Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active Review: A Perfect Budget Fitness Companion Under $30

Xiaomi, a name synonymous with innovation and affordability, has once again stepped into the limelight with the introduction of the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active. In this review, we will take an in-depth look at every facet of this smart band, from design and build quality to its extensive array of features designed for your fitness journey. If you’re on the hunt for a fitness companion that seamlessly integrates into your lifestyle while providing valuable health and exercise insights, then the Smart Band 8 Active may just be the device you’ve been waiting for. Join us as we explore the intricacies of this remarkable fitness wearable and the value it offers us.

Unboxing the Smart Band 8 Active

The unboxing experience sets the tone for what’s to come. Xiaomi, known for its attention to detail, delivers an exciting unboxing experience. The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active arrives in a compact and visually appealing box that exudes a sense of anticipation. The minimalist design on the box hints at the device’s slim and sleek profile. Upon lifting the lid of the box, you’ll be greeted by the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active, nestled securely in a molded compartment.

Accompanying the Band Body is a dedicated Band Strap designed to perfectly complement the device. The choice of strap color may vary depending on your purchase, but commonly available options include black and pink. To keep the smart band powered up and ready for action it included a Dedicated Charging Cable. To guide you through the setup, customization, and usage of your band, a User Manual is included in the box.

Design and Comfort

Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active has a remarkably slim design. With dimensions measuring 42.81mm in length, 25.42mm in width, and a mere 9.99mm in thickness (excluding the strap and protrusions), this smart band redefines what it means to be lightweight and unobtrusive. The slim profile ensures that the device sits comfortably on your wrist, Weight can play a significant role in the overall comfort of a fitness tracker, especially during extended wear. The Smart Band 8 Active weighs in at a mere 14.9g, excluding the strap. This featherlight construction ensures that you hardly notice it’s on your wrist, allowing you to wear it 24/7 without discomfort.

The band strap of the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active is crafted from TPU, a popular choice for fitness wearables due to its flexibility, durability, and skin-friendly properties. What sets this strap apart is its adjustability. With a length range of 135mm to 215mm, it accommodates a wide range of wrist sizes. Also, This band comes in an array of attractive colors. Users can choose from a palette that includes Ivory, Olive, Blue, Black, and Pink. While the device ships with default strap colors of black and pink, Xiaomi provides the option to purchase additional strap colors separately.

Waterproof Rating

Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active has an impressive water resistance rating of 5ATM. But what does this rating mean, and why is it significant? The “ATM” rating is a measure of a device’s water resistance, with each ATM representing 10 meters of water pressure. In the case of the Smart Band 8 Active, the 5ATM rating implies that it can withstand water pressures equivalent to a depth of 50 meters. To put this in perspective, this level of water resistance is more than sufficient for most water-related activities that individuals engage in.

With the Band 8 Active, there’s no need to worry about taking off your smart band before getting wet. Its 5ATM water resistance ensures that it can handle the rigors of swimming with ease. Beyond swimming, the Band water resistance extends to everyday scenarios where your smart band might encounter splashes, rain, or accidental spills.

While the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active is designed to be water-resistant, it’s essential to remember that water resistance does have limitations. The device is not intended for use in high-pressure environments such as scuba diving or in saltwater, as salt can be corrosive. Additionally, exposure to hot water or steam may compromise the device’s water resistance over time. To maintain the longevity of your smart band’s water resistance, it’s advisable to rinse it with fresh water and dry it thoroughly after exposure to seawater or chlorinated pool water.

Display Quality

The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active boasts a generous 1.47-inch TFT display. This display size offers a substantial viewing area that allows for more information to be presented at once, making it easier for users to access vital data, like checking heart rate during a workout or reading notifications on the go, the ample screen real estate ensures that you can do so with ease. It provides a 10.5% larger viewable area compared to its predecessor, the Xiaomi Smart Band 8. This increase in screen real estate translates to more content being displayed at once. It’s particularly noticeable when viewing fitness statistics, and messages, or navigating through various menus.

A key aspect of any display’s performance is its resolution, and the Smart Band 8 Active doesn’t disappoint. With a resolution of 172 x 320 pixels, this display delivers sharp and detailed visuals. The pixel density of 247 PPI further enhances the visual experience. Higher pixel density means that individual pixels are packed closer together, resulting in smoother and crisper images. This is particularly important when viewing watch faces with intricate designs. Also, with a maximum brightness of over 450 nits, this display outshines many competitors in the fitness tracker market. What does this mean for users? It means that you can effortlessly view your data and notifications, even when you’re outdoors in direct sunlight.

The display of the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active is not only about visual brilliance but also durability. To ensure the screen’s longevity and resistance to everyday wear and tear, Xiaomi has equipped it with tempered glass. This material is known for its toughness and ability to withstand scratches and minor impacts, providing peace of mind to active users. Moreover, the display features an anti-fingerprint coating. This innovative coating minimizes unsightly smudges and fingerprints, allowing the screen to maintain its pristine clarity.

Multi Watch Faces

The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active stands out not only for its impressive array of health and fitness features but also for its versatile and customizable watch faces. These watch faces are more than just a means of telling time; they allow you to express your style, mood, and personality. With many different options to choose from, you’ll never run out of ways to personalize your smart band from sleek minimalism, and vibrant colors, to intricate designs, there’s a watch face that suits your taste.

Changing watch faces directly from the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active is a simple process. On the current watch face, press and hold the touchscreen for a couple of seconds. This action should trigger the watch face customization mode. Once in customization mode, you’ll see a selection of available watch faces that you can choose from. But, to access to liberty of over 100 different watch faces you need to pair the band with the MI Fit App.

User Interface

With a stunning display and a plethora of features, it’s essential to understand how to navigate its user interface effectively. The user interface of the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active is designed with simplicity and functionality in mind. With its responsive touchscreen, easy navigation, and customizable features, it provides a seamless and enjoyable user experience. From the watch face base, where you’ll access various features and functions. You can customize the home screen to display the information that matters most to you.

Swipe down from the home screen to access the main menu. Here, you’ll find a range of options, including fitness modes, heart rate monitoring, SpO2 tracking, sleep tracking, stress measurement, and more. Tap on your desired function to start or view detailed information.

The Smart Band 8 Active keeps you connected to your smartphone by displaying notifications directly on your wrist. When a notification arrives, simply swipe down from the top of the screen to access your notifications. You can read messages, see caller IDs, and even dismiss notifications when you’re done.

Swipe down from the home screen once more, and you’ll find quick settings. This is where you can control essential functions like screen brightness, do not disturb mode, and find your device. Adjusting these settings on the fly enhances your user experience.

Swipe right from the home screen to access widgets. These customizable widgets offer at-a-glance information, such as weather forecasts, step count, heart rate, and more. Scroll through the widgets to view the data that matters most to you without diving into menus.

For those active moments, swipe left from the home screen to access fitness modes. With support for over 50 sports modes, you can choose the activity you’re about to engage in, and the smart band will track it accurately. Keep an eye on exercise duration, calorie burn, heart rate, and more during your workouts.

All this you can Customization through the Mi Fit app on your paired smartphone. In the app, you can personalize your device’s settings, configure notifications, manage watch faces, fine-tune health monitoring preferences, and more.

Health and Sports Tracking

The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active is more than just a step counter. It’s a comprehensive health monitoring tool that provides insights into various aspects of your well-being. Here’s a closer look at some of its key health-tracking features:

1. Heart Rate Monitoring: Your heart rate is a crucial indicator of your overall health. With 24/7 heart rate monitoring, this smart band keeps a vigilant eye on your heart rate throughout the day. It doesn’t just provide you with real-time data; it also sends notifications if your heart rate deviates from the norm.

2. Blood Oxygen Monitoring (SpO₂): Monitoring your blood oxygen saturation level is essential, especially during workouts and in challenging environments. The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active offers continuous SpO₂ tracking, which means it keeps tabs on your blood oxygen levels all day long. If it detects a drop in oxygen saturation, it sends you notifications, allowing you to address potential health concerns proactively.

3. Sleep Tracking: Quality sleep is the foundation of a healthy lifestyle. This smart band goes beyond basic sleep tracking; it distinguishes between different sleep stages, including deep and REM sleep. By analyzing your sleep patterns, it provides personalized suggestions to help you optimize your sleep quality.

4. Stress Level Measurement: In today’s fast-paced world, managing stress is paramount. The Smart Band 8 Active includes stress level measurement, providing you with insights into your stress levels throughout the day. When stress levels rise, it encourages you to take a break or practice relaxation techniques.

5. Women’s Health Management

For female users, the Smart Band 8 Active offers specialized features to support women’s health. It includes menstruation and ovulation tracking, providing advance notifications to ensure a worry-free month.

Achieving Your Fitness Goals

While health monitoring is crucial, the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active also excels in sports tracking, making it an ideal fitness companion. Here’s how it enhances your fitness journey. This smart band supports over 50 sports modes, catering to a wide range of activities. Whether you’re into running, cycling, swimming, or yoga, you can select the appropriate sports mode for precise tracking of your exercise duration, calorie expenditure, and other relevant metrics.

Smartphone Integration – Mi Fitness App

The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active excels in compatibility by offering wide-ranging smartphone compatibility so that Android users can enjoy its full suite of features. Similarly, iOS users with devices running iOS 12.0 and above can also seamlessly connect their iPhones to the Band.

To further improve its compatibility and user experience, the Smart Band 8 Active is designed to work harmoniously with the Mi Fitness app. This dedicated application serves as the central hub for tracking and managing your fitness data, health metrics, and device settings. The app is available for both Android and iOS platforms, ensuring that users on either operating system can effortlessly sync their smart band with the app.

The Mi Fitness App offers a wealth of features to enhance your fitness experience with the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active. It provides comprehensive data analysis, effortlessly syncing and presenting your fitness and health data in a user-friendly format, covering step counts, sleep patterns, and heart rate trends. The app goes further by crafting customized fitness plans aligned with your goals and fitness level, making weight loss, muscle building, or overall well-being achievable. For those curious about their sleep quality, the Mi Fitness App categorizes sleep stages and offers tips for improved sleep hygiene. Stress management is simplified with stress level tracking and techniques for maintaining balance. Female users benefit from menstrual cycle and ovulation tracking. Goal setting and achievement tracking, including step counts, calorie burn, and sleep duration, are also at your fingertips. Finally, the app seamlessly manages your Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active, allowing you to customize watch faces, adjust settings, and update firmware with ease. With regular updates and improvements, Xiaomi’s Mi Fitness app continues to evolve, offering users an increasingly refined and personalized fitness experience.

Notifications & Messages

The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active ensures that you stay informed and connected throughout the day by providing clear and easily readable notifications. When paired with your smartphone, this smartwatch seamlessly syncs with it to display incoming calls, messages, and notifications from popular social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter, as well as other applications. With the Band 8 Active on your wrist, you won’t miss out on important messages or updates.

Battery Life and Charging

The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active offers an impressive battery life and a hassle-free charging experience, Under typical usage conditions, which include features like continuous heart rate monitoring and occasional notifications, the Smart Band 8 Active can last an impressive 12 days on a single charge. Even if your usage is on the heavier side, involving more frequent interactions with the display and active tracking of workouts, you can still expect around 5 days of battery life.

When it does come time to recharge, the Band 8 Active simplifies the process. The two-pin magnetic charging cable effortlessly snaps into place, ensuring a secure connection for charging. This magnetic charging mechanism not only provides convenience but also offers rapid charging. In just under 2 hours, you can fully recharge the smart band from 0 to 100%.

Final Thoughts

The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active is an exceptional fitness companion designed to enhance your well-being. Its slim, lightweight design ensures comfort during day-to-day activities, while the vibrant 1.47-inch TFT display offers clarity and versatility. Personalization options with over 100 watch faces allow you to tailor your style, and compatibility with 50+ sports modes ensures precise exercise tracking. This smart band excels in health monitoring, featuring continuous blood oxygen and heart rate tracking, scientific sleep analysis, and women’s health management. Stress level measurement and sleep optimization provide holistic support.

Don’t miss the opportunity to get your Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active at a discounted price of $22.90 during the SPOTLIGHT event on AliExpress, starting at 07:00 AM, 26th Sept, PST. This limited-time offer includes a store coupon code (ACTIVE05) that brings the original price of $29.90 down to the final price of $22.90. Plus, the first 100 buyers will receive a free gift of 100 PCS mouse. It’s a world premiere you won’t want to miss!