Active Means Better For Sports? Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active REVIEW

Xiaomi Smart Band 8 series has been expanded with a new model. We have already tested Xiaomi Smart Band 8 and Smart Band 8 Pro on our channel Tech Brothers.

The new fitness bracelet is called Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active. It actually looks more like the Redmi Band 2. We don’t have Redmi Band 2 in our hands right now, but you can read our review of it.

So, in this article, we will do a full review of the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active and compare it with Xiaomi Smart Band 8.

Unboxing

You know, the good news is that the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active has been released in a global version.

We can read the main features of the new fitness bracelet on the side of the box, and there are some specifications in different languages on the back.

Inside the box is a fitness bracelet, a magnetic charging cable, and a large user manual in different languages.

By the way, the charging cable of Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active is the same as Xiaomi Smart Band 8 and Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro. I am glad that we can now use the same cable to charge all Xiaomi fitness bracelets.

Display

If we look at the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active and Xiaomi Smart Band 8 side by side, it seems that the Active model has a bigger screen, but it is actually smaller. The screen diagonal of the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active is 1.47 inches, while the display of the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 is 1.62 inches.

In addition, the Active model has an LCD panel with a maximum brightness of 400 nits, while the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 has AMOLED panel and 600 nits brightness.

The screen resolution is also different: 172 x 320 pixels on the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active, and 192 x 490 pixels on the Xiaomi Smart Band 8.

So, these are two completely different screens, and I think you understand which one is better.

In addition, the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active doesn’t have an ambient light sensor, so it cannot automatically change the brightness of the screen depending on the environment.

It also doesn’t have an Always-On display, because it is an LCD panel, but not AMOLED.

However, the screen of the new fitness bracelet is still clearly visible outside. Overall, I think the display is okay for a $20 smart bracelet.

Strap

Another big difference between the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active and the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 is the straps.

The material of the straps and fasteners look the same, but the Active model has a one-piece design around the tracker, like the old Xiaomi fitness bracelets, while the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 has quick-release buttons to make it easy to remove the strap.

As I said before, the fitness bracelets have the same charging cable, so the charging pins on the back are the same too.

The health tracking sensors, on the other hand, are different. The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active has three sensors, while the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 has two. Later in this article, we will compare the heart rate and blood oxygen levels on these fitness bracelets.

Functions

Now let’s look at the functions of the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active.

You know, the main watch face says that this fitness bracelet is designed for sports. Or is it just me who thinks so? There are only two dials available out of the box, but you can download additional ones through the app. There is a lot of choice here.

Then, we can read new notifications on the fitness bracelet.

Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active has only two widgets by default, such as weather forecast and music control, but don’t worry, you can add other widgets through the app, such as stats, heart rate, blood oxygen, sleep, etc.

This is very convenient because you can choose widgets that you need.

Finally, the fitness bracelet has a menu with all apps, such as workout, activity, stats, heart rate, spO2, Sleep, stress, weather, events, music, camera, alarm, stopwatch, timer, find phone, and settings.

You know, the icons on the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active and Xiaomi Smart Band 8 look the same, but they are different sizes. In addition, the new Active model lacks some of the functions found on the Xiaomi Smart Band 8, for example, running assistant, vitality, AliPay, breathing, cycles, flashlight, focus.

Let’s go to the settings of the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active.

First, there are Styles. It’s the same as Watch Faces or Dials.

Display settings have brightness, auto lock time and cover to sleep.

In the Battery menu, we can enable Battery Saver mode and check the battery level.

There is also Do Not Disturb Mode in the settings.

Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active supports PIN code.

In the System menu, we can reboot, power off and reset the fitness bracelet.

That’s it!

I have shown you all the functions and settings of the new Xiaomi fitness bracelet, but let’s take another look at the app.

Mi Fitness App

Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active is paired with the Mi Fitness App.

If you have a global version of the fitness bracelet, like me, you don’t have to select the China region in the app. It can be the country you are in.

There are Health, Workout, Device and Profile tabs in the app.

On the Device tab, we can see the connected Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active.

By pressing on Band Displays, you can upload new watch faces to your fitness bracelet.

If you want to receive notifications of the smart band, you need to enable app notifications and choose the apps that can send you notifications.

Health Monitoring functions include heart rate, sleep, blood oxygen and standing.

By the way, you can turn on continuous heart rate monitoring and select the frequency.

Sleep monitoring has advanced monitoring function and breathing score.

Blood Oxygen also has all-day tracking and blood oxygen alert.

The other functions in the app are alarm, weather, sync events, widgets, sort apps, raise to wake, sleep mode, PIN, Help center, Firmware updates and About Device.

Health Measurements

Now, I want to compare the heart rate and blood oxygen measurements on the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 and Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active.

When I am calm, the fitness bracelets show almost the same result – about 79 bpm. However, the oxygen saturation level is different – 96% on Xiaomi Smart Band 8 and 98% on Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active.

After a few exercises, the heart rate of the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 is 106 bpm, and it is 107 bpm on the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active.

So, I think Xiaomi fitness bracelets have the same heart rate and spO2 sensors.

Walking Mode

You know, Xiaomi Smart Band 8 and Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active do not have a built-in GPS, but I want to compare their workout modes. I will start the Walking mode on fitness bracelets and walk for 30 minutes.

After a 30-minute walk, we see that the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 counted 2.11 km and 2732 steps, while the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active shows 1.89 km and 2476 steps.

So, the difference is 220 meters or 256 steps, and I think that is quite a lot. However, I cannot say which bracelet counts steps more accurately.

Battery

You know, I was surprised that the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active has an even bigger battery than the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 – 210mAh and 190mAh, respectively.

However, the battery life of the Active model is a little shorter – 14 days in typical use. The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 has 16 days of battery life in typical use.

However, these two days do not make a big difference, and it all depends on how you use the bracelet.

Conclusion

So, Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active is a simplified version of Xiaomi Smart Band 8 because it has a smaller LCD screen, no built-in light sensor and no Always-On Screen support, old strap attachment, and lacks some functions such as running assistant, vitality, AliPay, breathing, etc.

Although the bracelets show the same heart rate measurement results, the step count is different.

The battery life of the new Xiaomi smart bands is about the same – two weeks.

Given the fact that Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active is almost half the price of Xiaomi Smart Band 8, it will definitely find its buyers.