If you’re familiar with Xiaomi’s product offerings, then you probably already know that the Chinese manufacturer offers more than just smartphones and tablets, with countless other tech like wireless audio, home appliances, and wearable devices under its belt. With regards to the latter, Xiaomi’s lineup of fitness-focused smartwatches and trackers make up quite a sizeable selection, and the company has once again launched a new smartwatch with the Redmi Watch 5 Active.
If you’re getting a slight feeling of deja vu, that’s because the company launched the Redmi Watch 4 earlier this year, which comes with some similarities to the newer model. With that said though, you might be curious as to what exactly is available with the Redmi Watch 5 Active – let’s take a look!
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Design and Display
Like the Redmi Watch 4, the Watch 5 Active also adopts a rectangular display, although it strays from the Apple-esque design on its predecessor with a different strap mechanism and lack of a rotating crown, which has been replaced by a more basic action button this time around. The watch does come with a metal body with IPX8 protection (no scuba diving allowed), and is available in two colours: Midnight Black and Matte Silver.
As for its screen, the Redmi Watch 5 Active drops OLED technology in favour of an IPS LCD touchscreen, which brings us back to simpler times. The display measures 2 inches, and comes with a 320 x 385 resolution with a peak brightness of 500 nits. It’s a decent brightness level when outdoors, although the LCD display means you won’t get particularly vibrant colours and punchy contrast when viewing the device.
Software and Features
Like a lot of other current Xiaomi products, the Watch 5 Active runs on the company’s HyperOS platform with exclusive Xiaomi apps and software, and it also supports connectivity for both Android and iOS smartphones. Don’t expect a Wear OS level of versatility here though, as the Watch 5 Active’s built-in software pales in comparison to more premium wearables such as ones from Samsung and Google.
With that said, this isn’t the point of the Redmi Watch 5 Active though – its main objective is to provide an affordable way for users to access health-tracking features. As such, the device comes with over 200 different watch faces, more than 140 sports and workout modes, and automatic workout detection. Of course you do get other usual fitness features like 24/7 health monitoring with support for heart rate tracking, sleep tracking, and blood oxygen saturation to name some. There’s also added voice assistant technology with Amazon Alexa.
Other Details
The watch is powered by a 470 mAh battery, and Xiaomi says that the device can last for a total of 18 days on a single charge – that’s nearly three weeks of daily usage, although your mileage may vary of course. As for price, the Redmi Watch 5 Active is rather affordable at around £25 when converted. At the moment though, it’s exclusive for buyers in India although we can expect Xiaomi to bring it to more regions later on.
