Realme has been trying to expand its purview as a lifestyle brand and the first in a series of upcoming IoT products is the Realme Band. This is Realme’s first attempt at a fitness tracker in a market where Xiaomi and Honor already have competent fourth and fifth-generation products.
Can the Realme Band match up to the likes of Mi Band 4 and Honor Band 5? We have been putting the wearable through its paces and will try to answer all Realme Band related questions in this review.
Realme Band Price and Specifications
| Model | Realme Band |
| Display | 0.96-inch (160 X 80); TFT LCD |
| Water and dust resistance | Yes, IP68 |
| Sensors | 3-axis accelerometer, heart rate sensor |
| Dimensions and weight | 19.6×11.9x240mm; 20g |
| Features | Call and message notifications, Sleep tracking, 9 activity modes, Sedentary reminder, Drink water reminder |
| connectivity | Bluetooth 4.2 LE |
| Battery | 90mAh (6 to 9 days) |
| Price | Rs. 1499 |
Realme Band Review: Design and Display
The Band has a simple and conventional design. The main module is rectangular and has rubber straps attached to it. The pill is water-resistant (IP68) and has been holding well to daily wear and tear.
The strap is of good quality and has sufficient adjustment holes. We didn’t face any discomfort wearing the band through our days and nights.
The display, however, is lackluster. The TFT LCD screen is dull and barely visible under direct sunlight. The display doesn’t accept touch input and is also surrounded by chunky bezels.
The band pairs with your phone via the Realme Link app, which currently has a total of 5 watch faces. There are no customizable watch face options as of now.
For Navigation or any other interaction with the band, there is a single capacitive button at the bottom that recognizes tap and long tap.
The good thing is that the Band doesn’t require a proprietary charger. You can pull off and detach the strap to access the charging connector, which can be directly shoved in a USB charging port.
Realme Band Review: Fitness tracking and accuracy
Realme Band has the usual Activity tracking options. You can track your steps, calories burnt, distance traveled and sleep pattern. The Band also has a heart rate monitor that can continuously monitor your heart rate.
To gauge the accuracy of the band, we wore the Realme Band alongside the Mi Band 4 and Honor Band 5 on alternate days. The Realme Band is as accurate (at times, even more) as either of these options.
We like the option for ‘Drink Water reminders’ that can be enabled from the app. Other basic options like Alarm, Timer, etc. are missing, though.
The RealmeLink app that pairs the band to the phone has 9 Workout modes of which you can place any three on your watch menu. You can set off and end these workout modes by long-press on the capacitive button. The band measures the same vital stats in all of these modes.
Realme Band Review: Software and other features
The Realme Link App and the Band Interface both feel like work in progress. The lack of touch input further limits the ‘other features’ part since options like ‘Find my Phone’, music controls, etc. are tough to implement with single touch input.
The Realme Band can notify you of incoming calls and gives you the option to discard them. The band also syncs incoming messages, but you can not respond to them or get back to them if you accidentally tap the power button.
The RealmeLink app is buggy and we faced frequent connection drops (which can be very annoying).
Realme Band Review: Battery
In the first cycle, the 90mAh battery lasted for 8 days, so yes, the battery backup is fabulous. You can expect around 10 days of mileage with normal usage. The charging time is around 2 hours.
As mentioned above, you don’t need a proprietary charger or charging cable and can directly plug the Realme Band in a USB port.
On the downside, the band doesn’t show any charging indicator when plugged in, not even within the battery icon.
Also Read: Realme 6 Review
Realme Band Review: Should you Buy it?
The Realme Band is quite accurate with fitness tracking and has a long-lasting battery. However, it still feels like a work in progress. The TFT LCD display isn’t very bright, the link app is buggy and the interface is very rudimentary.
You may consider it if you are restricted by a Rs. 1500 budget and are only interested in the basic activity tracking. But we’d recommend you spend the extra sum and go for a fitness tracker with a touch-enabled OLED display.
Pros
- Accuracy is good
- Heart rate monitor
- Comfortable, good quality strap
Cons
- Display quality
- RealmeLink app is buggy
- Limited feature-set
