Redmi Smart Band Pro Review: Best Budget Fitness Tracker?

Xiaomi has launched the Redmi Smart Band Pro alongside the Redmi Note 11 and Redmi Note 11S. Based on its name, this is clearly positioned as more capable than the Redmi Smart Band. The new Redmi Smart Band Pro brings with it many features that are in demand, such as an AMOLED display, SpO2 and stress tracking, and the ability to track multiple types of workouts. With the improved feature list, the price has gone up too, but only by a bit. Does the Redmi Smart Band Pro still offer good value for your money? I put this fitness tracker to the test to find out.

Redmi Smart Band Pro price in India

The Redmi Smart Band Pro is priced at Rs. 3,999 in India but the company has announced a limited period offer price of Rs 3,499. The Redmi Smart Band Pro will go on sale at 12pm on February 14.

The Redmi Smart Band Pro is light and barely noticeable on the wrist

Redmi Smart Band Pro design

The Redmi Smart Band Pro has a rectangular polycarbonate body that houses a 1.47-inch AMOLED display. This panel is large enough to easily read text on without having to squint. It also has an always-on mode, and there's an ambient light sensor to adjust its brightness automatically. The Smart Band Pro has no buttons, and navigation is purely touch-based. You get TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) straps which are curved, similar to the ones on the Mi Band 6 (Review). These straps have a proprietary connector, which makes it easy to remove them without needing additional tools. However, those looking for alternative third-party ones could face difficulty finding them in the market.

The underside of the Redmi Smart Band Pro has all the health sensors placed in a pill-shaped bump. There are also contact pins which are used to charge the Smart Band Pro. The supplied charger has magnets, making it easy to plug this fitness band in for charging.

I found the Redmi Smart Band Pro to be super-light at just 25.5g. I barely noticed it on my wrist, and also wore it to bed without any issues. The Smart Band Pro packs in a 200mAh battery and is 5ATM water resistant.

Redmi Smart Band Pro software and features

The Redmi Smart Band Pro can be paired with Android as well as iOS smartphones using the Xiaomi Wear and the Xiaomi Wear Lite apps, respectively. The pairing process is simple and requires a Mi Account. Once paired, either app can also be used to change some of the Smart Band Pro's settings. The apps support multiple Mi and Redmi wearables and are very easy to use. The band syncs with the app on your phone, after which it's able to display different parameters. You can also change the watch faces on the Redmi Smart Band Pro using the app. There are over 50 watch faces to choose from, and also you can also set a photo from your phone's gallery as a face.

The underside of the Smart Band Pro has all the health sensors

Powered by the Ambiq Apollo 3.5 SoC, the Redmi Smart Band Pro runs on custom software. It has Bluetooth 5 LE for connectivity. Sadly, GPS is missing so it has to rely on your connected smartphone for positioning. The Redmi Smart Band Pro can pull notifications from your smartphone and alerts you to incoming calls.

You can track nearly 110 different types of workouts including 14 water fitness exercises on the Redmi Smart Band Pro. Commonly used ones such as walking, running, cycling, HIIT, trekking, and swimming can be activated on the fitness band right away. You can edit the list of available ones based on your workout regime. The Redmi Smart Band Pro can auto-detect some activities such as running, walking, and treadmill use. Apart from this, the Redmi Smart Band Pro can also track heart rate, SpO2, sleep, stress, and menstrual cycles. The band is capable of tracking the wearer's heart rate continuously, and also SpO2 levels while you sleep, but these features are disabled by default to conserve power.

The Redmi Smart Band Pro has a very simple UI. You can swipe right from the homescreen to access quick toggles, and swipe left to access widgets for heart rate, SpO2, weather, workouts, and fitness stats. Swiping downwards from the top lets you see unread notifications from your paired smartphone, and swiping up from the bottom shows you all the functions of the Smart Band Pro.

Redmi Smart Band Pro performance and battery life

I used the Redmi Smart Band Pro for a week and found it comfortable to wear at all times. The display was viewable outdoors, but I found it to be too bright when sitting in a dark room, even with auto brightness adjustment enabled. While the interface was very easy to use, it didn't feel too fluid at first, especially while scrolling. During the review period, a software update (1.1.127) fixed this issue. The Smart Band Pro's raise-to-wake feature was well calibrated and the display always lit up when I raised my wrist. It was equally quick to go off when I lowered my hand.

You can track your SpO2 level on the Smart Band Pro

I had to manually enable automatic heart rate and SpO2 tracking, as well as app notifications and advanced sleep tracking metrics, using the app. I set the Redmi Smart Band Pro to measure my heart rate at one-minute intervals and SpO2 every 30 minutes while I was asleep. I also enabled alerts for resting and active heart rates, and set the band to vibrate for incoming notifications.

When it came to fitness tracking, I was happy with the accuracy of the Redmi Smart Band Pro. I used an Apple Watch Series 7 (Review) for comparison and found heart rate measurement to be in the same range. Periodic monitoring of my heart rate had a negative impact on battery life (more on that later) but resulted in more useful statistics. Sleep tracking was accurate and the band gave me a complete breakdown of my sleep pattern. I enabled the tracking of SpO2 while I was asleep, and the device did so. I took readings manually during the day and I noticed it was in the same range as what a medical-grade pulse oximeter reported.

I used the Redmi Smart Band Pro to track my evening walks. Since it does not have in-built GPS, it relies on the paired smartphone for accuracy. With no GPS, the Redmi Smart Band Pro under-reported distance, measuring 0.96km for the actual 1km that I walked. With a paired smartphone in my pocket, the band fared better, measuring 1.02km for the same distance.

The Xiaomi Wear App shows health metrics on your paired smartphone

It is also capable of automatic workout detection for three specific workouts, as I mentioned before. The Redmi Smart Band Pro prompted me to track my walk within a minute of me starting the activity. It measured 1,002 steps for every 1,000 steps I counted, and this error rate is acceptable given the price of this fitness band.

Battery life was decent given the small 200mAh battery, but it really depends on how you use your Redmi Smart Band Pro, so your experience will vary. I had enabled the always-on display, set the heart rate tracking interval to one minute and SpO2 tracking interval at 30 minutes during sleep, and I used the advanced sleep tracking option. App notifications were also enabled, and the Smart Band Pro was used to track outdoor walks every day.

With such heavy usage, the fitness band lasted for four and a half days, quite a bit short of Xiaomi's fourteen day battery claim, which might be possible with light use. With some compromises, you should easily be able to go for over a week on a single charge. The supplied magnetic charger latched onto the band quite easily and managed to top the battery up in less than an hour and a half.

Verdict

When I reviewed the Redmi Watch (Review) last year, I found it to be a capable device but one major negative was its lack of SpO2 tracking. Xiaomi has addressed that shortcoming with the Redmi Smart Band Pro. Compared to the Redmi Watch, the Redmi Smart Band Pro only misses out on GPS functionality. If you are in the habit of carrying your smartphone with you on your walks, the Redmi Smart Band Pro should still be able to accurately track them.

The Redmi Smart Band Pro packs in all the features that one would expect from a fitness band, and has been launched at a good price. It will appeal to those who want a bigger display than that of the Mi Band 6 (Review) which is also a less expensive option and will suit those who want a slimmer profile on their wrist. The Honor Band 6 is a direct competitor to the Smart Band Pro, and offers a similar feature set at the same price level.