Xiaomi's Redmi smartwatches and Mi bands have been some of the most popular items in their categories in India for years now. Redmi Watch 5 Active, priced at Rs 2,799 isn't their most affordable offering yet but it's still within the price range to be called a budget-friendly smartwatch. I have been using this smartwatch for a few days now, and this is how my experience been so far:
The Redmi Watch 5 Active comes with metal framing and detachable 22mm TPU double loop strap. There's a 2-inch rectangular LCD display on the front with somewhat large bezels around it. It's a large smartwatch than what we are typically used to seeing but felt okay to wear and walk around with without noticing it as something big and odd on the wrist. The right side features the home button that does an okay job of going back to home screen and when pressed again brings you to all the apps (press it again to get to all your app icons). The back, other than the sensors, carries the magnetic charging port as well as three mics and speakers.
The two-inch LCD IPS (320x385) display is bright enough for outdoors usage. Though not very sharp, it's fine for checking notifications, reading fitness stats and for navigating through the OS. Though raise-to-wake-up-the-screen works well, there's no always-on display option here, which might be a little disappointing for some people, considering this is a watch and it's a popular feature for smartwatches.
The Watch 5 Active runs on Xiaomi's HyperOS based on Android, but this isn't a full-fledged OS like they have on the Redmi Watch 4, but then that one is priced significantly higher (and not available here officially), so can't install your favourite third party apps. It does have Strava integration and built-in Alexa for voice commands.
Among sensors, there's heart rate monitor, SpO2 as well as stress monitoring and sleep tracking. I found tracking steps counting to be fairly reliable for day-to-day usage for things like brisk walking, indoor movement and running for shorter periods of time. Sleep tracking seemed strictly fine and nothing that I would specifically rely on this watch for regular check-ups. Stress monitoring wasn't very far from a high-end watch like the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra and Apple Watch Series 7 but every now and then it did give readings that were like 10 to 12 per cent different from those two, which isn't unexpected considering the price tag.
The watch was reliable in showing notifications instantly when they arrive on the paired phone, but you can't reply to a message from the watch neither does it dismiss the original notification on the phone when you dismiss the notification on the watch. There are more than 140 modes for different sports and activities, including outdoor running, freestyle workout, hiking and board games, but no swimming since this is only an IPX8 water resistant device so can only withstand splashes and sweat for considerable time periods.
Swiping down on the homescreen brings up pending notifications, while swiping up shows connectivity panes and settings. The watch's animations didn't stutter during most of my usage and navigating from one sports mode to another also didn't really cause any glitches inside the OS. Also , you can not only install different watch faces but also change icons and fonts, which isn't common, so credit to Xiaomi for that addition. Supporting Bluetooth 5.3 for pairing with your phone via the Mi Fitness app, you can also have calls using the in-built mics and it does a fine job, if you really want to use it, the mics are not bad at all for outdoors usage, too.
The watch is powered by a 470mAh battery unit, which should last 18 days as per the company. During my 12 days of use so far, the watch has dropped from full to 55 per cent with the display brightness set close to 40 per cent most of the time.
All in all, the Redmi Watch 5 Active is a nice addition to Redmi's smartwatch offering. If you are fine with its large size, the watch doesn't disappoint when it comes to showing notifications or for things like steps counting and using voice commands to Amazon Alexa. It is missing out on always-on display and third party apps installation but you do also get long battery life and lots of watch faces to choose from.
