Xiaomi Mi Band 2 review: Reasonably priced fitness tracking

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Techaeris Rated 9.4/10

One of the most popular wearables going right now is the fitness tracker, but brands like FitBit can cost a fortune. The Mi Band 2 from Xiaomi is a reasonably priced fitness tracker that does the basics really well. Check out our full Mi Band 2 review!

Specifications

  • Bluetooth version Bluetooth 4.0
  • Waterproof IP rating IP67
  • OLED display
  • Touch Screen
  • Compatible OS – Android 4.4 / iOS 7.0 and above system
  • Available color Black
  • Battery Capacty 70mAh
  • Standby time 20 days
  • Charging time about 3hours

What’s In The Box

  • Mi Band 2 body
  • Mi Band 2 wrist strap
  • Mi Band 2 propriety charger
  • Instructions in Chinese

 

Design

Most fitness trackers look pretty similar and the Mi Band 2 doesn’t stray too far from the fold in that regard. The wrist strap is made from a black rubber similar to the Apple Watch Sport and has a metal push nub that holds the strap on. The Mi Band 2 body is simple with the heart rate sensor and other sensor bits on the back and a touch sensitive front panel that scrolls between time, steps, distance, calories burned, battery levels and heart rate. It’s a pretty basic design but simple is sometimes best, and in this case the Mi Band 2 is a winner. The proprietary charger is another story. While it does its job fine and we have no issues with it for function, we wish Xiaomi would have used a Micro-USB charging method or, even better, a USB-C method.

Software/Ecosystem

The Mi Fit app works with both Android and iOS,  but you must be on Android 4.4 or better and iOS 7.0 or better. You can create a Mi Fit account and sync the Mi Band 2 data with Apple Health or Google Fit, pretty handy to keep your fitness data in one spot. The app is pretty basic and just gives you the bare essentials. There is no exercise tracking here, so don’t expect it to track workouts or anything beyond your steps, heart rate, sleep patterns and such. Overall, the software could benefit from some more features but the basics are here and they work well, and the app is simple to navigate and use. We did experience some hiccups and inconsistency on a couple of occasions where data either went missing or wasn’t syncing. But that happened only a few times and things smoothed out afterwards. The data is also presented fairly clearly and is easy to understand and read.

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Mi Band 2

Ease Of Use

Setting up the Mi Band 2 takes all of 5 minutes and you’re up and running. However, it did seem to take a few hours to calibrate itself and start tracking steps properly. Pairing is an easy process and navigating both the app and touch interface is simple.

Performance

When you first use this Mi Band 2 your data is probably going to seem off and it probably is. It took a bit of time for ours to actually start closely matching what Apple’s activity app was tracking. The heart rate monitor also had some flaky moments when it either didn’t recognize a heart rate or the readings were just nonsensical. But these instances were few and far between. The Mi Band 2 is also rated IP67 so you should be good to go for your morning showers or running in the rain and sweat is no issue. Overall performance was great.

Battery Life

Xiaomi says the band should last 20 days of standby and honestly this battery is insane. We easily went over 2 weeks without having to charge and the band charges from nearly empty to full in just about the advertised 3 hour time. Battery life is stellar on this device.

Price/Value

You just can’t beat this fitness tracker at $41.30 on EverBuying, well worth the nominal cost for a decent tracker.

Wrap Up

If you’re looking for a fitness tracker that does the basics and doesn’t break the bank, take a look at the Xiaomi Mi Band 2.

[button link=”http://www.everbuying.net/product1175977.html” icon=”fa-shopping-cart” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Purchase from Everbuying[/button]
*We were sent a review sample of the Xiaomi Mi Band 2 for the purposes of this review.

Last Updated on February 20, 2020.

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