Mi Band Review: Xiaomi does it again with it's ultracheap fitness band

Xiaomi is an amazing company with the aim to shakeup the industry with its ultracheap yet good quality devices. They have proved it with their mobile phones and this time it's the fitness band that's weaving all the magic. Mi Band is currently available for S$19.99 plus shipping and it hasn't yet been officially launched in India but you can still buy it on Amazon India. In case you dont have much time, here's the summary of the device.

Pros:
- Its very cheap! It's competitors are 3-4 times costlier
- Ridiculously good battery life
- Water resistant
- Measures sleep patterns
- Vibrating alarms
- Quick unlock feature for phone

Cons:
- Only compatible with Android 4.4 or higher devices
- Gesture motion indicator doesnt work as desired
- At times records steps when you are sitting in a vehicle

The product packaging is sleek and looks good. However you might face some issues while removing the top of the box but it's not a big issue. The box comes with the Mi Band along with the charger and a manual.





Design :

The Mi Band has a simple design and it looks good. The band consists of a rubber strap and an ultra light core sensor that tracks all the movements. When you wear the device on your hand, you wont even realise that you are wearing something.

The core weighs only 5 gm and has an aluminum alloy surface. The core is dust and water resistant and that ensures that you dont need to worry about the band when you go for swimming. The core is powered by an ultra-thin battery which has a capacity of 41 mAh, but dont get fooled by that number as the battery lasts for 40+ days which is an insane amount of time. With such a good battery life, we are sure that you will forget that this device even has a charger. The core has three tiny LED lights that glow in Blue, Green, Orange and Red colours.

The Mi Band lacks a screen but the LED lights give you an indication about your daily walking progress. To check the progress, you need to lift your hand like you are checking the time on a watch and the LED lights glow displaying the progress. However, it doesnt work as you want it to and it can get frustrating at time when you try to check the progress.

If you set a target on 9000 steps and finish walking 6000 steps, two LED lights will glow and once you complete the target, all three lights glow along with a vibration alert.

Mi Band App :

Steps to setup your Mi Band :

You first need to install the Mi Fit app on your Android phone or iPhone. Once you do that, you need to create an account before you can move ahead. Once that is done, you will have to enter information so that the band can calculate data properly.




You then need to turn on the Bluetooth on your mobile so that the band can be paired with the phone.

The feature to unlock the phone with the band is really useful. When you bring the band near the phone, it automatically unlocks it even if you have put a lock code.

Once the band has been setup, all that you need to do is walk and check the app to see the stats once in a while. The app is minimalistic and displays all the data in an uncluttered manner.

It shows you the total steps that you have taken, the total distance that you covered along with the calories that you burned. It also shows you statistics about your daily progress which you can share with your friends on Facebook, Twitter or other sites.

You can use this app to track your progress when you go for a long walk or for jogging. It gives detailed information of the entire session, however I noticed that the map isnt visible. It just shows the route that you have taken on a blank background, instead of a map.



Another feature that I loved was that it automatically tracks your sleep and gives details like the time at which you slept and woke up. It also for how much duration you were in a state of light and deep sleep, which is pretty cool. However I tried to test the feature by taking an afternoon nap and it didnt record the sleep even once. So that's once issue with the sleep tracker, it works only at night.

Apart from all these things, the app also can be used to keep a track of sit-ups and skipping rope. So if you dont feel like going for a jog, then you can just do some skipping or sit-ups and check the stats on the app once you are done.

Another wonderful feature of the Mi Band is that you can use it as an alarm. All you have to do is set the alarm using the app and in the morning, the band vibrates along with the alarm sound. It is pretty useful for getting up early in the morning. 

We can also setup the alarm so that it starts vibrating when you get a call. There are times when you go out and due to the noise, you cant hear the call ringing. Once you setup the call ringing alarm, the band starts vibrating if you dont answer the call.


Conclusion:

The Mi Band is a wonderful device for the price at which it is being sold and you can easily ignore some of the flaws that it has. It doesnt have a display like some of the bands like Goqii have but it preforms as it promises and that to at a very low cost. It is a product that is perfect for people who want to try a fitness band but dont want to spend lot of money.