Xiaomi Smart Band 10 review: few upgrades over the best cheap fitness tracker around

Date:
Tue, 21 Oct 2025 17:01:34 +0000

Description:
The Xiaomi Smart Band 10 doesn't bring many upgrades over its highly-rated predecessor.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Xiaomi Smart Band 10: One-minute review

Another year brings another cheap fitness tracker from Chinese tech company Xiaomi, but its Smart Band 10 is its first such gadget in a while that isnt
an instant must-buy for people looking for an affordable way to track their runs, steps or sleep.

The follow-up to the Smart Band 9 , and perhaps the original model to a potential 10 Pro and cheaper 10 Active version according to precedent, this 2025 wearable enjoys the same lack of competition that the last few generations of Xiaomi Smart Band have seen. Gone are the days in which every tech company is releasing a cheap fitness band, and Xiaomi is now one of the few companies giving Apple Watches, Garmins, or Fitbits a run for their money in this arena.

This lack of competition seemingly isnt such a good thing, though, because Xiaomi hasnt changed all that much with the Smart Band 10 from its predecessor. The new model has a slightly larger display and a higher price than the 2024 model but not a whole lot else.

So if youre looking for a fitness tracker on a budget, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9, with a lower starting price and a year of price cuts over the Band 10, is
a much more tempting prospect than this newer and slightly larger model.

Family rivalry aside, the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 has all the strengths and pitfalls of previous members of the family, but thats no bad thing as the last-gen model is currently our top-ranked cheap fitness tracker.

There are over 150 fitness tracking modes, which record a varying degree of metrics but will sometimes surprise you in collecting more than just time and heart rate, and a selection of pre-programmed running workouts are quite useful to save you from carefully timing your 'couch to 5K' style walk-run workouts. You can also measure your sleep, stress and calories burned, with GPS collected from your connected smartphone.

The Band also has options for weather reports, notification handling, music control and calendar reminders; theres a short but useful list of features which help you outside your workout hours.

You can keep using the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 for three weeks without needing
to charge it, which is a really competitive stat thatll let you take it travelling, or on holiday, without needing to bring a charger.

Like previous Xiaomi wearables, the software can be a little buggy at times (both the tracker and its tie-in Mi Fitness app), but the problem that
plagued my experience with the Band 10 most was its strap.

The default fluororubber bands tentative clasp kept coming undone at the slightest provocation, sometimes causing it to fall off during a workout or run. Xiaomi sells extra bands, many of which have real clasps, but its a
shame that the default one is so unreliable. (Image credit: Future) Xiaomi Smart Band 10: Specifications

Component

Value

Price

$73.99 / 39.99 / AU$133

Dimensions

46.5722.5410.95 (mm)

Display

1.72-in AMOLED display

GPS?

No

Battery life

21 days Xiaomi Smart Band 10: Price and availability (Image credit: Future) Released in June 2025 Costs $73.99 / 39.99 / AU$133 Premium Ceramic Edition also on sale

The Xiaomi Smart Band was released globally in June 2025, just a few days after its announcement in China.

You can pick up the wearable for $73.99 / 39.99 / AU$133, which is somewhat
of a price increase over the $60 / 34.99 / AU$79.99 asking price of the previous-gen model.

Its still a fair way off the RRP of the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro though, so
its not ventured into premium territory just yet.

In some regions theres also a premium model called the Ceramic Edition, which is the model I tested. Ill get to the differences later but its also more expensive at 54.99 (roughly $70 / AU$110, although I couldnt see it on sale
in the US or Australia).

Depending on where you live, Xiaomi also sells a collection of alternative wrist straps, using different materials and designs to the default one. These range in price from doppelgangers of that sold-in-the-box model to fancy silk or leather straps. Value score: 4/5 Xiaomi Smart Band 10: Design (Image credit: Future) Larger 1.72-inch AMOLED screen Unreliable band clasp, but other options on sale CE comes with premium body and different color option

Xiaomi has slowly been increasing the screen size of its cheap fitness tracker, which is how we get here. The Smart Band 10 has a 1.72-inch display with a 212 x 520 resolution and 1500 nits max brightness. All those specs are incremental upgrades over the Band 9.

I dont imagine many people will complain about this boost; I didnt find the previous-gen band hard to use and I again found it easy to control the watch, finding workouts to start or reading from menus or changing tunes (well, most of the time, more on that below). The brightness increase in particular helps make the screen easier to see on a sunny day.

A bigger screen doesnt mean a bigger band body, with the 46.5 x 22.5 x 10.9 dimensions and 15.95g weight marking a size increase only in width, and of a tiny amount. The band is super lightweight, easy to forget about on your wrist. The Ceramic Edition adds an extra millimeter to the height and width and 8g to the weight.

Perhaps its time to touch on the Ceramic Edition, because design is the only area (beyond price) where its different. This model has a body thats clad in Ceramic, not aluminium alloy as the standard model, which feels much more expensive to the touch.

The Ceramic Edition also comes in a pale white model called Pearl White,
while the standard is sold in black, silver and pink. (Image credit: Future)

The Ceramic Edition also has a fluororubber strap, while the standard models is made of TPU, and it could be a reason not to upgrade.

Like the last-gen band, the Band 10s strap is a simple fare with one band
full of adjustment holes and the other using a small tongue which you press into the hole to lock it in place. And it was anything but reliable: the tongue would fall out and cause the band to drop off with very little provocation, sometimes none at all. Throughout testing itd constantly drop
off at inopportune moments, and once I didnt notice and would have left it on the floor had someone not pointed it out to me.

I never had this issue with the Band 9 and so have to assume its something to do with the fluororubber material used here, though possibly reports from buyers of the standard Band 10 will concur. The natural solution would be to buy one of the alternative straps which Xiaomi sells, though thats an extra expense that youll need to consider carefully. Design score: 3.5/5 Xiaomi Smart Band 10: Performance (Image credit: Future) Over 150 fitness modes Battery life lasts for three weeks No GPS, but heart rate tracker

Any battery size increase in the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 only compensates for
its larger display size, and its official battery life estimate remains the same, at 21 days or 3 weeks. Thats a competitive stat, especially when you compare the band to daily-recharge smartwatches.

In my own testing, the smart band didnt last quite that long, usually getting to 18 or 19, but that could well be because I did more exercise than normal
in order to test the thing. Under average use, I can see it lasting three weeks.

One thing keeping the battery life low is the lack of GPS, with the band instead relying on your connected smartphones positioning when tracking movement activities. This means you have to work out with your phone to get a reasonable estimate of distance, but at least its pretty accurate.

The Xiaomi Smart Band 10 has just over 150 sports modes, which is the same stat as the last few generations of this wearable. They range from popular modes like running and cycling to dances, water sports, ball sports, winter activities and even various board games (you can track your game of bridge,
if you like). (Image credit: Future)

The stats you get from these activities vary quite a bit, with most just tracking time and heart rate you find yourself measuring these activities so that your app log will have a complete list of everything youve done, not because youre getting an in-depth analysis of your hockey performance.

However I was sometimes caught out by modes offering more information than I thought; I tracked an indoor rowing session and the wearable tracked the number of strokes, giving me details on my average and maximum strokes per minute.

You get most information from a mode like running or cycling where you can
see pace, steps, heart rate, cadence, stride and more, with averages and graphs of your workout. The app also displays the effect of your training
with various metrics.

Its not as in-depth as something one of the best Garmin watches would give you, but the low cost makes the band handy for runners on a budget, and
theres also a list of preset running courses: useful if you dont know what
you want to run.

One thing to note in the Performance section is that once during testing, the Smart Band 10 overheated and turned off. Admittedly, I was out in the sun on
a fairly warm day but it completely turned off the band mid-workout, and I could only turn it back on by going home and plugging in the charger (which
is the only way to turn it on at all, as far as I could tell). Its something to bear in mind if you live somewhere warm. Performance score: 3.5/5 Xiaomi Smart Band 10: Features (Image credit: Future) Mi Fitness app used on phone Music playback, notification handling and more Some bugs with app and watch

The way to make the most of the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 is by connecting it to a phone or tablet with the Mi Fitness app installed. This can sometimes be a
bit fiddling, and Ive had trouble multiple times connecting a Xiaomi wearable to the app, but this wasnt the case for the Band 10.

The app lets you see loads more information about your workouts but its also useful in letting you change your band display, with a huge selection of options (seemingly many of which are from third-party makers, not Xiaomi).

While the focus of a cheap fitness tracker like the Smart Band 10 is, well, fitness, the Xiaomi does offer a few lifestyle features too, none of which
are actually new to this generation of band. Image 1 of 3 (Image credit: Future) Image 2 of 3 (Image credit: Future) Image 3 of 3 (Image credit: Future)

For example you can set up weather reports, calendar memos, alarms and music controls. The latter of which raises an odd concern because the increased screen size hasnt been matched by an increase in forward or back button
sizes, meaning theyre small and squished to the top and bottom of the screen; I found them a little hard to reliably press at times.

You can set up notification alerts to be sent to your Smart Band though, as
in all Xiaomi wearables, it can spent some time fiddling around with your phones permissions settings (and some good luck) in order to get it to work. Raise-to-wake doesnt work flawlessly here either, and sometimes I needed to repeat an exaggerated wrist-lift gesture to get the bands screen to turn on.

I mentioned sports tracking before but you can also use the band to measure sleep, SpO2 and stress, and like Apple theres also a three-band daily counter which makes sure youve burned enough calories, done enough steps and worked enough active minutes per day if I wasnt set to do a workout on a specific day, these were still a useful reminder to do enough activity. Performance score: 3.5/5 Xiaomi Smart Band 10: Scorecard

Category

Comment

Score

Value

A price increase and a new reliance on buying an extra strap mean this isn't as cheap as before, but it's still pretty affordable.

4/5

Design

The good-looking display is all well and good, but you may need to buy a better strap.

4/5

Performance

There are lots of fitness modes but only a few are very useful. Still, it has everything you'd expect at this price.

3.5/5

Features

A few useful features and functions help ensure the Band 10 is for life, not just a workout.

3.5/5 Xiaomi Smart Band 10: Should I buy? (Image credit: Future) Buy it if...

You want as big a display as possible

Its slightly-bigger display is a useful accessibility feature, making the
band easier to use (especially while you're working out).

You're training as a runner

The range of run courses are really useful, so you can follow a guided jog
and have the timings worked out for you. The rest time recommendation and training estimation also help.

You're on a budget

There are loads of expensive fitness trackers you can buy if you've got cash to spend, but if you want something more affordable, the Band 10 is one of your few options. Don't buy it if...

You're not going to buy an extra strap

With its default strap, the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 fell off my wrist while working out, while outdoors and, once, without my noticing. I'd really recommend buying a different one so you don't lose the thing.

You find the Band 9 discounted

Last year's Xiaomi Smart Band has almost all the same features as this newer tracker but with a lower price.

You need top-tier fitness tracking

If you want all the best and most accurate fitness tracking on the market,
you can probably guess that there are better (and pricier) options than this cheap pick. View Deal Also consider

Component

Xiaomi Smart Band 10

Samsung Galaxy Fit 3

Xiaomi Smart Band 9

Price

$73.99 / 39.99 / AU$133

44.99 (roughly $60, AU$90)

$60 / 34.99 / AU$79.99

Dimensions

46.5722.5410.95 (mm)

42.9 x 28.8 x 9.9 mm

46.5 x 21.6 x 10.9 (mm)

Display

1.72-in AMOLED display

1.6-inch 256 x 402px AMOLED display

1.62-in AMOLED display

GPS?

No

No

No

Battery life

21 days

13 days

21 days

Samsung Galaxy Fit 3

One of the only other contemporary cheap fitness trackers comes from Samsung. The Galaxy Fit 3 has a shorter battery life and fewer fitness modes, but its square display is easier to use.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Fit 3 review

Xiaomi Smart Band 9

Last year's model, the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 has most of the same fitness and lifestyle features. Its display is smaller and dimmer but its battery life is a lot longer.

Read our full Xiaomi Smart Band 9 review

First reviewed: July 2025



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/health-fitness/fitness-trackers/xiaomi-smart-band-10 -review


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