I’ve used the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 Pro to track workouts, check my stress, and monitor my sleep for a month — and this $89 Apple dupe is simply excellent

You don’t need to break the bank to get a competent smartwatch that effectively tracks your sleep, stress, heart rate, physical activity, and more — and the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 Pro proves it. Extremely comfortable to wear for days on end with up to 21 days of battery life to boot, the Band 10 Pro doesn’t give you much to complain about. Its AMOLED touchscreen is large and responsive, and the smartwatch looks sleek and classy.

The best part is that the Band 10 Pro can track over 150 sports and activities (including board games), and it gives you a detailed breakdown of your sleep quality, too. I’ve been testing this smartwatch for nearly a month, and I’m finding it quite hard to take it off my wrist.

If you don’t mind the lack of a built-in mic or speaker for answering calls, this could be the best cheap smartwatch for you. For the complete breakdown, read my full Xiaomi Smart Band 10 Pro review.

Xiaomi Smart Band 10 Pro review: Specs

Xiaomi Smart Band 10 Pro review: Price & availability

If you’re on the hunt for a cheap and cheerful fitness tracker that doubles as a stylish smartwatch, the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 Pro is an excellent choice. The standard model costs £69 and comes in Midnight Black, Glacier Silver and Mystic Rose colors. There’s also the Ceramic Edition (which I tested), available in Pearl White, which costs a little more at £84.

It’s important to note that the Band 10 Pro isn’t officially available through Xiaomi in the U.S., at the time of writing, at least. Even though it’s available for $89 / $109 through certain third-party retailers, keep in mind that doing so carries its own risks.

The Band 10 Pro is very cheap for a smartwatch and in-depth fitness tracker. It’s priced similarly to the Amazfit Bip 6 ($79) and is cheaper than the screen-free Fitbit Air ($99) while offering smartwatch functionality and a subscription-free model. The Band 10 Pro is pricier than the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 ($51), but I believe it’s worth the extra spend if you want a large smartwatch-style layout.

Xiaomi Smart Band 10 Pro review: Design & comfort

The Xiaomi Smart Band 10 Pro has clearly taken design inspiration from the Apple Watch Series 11 ($399). This Apple dupe features a rectangular touchscreen, as opposed to the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 featuring a pill-shaped Fitbit-esque one, and it looks fantastic. I tested the Ceramic Edition in Pearl White, and though I usually prefer darker colors, I appreciated how seamlessly the smartwatch blended in with most of my outfits.

Weighing 1.01oz (without the strap), I’ve found the Band 10 Pro extremely comfortable to wear — while sleeping, working out, and even on a 9-hour long-haul flight. The included strap features 11 holes, making the Band 10 Pro suitable for most wrist sizes. Both the standard model and Ceramic Edition feature high-strength aluminum alloy frames, but the Ceramic Edition packs a fluororubber strap instead of a TPU one on the base model.

A compelling reason to spend the extra $$$ on the Ceramic Edition is the fluororubber strap, which is more resistant to UV rays, oils, harsh chemicals, and dust. Having worn the watch for nearly a month, at the time of writing, I haven’t noticed any wear-and-tear to the strap or frame. The fluororubber strap also lends the Band 10 Pro a more sophisticated look. It feels more comfortable than a silicone strap, too, with a smooth texture.

The Band 10 Pro shares its 5ATM durability rating with the Band 10… and the pricey Apple Watch Series 11 and the Garmin Venu 4 ($549). This means the watch is water-resistant and can be submerged up to 50 meters, so you can theoretically wear it in swimming pools and track your swims (but chlorine can damage the waterproofing over time), or during other shallow-water activities. Sweating during on-land workouts shouldn’t be an issue either. Xiaomi warns against using the Band 10 Pro in hot showers, saunas, or when diving, though. It’s also important to note that water resistance isn’t permanent and may reduce over time. Such is the case with almost all tech as waterproofing breaks down eventually.

Display & touchscreen

The Xiaomi Smart Band 10 Pro’s touchscreen is bright, vivid and detailed, displaying accurate, bold colors. The 1.74-inch AMOLED touchscreen has a refresh rate of 60Hz, and I found it extremely responsive in my testing. There was no noticeable lag, and all my commands were promptly registered by the smartwatch. I really like the size of the screen too, which proved big enough for reading my texts during my testing.

The Band 10 Pro has a resolution of 480 x 336 pixels and a maximum brightness of 2,000 nits — higher than the Xiaomi Band 10’s 1,500 nits. I found the screen easily readable regardless of the lighting conditions, including in direct sunlight. There’s a “Raise to Wake” feature which, by default, is automatically disabled after 10 pm to ensure it doesn’t wake you during the night — this can be changed via the Mi Fitness app (more on that shortly).

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There are plenty of watchfaces to choose from on the Band 10 Pro itself, and you can access hundreds more via its companion app and use your own photos, too.

Xiaomi Smart Band 10 Pro review: Fitness features

The Xiaomi Smart Band 10 Pro uses an array of sensors, such as an accelerometer, gyroscope and more, to accurately measure and track over 150 workouts, physical activities, and… board games. Yep, I’ve used the Band 10 Pro to track card games and Scrabble sessions.

Having used the Band 10 Pro for tracking walks, hikes, and even just my steps, I can confidently say the metrics are very accurate. The Band 10 Pro gives you an in-depth breakdown of your heart rate, aerobic or anaerobic activity, workout performance, calories burned, and more. When walking or running, you can easily pause, stop, or add a lap to your workout by swiping right on the watch. I also appreciate being able to pause and play music and change tracks without reaching for my phone.

Another thing I love about the Band 10 Pro is the range of breathing exercises available. I’m an anxious traveler, and when waiting to board a nine-hour flight from Delhi to London, I noticed my heart rate was quite high at 140 BPM. The Band 10 guided me through a few rounds of box breathing, which helped me calm down.

Xiaomi Smart Band 10 Pro review: Health & sleep features

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In addition to tracking various sports and activities, the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 Pro is capable of tracking passive metrics such as steps, stress, and more. These are similar to the ones you’ll find on the cheaper Xiaomi Smart Band 10. In terms of smartwatch functionality, you can receive notifications, but it’s important to note there’s no built-in mic or speaker for answering calls. You can, however, set custom text-based message responses for when you can’t answer calls, which is nice.

Health

To track every metric possible, you need to dive into the Mi Fitness app and allow certain permissions. Stress-tracking is disabled by default. I enabled it and appreciated in-depth stress analysis in the app, as it helps me determine triggers and unhealthy habits to eliminate from my life.

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You can also use the Band 10 Pro to measure blood oxygen levels and blood pressure, and women can track their menstrual cycles and log things like pain and moods. Being able to track your cycle in the app or via the smartwatch can be useful as it negates the need for a dedicated period tracking app. The Band 10 Pro notifies you when you’ve been stationary for too long too, and will prompt you to get up, stretch and walk around — and as someone with a sedentary job, I’m grateful for it.

Sleep

My sleeping habits aren’t… great. I tend to stay up late, even when I have work the next day. Having worn the Band 10 Pro to bed every night for over three weeks, I truly appreciate that it called out my bad habits and gave me in-depth analysis. It tells you how long you were in the deep, light and REM stages, as well as how many times you woke up. It will also tell you your sleep efficiency or quality by citing metrics like average heart rate, average sleep HRV (heart rate variation), and how long it took you to fall asleep.

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The Band 10 Pro makes sleep tracking fun by assigning a Sleep Animal to you. After you’ve worn the Band 10 Pro for seven straight nights, the watch will dissect your sleeping patterns and tell you which animal best describes you. In my case, it was a koala: a nocturnal animal active at night who doesn’t wake up easily. True, as I’m quite a heavy sleeper!

Based on your Sleep Animal, the Band 10 Pro will give you a recommended sleep schedule… but that’s about it. The Amazfit Bip 6’s Zepp app provides more useful recommendations — although you’ll need to pay an extra $69 for the annual subscription.

Xiaomi Smart Band 10 Pro review: App

To take full advantage of your Xiaomi Smart Band 10 Pro, you’ll need to download the free Mi Fitness app on your Android or iOS smartphone. Pairing the Band 10 Pro with your phone is super straightforward and took me just under two minutes. I then gave the necessary permissions to track all metrics available — extremely easy to do.

The Mi Fitness app sports a clean, user-friendly interface, and there aren’t intrusive pop-ups that negatively affect the user experience. You can use the app to customize every facet of the Band 10 Pro — from the display and icons, to the activities you can toggle straight from the watch and thresholds for blood oxygen levels and stress.

If you aren’t sure about what a metric or number means, you can click on the ‘i’ (information) symbol next to them to get a deeper understanding. This is handy for anyone who’s using a smartwatch or fitness tracker for the first time, and may not know what HRV means.

Xiaomi Smart Band 10 Pro review: Battery life

The Xiaomi Smart Band 10 Pro houses a 350mAh battery and the smartwatch can be charged using the included magnetic charging cable. Xiaomi claims that a single charge should last up to 21 days, but your mileage will depend on the features you’ve enabled. For instance, continuous stress monitoring has a detrimental impact on battery life. But given that the smartwatch takes only 90 minutes to recharge, the lower runtime feels worth the trade-off.

Having used the Band 10 Pro for sleep and continuous stress monitoring, as well as its smartwatch features and tracking physical activities, I was able to get 13 days out of its battery — which isn’t bad considering the Apple Watch Series 11 can last only 24 hours.

If you choose to keep the screen on all the time, bear in mind that the battery life drops to around eight days… still far better than the Apple Watch Series 11. The Band 10 Pro outperforms the Amazfit Bip 6 (14 days) and the expensive Garmin Venu 4 (10 days).

Xiaomi Smart Band 10 Pro review: Verdict

If you want a wearable that doesn’t cost hundreds of dollars but accurately tracks your workouts, sleep and other metrics, the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 Pro should be your port of call. It’s extremely comfortable for 24/7 wear, and its AMOLED display is bright and responsive. It seamlessly blends smartwatch features, such as phone notifications, with the benefits of a fitness tracker.

The Band 10 Pro accurately tracks your sleep and gives you a detailed sleep quality breakdown, and it does the same for your workouts. With up to 21 days of battery life packed into a sleek, sophisticated design, the Band 10 Pro is a great affordable smartwatch for those on a budget.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed wearing and using the Band 10 Pro. Being able to understand my stress levels, sleep quality and other metrics in a digestible format makes it a fantastic option for anyone wanting to do the same without breaking the bank.