Xiaomi Mi Band 4 Hands-On: A Wearable Device Worth The Money

Mi Band is Xiaomi's highly successful wearables lineup. According to data from IDC, in 2018, Xiaomi is the world's second-largest wearables manufacturer with a 12.6% market share.

The success of Mi Band is completely understandable: this wearable device integrates enough basic health monitoring features, possesses a long battery life without bothering users, and most especially it has an affordable price tag for anyone who wants to buy.

After each generation, Xiaomi adds many features to its Mi Band lineup to make it become more attractive. If the first-gen Mi Band was nothing more than a wristband, Mi Band 2 saw a big upgrade when it was first equipped with a screen, and on the Mi Band 3, this wrist band came with a touch screen. However, the screen of Mi Band 3 still has weaknesses as it is only a monochrome screen, with limited visibility and a "low-tech" look.

This year, Xiaomi has overcome this weakness on Mi Band 4 and equips it with an OLED panel. In addition, Mi Band 4 also incorporates some new training, health monitoring, and virtual assistant features. The most praiseworthy point in Mi Band 4 is that it still retains the extremely attractive price of Mi Band 3 from CNY169 (roughly Rs. 1,700) as announced by Xiaomi.

The box of Mi Band 4 only features two colors Black and White with the number big “4” and the image of the Mi Band 4 on the front.

Inside the box of Mi Band 4 includes the device, band and charging dock.

The Mi Band 4 band is similar to that of Mi Band 3 and is made of rubber.

Like the previous generation, users can easily replace its band. On the market today, the Mi Band band is sold very widely with many different styles and materials.

The back of the Mi Band 4 is the heart rate sensor and charging pad.

To use Mi Band 4, users will first need to pair with the Mi Fit app.

The Mi Band 4 is a bit thick, but the wearing feeling is not uncomfortable due to its lightweight. This device is also relatively suitable for people with small wrists.

The default screen interface of Mi Band 4 will display the time, date, battery life and the number of steps.

Users can change the display side to suit their preferences.

Users can also view detailed information about the daily activity index (number of steps, distance, calories consumed).

Mi Band 4 supports many different exercise modes such as running, running on the treadmill, cycling, walking, and swimming.

In addition, Xiaomi also focuses on the swimming mode on Mi Band 4, which can distinguish different swimming styles thanks to the six-axis sensor. Before using this mode, users will need to enter the size of the pool.

Heart rate is an important indicator of health and exercise regimen, so Mi Band 4 is also integrated with heart rate measurement.

Mi Band 4 also call announcement feature through the display of phone numbers (or names in contacts). However, because there is no voice speaker, so users will still need to use their phones to answer.

Besides the main features, Mi Band 4 has some other additional applications. For example, weather applications allow users to quickly check the temperature and weather conditions.

In addition, music application can control music playing on smartphones.

Other features include activation of non-disturbing mode, alarm, stopwatch, etc. Mi Band 4 also supports NFC payment and XiaoAI virtual assistant, however, these two features can only be used in China.

Obviously, Mi Band 4 doesn't have a luxurious appearance or many features like smartwatch from Apple or Samsung. But, with a price of only from $169 (roughly Rs. 1,700), Mi Band 4 and its upgrades continue to follow the previous generations to become an excellent wearable device.