Verdict
The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro is a upstanding and budget - well-disposed tracker offer a comprehensive set of features within a sleek , unisex design . Xiaomi ’s Mi Fitness platform still miss crucial context and fumbles advanced metrics , but the economic value on offer here means this is an soft parcel to recommend .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Xiaomi ’s Smart Band 8 Pro has begin its worldwide go after ab initio launching in China , and the upgrade to last year ’s crusade promise plenty .
pack a bigger presentation , a longer stamp battery animation , and an update , widget - packed interface – all for around £ 60 – it ’s a tantalizing prognosis on newspaper publisher for those hunting for thebest budget physical fitness tracker .
But does it offer enough of a jump compared to the standardXiaomi Band 8 , or last year ’s 7 Pro ?
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Design and screen
I would often categorize Xiaomi ’s Pro lineup of band as fittingness tracker , but , in true statement , they really blur the line between traditional activity band and modern smartwatches in terms of intention and functionality .
It ’s a form broker that has become increasingly popular in recent years , with the 8 professional akin to the likes of the Huawei Band 8 and Samsung Galaxy Fit 3 . I think it ’s an approach that work , too – this hybrid - fashion design is more unisex than slim activity stripe yet not round enough to really be viewed as a smartwatch .
Xiaomi has also made renowned improvement with the Band 8 professional . It ’s slightly larger , now boasting a 1.74 - in display compared to its harbinger ’s 1.63 in . And this increase in sizing , with the display case expand to 46 x 33.35 x 9.99 mm , is accompanied by a pregnant raise in refresh charge per unit – from 30Hz to 60Hz . This contributes to a perceptibly smoother user experience , and it raise the overall feel of the twist .
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While eagle - eyed buff will spot that the display sits a bit flat than theBand 7 Pro , the overall feel remains largely unchanged . Its lightweight construction ensures comfort during drawn-out wear and kip trailing , and the glossy trim of the plastic case adds a touch of sophistication ( even if this is a bit lacking in the actual on - carpus flavor ) .
However , a notable design fault is the absence seizure of any physical buttons – just as it was in last year ’s variation . It results in a total reliance on filch for navigation , which can be cumbersome when you ’re deep in the 8 Pro ’s card or trailing activity .
There are other minor drawback , as well , like the limited point of sure picket faces in the always - on display ( AOD ) mode and the somewhat inconsistent performance of the rise - to - waken function . While these issues are comparatively insignificant , they underscore the distinctions between the Band 8 Pro and dear smartwatches .
I still very much like the pattern here , though – and , like with most thing with the Band 8 Pro , it ’s difficult to plain too much when the £ 59.99 price is this low .
Software
The upgraded display refresh rate importantly enhances the overall exploiter experience of the Band 8 professional , but there are also Xiaomi ’s raw operating system additions that enhance the useability .
The tracker still runs on the same OS , but there are now several convenient widgets that allow user to chop-chop access and review primal statistics , adjust configurations , controller music playback , and more .
These screens aid allay some of the issues inherent in the Band 8 Pro ’s button - less design , although the absence seizure of a physical button remains a point of contention . You also ca n’t edit them from the equipment itself , which feel a snatch of an odd decisiveness from Xiaomi .
away from this , there are minimal change , and the range of smart feature remain pretty unfinished . You get the classic – apprisal sustenance , calendar desegregation , music control and weather mirroring when you ’re in range of your Io or Android telephone – and basic features like a speech sound - finding function , timers , alarm , and a flashlight , but not much else .
Advanced , smartwatch - comparable features like payment reinforcement , mapping , offline music playback , cellular connectivity , and third - party app integrations stay missing .
While these omissions are understandable given the twist ’s cost point – and also some practical understanding like Xiaomi not take a framework for international contactless payments on article of clothing – those seeking a comprehensive impertinent experience will want to explore other options .
Sports tracking
My experience with Xiaomi ’s fitness trailing is more often than not quite wide-ranging , and this theme hold for the Band 8 Pro . It ’s a step up from the issues present in the received Smart Band 8 , but some stark negatives remain .
The Band 8 Pro is similar to its precursor in offering reliable trailing for canonical tracking metrics such as step counting and calorie burn approximation . Despite pace being systematically small by approximately 1000 compared to other devices , the calorie burning estimates show closer alliance with tracked data on aGarmin Epix Pro ( Gen 2 ) , often fall within 100 - 200kcal of expected values .
day and perch heart rate trailing seem reliable , too , prove minimal deviations from baseline readings . However , the truth of more advanced tracking insights , include training issue , VO2 max , and recuperation hour , remains confutative .
For instance , prolonged streak with a depleted average heart rate may cue recovery hour estimations of up to 80 - 100 hours , while my VO2 max estimation is notably low than record by other wearables .
Although cadence and stride length datum from my test run seem exact , heart rate monitoring functioning during workouts stay on problematic .
The Band 8 Pro tends to underreport average BPM reading material compared to our Garmin HRM - Pro Plus pectus shoulder strap , with the uneven instance of overreporting , as well .
Despite the shortcomings , though , the GPS tracking performance of the Band 8 Pro was actually passably hearty . Despite only have basic built - in GNSS backup , not double - absolute frequency , the gadget certify speedy curl - on time – and the distance estimations are comparable to a top - of - the - melodic line sports watch like the Epix Pro ( Gen 2 ) .
It ’s still liable to underreport distances , but the overall truth of GPS tracking is full enough for most user ; most runs fall down within a negligible variant of 150 m.
Xiaomi still wo n’t permit you to switch from kilometers to miles , though , which some will definitely find frustrating .
Health tracking
The Band 8 Pro falls shortsighted of being sort as a wellness - tracking power plant , though , funnily , not because Xiaomi is meagre with sensor or feature of speech .
The company sweep up a battery - witting approach to health tracking , keeping most feature – including the SpO2 monitoring and high / down heart rate notifications – disabled by default . However , as I bump throughout testing , these feature of speech do n’t really have much of an effect on battery life and they ’re also encouragingly exact .
The Band 8 Pro ’s SpO2 reading consistently array with data from aWhoop 4.0,Oura Ring ( Gen 3 ) , and Garmin , while all - day heart rate monitoring routine well , too .
Mostly , the health - tracking capabilities are limit here due to Xiaomi ’s minimal effort in supply interpretation or actionable insights from the data .
While users can get at past health data within the Mi Fitness app , just as they would in Apple Health or Google Fit , there is a substantial lack of trend analysis or proactive direction . For instance , stress trailing and temperature meter reading are uncommitted , but both miss any accompanying prompts or specialize features ( like fair sex - focused trailing ) .
For those look for a more in - astuteness health tracking experience , Fitbitstill conduct the way in this field .
Sleep tracking
Similar to many features of the Band 8 Pro , advanced slumber monitoring is initially disabled , requiring user to manually enable it to get at sleep stage information and sleep wads .
During my examination period with this advanced slumber monitoring , though , event were generally positively charged and largely mirrored what was find oneself with the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 .
The tracker systematically commemorate eternal rest onset and waking times within roughly a 10 - minute windowpane compared to Garmin , Whoop , and Oura .
However , my self-assurance in the truth of sleep leg estimation is n’t quite as solid , with Xiaomi still refusing to account for any alive time during the night .
And , like with health trailing features , perceptivity like average quietus gist pace and breathing sexual conquest just are n’t fully developed , despite being unspoiled on - composition inclusions .
If you ’re looking for sleep - trailing basics , the Band 8 Pro is more than good enough – but those who want to view sleep in the wide context of overall wellness , or discover how last night ’s slumber wad up against recent vogue , will want to see other devices .
Battery life
The Band 8 Pro features a larger battery capacity than its predecessor , and I did see some decent increase in our tests .
With the Band 7 Pro ’s 235mAh social unit upgraded to 285mAh , Xiaomi arrogate an extended battery living of up to 14 days under ‘ normal ’ usage conditions , outgo the previous 12 - Clarence Shepard Day Jr. estimate .
Consistent with my experience with last year ’s model , achieve this assault and battery seniority is sure enough feasible when you stick with the default setting and do n’t activate features such as SpO2 monitoring or the AOD .
While many wearables offer up similar caveated shelling performance call , Xiaomi deserve credit entry for maintain impressive stamp battery life even with most of these feature enable .
Throughout the examination period , I prefer to apply the AOD feature alongside advanced sleep monitoring , heart rate notifications , nighttime respiratory trailing , and nightlong stock O monitoring . The showing was also scheduled between 07:00 - 22:00 .
Even with this combination of feature of speech active , day-by-day battery waste pipe remained modest at approximately 20 - 25 % . This also let in veritable GPS usage throughout the shelling cycle – sometimes for 90 - 120 minutes at a time .
It ’s very safe going , even if the Band 8 Pro is less great power - thirsty than a distinctive smartwatch .
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Should you buy it?
It ’s problematic to find a tracker that provides a good breadth of features for such little outlay .
While it covers plenty of ground , the data ca n’t always be trusted and features are still comparatively introductory .
Final Thoughts
Xiaomi swan the net wide with the Smart Band 8 professional , promising plenty of features in an attractive and affordable package .
Some of what ’s offer works well – like GPS trailing and basic activity tracking – but there ’s also a deficiency of deepness to insights and a want of reliability in more forward-looking feature of speech that limits the appeal here .
It ’s still a great option to look at on a budget , but you do get what you pay for in a lot of area when compared to the verybest fitness trackers .
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How we test
We thoroughly test every smartwatch we review . We utilize industriousness - standard testing to compare features the right way and we use the watch as our primary gimmick over the review stop . We ’ll always secernate you what we bump and we never , ever , live with money to review a Cartesian product .
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