Xiaomi Mi Band 4 smart phone has a lot going for it
Xiaomi’s penchant for launching affordable, feature packed products isn’t surprising. From smartphones, to smart watches to kitchen appliances and everything in between, the chinese manufacturer ensures that they cover as much ground as they can to attract as many customers as they can. Having picked up a Xiaomi Mi Band 4 last year, I was actually blown away by how efficient something so affrodable can be.
It basically replaces most, if not all functionality of a smartwatch, adds a few more features to it and also gives off its own stylish sportswear look. The Mi Band 5 takes all that I love from the Mi Band 4, and just makes it better.
For starters, there’s the screen. The Mi Band 4 packed a 0.95 inch OLED screen with a resolution of 120×240 pixels with a peak brightness of 400 nits. The Mi Band 5 bumps up the screen size to 1.1 inches, increases resolution to 126×294 and lastly, bumps up brightness to 450 nits. This basically means that the Mi Band 5 has a brighter and slightly higher resolution screen when you look at it.
The design of the Mi Band 5 is very reminiscent of the Mi Band 4. In fact, apart from the larger display, the two bands are almost identical. A single haptic button acts as the home button on the Mi Band 5, with interactions being able to be carried out by swiping up and down as well as left and right. Scrolling menus can be done the same way it was done on the Mi Band 5 and if you get lost in a menu, you can always return to the home screen by pressing the little home button that is denoted with a circle.
Features such as the heart rate sensor, steps counter and fitness tracker are all present and have been tweaked to give you almost a 40% improvement in tracking. Having used the Mi Band 5 for a good week, I can indeed attest that the sensors are a lot more in tune. For example, the step counter is definitely more accurate when compared to the Mi Band 4 in that it records steps a lot better than its predecessor. Xiaomi has also bumped up the in-built sports modes from 7, quite literally all the way up to a 11. The new modes include Yoga, Indoor rowing, skipping, and elliptical & rowing machine.
Much like the Mi Band 4, the Mi Band 5 can also be used for sleep tracking, with the addition of REM tracking. As stated above, the Mi Band 5 also has a heart rate tracker and can be used in conjunction with the sleep tracker so that you can track how well/long you sleep and your heart rate as well. Now you would think that all this would drain the Min Band 5’s battery, but you’d also be wrong. Xiaomi has bumped up the battery from 110mAh to 125mAh on the Mi Band 5. While this doesn’t necessarily extend the battery life vs the Mi Band 4, it does help make sure that all those extra features have the juice needed to run it.
In terms of the interface, the Mi Band 5 is essentially a more polished version of the Mi Band 4. Menu items look clearer and more organized. Perhaps the biggest update is support for third party watch faces or band faces, rather. There are almost 100+ faces to choose from via the Mi Fit App and even the built in default face can be customized to show different elements such as steps walked, the weather, heart rate, stress level, etc.
The customizability here itself deserves a shout out to Xiaomi. Speaking of Mi Fit, if you haven’t used a Mi Band before, then all you need to know is that Mi Fit is the accompanying app to get the best out of your Mi Band.
The Mi Band 5 can also act as a smart watch by showing you your notifications, the weather, incoming calls and messages and even control music. While these features were on previous generations of the Mi Band, the newest addition is a remote shutter. This essentially allows you to use your Mi Band as a shutter to capture photos. Ideal if you’re using a tripod or you’re beyond reach of your phone to capture an image.
In terms of pricing, the Mi Band is a bit higher up on the price point compared to the Mi Band 4. Starting off at around LKR 8,500, for the features it has, it certainly is a worthwhile investment. If you want to wait a couple of months for a price drop, you can do that too, but then you run the risk of stock availability.