It Is More Than A Fitness Bracelet! Xiaomi Smart Band 8 REVIEW

I don’t know about you, but I was waiting for the next generation of the most popular fitness bracelet from Xiaomi. Now, I finally have it in my hands. Meet, the Xiaomi Smart Band 8.

One of the main changes in the new fitness tracker is the removable strap. Now there is a large choice of original leather, metal or even necklace straps.

Xiaomi Smart Band 8 also comes with a metal frame, 1.62-inch AMOLED screen with Always-On display, a new ambient light sensor, more than 150 sports modes including the new running bean mode, and up to 16 days of battery life on a single charge.

I would like to start the full review of the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 by unboxing it.

Unboxing

You know, the new Xiaomi fitness bracelet is currently only released in China, so I have the Chinese version with the Chinese inscriptions on the box.

However, looking ahead, the fitness tracker has the English language.

Inside the box, there is a smart bracelet, magnetic charging cable and user manual.

Design

So, one of the main features in the design of Xiaomi Smart Band 8 is a metal frame. I have a black version of the fitness bracelet, so the frame is also bright black. However, the gold version of Xiaomi Smart Band 8 has a light gold frame.

You know, the manufacturer says the frame is made of metal, but it feels like plastic. Anyway, I like the way it looks.

On the back, we can see charging contacts, optical heart rate and blood oxygen sensors.

There are buttons at the top and bottom to remove the strap. The strap of Xiaomi Smart Band 8 is made of the same TPU material as the previous bracelets.

However, because it has a new attachment mechanism, it is not compatible with the previous generations of the Xiaomi Mi Band.

I have already told you about the new original straps for Xiaomi Smart Band 8, but unfortunately, I don’t have them right now.

Display

When it comes to the display of Xiaomi Smart Band 8, it has the same diagonal of 1.62 inches and resolution of 192 x 490 pixels as the previous generation Mi Band 7.

However, now the screen is 100 nits brighter. The maximum screen brightness of Xiaomi Smart Band 8 is 600 nits.

Another important update in the new fitness bracelet is an ambient light sensor for automatic brightness adjustment. As far as I remember, the previous Xiaomi bracelets did not have this function.

The ambient light sensor works very well. The screen automatically increases the brightness in a bright room or outside in direct sunlight, and decreases it in a dark room, for example, at night.

You know, the display of Xiaomi Smart Band 8 is really good to see outside.

The new smart bracelet also has an AMOLED panel with Always-On Display. This is not a new feature, but it is very useful.

In the settings, you can turn Always-On Display off, select smart mode, or turn it on by schedule.

Let’s talk about other settings of Xiaomi Smart Band 8.

Settings

First, there is a new running mode in the settings.

You can select a pebble mode or a necklace mode. For the pebble mode, you need to buy a running pod. Accordingly, for the necklace mode, you need a pendant for Xiaomi Smart Band 8.

I don’t have any of them, so I will not be able to test the new modes.

Then, you can choose a band display. There are seven watch faces available out of the box, but you can upload more from the app on the smartphone.

In the display settings, we can change the brightness, including auto and custom, auto screen lock time, raise to wake, screen on time, always on display, and cover to sleep.

We can also adjust a vibration on the fitness bracelet, such as default, strong or off.

There is do not disturb mode, app notifications, auto-detect workout in the settings.

In the preferences, you can choose a wake method, press and hold the screen and lock screen.

In the Battery menu, we can see the battery level and remaining battery life. You can also enable battery saver mode and optimization.

System settings include reboot, power off and reset.

That’s all about the settings, and now let’s take a look at the functions of the Xiaomi Smart Band 8.

Functions

As I already said, the new fitness bracelet has seven watch faces.

You can change them by pressing and holding the home screen.

Then, you can swipe down to read new notifications.

Swipe to the right, and you will see do not disturb mode, find phone and settings. The next swipes reveal the weather, and sleep, spO2 and outdoor running, daily activity and heart rate. By the way, you can change the order of widgets and delete some of them in the app on smartphone.

The complete list of Xiaomi Smart Band 8 apps is the following: stats, workout, activity, running, status, heart rate, PAI, SpO2, Sleep, stress, weather, alarm, AliPay, Settings and More.

In the More menu, we have events, alerts, breathing, stopwatch, music, find phone, work clock, camera, timer, flashlight and focus.

You can also change the order of the apps, as well as add them to the main list or to the More list via the app on the smartphone.

Games

By the way, Xiaomi Smart Band 8 also has several games. You cannot find them on the bracelet, because you need to open Mi Fitness app on smartphone, then go to Device, and select Band Displays. Now, go to the Categories and select Fresh and Fun.

As you can see, there are four games available. In fact, these are watch faces, but not real games.

App

Now, let me show you the other functions in the app, and then we will come back to the smart bracelet.

So, the companion app for Xiaomi Smart Band 8 is called Mi Fitness. By the way, if you have a Chinese version of the new fitness bracelet, you need to choose a region of China in the app. If you have a different region, you will not be able to connect the bracelet to the app.

In the app, you can monitor your health information, such as sleep, heart rate, steps, calories, moving, standing, blood oxygen, etc.

Then, you can start a workout mode in the app, for example, outdoor running, walking, outdoor cycling and treadmill.

In the Device menu, we can see the connected bracelet, and its battery level.

There are also many band displays available in the app.

The new function in the app in a running mode. I have told you that you can select a pebble or necklace running mode for Xiaomi Smart Band 8, but you need a shoe buckle or a neck strap.

The other functions in the app are the same as on previous generations of Xiaomi Mi Band, such as app notifications, heart rate settings, sleep settings, blood oxygen, stress, standing, stats, alarm, events, weather, etc.

I have already shown you how to sort and remove widgets and apps on the Xiaomi Smart Band 8.

Workout Mode

OK, let’s go back to the new fitness bracelet.

You know, Xiaomi Smart Band 8 doesn’t have a built-in GPS, but I want to show you a workout mode.

The smart bracelet has seven basic sports modes, such as outdoor running, walking, freestyle, hiking, outdoor cycling, treadmill, jump rope, and pool swimming.

However, you can press on the More button to find other workout modes.

Let’s try the walking mode.

You know, Xiaomi Smart Band 8 doesn’t have a built-in GPS, but there is a navigation icon at the top of the screen. The fitness bracelet communicates with the satellite through a connected smartphone. So, it’s better to have your smartphone by your side when you’re walking or doing other sports.

In the sport mode, there is an activity time, distance, heart rate, pace, calories, cadence, steps, and average pace.

You can also swipe left to control the music on the smartphone, and swipe right to pause or end the workout.

Battery

I am glad that the battery life of Xiaomi Smart Band 8 is about the same as the previous generation, despite the higher brightness of the screen and the new function.

You can expect about 16 days of use on a single charge.

The battery capacity of Xiaomi Smart Band 8 is 180mAh.

Conclusion

You know, I like the new generation of Xiaomi fitness bracelet. Although there are not many updates, some of them are significant, such as the new strap mount, metal frame, ambient light sensor, pebble, and necklace running modes.

I will definitely test the new running modes when I buy the accessories for them.