All of the options I wish to see

The Xiaomi Mi Band 8 (a.ok.a. the Xiaomi Good Band 8 in Europe) has an extremely lengthy listing of options contemplating it prices beneath $50, which we presently advocate for price range customers in our greatest health tracker information. Yearly the subsequent Mi Band arrives bringing additional refinements to the collection, usually delivering options beforehand reserved for far more costly units. Though we nonetheless have loads of time earlier than a brand new mannequin, right here’s my wishlist for what I’d prefer to see subsequent yr from the Xiaomi Mi Band 9.

A {hardware} again button

The Mi Band 8’s complete UI is navigated by means of contact, which could be a bit tough with such a small show. I’d wager that is principally about reducing prices, however it’s additionally doubtless at the very least slightly bit about sticking with the Mi Band’s very barebones, minimalist philosophy. Nonetheless, a bodily again button would make navigating the UI considerably simpler, even when it’d add a tiny little bit of bulk over the present mannequin and would litter up the design barely.

NFC shouldn’t be reserved only for China

The Chinese language model of the Mi Band 8 consists of NFC for cellular funds, which is a primary for the corporate’s price range tracker. The band presently works with AliPay and WeChat Pay. That’s nice, however what concerning the worldwide model? Xiaomi has opted to not embody the characteristic in any respect. It might be good to see the Mi Band 9 deliver this characteristic to all variations, particularly because the Chinese language model’s cost providers are already out there in different international locations all through Europe and Asia.

NFC is likely one of the most sought-after options for the Mi Band, proper subsequent to GPS, I’d wager. Whereas the Mi Band 8 can use your cellphone’s GPS, built-in GPS continues to be one of many Mi Band’s largest lacking options. The Xiaomi Mi Band 9 ought to lastly rectify this and provide GPS baked-in.

Now I do know what you’re considering: wouldn’t that drive the value tag above $50? Sure, and that may very well be a deal breaker for some, however one easy answer can be to supply a GPS variant and a less expensive base mannequin. This may appear pointless since there’s already a Mi Band Professional collection, however these trackers are typically a bit nearer to an entry smartwatch than a health tracker. A few of us need one thing small and reasonably priced just like the Mi Band 8 however are prepared to pay a tad extra for helpful extras.

The Mi Band’s largest weak spot has all the time been software program and sadly, that’s nonetheless the case as we speak.

Up to now, the corporate provided two official apps, each with completely different UIs and have units; this was greater than slightly complicated. The Mi Band 8 is just appropriate with the Mi Health app and that’s it, because the Mi Band doesn’t work with third get together apps both. The restricted assist wouldn’t matter a lot if the official app had a UI that labored in addition to Fitbit and others, however that’s simply not the case.

The app lacks lots of customization choices. For instance, there’s no solution to change from metrics to US/Imperial. It’s additionally a bit buggy, because it’s fairly widespread to have connectivity issues between the app and the watch. Navigating the app isn’t so unhealthy, however there are lots of pointless steps for some options.

I notice we are able to solely count on a lot from a health band that’s inside the impulse-buying worth vary, however it’s the one factor holding this tracker again from being just about good. If Xiaomi may enhance the app expertise it might have a health band that’s arguably simply nearly as good as trackers that value double and even triple the value.

As I discussed above, the Mi Band 7 and earlier additionally labored with one other app, referred to as Zepp Life. This app was higher in some methods and had entry to some third-party information syncing choices that the Mi app doesn’t. So what does the Mi Health app assist for information syncing? Strava and that’s it. This wouldn’t be so unhealthy if there have been third-party health app assist, however you possibly can’t even use one thing like Google Match in its place both.

A revamped app would go a great distance, however I may reside with Mi Health if I may sync my information to and from different apps, or if I may use a third get together app altogether as a substitute. Whereas I perceive Xiaomi needs to maintain the concentrate on its ecosystem, it additionally makes the band very irritating to make use of for these exterior of China. I wish to see this alteration with the Mi Band 9.

The Mi Band is likely one of the hottest price range trackers and has been an enormous success for the corporate. The Mi Band can be one in every of its few merchandise formally launched in the USA. It’s just about a foregone conclusion that there shall be a Xiaomi Mi Band 9 in some unspecified time in the future sooner or later.

Including much more weight to this, a wide range of new reviews have surfaced lately suggesting the Mi Band 9 has been making its manner by means of numerous certification companies. Moreover, early rumors counsel the Mi Band 9 may have the identical 1.62-inch AMOLED show as final yr, however with a brighter and better decision display screen this time round. Not a lot else is understood simply but.

As for when? Let’s take a fast take a look at the corporate’s launch historical past. Bear in mind we’re specializing in world launch dates, not the preliminary China-only launches.

• Mi Band 8 — Oct 26, 2023
• Mi Band 7 — June 21, 2022
• Mi Band 6 — April 30, 2021

As you possibly can see, Xiaomi has launched a brand new model of its Band yearly, although the precise world launch month has assorted considerably. It’s just about a given we’ll see the Mi Band 9 in 2024, although it’s a lot harder to say when it can arrive within the yr, particularly given the Mi Band 8 launched so late. The corporate would doubtless wish to give at the very least near a yr’s area in between fashions, so I’d say we’re prone to see the Mi Band 9 in late summer time or someday within the fall.

There’s no want to attend for the Xiaomi Mi Band 9 as a result of the present mannequin isn’t even three months previous but. There’s doubtless near 9 months or extra earlier than a successor shall be launched. The excellent news is that the Mi Band 8 is already among the best price range trackers, so if you happen to’re wanting to save cash, there’s no purpose to not choose it up as we speak.

If the Mi Band doesn’t impress you, the HUAWEI Band 7 ($41 at Amazon) is a worthwhile various, though it’s a bit more durable to search out within the US. For these searching for one thing with a bit extra oomph, and don’t thoughts paying further for the privilege, we additionally advocate the Fitbit Cost 6 ($159.95 at Amazon).