Xiaomi’s activity band has jumped in size to supply a much bigger screen and more workout modes – because it heads off the challenge of budget fitness tracker/smartwatch hybrids like the Huawei Watch Fit.
It also now competes with Xiaomi’s smartwatches, the Mi Watch and Mi Watch Lite. Here’s everything you wish to grasp about the Mi Band 6.
Mi Band 6 specs at a look
- 1.56-inch AMOLED screen
- 52 x 486 resolution – 450 nits – 326ppi
- 30 workout modes
- SpO2 sensor
- PAI, female cycle tracking
- 47.4 x 18.6 x 12.7mm; adjustable strap length: 155 – 219mm
- iOS and Android compatible
- Global pricing TBC
- Release date: April 2021
Which is powerful band: Mi band or Amazfit Band 5- Check here
Display
Thetracker is packs in a very 1.56-inch AMOLED screen, which is 50% bigger. It’s doubled resolution over the Mi Band 5, upping the pixels to 52 x 486 from 126 x 294.
It boasts a 326PPI display that certainly ups the ante for fitness trackers, blowing the monochrome Fitbit Charge 4 out of the water, and going head-to-head with the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Fit 2.
Exercise profiles have doubled to 30, with dance and Zumba joining more standard activities like running, swimming and HIIT.
As expected, the Mi Band 6 adds SpO2 for the measurement of blood oxygen, and this is often applied to the sleep tracking with a brand new measure of breathing quality.
Battery life now reaches 14 days via the magnetic charger which was introduced on the Mi Band 5.
Mi Band 6 first impressions
First impressions of the Mi Band 6 is that it is the same size as its predecessor. It’s actually 1mm wider, but you would be hard pressed to inform the difference between them, even holding both devices.
However, the screen has been heavily improved. Not only does it fill the body of the band edge-to-edge, its also far brighter and colorful than the Mi Band 5, due to the 52 x 486 resolution, with 450 nits brightness and 326ppi density.
Mi Band 6 with 1.54-inch AMOLED display
Elsewhere it’s nearly the identical. It comes with the stock rubber strap that’s easy to lock, but won’t be winning any awards for design or comfort. There are different strap color options, with black, orange, yellow, olive, ivory all available.
Other Features
As for features, the Mi Band 6 can support up to 30 exercise modes and can auto-detect some like Outdoor running, walking, treadmill running, outdoor cycling, rowing, and elliptical training. The Mi Band 6 also supports 24×7 heart rate monitoring(PPG), SpO2(Blood Oxygen measurement).
The Mi Band 6 can also track your sleep to tell you about the Sleep breathing quality, REM, and nap time periods. Other tracking options include Breath exercise, Stress monitoring, Female health tracking, PAI(Personal Activity Intelligence).
The NFC version(in China) supports multi-function NFC that helps in tap-to-pay on the go. As for the assistant, the Mi Band 6 has a Xiao AI assistant built-in(China). As for connectivity, it supports Bluetooth 5.0 and also has all the other necessary sensors like a 3-axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope.
Other features include swim-proof 5ATM water-resistant, magnetic charging, 125mAh LiPo battery, and a battery life of up to 14 days. Finally, the Mi Band 6 measures 47.4 x 18.6 x 12.7mm and has an adjustable strap length of 155 – 219mm.
Besides these fitness and health functions, the Mi Band 6 also offers the ability to read notifications, remotely trigger the smartphone camera, watch functions such as alarm clock and timer, and music control. The battery of 125 mAh is just as large as in the predecessor.
Despite the larger display, it should last up to 14 days. The same magnetic charging cable as in the 5 is used for charging, so you do not have to take the tracker out of the case. The Mi Wear app or the Mi Fit app can apparently be used as the app for the Mi Band 6, which can apparently now also be paired with Strava.
Fitness Features
Even if you get fewer than advertised days out of the band, you might need to charge it once or twice a month. That’s pretty rad.
While the connected GPS will help you measure your walking and running distance accurately, the band also features 30 workout modes, including boxing, badminton, cricket, HIIT, street dance, and Zumba — apart from six common ones already present
The blood oxygen (SPO2) sensor is now common in budget bands. We’ve seen it in the recently launched Honor Band 6 and the OnePlus Band. While it’s a fun novelty, you shouldn’t rely on these readings for actual medical purposes.
The Mi Band 6 also has advanced sleep tracking that measures REM and sleep breathing quality.
In China, the standard edition of the band costs RMB229 ($35) and the NFC version costs RMB279 ($42). In the European market, the band is priced at €44.99.
Updated: The earlier version of the article suggested that the Mi Band 6 has an in-built GPS sensor. However, the GPS only works when it’s connected to the phone. We regret the error.
Release date and price
Then there’s the worth. the worldwide price remains not clear and Xiaomi says which will be revealed closer to the April launch.
In China it’ll launch for 229 yuan for the non NFC version. The Mi Band 5 launched for 189 yuan, which has seen it retail for $35 within the US. that would push the price of the Mi Band 6 closer to $50 when eventually it launches globally.
That will be interesting given the corporate has just released the Mi Watch Lite for £50/€50, although that’s not got a US release.
The Xiaomi Mi Band has always been available within the US – so availability are one to look at. We’ll update with full information after we catch on.
Assessment
The most important advantage of the Xiaomi Mi Band 6 is the considerably larger display, which has been enlarged by 0.46″ diagonally. This improves reading notifications, but is also important for other functions and leaves more space for additional information. In addition, there are sports modes and Strava support, but we miss integrated GPS, which we almost firmly expected. Many would have been happy about NFC as well, but that will probably be reserved for a corresponding Chinese version. Nevertheless, it is once again the best fitness tracker in its price range, even though the comparison with the Honor Band 6 will be interesting.
What do you think of the new features of the Xiaomi Mi Band 6? Are they a reason for you to replace your Mi Band?
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