Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Skilled consider: Good GPS monitoring on a price range
Xiaomi Smart Band 8: One-minute consider
It’s not often you get a instrument similar to the Xiaomi Smart Band 8. It’s a very cheap well being tracker at merely $90 / £60 / AU$95, nevertheless it absolutely’s moreover remarkably competent due to good battery life and an array of sensors that some far more pricey alternate choices are missing.
Not solely is it one of many very important full worth vary well being trackers we’ve examined, nevertheless it absolutely even defeats the Huawei Band 7 (a tracker I cherished) by offering built-in GPS location monitoring, too. That might make it an enormous worry for the likes of even the perfect Fitbit, and rivals can solely be an outstanding issue.
I wore it on one wrist with my Apple Watch Extraordinarily on the alternative (a considerably dearer selection) and was very impressed by merely how right the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Skilled is. Xiaomi says it makes use of “next-generation information algorithms” for points like coronary coronary heart payment and oxygen saturation accuracy, and from my utilization its findings have been in lockstep with Apple’s private.
In precise reality, my solely precise gripe is that of the setup course of. Your mileage would possibly end up numerous, nevertheless it absolutely felt desire it acquired me off on the unsuitable foot with the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Skilled, although luckily the excellent choices and design mounted that good and quickly.
There are one other omissions, too, like funds, music downloads, and third-party apps, nevertheless given the worth, these are all belongings you’d perhaps rely on.
Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Skilled: Specs
| Component | Value |
| Worth | $79.99 / £59.99 / AU$95 |
| Dimensions | 48 x 22.5 x 10.99 (mm) |
| Present | 1.74-in AMOLED present |
| GPS? | Positive |
| Battery life | 14 days |
Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Skilled: Worth and launch date
- Accessible now
- Priced at $99.99 throughout the US
- £60 throughout the UK
- AU$95 in Australia
The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Skilled initially debuted in China remaining August, nevertheless it absolutely’s taken some time to go worldwide.
Luckily, it’s obtainable from most retailers now, and at a decreased worth of $99 throughout the US, £60 throughout the UK, and AU$95 via retailers paying homage to Amazon.
We’ve seen it as little as £50 or $80 in newest weeks, and it’s a steal for that worth, which makes it considerably cheaper than its nearest opponents similar to the Fitbit Encourage 3.
Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Skilled: Design
- Accessible in black or white with swappable straps
- 1.74-inch AMOLED present
- Lightweight and slim
I uncover it robust to get passionate about well being trackers as of late because of, for in all probability essentially the most half, all of them look largely the similar. That’s to not rattling the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Skilled with faint reward, nevertheless additional acknowledge that just by it, there’s no method you’d rely on it to worth as little as a result of it does.
It has a slick, rectangular chassis, and our white unit has a shining chrome shell. It does accumulate some fingerprints nevertheless not as many as you would possibly rely on, and houses a 1.74-inch AMOLED present that’s small enough to sit down down comfortably in your wrist whereas moreover being large adequate to convey a great deal of knowledge at a glance.
It’s an outstanding steadiness, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s packing a 336 x 480 px determination that’s easy to study, and it weighs merely 22.5g with out the strap (nonetheless heavier than the Huawei Band 7, admittedly).
There are not any buttons, bodily or in some other case, on the perimeters, so that you simply’ll be doing each factor with the touchscreen, whereas the straps detach merely by means of a refined mechanism and click on on into place in a satisfying method. Our consider unit comes with an off-white selection, nevertheless there’s no second strap throughout the subject; it’s a one-size-fits-all sort of deal, and as someone who typically makes use of larger straps, I can say it actually works correctly.
On the once more you’ll uncover a charging port, and whereas there’s no vitality brick included throughout the subject, it’s worth noting that the USB-A cable that is proper right here isn’t the longest. Some clients will select USB-C, as USB-A is starting to look just a bit dated. Nonetheless, for under $100, it is just a charging cable. You get what you get.
Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Skilled: Effectivity
- Strictly a well being tracker
- A great deal of options
- Smart use of widgets
The mother and father at Xiaomi have constructed numerous the buyer interface proper right here with the larger present in ideas, which suggests you can swipe between screens that pack numerous widgets into each, making use of every obtainable pixel. It took just a bit little little bit of habit-busting to get into the swing of swiping ‘backward’ comparatively than Apple’s ‘up’ to return to a earlier menu, nevertheless as quickly as I did, I was having enjoyable with its efficiency with ease.
You presumably can swipe up from the underside of the show display to entry a type of “All Apps” guidelines, nevertheless that’s in regards to the one time the UI feels just a bit robust as you try and prod the right selection.
As on a regular basis (because of many nonetheless conflate the two), it’s worth remembering this could be a well being tracker and by no means a smartwatch. The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Skilled gained’t pay in your procuring, receive music for offline playback, or receive third-party apps. It’s mainly a single-purpose gadget, and for that perform – well being monitoring – it’s good.
I used it to maneuver out for a brisk stroll, indoors for a treadmill run, and on the well being membership. As talked about throughout the intro, in all these conditions, all of its metrics tied up correctly with that of my Apple Watch, which costs spherical 9 events the worth of the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Skilled throughout the US.
Step counting is right, and coronary coronary heart payment information was fixed whereas awake and asleep. Whereas some have reported inaccuracies with VO2 information, mine synced up with the Apple Watch Extraordinarily correctly.
My favorite issue, though, is the GNSS assist for GPS. It’s solely a single-frequency connection, so it would battle in massive cities or when surrounded by large buildings, nevertheless it absolutely works truly correctly for an off-the-cuff run. For individuals who’re a hardcore runner you’ll potential want one factor with additional accuracy or a stronger connection, nevertheless then as soon as extra, must you’re a hardcore runner you most likely already private a far more pricey working watch.
Within the case of sleep monitoring, points are primarily centered throughout the degrees of sleep you’ll get. That’s excellent at a basic stage, nevertheless outdoor of that, you’re not going to get as so much knowledge as you’d perhaps get with a additional fully-featured smartwatch such as a result of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, or a sleep tracker similar to the Oura Ring Know-how 3.
Battery life is good, though, with Xiaomi suggesting you can hit 14 days on a single value. That is, admittedly, with some efficiency toned down (like always-on present and some nicely being notifications), nevertheless it absolutely’s nonetheless spectacular in a instrument at this worth degree.
With out these concessions, you can nonetheless reasonably rely on spherical four-and-a-half days, which stays to be pretty good – and would possibly merely go earlier 5 with gentle use, a.okay.a. fewer workouts.
Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Skilled: Choices
- iOS and Android appropriate
- Don’t rely on a great deal of analysis on companion app
I’ll be reliable, I actually really feel similar to the Xiaomi Mi Well being app and I acquired off on the unsuitable foot. Pairing the gadget with my iPhone was pretty painful; it wouldn’t scan the QR code on the show display, so I had in order so as to add it manually via the Bluetooth settings, then that didn’t work on two separate makes an try, after which merely as I able to give up, it sprung to life.
Not a terrific first impression, optimistic, and in order so as to add to that many of the basic options of the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Skilled have been switched off – along with points like sleep monitoring.
As quickly as I switched these on, though, each factor was pretty clear. The Properly being tab is mainly a dashboard along with your complete information for vitality, steps, and prepare, along with sleep and coronary coronary heart payment information, whereas the Train tab actually incorporates Apple Maps so you can feasibly use it with out having to alter to Strava to log your routes.
There’s moreover a nice market of watch faces you can receive with ease and set in your gadget.
In precise reality, the one issue missing is one thing close to a deeper analysis of the knowledge collected, which you may rely on might be missing at this worth.
The closest issue is the Vitality Score, which is just a bit like Fitbit’s Day-after-day Readiness Score. This takes into account the train you’ve executed throughout the remaining seven days and calculates a ranking for a means ready you is likely to be for prepare. It’s a nice thought, nevertheless as far as I can inform it’s not pulling extra information like sleep historic previous.
Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Skilled: Scorecard
| Class | Comment | Score |
| Value | Cheap nevertheless with GPS. | 5/5 |
| Design | Good and glossy, with large present. | 4.5/5 |
| Choices | Packs the necessary factor trackers and GPS | 4/5 |
| Effectivity | Spectacular battery life, nevertheless basic monitoring. | 4/5 |
Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Skilled: Must I buy?
Buy it if…
Don’t purchase it if…
Moreover bear in mind
| Component | Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Skilled | Honor Band 7 | Fitbit Encourage 3 |
| Worth | $79.99 / £59.99 / AU$95 | $59.99 / £49.99 / $96.50 | $99.95 / £84.99 / AU$177. |
| Dimensions | 48 x 22.5 x 10.99 (mm) | 43 x 25.4 x 10.99 (mm) | 39.32 l x 18.6 x 11.75 (mm) |
| Present | 1.74-in AMOLED present | 1.47 AMOLED present | 0.7 in AMOLED touchscreen |
| GPS? | Positive | No | No |
| Battery life | 14 days | 14 days | 10 days |
