Workout monitoring, Bluetooth calls and fast-charging Watches

Workout monitoring, Bluetooth calls, and fast-charging Watches. What can watches do?

Review-comparison of inexpensive smartwatches from Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro and Realme Watch 3 Pro

Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro and Realme Watch 3 Pro

At the end of 2022, budget smartwatches from Xiaomi and Realme appeared on the Russian market, the key innovation which was the presence of GPS. It turned out that this module is not so ideal, and its operation is very dependent on the surrounding conditions. What else is Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro and Realme Watch 3 Pro hiding, and is it worth buying them?

Equipment

The Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro fitness bracelet comes in a small box, inside of which are the device itself, instructions and magnetic charging. It is noteworthy that the Band 7 Pro is installed in a recess inside the box in such a way that when you take out a new bracelet, you get a slightly bent strap that will straighten out within a week. The strap itself is very tight.

Realme Watch 3 Pro comes in a flatter and longer box, which is somewhat reminiscent of the packaging of the Apple Watch. Inside, in addition to the watch, there is also documentation and a magnetic platform for charging. Unlike Xiaomi packaging, the watch strap in the box is not deformed.

Design

Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro is made in the form of a bracelet with a rather large screen for this type of device. We bought the white version for review, and we do not recommend choosing this model, since the white body of the device with a silver frame will be difficult to combine with other straps. But still, it is worth recognizing that the bracelet as a whole looks more expensive than its predecessors and many competitors.

On a small wrist, the watch looks very neat, but users with large hands and fingers will find it difficult to hit the buttons.

The Realme Watch 3 Pro is already made in the form of a full-fledged watch in a square case. Initially, it may seem that they are more massive and thicker than Xiaomi, but the difference between them is 1 mm (11 mm Xiaomi versus 12 mm Realme). On medium and large wrists, they do not look awkward.

Screen

In both cases, the gadgets are equipped with bright AMOLED screens with an oleophobic coating, due to which prints and stains are practically not saved on the surface, and if they remain, they are easily erased.

The Realme Watch 3 Pro uses a 1.78-inch screen with symmetrical and not very wide frames, but they are far from the "frameless" Apple Watch. Despite this, the screen in this watch runs at a frequency of 60 Hz, so that all animations are drawn smoothly in any section of the menu. The only thing the Realme screen lacks is an auto-brightness sensor, which means you have to manually set the brightness values depending on the environment.

The Xiaomi Band 7 Pro bracelet received a 1.64-inch screen. The frames in this case are not symmetrical - they are thinner at the top and sides, and at the bottom at the same level as the competitor. The smoothness of the display is noticeably lower than that of Realme - it freezes when viewing the list of notifications and in some other sections of the menu, and sometimes the sensitivity of the touch screen even drops to the level of phones from the early 2010s.

In the Realme Link and Mi Fitness apps, you can customize the watch faces by choosing up to four custom ones in Realme or up to two in Xiaomi. Band 7 Pro has more choices, but many of them are of the same type.

Interchangeable straps

The Realme Watch 3 Pro uses a standard spoke mount for many models, and the straps themselves are 22 mm wide. Therefore, it is easy to find a replacement for the complete strap on AliExpress or domestic sites at an affordable price. The strap itself detaches without any problems.

In the case of Xiaomi Band 7 Pro, not everything is so simple - a special type of fastening is used here, which is why compatibility with other straps is immediately swept aside. The plastic latch itself is very hard, which is why removing the strap is a whole quest. In addition, it is possible that over time, with frequent removal of the straps, this latch will “lose”. Despite this feature, finding straps for such a bracelet is also not difficult due to the popularity of Xiaomi gadgets.

Sports Features

Modern smartwatches and fitness trackers are mainly bought to track physical indicators. Both of these devices were considered by the Gazeta.Ru correspondent for precisely these purposes. If you plan to buy watches for the same reason, then you should be aware of all the disadvantages and advantages of these models.

So, the key difference between Realme Watch 3 Pro and Xiaomi Band 7 Pro from their models without the Pro prefix was the presence of a GPS module, thanks to which the device can build the user's route during training - navigation is not provided in any of the devices. The GPS module in them is not as powerful as in smartphones. For example, you may experience problems when jogging in parks or at an intersection.