Last November 2024, Xiaomi Philippines launched two of its latest wearable innovations – the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Pro and the Smart Band 9 Active. The brand generously sent us the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active for us to experience and enjoy during the Christmas season.
The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active is an affordable fitness band with a suggested retail price of PHP1,199, now available in authorized online stores such as Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop, as well as in authorized Xiaomi stores nationwide.
So, if you’re looking to embrace a healthier lifestyle this 2025, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active serves as a great fitness companion, offering essential features such as all-day health monitoring, a wide range of sport modes, and an ultra-slim waterproof body designed to endure any activity you’re engaged in.
Unboxing
The packaging design of the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active is simple, with the box clad in an all-white color and made of thick cardboard material.
On the front cover, there’s a product photo of the unit for users to get an idea of the smart band design, along with a Xiaomi logo and the model’s name.
Around the edges, key features, certification marks, product information, and other details are printed. While the back portion contains the IMEI, company information, and additional specifications.
Opening the box, you’ll have the following contents:
- Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active Body
- Band Strap
- Charging Cable
- User Manual
Design and Build Quality
The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active’s main body measures an overall dimensions of 45.9 x 26.94 x 9.99 mm and weighs 16.5 grams without the included frame strap. Removing the strap will show the body of the smartband shaped just like a mini nugget with a flat screen, rounded corners and an elegant smooth matte black finish.
The screen is covered with a durable reinforced glass material, aluminum for its frame, and polycarbonate plastic on its back cover which houses the magnetic charging port, PPG sensors, and a Xiaomi logo.
It has three available colorways in Black, Pink and our review unit in Beige White. These color variants are seen on the included frame strap made of durable TPU (Thermoplastic polyurethane) material and length adjustable between 135 to 215mm.
One thing that I love about the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active is the frame strap, it offers a wide range of designs that caters to casual, trendy, and sporty individuals. There’s even a strap that features a luminous design that absorbs light during the day and glows in the dark, making it perfect for evening cycling or runs. These frame straps are available at Xiaomi stores nationwide or through their online e-commerce partners.
There are no physical buttons on the Smart Band 9 Active, everything is access and navigated on the display. We got used to it after a few days although we initially hoped for at least a power/sleep button on one side. We realized that with just a few swipe gestures on the display, you can easily navigate everything.
The Smart Band 9 Active still supports a 5ATM water resistance up to 50 meters under water, so it’s okey to take it along in the shower or at a pool.
Display
In terms of display features, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active remains the same as its previous model which has a large 1.47-inch TFT LCD screen with a resolution of 172 x 320 pixels, a 60Hz refresh rate, and a pixel density of 247 PPI.
Although it’s not an AMOLED panel, the screen looks great with vibrant colors, sharp text, good viewing angles, and responsive to our touch or swipe. When used outdoors in direct sunlight, the peak brightness can reach up to 400 nits, which is still viewable.
Choose a photo and use it as a custom watch face in the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active via the Mi Fitness app
And just like the other Xiaomi smart wearables, the Smart Band 9 Active allows users to change and access the hundreds of watch face designs available on the Mi Fitness app. The device comes with two pre-installed watch faces and it can store up to a maximum of four designs at a time. For a more personalized touch, you can customize your very own watch face with a photo that you like and select from six available designs to suit your style.
The only missing on the display is an auto brightness control as it lacks a light sensor and there’s no support for an Always on Display (AOD) feature.
Software and App
The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active operates on the latest Xiaomi HyperOS with version 2.2.146 that has a smooth and responsive user experience. It seamlessly pairs with smartphones running on Android 8.0 or iOS 12.0 and above using the Mi Fitness app via Bluetooth 5.3 BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) a stable and power efficient connection.
The UI is fully controlled through swipe gestures for navigating on the screen. Swipe down to access your notifications, swipe up to open the app drawer, swipe right to access seven default shortcut menus, and swipe left to view your widgets, which you can arrange and customize to suit your needs. The device offers a total of 16 built-in apps including the settings, but it does not support third-party app installations.
As it is paired with the Mi Fitness app, it offers users a seamless and user-friendly experience for tracking health and fitness goals. The app provides comprehensive insights into your daily activities, monitor the progress over time, and ensures you stay informed and motivated to keep a healthier lifestyle. Plus, you can also set customization options for watch faces, set notifications, choose the widgets you need, and more to align with your personal style and preferences on the Mi Fitness app.
Health Monitoring
If I need to track my daily wellness, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active is equipped with essential health monitoring tools to provide me some valuable health insights. The device is also an excellent choice for individuals focused on overall well-being. Here are some of the health monitoring tools available on this smartband.
Heart Rate Monitoring – The smartband can track your heart rate throughout the day, a great addition for monitoring heart health during workouts or rest periods. Plus, it alerts the user in case of abnormal heart rate conditions.
You can customize how the monitoring operates, choosing intervals such as every 1 minute, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, or Smart Mode to extend battery life. Additionaly, you can turn it off completely if you don’t need it.
Blood Oxygen Saturation Monitoring – Many people see oxygen levels as an important indicator of the body’s health which is similar to blood pressure or body temperature. The Smart Band 9 Active has a SpO? tracking that monitors your blood oxygen levels throughout the day still a very useful tool during intense activities or in high-altitude environments.
Stress Measurement – It helps users manage and reduce daily tension by measuring your stress levels, it allows users to give an idea when it’s time to take a break or practice breathing exercises to lower stress.
Sleep Tracking – For users who are busy every day and want to track their sleep quality, the Smart Band 9 Active can record sleep patterns, including deep sleep, light sleep, and REM sleep stages. With these essential insights, users can improve their rest and recovery effectively.
Women’s Health Management: Available thru the Mi Fitness app, it has a menstrual cycle tracking, reminders and predictions to support women in managing their reproductive health with ease.
Fitness Monitoring
The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active is also a great workout companion, as it features up to 50 fitness modes, including outdoor activities such as running, walking, hiking, etc. Other workout categories include Trainings (treadmill, jump rope, HIIT and more), ball sports, winter sports, and recreational sports.
Once you’ve picked the workout you need, it can display real-time metrics, focusing on your time, distance, pace, heart rate, SPM (strokes per minute), steps, and calories burned to help you exercise efficiently.
We tested the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active’s workout app during outdoor activities combining walking and basketball activity. As mentioned, the Smart Band 9 Active accurately reported the steps we’ve taken, calories burned, and total walking distance. Additionally, it provided detailed heart rate readings, allowing us to monitor whether we were in intensive or aerobic under the heart rate zones.
Useful Features
Some notable and convenient features of the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active include controlling your music directly from your wrist and using the band as a remote shutter for your phone’s camera.
You can also have a preview of your upcoming events on the display, once you allow it thru the app to sync the Google Calendar of your phone. It keeps you informed on important schedules or meetings right from your wrist.
One feature that I found very useful to me is the notification alerts. The smartband vibrates on your wrist whenever your phone receives a notification. It’s handy for staying updated with important emails, social media updates, or text messages to have a preview quickly before reaching for your phone.
There’s no way to reply to the incoming messages and no speakers or microphones fitted on the device itself for doing Bluetooth calls, you can only answer the call from the device then use your phone.
Battery Life
The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active boasts of a large 300 mAh battery which gets a good upgrade from its previous model and still uses a magnetic charging cable.
Xiaomi claims that the smartband can last up to 18 days on a single charge. However, during our tests, we managed to get around 9 days of use with the display brightness set at 50%, health monitoring features are being used, and occasional notifications from phone messages just keeps coming up. I think it would probably last that 18 days if you turn on the battery saver mode.
Now, according to Xiaomi’s specifications, the smartband’s charging time takes less than 120 minutes. In our charging test, a 15-minute charge gave the battery an initial 13%, and after 45 minutes, it went up to 58%. It took us approximately 1 hour and 49 minutes to fully charge the battery from 0% to 100%.
Conclusion
The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active is one of the brand’s well-known and affordable fitness smartbands, retailing for only PHP1,199. Its lightweight, compact, sturdy, and waterproof design makes it an excellent choice for users who prefer a sleek wearable that doesn’t feel bulky on the wrist and can withstand various daily activities.
The display offers good viewing angles and responsive to touch while the battery endurance is pretty decent, the charging time could use some more improvement.
The health and activity tracking are well-supported together with the Mi Fitness app allowing users to monitor health, sleep, and activity patterns effectively.
Customization and personalization are another standout feature of this device, as it offers a variety of frame straps and watch faces available, including the option to use a photo of your choice for added personalization.
The brand emphasizes that both the device and Mi Fitness app are not medical devices. The data and prompts provided are for reference only and should not be used for medical diagnosis or treatment. Despite this, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active remains a valuable daily health monitoring tool a convenient way to track your overall well-being.
At an affordable entry-level price, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active delivers a well-rounded set of features, making it a good investment from a reliable and trusted brand.
Full Specifications – Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active
- Price: PHP 1,199
- Dimensions: 45.9 x 26.94 x 9.99mm
- Weight: 16.5g (without strap)
- Band Strap:135–215mm (Adjustable Length)
- Band Strap Material: TPU
- Color: Black, Beige White, Pink
- Display Size: 1.47-inch
- Display Panel: TFT display
- Refresh Rate: 60Hz
- Resolution: 172 x 320 pixels
- Pixel Density: 247 PPI
- Display Material: Reinforced glass cover
- Band Faces: 100+
- Sensors: PPG sensor, Accelerometer, Motor: ERM
- Battery Capacity: 300mAh
- Charging Type: Magnetic charging
- Charging Time: Less than 120 minutes
- Typical Use Time: Up to 18 days
- Fitness Modes: 50
- Health: Heart Rate Monitoring, SpO? Tracking, Sleep Tracking, Women’s Health Management, Stress Measurement
- Durability 5ATM water resistant
- App: Mi Fitness
- Connectivity Bluetooth 5.3 BLE
- Compatibility: Android 8.0/ iOS 12.0 and above
- Package Contents:Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active Body, Band Strap, Dedicated Charging Cable, and User Manual
