Redmi Watch 5 Active Review: Back with a bang!

1 month ago 4

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Xiaomi’s sub-brand Redmi has constantly pushed the boundaries of the affordable wearable segment for the last few years. This is why it was surprising when the company skipped the fourth iteration of the Watch ‘Active’ in India. We reviewed the Watch 3 Active soon after it was launched and found it to be an excellent and affordable Bluetooth-calling smartwatch. Now, the Chinese OEM is back with the 5th-gen Watch Active. Redmi Watch 5 Active is still very affordable, priced at Rs 2,599, and sports some crucial upgrades over its 3rd-gen sibling. We’ve been using this smartwatch for a week for tracking our workouts and health metrics. Here is our comprehensive review of the Redmi Watch 5 Active.

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Redmi Watch 5 Active Review: Design and Display

The retail box of the smartwatch packs the following contents:

Smartwatch
Charging cable
User manual

There are no radical changes on the design front – and we prefer it that way. The no-nonsense minimal look of the watch makes it easy to pair with most outfits. The square dial brings the most out of the display as its edges accommodate more content compared to a round dial. Redmi has upgraded the build quality of the smartwatch, replacing the plastic frame with a zinc alloy shell. The Watch 5 Active can absorb minor impacts with ease.

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Design and Display

The silicone strap snugly wraps around the wrist and does not get itchy upon exposure to sweat. We wore the smartwatch to bed and did not have any issues with its fit. There is a slight matte finish on the strap. There are two colour options on offer – Matte Silver and Midnight Black.

design

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The Redmi Watch 5 Active has just one button on its shell. This button is located on the right edge of the frame. When pressed, it takes you to the home page. If you’re on the home page, this button opens the app drawer. The speaker outlet is positioned right below this button, on the lower half of the watch. The sensor array, microphones, and contact points for the charger are placed on the bottom panel.

display

The 2-inch IPS LCD panel is bigger than the 1.83-inch display on the Watch 3 Active. It is slightly brighter too – peaking at 500 nits compared to W3A’s 450 nits. The bezels surrounding the display get thicker towards the chin. The touch response offered by the LCD panel is smooth and stutter-free. Browsing the smartwatch in bright outdoors is not a hassle. However, the lack of Always On Display and adaptive brightness feel like major misses.

The Redmi Watch 5 Active is rated IPX8 for dust and water resistance. We used the smartwatch while hiking and working out. It remained unfazed upon exposure to threat. However, its water resistance is a downgrade from the Watch 3 Active. The latter was water resistant up to 50m and could withstand 5ATM of water pressure.

Redmi Watch 5 Active Review: Performance

The Watch 5 Active can be paired with your smartphone using the Mi Fitness app. The process is seamless and intuitive. The watch displays the app’s QR code upon startup. The companion app can be used to manage the device, sort the apps, change watch faces, and more. But more on that later.

The sensor array of this smartwatch is pretty basic but it gets the job done. Its heart rate and SpO2 measurements were consistent with the readings from home medical equipment. The Mi Fitness app has a section for Blood Pressure, but the Watch 5 Active lacks the hardware to measure it. You can use the app to set alerts for major fluctuations in heart rate and blood oxygen levels.

Performance

We used the Watch 5 Active to measure our daily steps and were a little disappointed to see that it slightly overestimated the step count. The smartwatch has a tendency to clock ghost steps leading to a higher step count. We’d say the room for error here is ~10%. The smartphone relies on your phone’s GPS for mapping outdoor walks and runs. The app often throws glitches when you’re in an area with tall buildings. Hopefully, this will be fixed in the next update of the app.

performance

Apart from outdoor runs, the Watch 5 Active can track more than 140 workouts, sports, exercises, dance routines and more. There’s support for card and board games, which we found quite funny. Routines like cycling, hiking, and jump rope have dedicated metrics that offer a good insight into your performance. However, we were disappointed that weight training exercises like dumbbell and barbell lifting did not offer any metrics other than heart rate, time spent, and calories burnt.

performance

Handling the OS duties on the Watch 5 Active is Xiaomi’s next-gen HyperOS. It brings the watch’s interface closer to Xiaomi and Redmi and smartphones. This is more prevalent in the Quick Settings Menu, app drawer, and in-app options. There is no option to install third-party apps since it is an entry-level smartwatch. However, there are basic native apps like Calendar, World Clock, Events, Contacts, Music, Alarms, Phone, and more on the watch. Alexa is the only pre-installed third-party app on the watch and it comes in quite clutch for voice commands.

Performance

You can make and receive calls on the Watch 5 Active when it is linked to your smartphone. In an indoor setting, the call quality is lucid and clear. The three microphones on the watch do a good job of extracting the voice of the speaker and relaying it to the listener with minimal background noise. However, in an outdoor environment, the background noise becomes far too overwhelming for the watch to maintain an optimum call quality.

Performance

The 470mAh battery pack inside the Watch 5 Active is a big improvement over the 289mAh on its predecessor. Xiaomi claims that the smartwatch can last up to 18 days on a full charge. During the week-long review period, the charge level on our Redmi Watch 5 Active fell to 30%. It should be mentioned that we used the smartwatch with background SpO2 and heart rate measurements turned on, leading to faster battery drainage. Having said that, this is still a good battery performance in our books.

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Verdict

Very few smartwatches in the sub-Rs 3,000 price bracket tick as many boxes for us as the Redmi Watch 5 Active. Its clean design and intuitive OS immediately separate it from most of the watches in this category. The Watch 5 Active is a solid performer that is meant to be worn day in and day out. Its comfortable strap enables you to wear it for days on stretch. Notice how we said ‘days’? This is because the smartwatch can easily last 10 days on a full charge. While it may overcalculate the daily step count, its heart rate and SpO2 measurements are very reliable. It is an incredible deal at Rs 2,599.