Xiaomi’s not just about phones and drones these days, it also has a new fitness band to show the world. It’s the Mi Band 2, and after several leaks over the past months, the wearable is now official. The original Xiaomi Mi Band represented great value, and despite a quick update at the end of last year, where it gained a heart rate monitor as the Mi Band 1S — or Mi Band Pulse, as it’s also known — it was always relatively low on functionality. That’s all changed with the Mi Band 2.
The Mi Band 2 combines many of the best features from the Mi Band with an OLED screen, something new to the Mi Band range. The display shows the time, how many steps you’ve taken, and heart rate data. It’s activated through gesture — lifting your wrist turns on the screen — or by pressing the button below it.
The scratch-resistant display is part of a core module, just like the original Mi Band, and can be swapped out into silicone bands of different colors. Despite this, the whole thing is water resistant with an IP67 rating. The screen is joined by a new optical heart rate sensor, and according to Xiaomi, the pedometer algorithm has been rewritten to work best with the new, more power efficient accelerometer. Wear the Mi Band 2 at night, and it’ll also track your sleep patterns.
The Mi Band 2’s battery life is expected to be 20 days, longer than models from Fitbit and Jawbone, but not quite as impressive as the Mi Band’s 30-plus days. Bluetooth 4.0 is onboard to connect it up with your phone, and Xiaomi’s app is available for both Android and iOS devices. If you use it with Xiaomi and certain other Android phones, it’ll auto unlock the device when it’s in range and connected up, plus it’ll deliver reminders to get up and move around if you’ve been sat down for too long.
Although the Mi Band 2 has been announced, there’s no word on when it’ll go on sale, or where. Xiaomi sells the Mi Band internationally through its online store, so there’s an excellent chance the Mi Band 2 will make an appearance in the future. The price has been set at the equivalent of just $22 in China, which makes the Mi Band 2 a whole lot of fitness tech for not a lot of money.
Previous updates:
Updated on 06-02-2016 by Andy Boxall: Rewritten rumor post to include all official information on the Mi Band 2.
