Realme Band 2 is official, comes with a large 1.4 inch display

Realme Band 2 is now official, but for start only in Malaysia. The wearable comes with a large 1.4 inch display, reminding a bit of Honor Watch ES and Huawei Watch Fit.

The pictures reveal a device that looks very different from the first generation Realme Band. That one was revealed in March last year. All in all, it was a rather basic affair which was to be expected from Realme’s first effort in this space.

Its highlight is the 10 day battery life and $20 price tag. Other than that, you get a heart rate sensor, multiple sports options and smartphone music control. Nothing really to write home about.

Realme Band 2 – technical specs

The second generation is looking to build on this. For starters, although it packs a minimalistic look, the fitness band looks much classier. The Realme Band 2 has a 1.4 inch (3.5 cm) display, quite a bit bigger than the 0.96 that can be found on the original.

Essential reading: Best fitness trackers and health gadgets

Just like the Honor Watch ES and Huawei Watch Fit, it is a type of design that blurs the line between fitness bands and smartwatches. This looks like its becoming a trend.

We’re not really sure if we’re fan of the concept. In our mind a fitness band is for those that want something discreet on their wrist. For others, there are quite a few smartwatch options out there. But there seems to be a market for this sort of thing.

The actual dimensions of the device come in at 45.9 x 24.6 x 12.1 mm and the weight is 27.3 grams. There is an optical sensor sensor on-board, so heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen and basic fitness tracking is part of the package. Some had hoped we would even get blood pressure monitoring but this did not turn out to be the case. No built-in GPS but you are able to track 90 sports modes.

Thanks to support for Bluetooth 5.1 (up from 4.2 on the original), the watch is able to communicate with the Realme Link app. This also allows it to take advantage for remote controls for the brand’s AIoT devices.

A big display is power hungry, but Realme has managed to pack a large capacity battery. The 204 mAh battery will keep everything going for up to 12 days. Charging is done via a USB connection to magnetic PINs. This is unlike the first generation which is charged by detaching a strap and plugging the thing into a USB port.

Another improvement is to do with waterproofing. This has been upped to 5 ATM from an IP68 rating.

Realme Band 2 – price, availability

The two months period from early September is when most wearable brands plan their releases. This is to get devices out ahead of the all-important holiday shopping period. It is very rare that we see a new fitness tracker or smartwatch between mid-November and the end of the year.

At the moment the Realme Band 2 has only been launched in Malaysia but it is very likely that it will arrive in other countries very soon. As for the selling price, Realme Band 2 is available for around $33 (139 Malaysian ringits).

Realme is keeping busy and slowly making a name for itself in the budget wearable space. In May the company dropped Watch 2 Pro with built-in GPS and a larger battery. This followed its first scale. That one was revealed in March 2021 and it comes with 16 types of health measurements.

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