Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 4 – Everything you should know!

Hello folks, extra extra! Xiaomi is out with the Mi Band 4 – their latest increment in the Mi Band series! Announced on June 11th, the Mi Band 4 comes in two variants – without and with NFC, both of which went on sale in China starting on June 14th and June 18th. As is the norm with Xiaomi devices, there hasn’t been an official launch date for the Global and their second home, UK markets. If history is any indication though, it should be out within a couple of months. Although it has barely been a year since the Mi Band 3 launch, Xiaomi believes it is time for an update. In fact, Xiaomi believes it has got enough going on to be called the Mi Smart Band 4. But does it, though? You be the judge.

The successor to the very popular and affordable Mi Band 3, Mi Band 4 comes with a bigger and better display with a screen of 0.95 inches, a resolution of 120 x 240 and, a first for the Mi Band series, a color display! With the rest of the design pretty much the same – a silicon strap with a smooth matte finish, the display unit is, arguably, the biggest upgrade to the Mi Band 4 (based on the variant you’re getting; but more on that later). The Mi Band 4 has got a couple of other minor upgrades compared to the Mi Band 3, but before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s quickly run through the spec sheet,

0.95-inch AMOLED touchscreen display @ 240 x 120px RGB
2.5D tempered glass + Anti-reflective coating
512KB memory
16MB storage
Bluetooth 5.0 BLE
Six-axis sensor
Gyroscope
Sport tracking
PPG Heart Rate Sensor
5ATM waterproof rating
1x touch button (for wake up or return)
Supports Android 4.4/ iOS 9.0 or above
135mAh battery

(And if you get the NFC varaint)

NFC
Voice recognition support
A slightly smaller 125mAh battery

If you’ve been following the Mi Band series over the years, the spec sheet seems pretty standard for their lofty standards. And if the non-NFC variant is to be compared to the Mi Band 3, the display is the only major upgrade. Other minor upgrades include a slightly bigger battery (110mAh to 135mAh), Bluetooth 5.0 support, and more notably, a six-axis sensor – which provides added functionality to track swimming activities.

The NFC variant, however, offers a lot more with NFC and voice support to communicate with Xiaomi’s own voice assistant which can be used to control their crop of smart devices or even your phone’s music. NFC, obviously, provides the ability to perform credit card and AliPay transactions. So far, however, the NFC variant has only been launched in China, with no mention about a global launch.

That is about it. With a price tag of about 35$ (roughly 2500 INR), the non-NFC variant might not seem much of an upgrade to the Mi Band 3. The NFC variant, though, does spice things up. Clearly evidenced by the product name, Xiaomi is trying to blur the lines between a fitness band and a smartwatch. We reckon a global NFC-variant with the ability to communicate with Google Assistant would go a long way. It remains to be seen how Xiaomi plays this.

Everything said and done, the Mi Band 4 is still a very good deal when seen by itself and offers great value for money – NFC or otherwise. The new Mi Fit app which has been given an aesthetic overhaul only sweetens the deal. Now keep in mind that we’ve written most of the post in comparison to the Mi Band 4’s predecessor, Mi Band 3.

For a comprehensive review about the Mi Band 4 by itself, be glued to this space as we have one being shipped to us from China as you are reading this! Until then, if you have any specific questions or would like certain aspects of the Band to be reviewed, do let us know in the comments section below and we’ll try and answer them in our review. Peace.