With its release over a year ago, the Xiaomi Mi Band 2 has built and developed itself from its already successful predecessor, which offered some of the best features of any fitness tracker on the market, considering its relatively low price point.
The Xiaomi Mi Band 2 adds more to this already successful product line with a sleeker design and stunning OLED display. It also has the added benefit of an OLED display which lets you view your steps and heart rate without taking your phone out of your pocket. The design not only aids in providing a sleeker look but also makes the product comfortable and lightweight.
Criteria for a Great fitness tracker
The three main attributes which attract customers to a fitness tracker are quality, features and price. The Xiaomi Mi Band 2 covers all three of these criteria’s successfully as it presents a wide range of amenities available in a high-priced fitness tracker, but at a minimal price of around $30.
In other words, The Xiaomi Mi band is a consumer favorite offering some nice features, but does it live up to its predecessor?
Product Overview
Ok, lets get into some specifics and see if this tracker is all its cracked up to be:
OLED Display with Touchpad: Provides a high quality display with an interactive touch screen, which lights upon movement of the wrist for ease and convenience.
Improved ADI Sensors: With improved sensors like the pedometer, motion sensors and accelerometer it allows for more accurate statistics on your daily walking, sleep and heart monitoring.
Smart Functions: With the standard Mi fit app to monitor and review your daily actions, the Xiaomi also comes with some special attributes: you can forward all your phones messages and calls to the band so your never out of the loop, smart notifications if you are sitting idly for a long time, and alarms to alert you when you have achieved your goals.
Water & Heat Resistance
The Xiami 2 is IP67 Splash, dust and corrosion resistant. It is also heat and cold resistant as well, which is a nice touch. (Subject to 70°C for 128 Hours, Tested for -20°C for 128 Hours) As an added bonus, this particular band has also been dropped tested: 12 times from height of 1.2m on a marble surface.
These features make for a great, smooth and efficient experience as you try to accomplish your goals towards fitness.
Heart rate sensor: this is one of the few fitness trackers with a built-in optical heart rate sensor, although this is starting to become a lot more common in the fitness tracker world, especially when you look at some of the offerings from the larger manufacturers like fitbit or Garmin.
Optical heart rate sensing technology is still in its infancy, but the Xiaomi's sensor is fairly accurate and was able to accurately monitor heart rate during a slow jog, a full on sprint, and on a hike up a steep mountain. You will want to avoid taking your Xiaomi into the water with you, as this can interfere with the sensor and you won't get an accurate reading.
PROS
Many other Xiaomi Mi Band reviews states that the cost of a tracker is one of the most important things to them, and this is where the Xiaomi really shines. With its ultra low price point but premium feature set, you'd be hard pressed to find a more competitively priced fitness tracker.
Additionally, the product is unusually durable and happens to be water proof as well. Moreover, this product has a battery life of 30 days on a single charge, despite its high definition OLED screen.
This is just topped up by the compatibility with the latest Bluetooth, Android and even IOS devices. When you use the Xiaomi Mi Band 2 app, you notice it is vert intuitive and easy to use.
CONS
The Xiaomi Mi Band 2 does not have any major flaws other than a small amount of inaccuracy(mostly related to step counting), which is natural when using one of these devices.
Additionally, many people and feel that the screen is hard to read outside especially if there is a lot f glaring sunlight. However, this is a common problem with many fitness trackers and one I have yet to see overcome.
Its only major drawback is that the device is a little too basic, with only the standard industry services and not something extremely unique. This is however diminished by the relatively low price point.
Conclusion
To conclude, the Xiaomi Mi Band 2 is an extremely efficient and smart device with various advantages which makes for one of the best available budget fitness tracker on the market. Yes, the Band does harbor some minor cons but when you consider its inexpensive price point these minor caveats are easily overlooked.
