Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro review: still the value king?

We may earn compensation from reviewed products. Learn about our editorial policies.

Need-to-knows

• Excellent battery life, up to 21 days under the right conditions
• Heart rate, blood oxygen and sleep monitoring included
• No advanced features like ECG
• Great value at only $79/£62

In my Xiaomi Smart Band 9 review, I was astounded at the quality and functionality provided for a very low price. I’m pleased to report that the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro, the Smart Band 9’s bigger brother, follows suit.

I may have just given away my main conclusion at the start of this review but you get so much for your money, solid build quality, loads of health tracking and an excellent battery, that it’s hard not to.

I do have some fairly existential questions, however, such as; is it worth paying more just to have the larger screen? And at this price point, are there any better alternatives? Let’s find out.

How I reviewed the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro

To ensure that I got the full picture of the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro, I wore it continuously over a three week period. I tracked my sleep every night, one workout per day including the gym and running and took regular readings of my heart rate.

I didn’t use low power mode and kept always-on mode off for the display. I tried to keep my power usage similar to that of an average person to get an accurate report.

Design and build quality

The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro has an Aluminium alloy frame with 2.5D reinforced glass. And I think it looks great. It isn’t a revolutionary design by any means but it looks and feels premium and that’s all you can ask from a smartwatch. It doesn’t look cheap in other words.

It is also very light too, weighing 24.5 grams without the strap. For reference, the Apple Watch Series 10 weighs 35 grams. Whether you like a heavier watch is down to you but I think, if you’re exercising then the lighter the better. Less weight means it is less liable to jiggle up and down your wrist. It is even lighter than the Redmi Watch 5 which is my favourite smartwatch of the year so far. 

There are zero scratches on any of the surfaces and I’ve been wearing the Smart Band 9 Pro for weeks at this point.

It’s a comfortable fit too, although a slightly less harsh sensor bump on the bottom of the device would reduce any irritation even further. Removing and attaching new straps is incredibly easy too, there’s no awkward sliding mechanism, instead, you press a button and the straps pop off. Believe me, this matters, some smartwatches have unnecessarily elaborate straps!

Overall, much like the standard Smart Band 9, the Smart Band 9 Pro’s build quality punches well above its lowly price tag. It might not fit the bill for formal occasions, but for fitness, it is perfect. Oh, and it comes in Pink, Black and Silver.

Display

The display on the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro is much like that on the standard Smart Band 9. Obviously it is larger. The 9 Pro is 1.74 inches and square in shape whereas the 9 is 1.62 inches and oval shaped. But beyond that, the specs are very similar.

Both have 1200 nits of peak brightness which is enough for use outside, although you can get brighter with other smartwatches. The Redmi Watch 5 has 1500 nits for example. Both are also AMOLED displays meaning you get a wider colour range and support for higher refresh rates. The Smart Band 9 Pro has a 60Hz refresh rate, comparable to that of an Apple Watch, but there is no support for 1Hz which allows for things like a ticking second hand.

The bezels are noticeably larger on the Smart Band 9 Pro than competitors but definitely not to a level that is intrusive. It would be nice to have as large a display area as possible but remember, this is a watch that only costs £62. I had no issues with the display after using it in a variety of light conditions, including direct sunlight.

Health tracking features

Honestly, I think sections that cover health-tracking features in reviews are becoming largely redundant because pretty much every watch can do the same thing barring a few more specialist features.

You can track over 150 activities with the Smart Band 9 Pro, including swimming with a 5ATM water resistance rating which allows for submersion at depths up to 50 metres for 10 minutes. When you perform an activity, like going for a run or a swim, the Smart Band 9 Pro will monitor things like stride length and form so you can get a rounded picture of how you are working out.

There is built-in GNSS and a compass too so you get accurate location tracking which is great when out on the bike or running.

You get sleep tracking which I have found to be just as good as any other smartwatch I’ve used and the Mi Health app compares your sleep habits to an animal which I loved on the normal Smart Band 9.

Blood oxygen and heart rate monitoring is powered by an upgraded AFE chip which Xiaomi says has improved accuracy by 15% compared to the previous model. There are other features too like menstrual cycle tracking and stress ratings.

There aren’t advanced features like an ECG or atrial fibrillation tracking, so if you need those, this isn’t the watch for you. But if you want the basics while exercising, the Smart Band 9 Pro has you covered.

The Mi Health app is great too. Lots of very visual data presentations and easy-to-understand graphs. A tick from me!

Battery

And now for my favourite bit about these cheaper smartwatches. You may lose some advanced health tracking features and have a slightly dimmer display, but you gain, somehow, incredible battery life.

I don’t know exactly how they do it, but Xiaomi crams up to 21 days, yes days, of battery life into the Smart Band 9 Pro. This is the same as the battery life found in the standard 9. It isn’t totally accurate. I didn’t get 21 days out of it but I was using it with multiple trackers on full-time whilst recording activities daily. I’d say the average battery life for my use conditions was around 13 days.

So I’m sure in battery-saving mode you’d get nearer to that 21 days. Either way, it’s an excellent battery that blows that of the Apple Watch out of the water and means you hardly ever have to worry about charging it.

When you do need to charge it, you get to full battery in about 75 minutes. It’s brilliant and by far my favourite thing about the Smart Band 9 Pro. It enables you to do things like consistently track your sleep because you don’t need to charge it at the end of every day.

Conclusion – are there better alternatives to the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro?

With this question, I mean are there better alternatives specifically at the price point of this watch? This was the main question I had while using it for two main reasons; the Redmi Watch 5 and the Xiaomi Smart Band 9.

For the most part, the Pro version is pretty much the same as the standard Smart Band 9. The only major difference is you get a larger display which is very nice to have as it means the Pro becomes more useable as an everyday device rather than just a fitness tracker. But whether that matters is your own personal decision. If it doesn’t, then you could easily just buy the cheaper Smart Band 9. Either way, both are excellent devices.

And now the Redmi Watch 5. I love this watch. It has a huge display, bigger than any I’ve used and, in my opinion, looks just a bit more stylish than the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro. It angles more towards being a smartwatch for all occasions rather than a fitness device which I like and does everything you’d expect health tracking-wise.

It is about £20 more expensive though. Ultimately, it’s your call but again, all of these devices are great and offer blisteringly good value for money. If I had to choose, I’d take the Redmi Watch 5 but take a look at each one and decide for yourself!