Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Fitness Tracker - Black

I decided not to fork out $300 every 2-3 years just to have a smartwatch, decided to pick this up due to influencer reviews.
I wouldn't call it terrible, but it isn't great either.
Battery life is closer to 2 days, 4 if you dont use it at all. Which is worse when you consider it does far less than an actual smart watch and still lasts shorter than those.
The durability seems good, I'm by no means gentle and I have been going into the ocean more regularly now that it is summer and the watch has survived swimmingly (ha).
The interface is...serviceable. It does the job but not very intuitively and without much haste. I decided not to fork out $300 every 2-3 years just to have a smartwatch, decided to pick this up due to influencer reviews.
I wouldn't call it terrible, but it isn't great either.
Battery life is closer to 2 days, 4 if you dont use it at all. Which is worse when you consider it does far less than an actual smart watch and still lasts shorter than those.
The durability seems good, I'm by no means gentle and I have been going into the ocean more regularly now that it is summer and the watch has survived swimmingly (ha).
The interface is...serviceable. It does the job but not very intuitively and without much haste.

A year or so ago I switched my Xiaomi band for a FitBit Charge 5 which cost about $300. Big mistake. It was a real piece of junk. Slow response time, died all the time for no reason and needed a reset, just generally annoying. I went for a swim with it while overseas and it just died (meant to be water proof). i was sent a replacement, but the new one was just as bad and had all the same problems. After a year, I was biking and it too just died for no reason. After getting this Xiaomi Smart Band, I am super impressed. Fast, great price, and excellent features. Love the flashlight app for getting up in the middle of the night. Highly...view more A year or so ago I switched my Xiaomi band for a FitBit Charge 5 which cost about $300. Big mistake. It was a real piece of junk. Slow response time, died all the time for no reason and needed a reset, just generally annoying. I went for a swim with it while overseas and it just died (meant to be water proof). i was sent a replacement, but the new one was just as bad and had all the same problems. After a year, I was biking and it too just died for no reason. After getting this Xiaomi Smart Band, I am super impressed. Fast, great price, and excellent features. Love the flashlight app for getting up in the middle of the night. Highly recommended so far!

I've bought it to my daughter and she's happy. Light and fancy. Bright display. Always-on display. Shows time. Counts steps. Has music controls on the phone. Good battery life (depends on your usage). Very fast charging. I've bought it to my daughter and she's happy. Light and fancy. Bright display. Always-on display. Shows time. Counts steps. Has music controls on the phone. Good battery life (depends on your usage). Very fast charging.

I have worn this watch for a month now. It's comfortable and the screen is easy to read and responsive. It has detailed sleep tracking and I appreciate the ability to have always on pulse and blood oxygen tracking. There are different styles of watch faces to choose from that will appeal to a wide range of tastes. I like how it vibrates when I get a phone call which means I never miss a call even in a noisy environment or if i have to have my phone on silent. And I also like how I can read emails on it so I only need to get my phone out if it's something urgent. I also like the media controls so I can change the track I am listening to...view more I have worn this watch for a month now. It's comfortable and the screen is easy to read and responsive. It has detailed sleep tracking and I appreciate the ability to have always on pulse and blood oxygen tracking. There are different styles of watch faces to choose from that will appeal to a wide range of tastes. I like how it vibrates when I get a phone call which means I never miss a call even in a noisy environment or if i have to have my phone on silent. And I also like how I can read emails on it so I only need to get my phone out if it's something urgent. I also like the media controls so I can change the track I am listening to and adjust the volume without having to use my phone. It has a handy find my phone feature that will play a loud tune on your phone (as long as you have blutooth turned on). And the flashlight feature is good. And I really appreciate that it's waterproof.
One issue I have found is that it does not automatically detect when I go cycling. I found in the settings that you can ask to display a prompt if it detects an activity. And now when i go for a bike ride it asks me if i want to start this activity and I then have to select to stop the activity at the end of the ride. I cycle daily and its annoying to have to rememer to do this so I have reduced my rating by one star.
Overall I am very happy with this watch and definitely recommend it, especially for the price.

This is an excellent product, great value, works as it should, battery lasts long. Recommended. This is an excellent product, great value, works as it should, battery lasts long. Recommended.

It does everything I need it to. Better than my old Fitbit. Great features, easy to use and super price! It does everything I need it to. Better than my old Fitbit. Great features, easy to use and super price!

Excellent sports band. Excellent price for that. Awesome. Excellent sports band. Excellent price for that. Awesome.

Was easy to setup and been great ever since. Has been accurate with all I have wanted and needed it to do. Would recommend Was easy to setup and been great ever since. Has been accurate with all I have wanted and needed it to do. Would recommend

Love it .. have purchased 2 of these smartbands Love it .. have purchased 2 of these smartbands

It's really a great fitness band. Accurate and battery life is great! It's really a great fitness band. Accurate and battery life is great!

Unfortunately (and its not disclosed anywhere) this device does not work with a smart account. At all. No reduced functionality - the only option to get it working is to send your data off overseas. (It does not show anything other then a QR code to connect up to the cloud on startup). I read through the T&C's and if I recall correctly I found them an absolute breach of NZ privacy expectations. Luckily PBTech took the unit back. I bought a Huawei watch which was both more expensive and almost certainly less accurate - but at least I can make it largely work with "Bangle.js". Unfortunately (and its not disclosed anywhere) this device does not work with a smart account. At all. No reduced functionality - the only option to get it working is to send your data off overseas. (It does not show anything other then a QR code to connect up to the cloud on startup). I read through the T&C's and if I recall correctly I found them an absolute breach of NZ privacy expectations. Luckily PBTech took the unit back. I bought a Huawei watch which was both more expensive and almost certainly less accurate - but at least I can make it largely work with "Bangle.js".

I am really happy with this watch. Does everything I need and it isn't too complicated. I have previously had an Apple Watch & Fitbit. I wanted something functional, nice looking, and under $100. This watch is perfect for me. Love that I can get different bands for an affordable price too! Would definitely recommend this if you are starting out on a fitness journey, or just want a stylish watch with some smart features. I am really happy with this watch. Does everything I need and it isn't too complicated. I have previously had an Apple Watch & Fitbit. I wanted something functional, nice looking, and under $100. This watch is perfect for me. Love that I can get different bands for an affordable price too! Would definitely recommend this if you are starting out on a fitness journey, or just want a stylish watch with some smart features.