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realme Band 2 Review - Budget fitness band to beat for 2021?

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We share our thoughts and experiences with the new realme Band 2 after using it for more than two weeks.
realme Band 2 Review - Budget fitness band to beat for 2021?
realme Band 2

We liked how it looks and the paper specs in our unboxing and first impressions of the realme Band 2. Now we will share our in-depth experience with the new fitness band.

To recap, this wearable features a new 1.4-inch color touch screen with 320 x 167 resolution and with 500 nits peak brightness. It is powered by a 204mAh battery which realme said to last for 12 days of use.

So how does it perform after two weeks of daily use? Let's find out!


Display Quality

Bigger and brighter
Bigger and brighter

The realme Band 2 sports a 1.4-inch TFT LCD, making it significantly larger than the 0.96-inch realme Band. Its sides have a comparatively narrow bezel, while the ones on the top and bottom are pretty wide.

Both wearables have the same peak brightness of 500 nits but the larger display makes the details more legible and crisp. Depending on your liking or preference, you can even adjust the brightness from 20 percent to a full 100.

Less struggle in reading messages and notifications!

We like that in a few gestures you are able to adjust the brightness of the watch. With a few taps here and there, you crank up the brightness, especially when outdoors under direct sunlight.

Personally, I often set it to the lowest when I'm going to bed to avoid distractions from the light then set it again to 60 percent in the morning. But whenever I go outside, I always choose the maximum brightness to make it easier to read.

The colors on this watch are vibrant so it's pretty to look at. The always-on display feature also works fast so I can conveniently look at this watch without tapping it.

Since the realme Band 2 does not have any physical buttons, it only works with swipe and tap movements. Even though we're not sure about its number of touchpoints, it's nice that this watch is quite responsive. There was no issue in swiping from left to right as well as up or down.

Battery

For the battery, the Band 2 has a 204mAh cell so the company really doubled the capacity compared to its predecessor. 

With this, realme said that it can endure up to 12 days of continuous use. In spite of that claim, managed to last for about 10 days before I reached for the charger.

But do note that the vibration level and the brightness level are often set at the maximum. Band 2 also had to deal with message notifications every now and then because of my notification setting. Water and activity reminders are both turned on.

In the mornings, the workout mode is also frequently activated during my outdoor run. I also used the watch for alarm, event reminders, find my device of course.
Its magnetic charging cradle perfectly fits the backside of the watch
Its magnetic charging cradle perfectly fits the backside of the watch

This wearable uses a USB-A to a magnetic cradle with pins. It takes around an hour or more to fully juice up the battery. 

Performance

Loaded with features related to health and fitness
Loaded with features related to health and fitness 

Setting up the realme Band 2 is quite a breeze, your device must have Android 5.1/ iOS 11 or later for its operating system. Download and install the realme Link app then log in to your account. The on-screen instructions are all straightforward so the whole process just took a few minutes.

Band 2 connects via Bluetooth 5.1 and the reconnection speed is somehow okay. The only issue I have is that it often disconnects from my device so I had to check the pairing status. So far when I restarted the watch, the issue was solved instantly.

The company did not skimp on this wearable in terms of features. It got functionalities similar to other budget-friendly fitness bands but it also packs a lot of extras.
 
It has the typical calorie counter and pedometer. The fitness band syncs up with your smartphone's GPS to give you positional information when you’re doing something outside, like running, walking, or biking.

We love that it has several exercise modes to choose from, even including yoga, elliptical, dancing, and rowing among the selections. During the testing phase, I was not able to test it all out but I was able to try it for outdoor runs, outdoor walks, swimming, and free training.

This watch offers a wide variety of exercise activites

We are also glad that it even has "fitness gaming", which is the category for Nintendo Ring Fit. It's a good thing that tech companies like realme adapts to the ever-changing needs of their customers.

For health-related features, this one has a SpO2 (Blood Oxygen) Measurement and a real-time Heart Rate Monitor. The latter can be a big help for users so they can be safer during intense workouts. Moreover, it allows its users to choose heart rate data sample is taken every five minutes to every 30 minutes

This fitness band can also monitor your sleep quality and stress level. I appreciate that this watch can display not only how many hours of sleep I got but also the breakdown of light sleep, REM, deep sleep, and etc.

Another great feature for me is the "Breathe". This one guides you to focus on your breathing with simple instructions on when to inhale and exhale. As simple as it may sound, this one is handy especially if you are too stressed out and want to calm down a bit.

In addition, the Band 2 watch has call reminders, notifications for SMS, WeChat, Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, and more. Based on our observation, notification alerts are near-real-time. You can see or read the notifications by swiping in a downward motion.

The watch also has a lot of useful functionalities like music playback control, stopwatch, alarm, timer, stopwatch, event reminder, remote camera, flashlight, and weather.
Find My Band feature in the realme Link app
Find My Band feature in the realme Link app

Aside from the find my device feature, it also has 'Find My Band' which is accessible via the realme Link app. When you activate it, Band 2 will vibrate so you can locate it faster. This is so practical for me since there are times that I forget where I put my watch sometimes.

Pros - Longer watch face shape, IP68 rating, bright and vivid screen, good battery life, several sports mode options, extra features, the affordable price tag
Cons -  Lacks a built-in GPS, takes a bit longer to charge, no other color options

realme Band 2 Specs

Display: 1.4-inch LCD touchscreen with 320 x 167 resolution at 258 ppi
Battery: 204mAh
OS: Android 5.1 and above
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.1
Sensors: 3-axis accelerometer, GH3011 sensor, heart rate sensor, SpO2 sensor
Others: IP68 water and dust resistance, Colors: Black
Dimensions: 259.8 x 24. 6 x 12.1 mm (with strap)
Weight: 27.3 g
Price: PHP 2,490

Verdict

We think that Band 2 is a huge leap for realme in terms of quality and innovation at this price point.

Even though this watch doesn't have an AMOLED display, it still offers brightness and clarity that's good even in outdoor situations.

Some might be turned off due to the absence of physical buttons but it really depends on your personal preference. For me, no buttons mean a sleeker and cleaner design. Also, it's easy to get a hang of the swiping and tapping gestures.

The realme Band 2 can also do many things that premium smartwatches can. It has a lot of health tracking functionalities and sports modes so you can explore different kinds of exercise. 

Needless to say, this wearable is bang-for-buck and an excellent one to get if you want to dip your toes into fitness. Overall, the screen size, features, and price are all enticing for those with budget constraints.

Build/Design - 4
Display - 4.25
Battery Life - 4
Performance - 4.5
Average - 4.187/5

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