For those planning to use the device in Pebble Mode, we should also note that our tests found that you’ll only lose around 5% of battery per hour of running. And the results are surprisingly pretty good. The big downside here is that you’ll still need to set up a workout from your phone and take it with you on your run, but the data does seem to have some value.

Band 8 Active - Xiaomi UK Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active - Xiaomi UK

It means swiping through menus and viewing graphics and stats is much smoother - and much more in line with what you would see from a smartwatch with a much loftier price tag. Features, OS and ecosystem Some, like Garmin and Oura, simply take your lowest heart rate reading from sleep, while others, like Xiaomi and Apple, instead look for your lowest reading when you’re in an awake and inactive state. Steps are sometimes massively underreported compared to our other test devices - the Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) and Oura Gen 3 - while calorie burn estimates are also very unpredictable. Xiaomi’s proprietary OS is also very zippy - a feeling that's is aided by that bump-up in refresh rate we referenced earlier.SpO2 readings never dipped below what we would expect to see from our blood oxygen data on other devices - between 95-99% - and resting heart rate data was similar. Gone is the long-standing unibody design of older Mi Bands/Smart Bands, and in its place are now the more typical slot connections on each end. For example, we’ve run 30 miles in a week with the Smart Band 8, alongside two gym sessions and five hour-long walks, yet our training load is still considered ‘Low’. There is, at least, breathing rate data available - again, you’ll have to find this and turn it on in the companion app’s settings - though this is still in beta. And when we did turn this on, nothing appeared in our sleep reports. There are thankfully some insights that are a bit more useful, though, and they generally come from when the device is instead attached to your running shoe. Pebble Mode

Band 8 - Xiaomi UK Xiaomi Smart Band 8 - Xiaomi UK

With a simple switch in the app (and the help of an attachment sold separately), you can transform the Smart Band 8 from a wrist companion into a bonafide running pod.We should note, though, that resting heart rate figures are always gathered slightly differently between manufacturers. Xiaomi also continues to mimic plenty of the more advanced insights you’ll find on Apple and Garmin devices - such as training load, recovery time, and VO2 max - but none of these are really anything close to being useful. On our test runs, we’ve found that the heart rate readings don’t react too well to fluctuations in real-time - even when the pace is relatively steady. This isn’t necessarily a negative, though. You can’t have it all at this price point, after all, and the few smarts present here actually work very well.