Redmi Watch 3 Active: Bluetooth calling on your wrist

CHENNAI: FLIP back to 2019. The Mi Smart Band 4 was launched at a price of Rs 2,299 with a tiny 0.95-inch display.

Almost four years later, Xiaomi has unveiled a fully functional smartwatch at a special launch price of Rs 2,999.

The Redmi Watch 3 Active aims to take on home-grown brands like Boat, Boult and Noise in the ultra-competitive sub Rs 3,000 price smartwatch market.

These budget smartwatches have almost made smart bands or activity trackers redundant unless you prefer their unobtrusive form factor and still hold on to your old school wristwatch.

The major talking point is bluetooth calling. The Watch 3 Active offers a clear loudspeaker call experience via bluetooth. We also like the handy contacts feature (you can add 10 contacts directly on the watch and get up 20 recent calls) that allows you to call your favourite contacts without pulling your phone out of your pocket.

It’s one of the best-looking wearables at this price point with a premium metallic finish. Xiaomi is offering an optional olive-green strap (there’s a standard black strap bundled in the box) at a launch price of Rs 99.

One of our favourite features of the Watch 3 Active is its large 1.83-inch display. It peaks at 450 nits and offers excellent visibility even under direct sunlight. This wearable comes with a whole bunch of wellness features including SpO2 monitoring, sleep tracking and a stress calculator. You can choose from over 100 sports modes. You can dive into the pool with this smartwatch – it’s 5ATM waterproof.

The in-box charger powers this watch in about 100 minutes and battery life is quite solid (up to 12 days).

Aside from standard features like easy app connectivity and 200 plus watch faces, this budget smartwatch scores with its design, display and bluetooth calling feature. (Launch price – Rs 2,999).