Xiaomi had launched (in China) the Mi Band 2 their latest fitness wearable that incorporates all features from Mi Band, heart rate sensor from Mi Band 1s and added an OLED display – presenting the Mi Band 2. This wearable device has not yet been launched in India.
Mi band 2 unboxing
Box packing of all the Mi Bands are similar – inside you will find the wrist strap (skin friendly – TPSiV material), tracker, USB charging adapter and user guide.
Design
The Mi Band 2 looks much better thanks to the 0.4 inch OLED screen. The screen is completely black and the button also goes well with the blackish look. It’s a touch pad (button) just touch it to change the display options.
The tracker is made of plastic and aluminum; looks great and pretty light weight too. Mi Band 2 weight is 19 grams with 70 mAh non-removable battery.
Band 2 Features
This band is IP67 certified – water and dust resistant. The Mi band 2 works with Android (4.4 and above) and Apple (iOS 7 and above) devices. This fitness band will count the number of steps taken, calories burned, distance traveled, it can monitor your sleep and measure your heart rate. This device makes use of Bluetooth 4.0 to communicate with your smartphone.
You will need to download the Mi Fit app from Google Play store or Apple store. Using the Mi Fit app you can then enable what options you want on the display – time is shown by default – you can enable steps, distance, calories, heart rate and remaining battery in %.
If need be you can also enable incoming call alerts, alarm, apps alert and idle alert.
Performance
The band 2 gives consistent results for similar kind of activities. Heart rate sensor is also pretty accurate (two green LED’s on the bottom). If you enable incoming call alert option and when you get a call the band 2 will vibrate and you will get the phone icon on the display, the phone number is not displayed.
To view the time you will either need to twist your wrist (need to enable lift wrist to browse from Mi Fit app) or touch the button, touch / tap the button again to browse though other options.
Battery life
The 70 mAh built in battery can be fully charged in less than 2 hours. Battery life is very good even with the display and with ‘lift wrist to browse info’ option active. On a full charge the Mi band 2 battery will easily last for up to 24 days.
Verdict
It started with Mi band, then came the Mi band 1s (not launched in India) and now the Mi Band 2 (not launched in India). Mi Band 2 is an excellent fitness device that will also show you the current time.
A must buy if and when it is made available in India, but in case you do not want to wait you can buy this from Chinese online stores for around $45.
Rating 5 out of 5.