During the unveiling of Xiaomi Mi 4, the company also had another thing to show us at the very end of the keynote — its first ever wearable device, the Mi Band. It is an activity and fitness monitor, as well as a sleep tracker. Harnessing the efficiency of Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy plus low-powered accelerometer and vibrator modules, its battery could last up to a whopping 30 days until a recharge is needed. Sony’s SmartBand (35mAh battery) only gave me around 3 to 4 days on a single charge, when it’s connected to the Xperia Z2 at all times.
The core can be popped off and it requires a slightly-inconvenient special dock for charging, unlike Sony’s which has a micro-USB port. The strap is made out of Dow Corning TPSiV Thermoplastic Elastomers and comes in five candy colors, besides the standard black. Here are the specifications:
- Core’s dimensions: 36 x 14 x 9 mm
- Strap length: 230mm
- Adjustable length: 157mm to 205mm
- Wristband material: Dow Corning TPSiV Thermoplastic Elastomers
- Battery: 41mAh; 25mA and DC 5V
- Water resistant IP code: IP67
- Requirements: Bluetooth 4.0 smartphone on MIUI with Android 4.4 KitKat
Obviously the insane battery life is achievable because it requires a smartphone with Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy as well as a compatible MIUI with Android 4.4 KitKat. Little is known whether it’ll work with other new smartphones at this point, but I’m guessing it should, if you can find where to download the Mi Band app (that is probably in Chinese).
Of course another requirement for a smartband to be any good is its dust and water resistant qualities, and Mi Band meets this with an IP67 rating (can be submerged up to one meter for half an hour.
For notifications, there is a vibrating module to deliver that, though without a display, I do not see how that would be valuable. Mi Band also has the ability to wake you up with a vibration at the best time, based on your sleep cycles.
It mimics Android Wear’s ability to proximity-unlock a Xiaomi phone without the need of a passcode, which I believe, is a big deal in encouraging folks to set up a passcode for their phones.
Even if you don’t see the point of all this, know that the Xiaomi Mi Band is only RMB79, or around RM49 when it does ship here in Malaysia. Compare that with the SmartBand’s RM399 price tag. More information of the former here: http://www.mi.com/shouhuan [Google Translate version].
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