.70), avoiding a few of the outrageous costs corporations like Apple ask for theirs.
It must be famous that the earlier Band 7 straps gained’t work with the brand new becoming on the Band 8, so if you happen to’re upgrading and considering of bringing your previous straps with you, you’ll be out of luck this time round.
Show
- 1.62inch AMOLED show
- 60Hz refresh charge
- All the time-On characteristic
The show now includes a 60Hz refresh charge, 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 good watches, I’ve reviewed previously. It will 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 anticipate, the 1.62inch AMOLED panel seems to be nice, with robust colors and clear textual content on supply because of 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 as a consequence of Xiaomi not wanting the gadget to by chance mistake stray touches and faucets as instructions. It wasn’t an enormous downside, because the menu lets if you’ve activated or disabled one thing, so that you at the very least all the time knew if the response was there or not.
Martyn Casserly
Xiaomi says the show is constituted of 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 most likely gained’t be as hardy as one thing like Gorilla Glass, however it appeared strong 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 too can activate the All the time-on characteristic in order for you the Band 8 to behave as a type of wrist watch. This may price you battery-life, however the Band already performs admirably on this space, so it shouldn’t really feel like an enormous deal.
As with the straps, there are many different watchfaces obtainable free of charge within the app, and lots of of them are nicely designed, so it’s best to have the ability to make the Xiaomi Band 8 really feel personalised to you whereas additionally getting the info 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 instantaneous entry to your steps, coronary heart charge, 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 via the short settings and different apps that you could 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 charge or loads of different options. Swiping down opens up the notifications space. Xiaomi doesn’t embrace a house button, so that you’ll must swipe again to the web page you need, which could be a little tiresome, however the pages aren’t too deep so that you rapidly get used to nipping across the interface.
Martyn Casserly
You do now have the choice to set the fitting 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.
Apart from the health-related options, which I’ll cowl beneath, you get some extra instruments to make use of. The Xiaomi Sensible Band 8 is suitable with music and audio apps, so you possibly can management the playback and quantity with out having to make use of your telephone. There’s additionally a climate app (fed by the Mi Health app), torch, stopwatch, alarms, occasions (though this could’t decide up ones in your present calendar), in addition to controls on your telephone that embrace enabling silent mode, a distant management for the digicam, and a discover my telephone possibility that causes your handset to ring.
You get notifications of messages that you just’ve acquired, however you gained’t have the ability to reply. It’s a unique case with telephone calls, as you possibly can reject them if you happen to’re busy, however fireplace off a preset message, reminiscent of ‘In a gathering, I’ll name you later’.
Connectivity is dealt with by Bluetooth 5.1 BLE, which pairs it together with your telephone and the Mi Health app, all of which syncs nicely. Sadly the dearth of GPS or NFC means you gained’t have the ability to immediately observe your train routes or make funds with the Band 8, however this isn’t uncommon for a tool on this worth vary.
Well being & Health Monitoring
- Over 150 health modes
- Coronary heart, SpO2, steps, stress and sleep monitoring
- Health monitoring is ample
Most individuals purchase health trackers to regulate their well being in addition to a technique to get extra info on their train. In these areas the Xiaomi Band 8 is a wonderful 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 just’ve hit these limits.
The sleep monitoring is arguably extra helpful than on one thing just like the Apple Watch
Compared to another trackers and smartwatches I’ve, the monitoring did appear a bit of wayward at instances, however would nonetheless be software for getting a normal image of your coronary heart well being – this isn’t a highend skilled operating watch in any case.
You may also 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 moderately than precision medical trackers.
Martyn Casserly
The sleep monitoring is arguably extra helpful than on one thing just like the Apple Watch, which frequently must be charging in a single day and due to this fact 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 lightweight phases. You’ll additionally be told of if you went to mattress and bought up, plus any waking situations within the evening.
There’s additionally the choice to allow respiration monitoring too, though I’m probably not certain 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 most likely extra concentrate on the instances of sleep being probably the most correct, as there’s no actual technique to know if the opposite metrics are on the cash or not as you’re unconscious once they’re taking place.
Martyn Casserly
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 reminiscent of Dragon boat racing, snowmobile using, and chess. Sure, chess. Or there’s checkers if you happen to’re feeling extra energetic.
Truthful to say, I’d wager lots of the modes do precisely the identical factor, however with the principle fitness center and observe based mostly ones lined, you’ll have the ability to monitor your health coaching nicely with the Band 8. The shortage of GPS does imply that you could’t observe any routes for runs, walks, cycles rides or hikes with out your telephone.
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 at first of a session.
The previous is certainly preferable if you happen to’re a forgetful previous sod like me. After 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 an alternative was instructed I’d walked round a bit as an alternative.
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, mild, intense, VO2, cardio and anaerobic. You get a breakdown of the metrics on the Band, however for a extra complete file the info is synced to the Mi Health app (which replaces the earlier Zepp app).
There’s additionally a scores for Coaching Effort, which lets you understand how onerous you’ve pushed your self, with a Vitality rating that awards factors throughout the week to assist encourage you to get out and train.
The Mi Health app is an efficient accompaniment to the Band 8, providing the power to view your progress, wonderful 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 manage immediately from the app. For those who’re thinking about digging into your well being knowledge, then anticipate to spend a while within the Mi Health app, which must be no dangerous factor.
Martyn Casserly
One potential draw back is that lots 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 aren’t recording after which repair that by enabling the characteristic.
I additionally bumped into a couple of situations the place the app didn’t observe places or knowledge, despite the fact that the characteristic was enabled. However, hopefully, this can be fastened in future updates.
Battery Life & Charging
- 190mAh battery
- Spectacular longevity
- Moderately fast recharge instances
Among the finest options of the Xiaomi Sensible Band 8 is the battery life.
With all the extra superior monitoring disabled (principally 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 charge monitoring and different settings, it will principally be lower in half. However, that’s nonetheless higher than many smartwatches can handle.
Martyn Casserly
Xiaomi features a bespoke charging cable within the field (however not the charger), and hooking a lifeless Band 8 as much as it will have you ever again at 100% in round an hour.
you’ll get two weeks of life from a single cost from the 190mah cell, which is good.
Worth & Availability
The Xiaomi Sensible Band 8 prices £39.99/€49.99 to purchase direct and also you also needs to discover it obtainable for related quantities and even cheaper from Amazon and different retailers. Xiaomi doesn’t promote immediately into the US, however on the time of writing it was obtainable on Amazon US for $49.99.
For across the similar worth you possibly can additionally take 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 a bit of wider than on the Band 8. It’s additionally waterproof to 5ATM, has an All the time-On characteristic, and loads of well being and sport monitoring choices.
For those who’ve bought extra to spend, then the brand new Fitbit Cost 6 is a extra superior tracker, with a superb coronary heart charge sensor, compatibility with Google Maps, and which syncs with most fitness center gear. You’ll must 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 nicely made, good trying health tracker that’s packed filled with options.
The health and well being knowledge is detailed and offers you a fantastic overview of the state of your physique and exercise ranges throughout the board. The interface flows nicely because of the 60Hz show, though might 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 anticipate from one thing on this worth vary. As an alternative, you get a great tool for monitoring your well being, controlling components of your smartphone, and one which gained’t have to be charged every evening.
As price range 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 charge sensor
- Ambient mild sensor
- 5ATM water-resistant
- Bluetooth 5.1 BLE
- 190mAh battery
- TPU Strap size: 135mm–210mm
- 48mm x 22.5mm x 10.99mm
- 27g