Welcome to my review of the Xiaomi Mi Band 2.

I managed to get mine from Everybuying for around £27 plus shipping. I used DHL and it arrived in a few days.

Specifications

– Bluetooth 4.0 v2,
– Languages English,Simplified Chinese
– Waterproof IP67
– Screen type OLED, Touch Screen
– Compatible OS Android,IOS
– Compatibility Android 4.4 / iOS 7.0 and above system
– Battery 70mAh
– Standby time 20 days max
– Charging time 3hours
– Special Features -Call reminder,Measurement of heart rate,Pedometer,Sleep management,SMS Reminding
– Alert type Vibration
– Dial and Band Shape of the dial Elliptical
– 235 mm total length
– 155 – 210 mm adjustable length
– Made of Thermoplastic elastomers, aluminium
– Weight 17g

The Mi Band 2 improves upon the original Mi Band in so many ways. For a start it has a heart rate sensor. It uses a military grade ADI sensor, ADI power efficient accelerometer, ADI heart rate sensor, the screen is resistant to fingerprints and scratches, the button is 0.05mm anodised. The screen is now OLED.

The displays shows Time, number of steps, Heart Rate, distance walked, calories burned, battery info and other data. You can see all these items by lifting your wrist or by using the capacitive button on the Mi Band 2 capsule. You can also customise which data content can be displayed on the Mi Band 2 display.

The Mi Band 2 has new software to calculate the number of steps. Versus my Garmin Fenix 3 HR it counted 200 more steps in a day. The software and design is meant to make the Mi Band 2 55% more power efficient.

Xiaomi state that when you run with Mi Band 2, it measures the pace of your run, monitors you Heart beat and it displays on the screen of Mi Band 2. Mi Fit generates the targeted run, recommends step program, suggests the required weight loss and ultimately increases your health efficiency. This functionality is not available on the Mi Fit app from the Google Play Store. The Mi Fit app (Chinese) version has considerably more functionality with mapping and more. Hence, why if you search on the Google Play Store there are a number of third party apps that fill this gap. These need updating for the Mi Band 2, but several developers are working on updating their apps to work with the new band. However, I have provided details of the Google Play app below.

As the module pops out, different coloured bands will be made available. The module connection is far more securer than the original band.

Mi Fit app.

Screenshot Gallery

The Mi Fit app does display a lot of information and does have auto tracking too which seemed to work ok. Sharing with twitter and facebook and other social networks is possible too. I thought the app notifications was dreadful. The Mi Band 2 displays “APP” and vibrates. Which app is your guess! It allows up to 5 apps to be selected. Samsung Email and Gmail was not showing as an option. In other words, don’t buy this for advanced app notifications.

The Mi Band 2 is new. From my testing the software and firmware need updates to fine tune and improve the tracker. Even so at under £30 it still offers a lot for a lot less than the competition. However, if you don’t want the hassle of software updates to fix, add & improve the new band then I suggest looking at options from FitBit or Garmin which may be a safer and easier option.

Video Review

The video below is an overview and unboxing to give you a better idea of the Mi Band 2.

Conclusion

The Xiaomi Mi Band 2 is a low price fitness tracker. To get the most out of it, you might be looking at using Third Party apps if you are using the Google Play Store app version. App notifications are not its forte. But for under £30 you do get a lot.

As I mentioned at the start, I got my Mi Band 2 from Everybuying for around £27 plus shipping so do check out their store.

Update – Everybuying have offered a discount, if you use this code – EBMIBR2