Budget Fitness Bracelet 2023! Is It Any Good? Xiaomi Redmi Band 2 REVIEW

Xiaomi is a leader on the market of wearable devices mainly because of the fitness bracelet Mi Band. However, the Chinese company also has another series of fitness trackers under the Redmi brand.

In this article, we will test the second generation of Redmi Band. The new fitness bracelet was released at the beginning of 2023.

I have the Chinese version of Redmi Band 2, but it is the same as the global one, except for the inscriptions on the box.

OK, let’s take a look at the box and package contents, and then we will talk about functions of Redmi Band 2.

Unboxing

On the box, we can see the image of fitness bracelet and Redmi Smart Band.

On the back, we can see the number two, so this is the second generation.

All the functions on the box are in Chinese, but I will tell you about them in this article.

Inside the box, there is a smart bracelet, magnetic charging cable and user manual. By the way, a user manual is also in Chinese, so it is not very useful for me.

Design

You know, the new Redmi Band 2 is very different from the first generation of fitness bracelet Redmi Band. However, I cannot say that Redmi Band 2 has a completely new design, because it looks similar to Redmi Smart Band Pro and even Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro.

By the way, we have a video about Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro on our channel Tech Brothers.

Like the other Xiaomi smart bracelets, Redmi Band 2 has a removable tracker and a silicone strap. The new fitness tracker is only sold in black and white, but I think there will be different strap colors available soon.

On the back of the tracker, there are charging contacts and optical heart rate sensor.

Redmi Band 2 doesn’t have any physical buttons, so you can only use the touch screen.

Before we talk about the screen, you should know that the new Redmi fitness bracelet has 5ATM water resistance up to 50 meters. That’s very good.

By the way, the size of the tracker is 42 x 25 x 10 mm. The weight of Redmi Band 2 with a strap is 27 grams.

So, it is a lightweight and comfortable bracelet. You almost don’t feel it on your wrist.

Display

The screen of Redmi Band 2 has a diagonal of 1.47 inches. Its resolution is 172 x 320 pixels.

I have already told you that Redmi Band 2 looks very similar to Redmi Smart Band Pro, because they have the same display size. However, Redmi Band 2 comes with TFT panel, while the Redmi Smart Band Pro has AMOLED screen.

The brightness of the new Redmi bracelet is 450 nits. It is not very high, but you can see everything on the screen outside or even in direct sunlight.

I like the display of Redmi Band 2, because it looks bigger than Xiaomi Mi Band 7, but actually, it is even smaller. This is because the screen of the Redmi bracelet is wider.

Functions

OK, now, let’s talk about the functions of Redmi Band 2.

First, the new smart bracelet has only two watch faces out of the box. However, you can upload more from the app on smartphone. Later, I will show you that.

You can read the new notifications by swiping down from the main screen.

Among the available widgets are music player, AliPay, and weather. However, you can also add and hide the widgets through the app on smartphone, such as Stats, Heart Rate, Blood Oxygen, Sleep, and many others.

Finally, you can swipe up from the main screen to open the list with all the functions.

There is workout, activity, stats, heart rate, spO2, Sleep, Stress, weather, events, music, camera, alarm, stopwatch, timer, find phone, AliPay and settings. In the settings menu, first, we can change styles. The styles are the same as watch faces.

The display settings have brightness, auto lock screen time, and cover to sleep.

Redmi Band 2 also has a battery saver mode, and battery level.

You can also set the schedule for Do Not Disturb mode, or turn it off and on for all day.

The system settings include reboot, power off and reset.

That’s all the functions of Redmi Band 2, but I also want to show you workout modes.

Sports Modes

The new Xiaomi fitness bracelet has more than 30 sports modes, such as outdoor running, walking, freestyle, hiking, and others.

For an example, let’s start the outdoor running. First, you can set a goal, such as distance, duration and calories, as well as alerts of high heart rate.

When you are ready, press the Go button and wait until the GPS will be detected.

Redmi Band 2 doesn’t have a built-in GPS, but it uses geolocation from a smartphone. So, if you want accurate measurements, it is better to have a smartphone nearby during your workout.

When the sport mode is running, you see the time, distance, pace, heart rate, and other useful information.

By the way, you can swipe right to pause or end the workout, and swipe left to control the music on the smartphone.

Heart Rate and spO2

Now, I want to measure a heart rate and spO2.

As you can see, I have 53 bpm, and 98% oxygen level.

When the bracelet is not on the wrist, it tells you to tighten band strap and try again.

Battery

The battery of Redmi Band 2 has a capacity of 210mAh.

The typical use time of the new Redmi fitness bracelet is 14 days. However, you can use a battery saver mode, and then the battery life will be up to 20 days.

Mi Fitness App

You know, before using the Redmi Band 2, you need to connect it to the app on smartphone. The app is called Mi Fitness, and it is available on Android and iOS devices.

If you have a Chinese version of Redmi Band 2, like me, then you need to select the Region China in the settings. If you have another region, the bracelet will not be detected in the app.

First, we can see the health information in the app, such as daily activity, competition, workouts, steps, calories, standing, etc.

You can also start a workout mode from the app.

As I said before, you can upload new watch faces to the bracelet through the app. There are hundreds of watch faces available.

Then, you can enable or disable the app notifications and incoming calls.

The health monitoring includes heart rate, sleep and standing. In the heart rate menu, we can choose the time for continuous monitoring, high and low heart rate alert.

There is also alarm, weather, camera, widgets, sort apps, DND sync, raise to wake, sleep mode, PIN and more functions.

Conclusion

You know, Redmi Band 2 is a simple fitness bracelet because it doesn’t have built-in GPS, NFC, Always-on display or other functions that are available on more expensive devices.

However, for the price of $30, Redmi Band 2 is a good smart bracelet, because it has a high quality display, heart rate and spO2 sensors, more than 30 sports modes and 100 watch faces. The battery life of about 2 weeks is also good.

Compared to the first generation of Redmi Band, the new one looks much better.