Redmi Watch 5 review

The Redmi Watch 5 is a stylish budget smartwatch that performs well across the board. It boasts hundreds of workout modes, has 5ATM water resistance and an outstanding battery life of 24 days, plus you can monitor your heart rate, blood oxygen, stress levels, sleep and more — all for a bargain price. A budget smartwatch can rarely compete with the more expensive brands but the Redmi sure puts up a fight, just like the Amazfit Active did when we reviewed it.

Although it packs a punch, the Redmi Watch 5 is best suited to those looking for a budget smartwatch that's easy to use without any frills. Its layout is simple and it's intuitive to use, while the visual display helps the user to interpret their data. Accuracy was generally good during the various workout modes we tested, and for a budget smartwatch it performed exceptionally well, although we did find the accuracy of the stats varied depending on what app we used.

Overall, the Redmi Watch 5 is a great purchase for anyone looking for a budget smartwatch that looks stylish, is comfortable to wear and has a long battery life. It may make the cut as one of the best budget fitness trackers we've tested.

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Redmi Watch 5 review

Redmi Watch 5: Design

• Colorful display visible in bright daylight
• Responsive touchscreen (when not in rain)
• Uncomfortable strap

The Redmi Watch 5 has a good-sized AMOLED display screen measuring 2 inches (5 centimeters) across, with a thin 2 mm bezel. The enlarged screen offers enhanced brightness, which when using the watch outdoors on a brighter day ensured we could see the screen clearly and monitor our workouts without a hitch. It even performed well underwater in the swimming pool, with the display clearly visible during our swims.

The touchscreen is reasonably responsive, though with a few drops of water on it, it can become a little less so, just like a mobile phone screen. The crown can be used as an alternative to access the various screens, moving between the widgets and apps. But the touchscreen is required to click on the apps and workout modes, so it can be a little annoying when trying to begin a workout, for example.

When worn for weeks on end, the screen picked up no scratches and the rubber strap still looks brand new. It can tend to attract a little bit of dust but nothing major. All-in-all, a reliable and durable design.

We particularly liked the layout and colors of the apps and the fact you had a choice as to how to display the apps: either with labels or without, or in a list format for those who are less visual.

There are also various clock faces you can choose from to personalise your watch, as well as the ability to customise the widgets that will display when you pull up or down from the top of the screen, depending on what menu you are on. This allows the user to see the most relevant stats to them at a quick glance throughout the day. The Redmi Watch 5 is versatile in its design while also being simple to use.

We also enjoyed the cycles app, which allowed us to log when our menstrual cycles were due. It marked out our ovulation period, and the app on your phone allows you to monitor your symptoms and mood. It was only a little extra thing but this was more useful than we first realised.

However, two things let the design down: The strap and the charging cable.

The watch was uncomfortable to put on, as the end of the strap tucks underneath the rest of the strap to keep the tail end from sticking out. This is a great design in theory but in the real world, it means that the tail end of the strap pinches against the skin as you tuck it under. If you do not do the strap up tight enough, the watch easily falls too low on the wrist so it must be done up fairly tight to get accurate readings. This then causes a problem in getting the tail end of the strap to tuck under without it catching the skin. Once on, the watch was generally comfortable to wear.

The charging cable is very short, making placement during charging a little annoying. It is also USB, meaning we couldn't easily charge it from our Mac, which would have been handy with such a short cable. Furthermore, the charging connection felt dodgy, so we found ourselves having to charge the watch with the screen on a surface, which felt a little odd.

Redmi Watch 5: Performance

• Relatively accurate stats
• Excellent battery life
• Intuitive layout

The Redmi Watch 5 was intuitive to use, making it easy to start and stop workouts without a fuss. It also has auto-detect, so the watch will nudge you if it thinks you're working out and have forgotten to turn a workout mode on.

To start a workout, you simply select the workout mode you want, press "Go" and it begins measuring your workout. To pause a workout, swipe left and press pause. You can also pause a workout by pressing the crown. To end a workout, you swipe left and press and hold the stop button or continue holding the crown. If you slide right while on a workout, you can start and stop the audio you are listening to.

There are hundreds of workout modes to choose from, meaning you can capture almost any type of workout. Plus, the versatility of having the crown control some aspects, such as pausing and ending your workout, was a bonus to some extent, especially after swimming or in the rain when the screen became less responsive.

With a battery life of 24 days, the Redmi Watch 5 performed really well on this front, with us only needing to charge it twice during the testing period. When we did need to do so, it was full within the hour from a reasonably low battery level, although not completely flat.

We found the Redmi Watch 5 to be relatively accurate in capturing our health stats. To check its accuracy, we measured our own BPM and checked the watch to see if these numbers were close. Although it wasn't spot-on, the numbers were close on multiple occasions, leading us to believe the watch was pretty accurate. The tracking captured our walking routes and kilometers covered accurately. The one thing we couldn't check for accuracy was the calorie counter, although when compared to other fitness watches worn at the same time, the calorie counts were similar.

The extra features on the Redmi Watch 5 were fun to use for monitoring our health. We enjoyed checking our stress levels throughout the day, although this number didn't appear to change much. This seemed odd, as sometimes we could feel we were more stressed yet the result still came back as mild. We would advise using this function with caution, but it is a fun addition.

We also enjoyed the breathing exercises, which are based on yoga. These were great to use when needing to take a short break, helping to reduce the stress we felt. There is also all-day monitoring of BPM and blood oxygen levels, which, again, is a fun little extra to monitor how you feel throughout the day.

If you're looking to monitor your sleep, the Redmi Watch 5 did a good job at measuring our sleep length and sleep cycles. We used a secondary app to capture our sleep length and cycles and this closely matched the readings from the Redmi Watch 5, which actually may have been more accurate. Your BPM is also monitored during your sleep, which is an interesting addition to reflect on.

The Redmi Watch 5 has water resistance of up to 5ATM, so it is safe to use in the pool. When used in the swimming pool, it captured our lengths, swim style, calories burnt, number of strokes and swimming pace, among other things. The lengths and swim style were accurate, although it's hard to tell the accuracy of the other stats and, when compared to another fitness watch worn at the same time, there were discrepancies between the two.

The Redmi gives you a SWOLF score, if that's something you are keen to have from a watch. The results can be viewed either on the watch itself or on the app, with visuals and graphs available on both to help you make sense of the data.

When you end your swimming session, the watch automatically clears the water but if you have the sound on, it will make a loud beeping noise in the changing rooms, so be prepared for that. There are many water workout modes you can choose from but we only tested this watch in a swimming pool.

Redmi Watch 5: Functionality

• Strap pinched the skin
• Crown gets caught on tighter clothing
• Interesting graphics

As we mentioned earlier, the pinching of the skin when putting the strap on wasn't very welcome but once on, the watch was comfortable to wear. We didn't notice it while sleeping and barely noticed it during the day, apart from when the crown caught on our tops. As we tested this watch during the winter months, we had to wear long-sleeved tops and we found the crown caught on them easily. This was frustrating mid-workout, causing vibrations and workouts to be paused by accident. It also felt a little uncomfortable during our yoga sessions, as our arms and hands moved in many different directions, giving the crown ample opportunity to catch.

The Redmi Watch 5 generally performed well and met our expectations for a budget fitness watch. It covered various stats depending on the workout and offered us our training load information as well as recovery time. The stats were pretty accurate for the bits that really matter when it comes to workouts, although functions like the stress measure are a little more questionable.

We particularly liked the use of colorful graphics to summarize our workout journeys, helping us to make sense of our performances.

Overall, this watch performed well but would probably suit those who aren't too caught up on complete accuracy and just want a way to log their workouts with ease. It would suit someone who is interested in knowing how they're performing but also isn't too concerned if their BPM is slightly inaccurate, for example.

With the added apps such as the sleep and stress monitoring, it's a good choice for someone looking at a more holistic view of health rather than merely capturing individual workouts. Generally, we felt the watch performed well in most workouts, capturing the important details and, with a battery life of around 24 days, it's not to be grumbled at for the price.

Should you buy the Redmi Watch 5?

We loved testing the Redmi Watch 5 and can't believe how well it performed for the price point. While the stats were generally accurate, there were some discrepancies so it would suit those who aren't so concerned with complete accuracy. It's perfect for someone who wants to track their fitness but isn't looking for lots of fancy extras.

It's a simple design with no added complications, so those new to working out or fitness tracking may enjoy this smartwatch more than, say, athletes or serious runners. That doesn't mean there isn't a lot of data, though — each workout supplies adequate data on your performance and a good idea of your fitness level. Plus, there are plenty of additional apps like the stress monitor (though this may not be very accurate).

Overall, you can't go wrong with the Redmi Watch 5. It feels more high-end than it is in terms of design and performance, helping you gain a more holistic view of your overall health.

If this product isn't for you

It may be that the Redmi Watch 5 isn't for you and you'd prefer something from a better-known brand. If that's the case, the Garmin Vivosmart 5 is a great option, coming in at a similar price point to the Redmi Watch 5.

There is also the Fitbit Inspire 3, which offers a slender and lightweight design but a slightly shorter battery life than the Redmi.