Galaxy Fit e review – Better than Xiaomi’s Mi Band 3?

Masses expect wearables and fitness trackers to be cheap, which perhaps explains why Xiaomi’s Mi Bands have consistently been topping sales charts in India. These affordable fitness trackers are not perfect, but they are mostly deemed reliable, and good enough for basic activity tracking. (Galaxy Fit e Review हिंदी में पढ़िए)

This year, for the first time, Samsung too rocked the boat with an ultra-affordable fitness band as part of its wearable lineup and the same Galaxy Fit e is now available for purchase on Flipkart. Priced at Rs. 2.590, the Galaxy Fit e is a very economical means of tapping into Samsung’s extensive wearable ecosystem and all the work the South Korean giant has put into evolving its fitness tracking and wearable software over the years.  

Is the Gear Fit e better than Mi Band 3? That’s the question we will be addressing through our Galaxy Fit e review that follows. 

Page Contents:

Samsung Galaxy Fit e Price in India and Specifications

Samsung Galaxy Fit e Review: Design and Display

When it comes to design, the Galaxy Fit e is a cut-down version of the more expensive Galaxy Fit. As is common to all affordable fitness bands in this segment, there is essentially a fitness tracking pill that goes in a silicone band. 

On the rear, the Fit e has a heart rate sensor and pogo pins that clumsily go in the proprietary charging dock.

The pill has a minuscule 0.74-inch PMOLED monochrome display that you can wake using double tap or by raising your wrist (we have enabled both from the app). The outdoor visibility is better than Mi Band 3 but not stellar. 

The band allows users to circle through activity stats using double taps. There is an option to swipe through activity stat pages, but the display doesn’t register swipes easily. The companion Galaxy Wearable app allows you to choose between 6 watch faces.

This is really basic stuff, but the essentials are mostly covered. The Galaxy Fit e is light enough for you to wear it and then not think about it.  It’s also holding off scuff marks and scratches really well, and you may wear it in the shower.   

The quality of the replaceable silicon strap is quite good and it’s available in three colors – Black, White, and Yellow. We’d say the overall look and feel of Galaxy Fit e works better than that of the Mi Band 3. 

But unlike on the Mi Band 3, the interaction on the Galaxy Fit e is really limited. There isn’t much you can do directly from the band itself, save for checking step counts and other elementary stats. You will need to pick your phone frequently to get things done.  

Setting up the Galaxy Fit e

The Galaxy Fit e is compatible with both iOS and Android phones. The setting up of the Galaxy Fit e first requires you to download the Galaxy Wearable app. The app will walk you through the set-up process. If you have a non-Samsung phone, this involves downloading two more plugins from the play store, giving the app notification access, and also downloading a separate Samsung health app. 

Once you are done with the setup, you will still have to keep not one but two apps on your phone. The Galaxy Wearable app to control Fit e settings, and the Samsung Health app to monitor and manage your activity stats. 

Samsung Galaxy Fit e Review: Activity Tracking and Software

The biggest advantage of the Galaxy Fit e is access to Samsungs smart activity tracking software that the company has been refining over the years for its more expensive wearables. As a result, what little the Fit e does, it does really well. In fact, we’d go as far as saying that in terms of step count accuracy, the Galaxy Fit e is the best available option that we have used for under Rs. 3,000 (or maybe even 5K).

Automatically, the Galaxy Fit e can differentiate when you are walking or running. In comparison, the more expensive Galaxy Fit can automatically track Cycling, Rowing, Elliptical trainer and more.

It’s missing altimeter and gyroscope, and thus standalone tracking options are limited. The Samsung Health app that the Fit e pairs with also fetches data from your Phone’s sensors and can add stats like floors climbed from whenever you are carrying your phone with you. 

From within the Samsung Health app, you can also track activities like cycling and more, and, in a way, combine the hardware prowess of both your phone and tracker. The App is neat and well designed and integrates a lot of data and features without being overwhelming. And if you need details, you can dig into your stands and understand what they mean. 

The Galaxy Fit e is also quite deft at tracking deep and light sleep. The heart rate sensor intermittently measures heartbeat, but you can’t turn off heart rate tracking or initiate it at your own will. 

There is no “Find my phone” feature, which is something we tend to use a lot on Mi Band 3. The Galaxy Fit e can vibrate and relay notifications from apps on your phone you choose. Due to small screen size, the notifications aren’t always clear and there is no option to reply to or discard them from the band itself.    

Samsung Galaxy Fit e Review: Battery Life

We didn’t get the promised 6-day mileage. On a full charge, the 70mAh battery on Galaxy Fit e lasted for around 3 days with notifications synced. This is significantly lesser than what you’d get on the Mi Band 3 but is still quite manageable. Of course, you can extend mileage if you choose to not sync app notifications. 

Wireless charging isn’t supported, which is perfectly fine in this budget. You will have to charge it using a proprietary dock that looks cheap, has a very short cable, and weirdly snaps around the Fit e. The fitness band takes around 2.5 hours for a full charge (using a laptops micro USB port). 

Samsung Galaxy Fit e Review with Pros and Cons

If you ask us, tracking accuracy is what sits at the top of our priority list when choosing a fitness tracker, no matter what the price range. If the step count augments by a thousand simply when you drive to work, the purpose of lugging one on your wrists is completely defeated. 

The Galaxy Fit e has a great design and a reasonable display. It can accurately track your steps, sleep, and heartbeat and the Samsung health app that it pairs with is quite comprehensive. On these counts, it fairs better than the Mi Band 3. 

While it delivers about everything related to tracking you’d expect at this price point, the Fit e feels cripplingly limited in terms of things you can do from your wrist or in terms of standalone features. This is one area where the Mi Band 3 takes a significant lead.