Xiaomi Mi Band 2 is a worthy successor to the original — now with a display

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Xiaomi’s wearable has gotten a true successor in the form of the Mi Band 2. It was officially announced on June 2nd, 2016, over at Xiaomi’s Facebook Page, but the Mi Band 2 was actually first teased by chief executive officer Lei Jun during a keynote on May 11th where his company also unveiled the Mi Max, MIUI 8, and iHealth Box. Mi Band 2 now joins Xiaomi’s two other wearable devices — the original Mi Band and the Mi Band (1S) Pulse — but it has one key hardware feature the other two lack — an OLED display. In China, the Mi Band 2 will be going for 149 CNY which is around 88 MYR, but at the time or writing it is still “out of stock”. It should be on sale in China now (if you can find it), but when exactly will it be in Malaysia, is anyone’s guess. The thing is, even the Mi Band Plus was never officially launched here, but you can always find gray-imported ones. The Mi Band 2 on our gray market is currently around RM188.90 or RM199, depending on where you look.

Mi Band 2 shares all of the features of its predecessors (especially the Pulse) but as mentioned earlier it also has a scratch-resistant, 0.42-inch OLED display. It is not a touchscreen, but there is an “anodized 0.05 mm button” you can tap to cycle between viewing the time, steps count, distance, calories burned, heart rate, and battery percentage. It can also track light and deep sleep patterns automatically like its predecessor, but you’ll need to use the phone to view the sleep data.

The tracker core is a bit larger than the previous Mi Band but it packs improved hardware like the new power-efficient ADI (Analog Devices, Inc.) accelerometer, a new-and-improved pedometer algorithm for more accurate steps tracking, and a “second-generation” Bluetooth 4.0 antenna for a more efficient wireless communication between the paired smartphone. Together with the Mi Fit app (Android and iOS), Mi Band 2 should also be able to track workouts like running, with fitness metrics such as pace, steps, and of course, heart rate. The heart rate sensor is of the PPG type (photoplethysmography), and it sits at the bottom of the core to come in contact with the skin. You can also set the Mi Band 2 to nudge you every now and then to stand up and move around, after it detects that you’ve been sitting for too long.

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Being a wearable, Mi Band 2 have some smarts too. Besides getting smart vibrating alarms or phone/SMS notifications, you can also set to push third-party app notifications to the band. Unfortunately though, the notification will only show on the band as “App” with no indication which app it is from. As always, you can also set the band to automatically unlock the smartphone without requiring a passcode, when the two are in proximity.

To wrap up the rest of the hardware, you can expect the Mi Band 2 to also have an IP67 rating, which makes it dust-tight and water-resistant up to 1 meter for no longer than 30 minutes. The said core of the Mi Band 2 can be removed as usual, which means the hypoallergenic silicone straps (made from thermoplastic elastomers with UV coating) that’s durable against sweat, can be replaced with other colorful options. A funny thing to note is that with the new features (especially the display), the Xiaomi Mi Band 2 now “only” has a 20-day battery life, compared to its predecessor’s 30 days of uptime, but it is still a very impressive feat considering that some smart wearables out there can only last up to a week at best.

Xiaomi Mi Band 2 specifications

• Dimensions and weight: 40.3 x 15.7 x 10.5 mm, 70 g
• Battery: 70 mAh, 20-day battery life
• Water rating: IP67 dust-tight and water-resistant
• Display: 0.42-inch OLED display, “anodized 0.05 mm button”
• Connection: “2nd generation” Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy
• Sensors: Low-power ADI accelerometer and optical heart rate sensor
• Total strap length: 235 mm
• Adjustable strap length: 155–210 mm
• Material: Thermoplastic elastomers (straps), aluminum (core)
• Device compatibility: Android 4.4 / iOS 7.0 or higher, with Bluetooth 4.0

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