Xiaomi’s latest activity tracker, the Mi Smart Band 5, is a pocketbook-friendly wearable whose limited smarts may offer all you need from a smartwatch.
This tracker is already on sale in China as the Mi Band 5, but will now be available to buy in the West. It costs 39.99 Euro, with other prices to be confirmed.
Tracker bands like the Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 5 should make you consider how smart you need your wearables to be, as its low price and long two-week battery life are huge benefits.
The Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 5 will track your sleep, monitor your heart rate, count steps and track exercise. It can also receive notifications from your phone, including those from apps rather than just SMS and call alerts.
However, it is less smart than some pre-release rumours suggested. The Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 5 does not have an SPO2 oxygen saturation readings, GPS, support for Amazon Alexa or NFC for wireless payments.
Global variants of Chinese-brand trackers often leave out NFC, as their back-end systems largely support banks in China.
What’s new?
Changes in this generation of Xiaomi band include a larger 1.1-inch AMOLED screen, up from 0.95 inches in the Band 4, and Xiaomi claims the heart rate sensor is 50 per cent more accurate this time.
The Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 5 is water resistant to 5ATM, enough for swimmers, and has 11 tracking modes for different activities.
Those relatively new to wearables tech may want to consider a band like this in place of a smartwatch. But comparisons with other activity trackers are more important for the clued-up tech buyer.
The Huawei Band 4 Pro and Honor Band 5 are the Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 5’s top rivals.
They have smaller displays than the Xiaomi’s, at 0.95 inches. Huawei’s Band 4 Pro is a better fit for keen runners as it has its own GPS chip, and the Honor Band 5 is cheaper than either.
All three cost significantly less than the most similar bands from Samsung and Fitbit, the Galaxy Fit and Inspire HR, which comes with the territory as a Chinese-brand fitness band.
The Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 5 goes on sale in Europe from 16 July, in six different band colours.
