Xiaomi Mi Band 4
XIAOMI’S TRACKER OFFERS UNBEATABLE VALUE.
THE XIAOMI MI Band 3 was good, but the Xiaomi Mi Band 4 is vying for greatness.
For less than the price of two movie tickets, a couple of tubs of popcorn and two supersized drinks, you could be getting active with a color display, heart rate monitor and a connected GPS. The band even packs swim tracking, and unlike its predecessor, its screen is easy to see indoors, and out.
DESIGN
The Xiaomi Mi Band 4’s design is clean, simple and looks nothing short of run-of-the-mill until the display is fired up in its full-color glory.
The tracker is light on the wrist at 21g, so, by comparison to a smartwatch like the Amazfit Verge or the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active, we didn’t even notice we were wearing it.
The front of the Mi Band 4’s core unit is the touch screen as well as a capacitive button below it. Interaction across these elements is a combination of swipes and taps. Its undercarriage is where the heart rate monitor sits, alongside a pogo pin connector for charging.
As for the strap, the simple buckle system is secure, comfortable, and is made from thermoplastic polyurethane. Available in black, it might not seem like a party on your wrist, but a range of styles and colors can be picked up if you shop around for old Mi Band 3 straps (they play nicely with the Mi Band 4).
The screen on the Mi Band 4 is bigger than that of the Mi Band 3, measuring 0.95 inches. It’s also higher resolution, and interaction is better this time around too, with less missed taps and swipes.
FITNESS TRACKING
Step tracking on the Xiaomi Mi Band 4 tallied nicely with other trackers in day to day use, and is always on.
On the rear of the tracker is a heart rate sensor that sits directly on your skin. By contrast, it isn’t always-on, so it won’t continuously be recording your heart rate when you’re going about your day.
Instead, you need to activate it to get a score through to your wrist and have it recorded in the Mi Fit app on your phone. This can also be done by firing up a workout, which engages constant tracking for the duration of your session and shows you how you’re doing on the band’s display.
You’ll find the tracker will record your distance when you’re running too, and works in conjunction with your phone’s GPS, for a connected GPS experience. For casual runners who don’t mind taking their phones with them when out and about, this should be fine, but if you want something a bit more lightweight, you’ll
want an all-in-one solution that the Mi Band doesn’t offer.
The tracker also has modes for cycling and swimming, but we haven’t tested it for either of those activities yet. After over a week of showers and a submersion test though, we can attest to its waterproofing.
You can fire up activities from the band itself. By contrast, when we reviewed the Mi Band 3, a phone was required to launch training sessions, and this is a huge win for the latest version. It even congratulates you when you hit milestones like 1KM, which is a nice touch.
This all comes together to make Xiaomi’s new tracker a very similar looking bit of kit, but one with significantly more value for casual exercisers and gadget fans alike.
Our main gripe with the tracker is that features like the stopwatch or timer can’t be accessed during a workout. The main screen is locked to workout monitoring, and this was particularly frustrating for us during gym workouts. Other than that though, we found very little to grumble about when given the bargain price of the Mi Band 4.
SPECS
The Mi Band 4 features a 3-axis accelerometer and a 3-axis gyroscope. This is vital for step-tracking, but also enables the priceless motion-to-wake gesture that gives the band the functionality of a practical wrist watch.
The Band 4 also offers sleep tracking, and thanks to the slim and light weight design we didn’t notice we were still wearing the tracker in bed. It measured a bit less deep sleep than the Samsung Galaxy Watch, but overall sleep times were comparable.
Unlike more premium devices, it doesn’t provide REM sleep details, like some top-end Fitbit products or a dedicated tracker.
BATTERY
The Xiaomi Mi Band 4 sports a 135mAh battery. We used the tracker for just over a week with a couple of training sessions in there, and our battery reading went down by 32%. That tallies up with Xiaomi’s claim of 20 days, though your final day-count will depend on your watch face, activity tracking and general usage.
Charging up the Xiaomi Mi Band 4 is pretty fiddly. You have to pop the tracker out of its band and slot it into a proprietary charger, so this won’t work with a micro USB or USB-C cable. It does charge quickly, however, plus, you’ll only need to charge it up about 18 times a year if Xiaomi’s 21-day battery life proves true in the long run.
VERDICT
The Xiaomi Mi Band 4 gets right what its predecessor got wrong – outdoor viewability is great, and you can start workouts from your wrist, reducing the band’s reliance on your smartphone.
With 5ATM waterproofing, sleep tracking and a connected GPS, it’s also got enough smarts to rival plenty of pricier trackers, and even the heart rate monitor did a decent job provided the Mi Band 4 was secured snuggly in place.
Combine all that with a color screen that brings the Band to life, and while we did have gripes with the smartphone app’s UI and the band’s lack of multitasking, given the band’s price, we’re still left overwhelmingly impressed.
THE BAND 4 ALSO OFFERS SLEEP TRACKING, AND THANKS TO THE SLIM AND LIGHT WEIGHT DESIGN WE DIDN’T NOTICE WE WERE STILL WEARING THE TRACKER IN BED. IT MEASURED A BIT LESS DEEP SLEEP THAN THE SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH, BUT OVERALL SLEEP TIMES WERE COMPARABLE.