Xiaomi Mi Band 2 Review

Features

The Mi Band 2 has an IP67 water and dust-resistance certification, meaning you can wear it in the shower and it’s okay to get a little splash of water when you’re washing the dishes or your hands. If it as good as the previous models, then I can attest that showering with it is indeed not a problem at all.

As far as tracking goes, you still get an optical heart rate monitor that Xiaomi claims will offer improved accuracy over the previous Mi Band Pulse. A new pedometer algorithm coupled with ultra low power accelerometers is also designed to deliver improvements to step tracking. Testing the accuracy the pedometer against the likes of other fitness trackers I have at had (Fitbit Flex, Jawbone UP 2, Apple Watch), I found the accuracy to have about a 5% error from the rest of the others. Of course, sleep tracking is still a key feature, breaking down your deep sleep and light sleep patterns, and this is only possible with battery life that lasts more than a day.

A built-in vibration motor also means the introduction of inactivity alerts, giving you buzz when you’ve been sitting too long at your desk. With the addition of a OLED display, you do get some smartphone notifications. The Mi Band 2 will vibrate for incoming calls and texts. It’s pretty basic, but that’s no real surprise here and like its predecessor, the Mi Band 2 can be used to unlock a selection of Android smartphones.

The Mi Band 2 has a 70mAh battery, and battery life really depends from user to user, and how much features you have enabled. Personally, apart from the everyday step count and vibration for incoming calls and texts, I don’t have any other feature enabled, which helps to prolong the battery life. 3 weeks into testing from a full charge to begin with, I’m still left with just over 40% of the battery charge left, so the official stated battery life of 20 days is very reserved.