Redmi Watch Active 5 review: Reliable budget fitness companion

Xiaomi's latest smart wearable has an impressive build quality, a decent display and does a fine job tracking physical activities, step count, heart rate, sleep patterns and other health metrics.

Xiaomi's Redmi series phones are among the best value-for-money smartphones in the highly competitive smartphone market in India.

Similarly, the company offers high-quality budget smart wearables in the subcontinent.

The latest Watch Active 5 series comes with a big display panel and is capable of tracking numerous fitness activities and also monitoring heart health, sleep patterns, and more. Here are my thoughts on Xiaomi's latest smart wristwear.

Design and build quality

The new Redmi Watch 5 Active sports a curved square-shaped module. The enclosure is made of a durable stainless metal zinc alloy. It also comes with an IPX8 splash-and-sweat-resistant rating.

It can survive accidental water splashes and also moderate rain. But, once you reach home or the office, be sure to clean the water around the edges and the base below. The device should be clean and dry before charging.

The Redmi Watch Active 5 features a side button to wake up the display. There is also an option in the settings to turn on 'Raise to wake'.

Redmi Watch Active 5.

If you are already on the home screen, pressing the side button, will take you to the app drawer. If you long-press it, the watch triggers Amazon's Alexa assistant. It can answer general news updates, weather details and more, provided there is a stable internet connection on the paired companion phone.

The device comes with a silicone wristband. It is soft and sturdy too.

Redmi Watch Active 5.

The Redmi Watch Active 5 sports a big 2.0-inch high-resolution display with up to 500 nits peak brightness. It is more than enough to read messages outdoors from chest height and not have to take a wrist to the face to read any notification.

However, when under direct sunlight, there is a reflection issue. So, you have to take the watch a little closer to the face to be able to read the screen.

Redmi Watch Active 5.

The Redmi Watch 5 Active is fitted with accurate sensors. The display wakes up instantly when the hand is raised. Or users can just double-tap on the screen to see the time. Also, it supports a tiny dial pad to make calls.

Redmi Watch 5 Active supports more than 200 watch faces.

To personalise the watch, the company offers 200 plus amazing watch faces. There are more than enough options to mix and match these faces to users' outfits.

Performance

Setting up the Redmi Watch Active 5 is simple. It barely took 10 minutes to set up and pair it to the companion phone.

The device runs on HyperOS. It has a simple interface. Any rookie user can get the hang of it in a few hours of usage.

Redmi Watch Active 5.

It supports swipe gestures. Swiping up will bring out key functions such as a torch, shortcut to the 'raise to wake' feature, battery saver mode, find my phone app, settings, silent mode and do not disturb mode.

If you swipe down, it will show the messages and notifications such as goals achieved for the day.

And, if you swipe either to the right or left sides, it will take you to widgets such as weather, heart rate tracker, blood-oxygen saturation (SpO2) reader, sports mode (you can choose the activity such as running/walking/more via an app on the phone), sleep pattern monitor and breathing tutorial app (for short duration meditation during the day).

Redmi Watch 5 Active series.

The new Redmi Watch Active 5 can track 140 plus sports activities and offer comprehensive workout analysis and performance statistics, helping users track their fitness goals.

It can monitor sleep patterns, Spo2 (blood oxygen saturation), heart rate, stress, breathing exercise, steps count, calories burned count, and even monitor female health as well. For more detailed information, users can view it on Xiaomi's Mi Fitness app on the phone.

Physical activities, sleep pattern, heartrate details can be found on Mi Fitness app.

With Bluetooth technology, the Watch 5 Active also supports calling. Users can answer right from the wrist. It has an in-built microphone and a speaker.

I usually used this feature to screen the caller and based on priority, I just pick up the phone to answer. If it wasn't important, I just tap the red on-screen button on the watch to dismiss the call.

Redmi Watch 5 Active series.

The new Redmi Watch 5 Active houses a 470mAh battery. I have been using it for more than a week and at the time of writing this review, the device still has 32 per cent.

If you don't turn on sports mode and are happy with just walking, tracking step counts, and occassional checking on SpO2 readings, it can last for little more than two weeks.

Final thoughts

Considering the overall aspects, the Redmi Watch Active 5 is a really good value-for-money smartwearable.

Redmi Watch 5 Active series.

It has an impressive build quality, a decent display and does a fine job tracking physical activities, step count, heart rate, sleep pattern and other health metrics.

Xiaomi Redmi Watch Active 5 is available for Rs 2,799 in India.

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