I lost my Mi Band 1 one day while on my way to office. No idea when or where it fell out of my wrist. Given that Mi India was still selling the old Mi Band 1 at ₹999 with only white LED, I decided to get the latest Mi band 2 from China. Got it within 10 days, $39, no customs charged.
In the Box:
Mi Band capsule, Strap, Charging cable, User manual in Chinese.
1. Design:
Xiaomi has improved the strap such that its more flatter and wider than the previous Mi Band. This is to accommodate the capsule which is larger compared to the previous Mi Band. The strap locking mechanism has improved and it is easier to wear or remove but still enough sturdy that it won't accidentally open.
The capsule consists of a very small display and a touch button below which cycles through various values like Time, steps, distance, calories burnt, battery percentage and heart rate. The display is only 0.42," I wish it could have been bigger given the space on the front panel.
2. Features:
The band is IP67 waterproof like the previous band so I don't take it off in shower.
The display can be customized using the Mi Fit app. The first pane shows the current time and this cannot be disabled. The Android app has an option to select between 12 hour & 24 hour time format but I did not find this setting in the iOS app. The other values that the band can display are steps, distance, calories burnt, battery percentage and heart rate.
Mi has added the same heart rate sensor that it had in Mi Band 1s which never made to India. I found it mostly a hit or miss as it fails to measure the heart rate most of the time. Heart rate measurement can be triggered by the app or using the touch button on top of the band. Surprisingly, triggering via app fails lesser times than triggering via the band itself.
Another feature that is new is the idle notification where the band reminds by vibrating if it detects lack of physical activity for a long time. This is great for people who work long hours sitting in office.
The band has usual features of the previous Mi band including step counter and sleep monitoring, alarm, app & call notifications. The sleep monitoring can be made more accurate by turning on heart rate based monitoring at the expense of battery life.
App notifications can be turned on for few apps on the iOS apps and on Android you can turn on for most apps. It vibrates and displays the icon for a few apps present in the list like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter etc. otherwise it just displays just a generic icon - a square with 'app' written inside it.
Battery Life:
Xiaomi claims a battery life of 20 days. The band came with 50% battery. I have managed to reduce around 25% battery in 5 days which matches Xiaomi's claims.
Pro's:
1. Great improvement in design than previous Mi band.
2. Battery life
3. Comfortable for 24 hour use
4. Water resistance
Con's:
1. Availability outside China
2. Display could have been bigger
3. Quirky heart rate monitoring
In the Box:
Mi Band capsule, Strap, Charging cable, User manual in Chinese.
1. Design:
Xiaomi has improved the strap such that its more flatter and wider than the previous Mi Band. This is to accommodate the capsule which is larger compared to the previous Mi Band. The strap locking mechanism has improved and it is easier to wear or remove but still enough sturdy that it won't accidentally open.
The capsule consists of a very small display and a touch button below which cycles through various values like Time, steps, distance, calories burnt, battery percentage and heart rate. The display is only 0.42," I wish it could have been bigger given the space on the front panel.
2. Features:
The band is IP67 waterproof like the previous band so I don't take it off in shower.
The display can be customized using the Mi Fit app. The first pane shows the current time and this cannot be disabled. The Android app has an option to select between 12 hour & 24 hour time format but I did not find this setting in the iOS app. The other values that the band can display are steps, distance, calories burnt, battery percentage and heart rate.
Mi has added the same heart rate sensor that it had in Mi Band 1s which never made to India. I found it mostly a hit or miss as it fails to measure the heart rate most of the time. Heart rate measurement can be triggered by the app or using the touch button on top of the band. Surprisingly, triggering via app fails lesser times than triggering via the band itself.
Another feature that is new is the idle notification where the band reminds by vibrating if it detects lack of physical activity for a long time. This is great for people who work long hours sitting in office.
The band has usual features of the previous Mi band including step counter and sleep monitoring, alarm, app & call notifications. The sleep monitoring can be made more accurate by turning on heart rate based monitoring at the expense of battery life.
App notifications can be turned on for few apps on the iOS apps and on Android you can turn on for most apps. It vibrates and displays the icon for a few apps present in the list like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter etc. otherwise it just displays just a generic icon - a square with 'app' written inside it.
Battery Life:
Xiaomi claims a battery life of 20 days. The band came with 50% battery. I have managed to reduce around 25% battery in 5 days which matches Xiaomi's claims.
Pro's:
1. Great improvement in design than previous Mi band.
2. Battery life
3. Comfortable for 24 hour use
4. Water resistance
Con's:
1. Availability outside China
2. Display could have been bigger
3. Quirky heart rate monitoring
Thanks in advance!
