Review: OnePlus Band

 

Oneplus Band Review

Capable SpO2 Tracking Band!

Introduction

Every January, every year, we make New Year resolutions and try to stick to them until next year. I'm sure many of us take our wellbeing more seriously and want to be a little more involved in 2021, considering how 2020 was, so it seems to be just the right time for OnePlus to launch its first fitness band, conveniently referred to as the OnePlus Band. The existence of SpO2 monitoring is one thing about it that instantly caught my interest. In particular, with the current global situation, this is a helpful health indicator to monitor. Rs. 2,499 is priced for the OnePlus Band, which pits it against the Xiaomi Mi Band 5. So can you be helped by the OnePlus Band for your resolutions? To find out, I put it to the test.

Band Design

This is OnePlus' first fitness band, and it looks like the business has taken over the sister brand Oppo with some support from its fans. The OnePlus Band looks similar to the Oppo Band that was introduced back in June 2020 in China. The Oppo Band has not gone on sale in India, so many individuals do not know the resemblance.
Like other fitness bands, the OnePlus Band features two components: a harness and a capsule. There are no buttons on the capsule, but just like the Mi Smart Band 5, with a OnePlus logo under it, it has a touchscreen. You need to clip the capsule onto the included charger by powering up the OnePlus Band.
You can pop the capsule into and out of the strap quickly. The total weight of the two is around 23g, which, if worn all the time, is light enough not to concern you. The nature of the strap is close to what we have seen so far in the Mi Band series and I can guarantee that without you knowing it, it is unlikely to come off your side.
In contrast to the Oppo Team, OnePlus has made a few modifications. The OnePlus Band comes with a black band, but with the latter being the flashiest, you have Navy and Tangerine Gray strap accessories to choose from. I liked the stealthy look that I had in the black band. On the skin, the strap material is not rough and during a week of use, I did not face any discomfort.
Pins for charging, and sensors for heart rate and SpO2 monitoring are on the underside of the pod. A magnetic charger like the Mi Band 5 does not come with the OnePlus Band, so you would have to detach the capsule from the charging band, which may be uncomfortable for some users.

Features and Softwares

With a resolution of 126 x 294 pixels, the OnePlus Band has a 1.1-inch AMOLED display. At five different levels, you have the option of setting the screen brightness. In the app, there is a toggle to lower the brightness of the screen at night. Bluetooth 5 support is available, and this system operates on a 100mAh battery, which is adequate for 14 days of battery life, OnePlus says. The OnePlus Band is IP68 dust and water resistance accredited and can withstand pressure of up to 5ATM, so you can wear it when swimming.

The OnePlus Health App is close to the HeyTap Health app from Oppo, which I used while reviewing the Oppo Watch (Review). Detailed information on your steps, heart rate, SpO2 levels will be collected.

The band can be combined with the app very quickly. On the OnePlus Band, you can rearrange the menu, but I did not fiddle with this choice. Only via the app can such parameters be configured, such as the heart rate frequency and SpO2 calculation. I was also able to assess which applications were authorized on the band to alert me. The software is easy to use and has a permanent Android warning to save it from being shut down by the device.

Up to five watch faces can be stored on the OnePlus Band at a time, which you can then select by swiping on the home screen. Via the OnePlus Health app, there are more you can download.

You will be able to monitor your everyday activity, heart rate, sleep period, level of SpO2, and weather on the band itself. It also has an app for guided breathing exercises called Breathe. Swiping left or right from the home screen adjusts the face of the watch, while the menu appears by swiping from bottom to top. In order to easily view the updates, you can also swipe from top to bottom, just like you would on a smartphone. As a notifier, the OnePlus Band functions to screen updates from your mobile. You can read incoming texts, but reading on the tiny monitor isn't convenient. To prompt you of incoming calls, it also buzzes, but I could only silence the band or reject incoming calls.

Performance and Battery life of Oneplus Band

Multiple exercise modes are available in the OnePlus Band, most of which are widely used, such as outdoor walking, cycling, running, cricket, badminton, and swimming. 

The OnePlus Band is also capable of monitoring SpO2, a feature that at the moment is not common in affordable fitness bands. The SpO2 monitoring was found to be reliable, and I measured it at least once a day. Typically, the reading was 99-100 percent, which should be for a healthy person, and the readings were in line with what I got from the heart rate sensor of the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus. The OnePlus Band only recognizes SpO2 readings when you state them, and allows you to remain stationary. 

On the OnePlus Band, phase monitoring has been a little off. For the 1,000 steps I manually counted, it measured only 910 steps. This is a wide margin, but this unit is not as reliable as the Mi Band 5 if you are trying to keep track of your activity levels. When measuring distance as well, I experienced the same problem. I took five laps of a 700m walking track, and even though the distance covered was only 3.5km, the band measured 3.17km. With alerts, I did not face any problems, as the OnePlus Band buzzing on my wrist was successful enough.

Depending on how you set up the OnePlus Band, battery life can vary greatly. You should be able to get 8-10 days of battery life per charge if you do not use SpO2 monitoring frequently, decrease the frequency of heart rate tracking, and do not allow alerts for busy applications. I set the brightness of my screen to 60% and had WhatsApp and Slack updates activated, which kept the band buzzing throughout the day. The battery level was down to 40 percent after four days of use, which included monitoring my walks daily. Eventually, with my use, the band lasted for a little over six full days before I needed to be plugged in.

Final Verdict

Among the few fitness bands on the market to provide SpO2 monitoring is the OnePlus Band. The OnePlus Band does it very well, if you are looking for a wearable specifically to track this. In sleep and heart rate monitoring, I have found it to be good, but not so much when it comes to step and distance tracking. You may have to wait a little longer for those who are on iOS. The Mi Band 5 would be a better choice at around the same price if you are looking for a fitness band specifically to track the amount of steps you take and the distance you cover.