Xiaomi Smart Band 8: One-minute review
It's not often that you get a device like the Xiaomi Smart Band 8. It's a very affordable fitness tracker at just $90 / £60 / AU$95, but it's also remarkably competent thanks to its long battery life and a range of sensors, some of which are much more expensive than alternatives are lacking.
Not only is it one of the most comprehensive budget fitness trackers we've tested, but it even surpasses the Huawei Band 7 (a tracker I loved) by also offering built-in GPS location tracking. This could be a major concern for even the best Fitbit, and competition can only be a good thing.
I wore it on one wrist with my Apple Watch Ultra on the other (a significantly more expensive option) and was very impressed with the accuracy of the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro. Xiaomi says it uses “next-generation data algorithms” for things like heart rate and oxygen saturation accuracy, and after I used it, the results matched Apple's.
In fact, my only real criticism is the setup process. Your mileage may vary in the end, but I felt like I was caught off guard with the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro, although thankfully the excellent features and design quickly remedied that .
There are also a few other omissions, like payments, music downloads, and third-party apps, but given the price, these are all things you might expect.
(Image credit: Future)
Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro: specifications
Swipe to scroll horizontally
| component | Value |
| Price | $79.99 / £59.99 / AU$95 |
| Dimensions | 48 x 22.5 x 10.99 (mm) |
| Advertisement | 1.74 inch AMOLED display |
| GEOGRAPHIC POSITIONING SYSTEM? | Yes |
| Battery life | 14 days |
Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro: price and release date
- Now available
- The price is $99.99 in the US
- £60 in the UK
- AU$95 in Australia
The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro originally debuted in China last August, but it took some time to become available internationally.
Luckily, it's now available at most retailers and at a discounted price of $99 in the US, £60 in the UK and AU$95 through outlets like Amazon.
We've already seen it for £50 or $80 in recent weeks, and at that price it's a bargain, making it significantly cheaper than its closest competitors like the Fitbit Inspire 3.
Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro: Design
(Image credit: Future)
- Available in black or white with interchangeable straps
- 1.74 inch AMOLED display
- Light and slim
It's hard for me to get excited about fitness trackers these days because they all look mostly the same. That's not to say that the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro has faint praise, but rather to acknowledge that there's no way you could expect it to cost so little just by looking at it.
It has a smooth, rectangular body and our white device has a shiny chrome shell. It does collect some fingerprints, but not as many as you might expect, and has a 1.74-inch AMOLED display that's small enough to sit comfortably on your wrist but also big enough to hold a lot of information convey at a glance.
It's a good balance, and it doesn't hurt that it offers a readable 336 x 480 pixel resolution and weighs just 22.5g without the strap (admittedly still heavier than the Huawei Band 7).
There are no buttons on the sides, physical or otherwise, so you can do everything via the touchscreen, while a subtle mechanism releases the straps easily and locks them into place in a satisfying way. Our review unit comes with a cream option, but there's no second strap included; It's a one-size-fits-all solution and as someone who normally uses larger racks I can say it works well.
You'll find a charging port on the back, and while there's no power adapter included, it's worth noting that the USB-A cable included here isn't the longest. Some users will prefer USB-C as USB-A is starting to look a bit dated. Still, for under $100, it's just a charging cable. You get what you get.
(Image credit: Future)
Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro: Performance
(Image credit: Future)
- Actually a fitness tracker
- Lots of features
- Smart use of widgets
The folks at Xiaomi designed much of the UI here with the larger display in mind, meaning you can switch between screens, each containing multiple widgets, making use of every available pixel. It took a bit of getting used to using “backward” rather than Apple's “up” to return to a previous menu, but once I did, I enjoyed the functionality with ease.
You can swipe up from the bottom of the screen to access a sort of “All Apps” list. However, this is the only case where the interface feels a bit tricky when trying to find the right option.
As always (because many still confuse the two), keep in mind that this is a fitness tracker and not a smartwatch. With the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro, you don't pay for your purchases, download music for offline playback, or download third-party apps. It's essentially a single-purpose device and for that purpose – fitness tracking – it's great.
I used it to go for a brisk walk, run on the treadmill indoors, and at the gym. As mentioned in the introduction, in all of these scenarios, all readings matched well with those of my Apple Watch, which costs about nine times the price of the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro in the US.
(Image credit: Future)
Step counting is accurate and heart rate data was consistent while awake and asleep. While some have reported inaccuracies in the VO2 data, my data synced well with the Apple Watch Ultra.
However, what I like the most is the GNSS support for GPS. Since it's only a single-frequency connection, it may have problems in big cities or near large buildings, but it's great for occasional runs. If you're a hardcore runner, you probably want something with more accuracy or a stronger connection, but if you're a hardcore runner, you probably already own a much more expensive running watch.
Sleep tracking is mainly about the stages of sleep you go through. That's basically fine, but beyond that you don't get as much information as you might with a more fully featured smartwatch like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 or a sleep tracker like the Oura Ring Generation 3.
Battery life is great though, with Xiaomi recommending you can get 14 days on a single charge. Admittedly, some features are toned down (such as the always-on display and some health notifications), but it's still impressive for a device in this price range.
Without these concessions, you can still reasonably expect around four and a half days, which is still pretty good – and easily go beyond five with light use, meaning fewer workouts.
Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro: features
- iOS and Android compatible
- Don't expect much analysis on the companion app
(Image credit: Future)
Honestly, I feel like I got off on the wrong foot with the Xiaomi Mi Fitness app. Pairing the device with my iPhone was quite a hassle; The QR code on the screen couldn't be scanned, so I had to add it manually via the Bluetooth settings. Then it didn't work on two separate tries, and just as I was getting ready to give up, it came to life.
Certainly not a great first impression, and what's more, many of the basic functions of the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro were turned off – including things like sleep tracking.
(Image credit: Future)
However, once I turned this on, everything went pretty smoothly. The Health tab is essentially a dashboard with all your calories, step and workout data, as well as sleep and heart rate data, while the Workout tab actually includes Apple Maps, so you can easily use it without having to switch to Strava Log your routes.
(Image credit: Future)
There is also a nice marketplace of watch faces that you can easily download and set on your device.
(Image credit: Future)
In fact, the only thing missing is an approximately deeper analysis of the data collected, which would probably be missing at this price.
(Image credit: Future)
The closest is the Vitality Score, which is a bit similar to Fitbit's Daily Readiness Score. The activity you have carried out in the last seven days is taken into account and a value for your training readiness is calculated. This is a nice idea, but as far as I can tell it doesn't pull additional data like sleep history.
Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro: Scorecard
Swipe to scroll horizontally
| category | comment | score |
| Value | Affordable but with GPS. | 5/5 |
| design | Nice and bright, with a large display. | 4.5/5 |
| characteristics | Includes the most important trackers and GPS | 4/5 |
| Performance | Impressive battery life but easy tracking. | 4/5 |
Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro: Should I buy?
Buy it if…
Don't buy it if…
Also consider
Swipe to scroll horizontally
| component | Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro | Honor Band 7 | Fitbit Inspire 3 |
| Price | $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 lux x 18.6 x 11.75 (mm) |
| Advertisement | 1.74 inch AMOLED display | 1.47 AMOLED display | 0.7 inch AMOLED touchscreen |
| GEOGRAPHIC POSITIONING SYSTEM? | Yes | NO | NO |
| Battery life | 14 days | 14 days | 10 days |
Comments are closed.