Some links on this page are affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Tech Advisor named the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 its Best New Fitness Tracker of 2025–26. The Huawei Watch Fit 4 was the first runner-up, while the Amazfit Bip 6 took second runner-up. Xiaomi won primarily because it delivers a strong combination of low cost, long battery life, broad activity tracking and a premium-feeling AMOLED band design.
That does not make it the best wearable for everyone. The Smart Band 10 has no built-in GPS, its health measurements are not medical-grade, and its Mi Fitness app is less polished than the best rivals. For phone-free running, advanced training or a full smartwatch experience, one of the runners-up—or a Garmin, Fitbit, Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch—may be a better choice.
What did Tech Advisor award?
The award category was Best New Fitness Tracker of the Year within the 2025–26 Tech Advisor Awards. The products assessed were primarily new releases from 2025. Tech Advisor published the specific category announcement on January 3, 2026, after its wider awards announcement on December 12, 2025.
- Winner: Xiaomi Smart Band 10
- First runner-up: Huawei Watch Fit 4
- Second runner-up: Amazfit Bip 6
Tech Advisor says each of its 12 categories had one winner and two runners-up. It explains the editorial reasoning, but does not publish a numerical scorecard, weighting system or formal industry-standard certification. The result should therefore be read as Tech Advisor’s editorial verdict—not proof that the Xiaomi is the most advanced or accurate fitness wearable available.
#1 Best Overall
- No APP & Phone Required Fitness Tracker Watch: This Fitness Tracker watch doesn't require any App or smartphone connections! It's as simple to use as a regular watch but smarter. Perfect for anyone looking for an easy fitness tracker without the hassle of smartphone setups.
- Heart Rate and Sleep Monitoring: The Fitness Tracker monitors your heart rate automatically all day, and you can select manual mode through the App. The fitness Watch also monitors your sleep at night, providing a detailed analysis of your sleep quality (deep sleep, light sleep, awake time). It is a health advisor for women men in daily life.
- Multi Sport Modes with Activity Tracking: The fitness tracker features 9 sport modes like running, walking and more. Additionally, the activity tracker records daily steps, calories burned, walking distance and active time throughout the day. You can also set a daily steps goals through the App to track your progress.
- Smart Notification Reminder: You can get SMS messages, and SNS notifications directly on your wrist including Facebook, Twitter, Gmail ect. You won't miss any important calls and message and stay updated. Please note: the smart watch can not make calls or text.
- Long Battery Life and IP68 Waterproof: This smart watch only requires 2 hours of charging and can be used for 5-7 days continuously, IP68 waterproof rating can withstand daily sweat, washing hands and rainy day, allowing you to fully enjoy your workouts.
Read Tech Advisor’s award announcement.
Why the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 won
The Smart Band 10 is unusually complete for a low-cost fitness band. Its strengths, according to Tech Advisor’s award reasoning and associated review, include:
- A large 1.72-inch AMOLED display with a reduced-bezel appearance
- A nine-axis motion sensor
- More than 150 sports modes
- Improved swimming tracking
- Heart-rate broadcasting to compatible external devices, such as some cycling computers
- Expanded sleep tracking
- Long battery endurance
- 5ATM water resistance
- A lightweight, more premium-feeling construction than its price suggests
- Useful notifications and other smartwatch-style functions
The appeal is not one breakthrough feature. It is the lack of a major compromise for casual users who want steps, sleep, heart rate, workouts and general wellness data without charging every day or paying smartwatch prices.
Xiaomi Smart Band 10 specifications
| Feature | Specification or qualification |
|---|---|
| Display | 1.72-inch AMOLED, 212 × 520 resolution; claimed brightness up to 1,500 nits |
| Sports tracking | 150-plus modes |
| GPS | Connected GPS through a paired phone; no built-in GPS |
| Sensors | Nine-axis motion sensor and optical heart-rate tracking |
| Water resistance | 5ATM, rated for up to 50 metres; not a diving rating |
| Battery claim | Up to 21 days in favourable, lighter-use conditions |
| Always-on display | About nine days in Tech Advisor’s review context |
| Compatibility | Android and iOS, subject to current app and operating-system requirements |
| Audio hardware | No microphone or speaker on the global model |
| Charging | Proprietary charging cable |
| Review-era UK pricing | £39.99 standard model; £54.99 Ceramic Edition |
The listed prices are launch/review-era figures, not guaranteed prices in 2026. Availability, retailer pricing, import costs and warranty coverage vary by country. Xiaomi had not revealed US pricing when Tech Advisor reviewed the product.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →See Tech Advisor’s full Xiaomi Smart Band 10 review.
What Tech Advisor found in real use
Everyday tracking
Tech Advisor found the Smart Band 10 useful for ordinary activity, step and resting-heart-rate trends. That is the right way to view this class of device: as a convenient source of personal trends, not as a clinical instrument.
Workout heart rate
Heart-rate readings were generally useful, but the review noted a tendency to overreport maximum heart rate during harder efforts. Optical wrist sensors can also struggle during intervals, strength training, rapid changes in effort or poor skin contact. Serious athletes should not treat the Smart Band 10 as a replacement for a dedicated sports watch or chest strap.
Sleep tracking
Basic sleep-duration information was reasonably useful in the review, while deeper interpretation and sleep-stage data were less clear. Comfort matters too: anyone who removes a band overnight will naturally get incomplete sleep records.
Swimming
The newer motion sensor and improved swim tracking help explain the award. Its 5ATM rating makes it suitable for ordinary swimming when used as directed, but “5ATM” should not be interpreted as permission for diving, high-pressure water or every type of water sport.
Rank #2
- 【All-day Activity Tracker】: ENGERWALL IP68 Waterproof fitness tracker can record and track your daily steps, calories burned, exercise distance and time. It can also monitor your Body Temp, Heart Rate, Blood Oxygen and Blood Pressure. IP68 waterproof ensures that you don't need to take it off for daily hand washing and swimming, but don't soak it in water for a long time or wear it for hot baths, saunas.
- 【Slim and simple band design】The design concept of this tracker’s band is slim and unique, offering a comfortable and lightweight wearing experience. Suitable for men, women and the elderly.
- 【Heart Rate Monitor and Sleep Tracker】: Smart tracker can detect heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen, and body temperature in daily life. Monitor your sleep and analyze your sleep quality through Fall Sleep, Deep Sleep, Light Sleep, REM Sleep. You can view daily, weekly, and monthly data in the APP "Runmefit" to help you better understand your health status and lead a healthy lifestyle. [IMPORTANT] The blood pressure measurement feature must be downloaded and enabled within the app.
- 【Call and message notifications】: You can receive text messages and SNS notifications (including Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram) directly on your wrist. When your phone's Bluetooth is turned on, if you receive a message, the watch will vibrate to remind you and you can view the specific message. This function is very practical whether in work or life.
- 【Working Time】: Smart Fitness Watch is the best partner at work, you can set it on the mobile APP ‘Runmefit’: up to 5 sets of alarms, you don’t have to worry about being late for appointments or forgetting important things. You can set drinking Water Reminders and Sedentary Reminders to establish a healthy way of working.
Battery life
“Up to 21 days” is a maximum-style manufacturer claim, not a promise for every owner. Tech Advisor’s review found roughly nine days with the always-on display enabled, sports tracking in use and around 10% battery loss per day. Frequent workouts, notifications, advanced health monitoring and connected features can reduce endurance further.
A sensible expectation is:
- Light use: potentially close to the advertised maximum.
- Regular workouts and notifications: commonly less than the maximum.
- Always-on display: materially shorter endurance, around a week or more depending on settings.
The proprietary charger is another small ownership drawback: a replacement cable is less convenient than a standard USB-C cable.
App experience
The Mi Fitness app provides the necessary data and controls, but Tech Advisor found it less polished than the best competing platforms. Some options need to be enabled inside the app, and the interface can feel clunky. Buyers should also check that their phone meets the current app requirements, since compatibility can change.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
The main limitation: no built-in GPS
The Xiaomi Smart Band 10 records outdoor routes and pace using connected GPS from a paired phone. If you normally carry your phone while walking, hiking or running, that may be sufficient. If you want to leave the phone at home, it is a decisive limitation.
- Phone always present: the Xiaomi may be adequate.
- Phone-free running or cycling: choose a device with built-in GPS.
- Maps and navigation: a watch-style device such as the Huawei Watch Fit 4 may be more suitable, subject to regional support.
The runners-up
Huawei Watch Fit 4: the better watch-style alternative
The Huawei Watch Fit 4 looks more like a slim smartwatch than a traditional fitness band. It offers a square, Apple Watch-like design, a larger screen, full-colour maps, improved GPS-oriented outdoor features, health and wellness tracking, and 50-metre water resistance.
Choose it if you value readable notifications, outdoor features and a watch-style interface more than the Xiaomi’s lighter band format and maximum battery endurance. Its smartwatch functions are not perfect, and NFC support depends on the colour or model. Country-specific app, payment and phone compatibility should be checked before purchase.
Read Tech Advisor’s Huawei Watch Fit 4 review.
Amazfit Bip 6: the better budget smartwatch-feature alternative
The Amazfit Bip 6 is aimed at buyers who want more smartwatch functionality at a low price. Tech Advisor highlights its AMOLED display, Bluetooth calling, offline maps and transport-card features, describing it as priced below £100/$100 in the award article.
Recommended Free Tools
It is a larger and more smartwatch-like product than the Xiaomi, so it may be less discreet or comfortable for sleep tracking, especially on smaller wrists. Calling, mapping, transport-card and payment functions can vary by country and model.
Rank #3
![Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 42mm] Smartwatch with Rose Gold Aluminum Case with Light Blush Sport Band - S/M. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31caPPnRysL._SL160_.jpg)
- A FULL-FEATURED HEALTH TRACKER—Apple Watch Series 11 gives you invaluable insights about your body, right from your wrist. Take an ECG anytime* and get alerts for a high and low heart rate or an irregular rhythm*—so you can stay closer to your heart. You can also view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app* and be notified of possible sleep apnea.*
- KNOW YOUR SLEEP SCORE—With advanced sleep tracking, Series 11 gives you a daily sleep score. It’s an easy way to help measure and understand the quality of your sleep, so you can make it more restorative.
- GET HYPERTENSION NOTIFICATIONS—Did you know that Series 11 can spot signs of chronic high blood pressure? By analyzing how your blood vessels respond to beats of the heart, it can notify you of possible hypertension.*
- SAFETY FEATURES—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 11 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- A POWERFUL FITNESS TRACKER—With advanced metrics and motivating features like Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, training load, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone*—Series 11 is made to help everyone stay active, from runners and hikers to strength-training enthusiasts.
Read Tech Advisor’s Amazfit Bip 6 review.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Xiaomi Smart Band 10 vs Huawei Watch Fit 4 vs Amazfit Bip 6
| Priority | Best fit | Why | Main drawback |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest-cost, band-style tracking | Xiaomi Smart Band 10 | Light design, broad tracking, long battery life | No built-in GPS; less polished app |
| Watch-style screen and outdoor features | Huawei Watch Fit 4 | Larger display, maps and GPS-oriented functionality | Less discreet than a band; feature support varies by region |
| Budget smartwatch functions | Amazfit Bip 6 | AMOLED, Bluetooth calling and maps | Larger form factor and regional feature restrictions |
The category itself is broadening. These finalists represent three different products: a conventional fitness band, a slim smartwatch-style wearable and a budget smartwatch with fitness features. Choose based on your use case, not the award label alone.
Is the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 worth buying in 2026?
The award remains a useful indication of what Tech Advisor liked about the product during the 2025–26 cycle, but it does not guarantee that the Smart Band 10 is the best 2026 purchase in every country. Check the current local price, official availability, warranty, app support and whether a newer model offers a meaningful improvement.
It is still a sensible choice when it is officially sold at a genuinely low price and you want basic-to-intermediate tracking, a small screen and long battery life. Its value weakens if an imported unit costs much more after shipping and taxes, has limited warranty coverage or differs from the global model.
For US buyers in particular, do not assume that an overseas listing has the same software, language, audio hardware, payment support or warranty terms as an officially distributed model.
Who should buy the Xiaomi Smart Band 10?
- First-time wearable buyers
- People focused on steps, sleep, heart rate, workouts and general wellness
- Swimmers wanting inexpensive pool tracking
- Users who dislike daily charging
- Android or iPhone users comfortable with Xiaomi’s companion app
- Anyone who prefers a light band over a full smartwatch
- People who normally carry a phone during outdoor workouts
Who should choose something else?
Choose another device if you need built-in GPS, phone-free running or cycling, advanced training analytics, cellular connectivity, a mature smartwatch app ecosystem, contactless payments or reliable voice calling. These features may be available on some alternatives, but must be confirmed for the exact model and country.
Fitbit may suit users who value habit-building and Google ecosystem dashboards, although subscription features and battery life should be considered. Garmin is the stronger category for serious running, cycling, GPS and training data. Apple Watch is the natural full-smartwatch option for iPhone owners, while Samsung Galaxy Watch is aimed primarily at compatible Android and Galaxy users. Both smartwatch platforms require more frequent charging than the Xiaomi.
No version of the Smart Band 10 should be bought to diagnose arrhythmia, sleep apnea or another medical condition. Its readings are consumer wellness estimates and should not replace medical equipment or professional advice.
Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchPC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Bottom line
The Xiaomi Smart Band 10 deserved Tech Advisor’s 2025–26 award because it offers unusually strong value and completeness in a compact band. Buy it for affordable everyday tracking, swimming, a bright AMOLED display and multi-day battery life. Skip it for built-in GPS, serious training, advanced smartwatch features or medical monitoring. The Huawei Watch Fit 4 and Amazfit Bip 6 are not simply inferior runners-up—they are better matches for buyers who want a larger, more smartwatch-like wearable.
Before ordering, verify the current price, regional model, warranty, software support and charger availability. Those practical details determine whether the award winner is also the right purchase for you.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
