Xiaomi Mi Band 8 review: not only sports, but also style

Xiaomi Smart Band 8 or Mi Band 8 is the new generation of the most popular fitness tracker in the world. The manufacturer did not add GPS or enlarge the display as many expected, but still added some interesting changes to the device. Read more about them in this review.

Table of contents

• Specifications
• Design and ergonomics
• Screen
• Connection
• Interface
• Functions
• Application
• autonomy
• Results

Specifications

Design and ergonomics

Let's start with the strap attachment, because it is different from all previous generations of the bracelet (Pro version doesn't count). For the first time, the halves are attached to the case separately, like a watch, and this is very convenient.

To detach each part, you need to press the latch next to it and pull the strap towards you. Insertion is even easier - without pressing, until it clicks. The coupling is very reliable and accidental disconnection is excluded.

Such fastening significantly simplifies the creation of original metal bracelets or leather and fabric straps. Now the capsule itself does not need to be inserted into the frame, which spoils the overall appearance and increases the size of the accessory.

In addition, you can use straps from several sets, combining different colors and materials. AliExpress already has a lot of inexpensive options: bright wicker, nylon and metal with Milanese loop.

The complete strap is the most common, made of soft and pleasant to the touch silicone. It is black for the model with a glossy black capsule and white for the tracker with a new golden color scheme.

Prints on the glossy ends, of course, remain, but are not particularly striking. It is likely that micro-scratches will appear on the sides over time - you will have to pay for beauty.

The inner surface of the capsule is black and matte. On it are a new slightly convex sensor with two sensors and a two-pin connector for the charging cable.

Screen

In terms of size and shape, the screen remains the same, but the frames have become wider, which means that the dimensions of the capsule are slightly have changed. The tracker has become a little larger, although a little thinner. In everyday use, these changes do not remind of themselves in any way - Smart Band 8 feels as compact, weightless and comfortable as all its predecessors.

The resolution of the 1.62-inch panel remains the same - 490 × 192 pixels. Peak brightness has grown from 500 to 600 nits, while automatic adjustment has appeared. It is not instantaneous, it takes about 1.5–2 seconds, but it works exactly: in the sun, readability greatly increases, and slightly decreases indoors. Always-On Display is also supported.

The main upgrade was an increase in the refresh rate of the screen. Previously, it was about 30 Hz, so when scrolling through icons and statistics, a certain trail of characters was always noticeable. With the transition to 60 Hz, it is almost gone, the interface feels much more responsive and alive.

Impressions from the new screen are about the same as when switching from 60 Hz to 120 Hz on a smartphone - you don’t want to go back. You quickly get used to such smoothness, as well as to everything good.

Connection

At the time of this review, you could only buy the Chinese version of the bracelet, which supports both Chinese and English. Russian can not be put in any way yet, it is simply not in the firmware.

With the connection of the Chinese version of the bracelet, there are also some nuances. Firstly, while the tracker can only work in tandem with Mi Fitness, and only with the Chinese region, you need to select it in the application settings. You cannot transfer your statistics from another region.

Secondly, in order for the English language to be activated on the bracelet, the smartphone must also be translated into English. Then the hieroglyphs on Smart Band 8 will change to Latin. All notifications from applications will be in Russian if they are in Russian on the smartphone itself.

If you return Russian in the system on your smartphone, then Chinese will return to the bracelet, so you will have to live in English. On the latest version of Android, the problem is partially solved by choosing a language for specific applications.

But the trouble is that this new feature is not yet supported everywhere. In addition to standard Google services, it was possible to return Russian for Yandex Music, Viber, VKontakte and Cyana - these are the applications that were installed on the smartphone.

Mi Fitness itself with all the statistics and settings will also be in English, and so far you can only put up with it.

Interface

As with all similar wrist gadgets, the dial is the center of the interface. Various designs are available to choose from, there are even with built-in games. There are four of them, but only 2048 are worth noting - it is quite playable even on such a small screen.

Swipe down from the watch face opens a list of new notifications - they are clickable and grouped by application. Since the resolution remains the same, the number of characters per line will be the same as on Smart Band 7.

In general, the point of text notifications on such a narrow screen is not to get all the information, but to assess its importance and, if necessary, get a smartphone. Therefore, we will not complain about the inconvenience of reading long notifications and the lack of emoji support.

Swipe left and right from the watch face allows you to flip through widgets, the set and appearance of which is customizable. For example, you can select a whole screen for activity metrics, or you can put the numbers in half, giving the other part to sleep or heart rate data. Such pairs are displayed as colored tiles and are configured in the Mi Fitness app.

Swipe up from the watch face opens a menu of mini-apps, from where you can go to sports mode, alarms, weather, settings and so on. In general, all the most important data is also available in widget format, so you don’t have to access the menu especially often.

Everything is familiar with the data: in each application, they scroll up and down with swipes, and to return to the previous screen, swipe to the right is used. Sometimes there is not enough quick action to return to the watch face from anywhere. For example, it could be "hung" on the compression of the case, as on HTC smartphones. Let this be the idea for the next generation of the bracelet.

Functions

Basic tasks

In terms of basic functions, everything is unchanged: notifications (without the ability to answer), alarm clocks, timers, reminders, weather, mode focusing, a flashlight with a white screen backlight, a smartphone search and camera control that allows you to take a picture by tapping the screen bracelet.

There is also music control on a smartphone - it works great with Yandex Music. You can switch tracks, pause them and change the volume.

The Chinese version of the bracelet also has applications for paying by QR code, but they, of course, do not work in Russia, so they can be safely disabled and removed from the list of visible on the tracker programs.

As for payment via NFC, you can also forget about it. Under the sanctions, Xiaomi's cooperation with an international payment service to launch contactless payment in Russia does not sound very plausible.

Sport and health

Here, too, everything is extremely familiar: physical activity, pulse, oxygen content in the blood, sleep quality, breathing, stress levels. For all metrics, detailed information is given, and not a couple of mean numbers.

For example, by sleep, you can see not only the phases, but also how many times you woke up, and what was the average heart rate. For steps, calories and distance, small charts are displayed with activity peaks per day.

For sports, there are more than 100 modes. The main ones are hidden in the Workout mode, there walking, running on the street or on the track, cycling, hiking, jumping rope and swimming in the pool. All others are located under the icon More (More) and grouped by type (water, dance, ball activities, and so on).

At the presentation, the manufacturer separately noted a new mode for a detailed analysis of the run, when the tracker capsule is fixed on the sneaker. It requires a special Running Pod holder, which is sold separately.

You won’t be able to turn on this running mode just like that from the bracelet; for this, you need to change the Switch Running mode in the application on your smartphone - from Band to Pebble mode. After that, Mi Fitness will ask for confirmation of data on age, height and weight, and only then will it start. Nothing is displayed on the tracker screen in this mode - all data will be on the phone.

By the way, in Switch Running mode, Necklace mode is also enabled for using the tracker as a pendant. In this mode, only the dial remains. No standard swipes work - only a special gesture to switch to Band Mode.

If you're not into running seriously, but want to keep track of your runs and long walks, simple running and brisk walking modes will suffice. They work in the normal mode of the bracelet and offer a lot of useful data, including stride length, rhythm and training effect. All this will be available in the application.

Application

As we noted above, the Mi Fitness app can only work in English for now. This can hardly be called a big problem, since all metrics are supplemented by visual data. Understanding where you improved your performance and when you slept too little is easy.

Similarly, with alarm clocks, goals and statistics for sports exercises - no special knowledge of the language is required here, everything is intuitive, especially if you have already had experience interacting with Mi Fitness.

In the application, in addition to sports data and settings, a large selection of watch faces is available that can be downloaded to the tracker. All of them are categorized and complemented by an option for the AOD mode.

There will be 10-15 pieces that are truly stylish and original, but this is all, of course, a matter of taste. If you like minimalistic options with a couple of numbers, then you will definitely find something to your liking.

Here in Mi Fitness, the search for a bracelet is activated if you have lost it somewhere in the apartment, and a sports mode is launched using the smartphone's GPS. There is no navigation chip in the tracker itself, so if you want to save the route, you need to take your phone with you.

autonomy

Inside the battery is 190 mAh, while the predecessor had 180 mAh. We have not managed to completely land the tracker yet, but judging by the charge consumption for the first few days of use, there will be stable two weeks of work.

Much more interesting is that the charging speed has increased - you can now fully charge the Smart Band 8 in just an hour. A wire with a magnetic connector is included.

Results

In short, Smart Band 8 has three key features that can sell it. The first is straps. Finally, a normal mount that allows you to produce stylish and neat bracelets - both for Xiaomi itself and for third-party brands.

If you say that there were a lot of different straps available for the 7th generation, then no - they all came with this awkward metal frame for the capsule. And their quality almost always left much to be desired. Now Xiaomi itself will produce leather straps and metal bracelets, which is cool, despite the fact that they cost some almost like the tracker itself.

The second feature is auto brightness. Hooray! You no longer have to peer at the screen in the sun or constantly twist the brightness to full. Now 50-60% is enough. And it will grow to the maximum itself when it is needed.

And the third, no less important detail is 60 Hz. The feeling of using the accessory radically changes the smoothness of the screen. He is fast and responsive. If you have a previous tracker and get your hands on the Smart Band 8, you are unlikely to want to go back to the previous generation.

Add to all this what we are all used to: many sports modes, notifications, two weeks of autonomy, pleasant vibration, music control. In general, this is still the same cool tracker, but now more stylish and modern. And this is a good vector for further development.

Well, as for the lack of Russian, we hope that this is a temporary problem - until the appearance of the global version of the bracelet. After its release, localization usually appears. Therefore, we are waiting.

Buy