Released in tandem with the very much anticipated mi4 smartphone, Xiaomi has launch an aggressive move into the realm of wearable tech; the Mi Band.
The available range of Xiaomi Mi Band. Picture from mi.com
Priced at an irresistible $13, the Xiaomi Mi Band packs a multitude of features normally seen only in trackers priced in the range of hundreds of dollars. At the 2014 Xiaomi new products presentation , it was a breath of fresh air hearing Lei Jun, founder and CEO of Xiaomi, detail how he envisions the ideal fitness wrist band to be; functional and aesthetically pleasing and a hard to beat price.
Some of the notable features include unlocking your phone with the Mi Band, 30 days battery life span and IP67 rating.
Lei Jun, founder and CEO of Xiaomi, wearing the Mi Band and demonstrating the phone unlocking function. Screen grab from youtube.com
Here’s a summary of the capability of the Mi Band:
- Activity tracker (Steps, distance, calories).
- Sleep tracker (Smart alarm that wakes you up from light sleep phase).
- Syncs to the smartphone via Bluetooth.
- Unlocking of smartphone with Mi Band.
- Notifies you of notices from your smartphone through vibrations.
- IP67 rating.
- Locate misplaced Mi Band through with your smartphone as long as it’s within Bluetooth range.
- Exchangeable wrist straps.
Exchangeable wrist straps. Picture from mi.com
As of press, the Mi Band only works with Xiaomi mi 3 and mi 4 smart phone sets running Android 4.4 and above. The price is hard to beat. A Mi Band (if you can get your hands on one that is) is less than a fraction of the price of a Fitbit Flex. Find out more here.
The Android app was released on on 21st November 2014. Perhaps that might give you more reason to get your hands on one.