Xiaomi's Mi Band 7 is the latest model in its line of incredibly popular fitness trackers, but how does it differ from the Mi Band 6? Xiaomi's health and fitness portfolio not only includes fitness trackers and smartwatches, but also smart scales and treadmills. However, not all of these products are made by Xiaomi itself. A number of them are made by companies under its ecosystem.
Although it is not yet known who the company behind the Mi Band 7 is, previous Mi Band fitness trackers have been manufactured by Zepp (formerly known as Huami), the company also behind the Amazfit brand. Sometimes, Zepp uses the design of Xiaomi's fitness trackers for its own fitness trackers, such as the Amazfit Band 5 which shares an almost identical look with the Mi Smart Band 5.
The new Mi Band 7 largely keeps the design of its predecessor, sporting a pill-shaped display that sits in a polycarbonate case. The colorful straps are made of TPU and the buckle is an aluminum alloy. Both the Mi Band 7 and Mi Band 6 have a 5 ATM water-resistant rating which isn't surprising since they are capable of tracking swimming exercises too. The Mi Band 6 is available in six colors while the Mi Band 7 comes in 10 color options that include two special camouflage ones and two reflective options that glow in the dark.
Mi Band 7 Has A Bigger Display, More Sports Modes
The striking difference between the Mi Band 7 and Mi Band 6 is the size. Xiaomi has bumped up the AMOLED screen of the new model from 1.56 inches to 1.62 inches. The resolution has been increased too, but it still has the same 326 PPI. It also gets a boost in brightness from 450 nits to 500 nits. However, the biggest upgrade fans of the series should be excited about is support for AOD (Always-on Display). There are more than 100 watch faces to choose from, an increase from the 60+ of the Mi Band 6.
While both fitness trackers have support for 24/7 heart rate measurement and blood oxygen saturation measurement, Xiaomi says the Mi Band 7 features an improved sensor. The new fitness tracker has also gained the ability to notify users via vibration when their blood oxygen level falls below 90. Supported exercises have also increased from just 30 on the Mi Band 6 to 120 on the new fitness tracker. The Mi Band 7 now comes with Bluetooth 5.2 (BLE) and this should result in better connectivity. Xiaomi has raised the Android OS requirement from Android 5.0 to Android 6.0, but keeps the Apple device support requirement at iOS 10.0.
It is not surprising that the Mi Band 7 now packs a bigger battery capacity—180mAh over the 125mAh battery of the Mi Band 6. This translates to 15 days of use in normal mode and up to 9 days in heavy usage mode. In contrast, the Mi Band 6 lasted up to 14 days in normal mode and 5 days in heavy usage mode. Nevertheless, both fitness trackers surpass the 7-day battery life of the Garmin Vivosmart 5. Thankfully, the magnetic charger seems to have remained unchanged. The Mi Band 7 is available only in China for now, and it is priced at ¥249 (~$37) for the standard version and ¥299 (~$45) for the NFC version. Like the previous models, Xiaomi is expected to announce a global version that will most likely be sold as the Mi Smart Band 7.