Xiaomi’s Smart/Mi Band series has reached legendary status in the world of affordable smart wearables with just the right amount of health and activity tracking features at a temptingly low price. Not to mention first and third-party band options and multi-week battery life. We’ve now received a Smart Band 8 review unit and these are our first impressions ahead of our detailed review.
The Band 8 gets an updated metal frame and a new watchband attachment mechanism that attaches directly to the tracker. There’s an audible click when swapping between bands via the attachment buttons, which are nicely located on the back of the Band 8. It’s still one of the lightest fitness trackers out there, and after a few minutes of wearing it you might forget it’s on your wrist.
The Smart Band 8 has the same screen size and resolution as the Band 7 – a 1.62″ AMOLED with 192 x 490 pixels but Xiaomi has updated the refresh rate to 60Hz which feels noticeably more fluid than past Mi Bands. Band 8 is also supported. 600 in automatic mode. .nits maximum brightness and Xiaomi has finally added an auto-brightness feature.
Xiaomi has also sent some of its new Band 8 accessories – green check pattern calf leather watch strap and stylish pendant accessories that let you wear the Band 8 as a fashion accessory. We have rubberized green running clips that attach to your shoes for more detailed running metrics.
Xiaomi claims that the Band 8 comes with a battery endurance of 6 days with Always On Display (AOD) mode and up to 16 days with normal usage. We’ll be sure to check out all the health and activity tracking features as well as these endurance claims so stay tuned for our full review next week.
