Redmi Watch 3 Active review: Punches well above its weight class

The Redmi Watch 3 Active embraces a traditional rectangular dial shape while exuding an air of sophistication. As I noted in my initial impressions, the watch body is made of plastic and coated in a premium-looking metallic finish. This gives the watch a classy look without adding to the weight, clocking in at a mere 42 grams. Xiaomi says the premium look is achieved through a process called "Non-Conductive Vacuum Metallisation", and it worked.

The Watch 3 Active is available in two colour variants, Platinum Grey and Charcoal Black, and Xiaomi sent me the Charcoal Black version for this review.

Positioned on the right side of the device is a solitary button that grants access to the app's list — in a grid interface, thankfully — and a microphone. On the left side, a speaker is discreetly placed towards the underside. The watch boasts water resistance up to 5ATM, enabling worry-free use in aquatic settings like pools or showers.

Crafted with a matte-finish silicone strap treated with anti-allergen agents, the Redmi Watch 3 Active makes for a comfortable wearing experience over extended durations — in fact, thanks to its lightweight, you barely notice you're wearing it after a few minutes. The bands employ a loop and pin fastening mechanism, supported by quick-release pins to securely attach to the watch — similar to Apple Watch's sport bands. The bands are replaceable.

The watch sports a 1.83-inch LCD display with 240x280 resolution and 450 nits of brightness, which is plenty bright, though perhaps not in extremely bright sunlight. The display is vibrant and the touch interface is impressively responsive. There is no Always on Display feature, but you won't hear me complain because that saves on battery life. The Raise to Wake feature, which turns on the display at a flick of your wrist, does the job. The bezels are a little thick, but then again, think about what you'll be paying.

The Watch 3 Active boasts an array of expected health and smart features — app notifications, alarms, timers, music control, "find my phone", remote camera shutter, and more. The interface is intuitive and easy to use. It did not take me more than a minute to get used to it.

One of the best features of the Watch 3 Active is Bluetooth calling. Leveraging Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity and the Mi Fitness app for smartphone pairing and synchronisation, the watch allows users to add 10 preferred contacts for swift dialling, view call history, and even access a dialler. The call quality is satisfactory in noisy environs, and outstanding in quiet spaces.

As for health and fitness, the watch offers features like step counting, continuous heart rate monitoring, SpO2 tracking, sleep monitoring, stress evaluation, and support for women's health tracking. While automatic workout detection is absent, it's not a feature I use regularly on my own Apple Watch, and also not one typically expected in this price range. Nonetheless, the watch supports over 100 different sports activities and utilises the smartphone's GPS for route tracking while running, walking, and biking.

Navigating the Watch 3 Active is predominantly swipe-based, following the established conventions of most smartwatches. Swiping up from the bottom summons the quick settings panel, while swiping down unveils notifications. Horizontal swipes cycle through widgets — which can be customised — and the side button showcases all available applications.

The sideways-swipe widgets are intriguing and function similarly to Android widgets. While limited by the screen's size, I was able to customise layouts and add or remove information modules as per my needs. These modules could encompass battery status, weather updates, heart rate, step count, and music controls, among others.

The companion app for the Watch 3 Active is Mi Fitness, available on both iOS and Android. The app has a user-friendly layout with organised tabs that display health data, initiate workouts, and control device settings. It's a straightforward interface requiring minimal acclimatisation. The app accommodates a variety of functions, including monitoring health trends, detailing workout specifics, configuring watch settings, downloading additional watch faces, setting notifications, and customising widgets, heart rate alerts, sleep mode parameters, and more. Notably, users can establish a roster of 10 favourite contacts for quick calls directly from the watch.

Over 200 watch faces are available for download, while the watch itself ships with three pre-installed faces. However, users can only install a maximum of five, necessitating the deletion of one to make room for another—an aspect that could potentially be addressed through future software updates. One minor drawback is that the watch faces are not interactive, but Xiaomi tells me that it is a possibility a few generations down the line.

The watch's touch display exhibits responsiveness and smooth navigation through menus and functions without observable lag. Health metrics appear accurate, typically remaining within acceptable margins of error.

The Redmi Watch 3 Active arrives with a magnetic charging cable that connects to the pogo pins on the device's rear. A complete charge demands slightly less than a couple of hours, and the manufacturer claims up to 12 days of battery life. In practical usage with intermittent operation, the watch achieved around eight days on a single charge, which is impressive.

While the Redmi Watch 3 Active could benefit from enhancements in certain aspects and lacks a few, non-essential features, it punches well above its weight class and makes for a compelling fitness watch. Its price tag speaks volumes about its compelling value proposition. Delivering an attractive design, comfort, fundamental health and fitness features, an intuitive app, extensive customisation, and notably, Bluetooth calling functionality that performs well, the Redmi Watch 3 Active caters to a wide spectrum of user needs.