How powerful can a 25.5g fitness band be? Offering one of the best use case scenarios of the ‘pro’ moniker, the Redmi Smart Band Pro is health tracking on steroids that can make most fitness bands appear irrelevant.
As easy as taking it out of the box, syncing it to the Xiaomi Wear app and going for a run, there are a few things that Redmi has got it right to make the smart band appear helpful, visible right from the beautiful 1.47-inch full AMOLED display which comes with always-on feature. Though a battery sapping option, it’s a feature that may sway one’s buying decision.
It’s a standard thermoplastic polyurethane or TPU strap, the design of which is good enough to get work done. Primarily, it’s all about the small tech nugget the strap holds. There are no buttons as usual, so everything is controlled via swipes but gestures are recorded well and there has rarely been a missed tap.
Among the functions, you get almost everything, from heart monitoring to SpO2 monitoring, 110-plus workout modes to sleep and stress monitoring. What you can’t do is load further apps than the set that comes with the device, which should be fine for most users.
A number of watch faces are accessible via the Xiaomi Wear app
Readings like SpO2 or step count roughly match the ones on a smartwatch, even though the former takes a few seconds to secure a result. You can choose the sports list to be featured on the smart band and customise the order. Perhaps the most noticeable feature to be missed is GPS, which to be fair on Redmi, is something that can be added to a more expensive device. Since we are talking about missing features, you won’t find a microphone or speaker on the smart band. Winning Redmi a brownie point is the inclusion of Auto Detect function, even though it covers only walking and running.
Battery consumption will fluctuate between six to 10 per cent per day, depending on the features you turn on. Since I kept Always On toggled on, the band remained alive for 10-odd days, which is stunning compared to a smartwatch.
A couple of improvements Redmi can look at in future iterations is an ability to reply to messages since reading them alone doesn’t make sense as well as coming up (alongside other brands) with a more standardised charging technique.
It comes with 5ATM water resistant rating to ensure pool swimming workout performs without hiccups. Redmi has also thrown in some good watch faces that take full advantage of the small screen real estate to offer a good degree of statistics. Going hand in hand with the smart band is an excellent app, which works without a hitch. A fitness tracker is meant to do a few things very well and among them are cutting out false readings and being focused on fitness. And that’s where Redmi Smart Band Pro wins — the objective is to deliver fitness-centric data, which it does in abundance.
AT A GLANCE
Two big additions to the smart band are Always On display and Auto Detect workout
Device: Redmi Smart Band Pro
Price: Rs 3,499 (goes on sale on February 14, noon onwards)
High notes
•Good quality touch-sensitive screen
• Always-on display
• Auto-detect workout for a couple of activities
• 5ATM water resistance
Muffled notes
• You can’t reply to messages
• A device reset button would be a nice addition
