In the competitive world of fitness trackers, budget options often promise basic functionality at an attractive price point. The newly released Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active aims to deliver essential health tracking features at a fraction of the cost of premium devices. However, recent reviews suggest that aggressive cost-cutting may have compromised its core functionality.
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| A display of various smartwatches, highlighting the diverse options available in the fitness tracker market |
Design and Build
The Smart Band 9 Active features a compact 1.47-inch TFT display with a 172 x 320 resolution, housed in a lightweight 16.5g body. Available in black, beige, or light pink, the device sports a TPU band and boasts 5ATM water resistance. While the build quality is reasonably durable against daily bumps, the band connection mechanism has proven problematic, with reports of the pin frequently disconnecting from its securing hole.
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| The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active featuring its compact design and user interface |
Performance and Accuracy Issues
The most significant drawback of the Band 9 Active lies in its tracking accuracy. Heart rate monitoring consistently shows deviations of 10-20 BPM compared to professional equipment. The connected GPS functionality, which relies on smartphone integration, exhibits substantial reliability issues, with frequent disconnections and inaccurate distance measurements averaging around 20% deviation from actual distances traveled.
Features and Battery Life
Despite its limitations, the device offers 50 different activity tracking modes and reasonable sleep tracking accuracy. The band provides basic smartwatch functionality including weather updates, music controls, and notification handling through Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity. Battery life extends to approximately two weeks of regular use, though this falls short of the advertised 18-day lifespan.
Price and Value Proposition
Priced at USD $44.99 / GBP £19.99 / AUD $42.99, the Smart Band 9 Active positions itself as an ultra-budget fitness tracker. However, the significant compromises in core tracking functionality raise questions about its value proposition, especially when the standard Xiaomi Smart Band 9 offers substantially better performance for a modest price increase.
Conclusion
While the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active might appeal to users seeking basic notification features or sleep tracking on a tight budget, its unreliable fitness tracking capabilities make it difficult to recommend for health-conscious users. Those serious about tracking their fitness metrics would be better served by investing slightly more in the standard Smart Band 9 or alternative entry-level fitness trackers with more reliable core functionality.