Smartwatches have come a long way. Nowadays, you can hardly go wrong with any smartwatch above Rs 2,000. But some brands still do it better than others. One of them is Redmi, whose Watch 3 Active has been on my wrist for a week now. And I love it. It’s ridiculously easy to use, is packed with features, and has an interface that makes you wonder if you really need a full-fledged smartwatch. Here’s my review.
Design and Fit
Let’s start with the design. The Redmi Watch 3 Active has a solid metal frame that feels durable and premium. Its display is the kind that doesn’t sit flush into the frame – it pops out a little which gives it a more premium look. The watch comes in two colours – black and off-white – but you can also spice things up with an olive green strap for Rs 499 (that’s like a sixth of the watch’s price itself) if you’re feeling adventurous. I got the black one for review and I like its sleek and minimalist look.
But while I liked the design, the fit could’ve been friendlier. The watch has an unconventional strap mechanism that requires you to tuck in the strap rather than pull it out when wearing it. I have skinny wrists and this turned out to be a hassle. See the picture below to get what I mean. Perhaps people with thicker wrists won’t have this problem. Still, this snag is sort of compensated by the fact that the watch is surprisingly easy to take off.
Unfortunately, the strap saga continued when I tried to swap the black strap for the olive one. It took me some serious wrestling to get it done. But the result was worth it – the watch looked like a whole new device. Now I just need to find an outfit that matches the green.
Application and Watch UI
Redmi has added new features like widgets on the watch home screen which will give you more freedom to customize.
You also have the option to use any of the watch faces but if you want more customization then you can add widgets like heart rate, sleep tracking, time, date, and much more.
For customization, you have to download the Mi Fitness App on your smartphone and log in with your Mi account and you’re good to go.
The app is smooth too, it doesn’t feel cheap or featureless.
Also, as the Redmi Watch 3 Active doesn’t have the built-in GPS, you can use your smartphone GPS whenever you go for an outdoor run but the catch is, you have to keep the smartphone near the watch all the time.
Redmi has added more than 100 sports modes but you can add every single of them on the watch, you have to choose a few from the Mi Fitness app which then shows up on the smartwatch.
Overall, the watch UI is smoother than before and the app is always better compared to any other India Wearable Brands.
Health and Fitness Tracking
The Redmi Watch 3 Active has every single sensor from Heart Rate Sensor, Accelerometer, and even SpO2 but it doesn’t have the Built-in GPS. So if you’re that person who goes for an outdoor workout or run then it’s better if you consider the smartwatch that has built-in GPS.
The spO2 sensor on budget watches is never perfect, it shows you close to accurate but it never shows you the exact data. So never rely 100% on budget smartwatches for health-related issues.
These watches will give you some idea but they won’t give you the perfect data as most of the budget smartwatches use optical sensors which are not accurate at all.
Redmi has also added a heart rate sensor which gives you a rough idea about the heartbeat. You can either set heart rate monitoring 24/7 or choose to tap to see it.
This way, the battery will last for a long time.
Step counting is also hit or miss, so keep the 5% error margin.
For example, if the watch says, your step count for today is 3000 then expect it around 2900.
The sleep data is kind of okay. The Mi Fitness App shows all the sleep stages from Light Sleep, Deep sleep as well as REM Sleep.
The sleep data has improved compared to the last gen.
Overall, for the price of Rs 2999, the health data is sort of okay, it’s not perfect or the worst, it’s decent and that will give you some idea about your current health. The sleep data is a bit accurate compared to the health and SpO2.
Bluetooth Calling
The RealMe Watch 3 Active has one microphone and one speaker which are good but not the best. It’s good to see Bluetooth calling under Rs 3,000 but still, it needs a lot of improvement, especially in public places.
So if you’re in a public place where there is a noise of cars, bikes, people talking, and much more then the other person on call will have a hard time hearing your voice and the same will happen to you.
The solution is very simple, don’t use the watch for calling in public places, use it when you’re at your home or where there is no noise.
By the way, the watch doesn’t support SIM cards, but the calling feature works with the help of Bluetooth. To use the calling feature, you have to connect your smartphone to the smartwatch 24/7.
Also, the watch has dual Bluetooth support which will consume more battery life
Bettery
By the way, the watch doesn’t support SIM cards, but the calling feature works with the help of Bluetooth. To use the calling feature, you have to connect your smartphone to the smartwatch 24/7.
Also, the watch has dual Bluetooth support which will consume more battery life
But if you use all the features expect the battery life to be around 2 to 3 days.
Also, as the watch has dual Bluetooth, it will consume more battery because the watch will connect to the Mi Fitness app and System Bluetooth for calling.
Single Bluetooth calling would have been great but it’s not expensive, so this is the best Redmi has to offer.