I’m not a big fan of fitness trackers without display that require you to monitor your daily progress on your smartphone, and that’s probably why when Xiaomi released their first fitness band I was not quite as interested, but now the Chinese company has released Mi Band 2 with an OLED display, an heart rate monitor, IP67 ingress protection rating, and a 20-day of battery life for just 149 RMB ($23).
Mi Band 2 key features:
- Fitness, heart rate and sleep tracker
- OLED display, view time, step count, heart rate
- 20-day battery, IP67 water resistant
- ADI accelerometer and optical heart rate sensor
- Anodized 0.05mm ultra-thin button
- Upgraded pedometer algorithm
- Hypoallergenic silicone band
- 2nd gen Bluetooth 4.0 for faster, stable connections
It’s still good to be able to gather your fitness data over time, and you can do so with Mi Fit app for Android or iOS.
The downside with an OLED display is that you normally have to press the button to turn it on, but Mi Band 2 display will also turn on when you lift your wrist. That will be great as long as it is properly implemented. I tried this feature on another smartwatch once, and simply typing on a keyboard would turn on the display, seriously limiting the battery life. Other features include sleep monitoring, and phone unlock.
Mi Band 2 is already up for pre-order on Tinydeal for $46.99. [Update: The device is now on GeekBuying for $39.99; Update 2: Up on GearBest for $33.91 with coupon GBMI2]
Via Xiaomi Facebook page.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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I still prefer stuff with always-on, sunshine-compatible E-Ink-Display
So i’ll keep my SWR30 for some more time, because there’s no real alternative.
I have Pebble, which turns on backlight upon typical watch shake and it works great. I can imagine they implemented something similar. If I were you, I would throw that no backlight, no battery life Sony crap away.
Just wait a few months and you can buy it for the chinese price online.
was at 22 usd here. now 37.13 https://www.fasttech.com/p/4928100
$33.91 on Gearbest with coupon GBMI2 -> http://www.gearbest.com/smart-watches/pp_362705.html