The Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6, as its name suggests, is the sixth iteration in the Mi Band lineup of fitness tracker. The series has come a long way, from a screen-less mini device to now having an AMOLED display touchscreen panel. There’s a lot more the Mi Smart Band 6 offers apart from its fitness tracking features, and we’ll go through them in this review.
Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 – Specifications
| Specs | Mi Band 6 |
| Display | 1.56″ AMOLED display Display resolution: 152*486 Display color depth: 326 PPI Display brightness: up to 450 nits, adjustable |
| Sensors | 6-axis sensor: Low power-consumption 3-axis accelerometer 3-axis gyroscope PPG heart rate sensor |
| Battery Life | 125mAh Capacity Charging method: Magnetic charging Charging time: ≤ 2 hours Battery life: ≥ 14 days* |
| Sports | 30 fitness modes Supported exercises: Treadmill, Freestyle, Outdoor running, Cycling, Walking, Pool swimming, Rowing machine, Elliptical, Indoor cycling, Yoga, Jump rope, Dance, Indoor fitness, Gymnastics, HIIT, Core training, Stretching, Bowling, Badminton, Boxing, Stepper, Pilates, Basketball, Volleyball, Table tennis, Cricket, Ice skating, Kickboxing, Street dance, Zumba |
| Health | Heart rate monitoring: Whole-day heart rate manual heart rate, resting heart rate and heart rate curve. Sleep monitoring: Deep sleep, light sleep, rapid eye movement (REM), naps. Women’s health tracking: Provides recording and reminders for the menstrual cycle and ovulation phases. Stress monitoring, breathing exercises, PAI vitality index assessment, idle alerts, step counter, goal setting. |
| Other Features | Message/call notification, App alerts, Calendar, Alarm, Clock, Stopwatch, Timer, Music control, Find phone, Unlock phone(MIUI), Camera remote shutter*, Weather, Set activity goals. Bluetooth 5.0 // 5 ATM Water Resistance |
What’s In The Box?
- Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6
- Magnetic Charging Cable
- Band Strap
- Quick Start Guide
Design
The Mi Smart Band 6 doesn’t stray too far off from the usual design, but it does now have a 50% larger display compared to its predecessor – Mi Band 5. It features the same hypoallergenic wrist straps with the same button clasps, and the same push system to remove the Mi Smart Band 6 fitness tracker. However, the section that holds the tracker is now a little different, especially with the thinner sides.
There are no physical buttons on the Mi Smart Band 6, as usual. On the bottom, you’ll find the magnetic points for the charger, as well as the heart rate sensors in the center. The wrist strap has 13 levels of adjustment, so it can fit just about anyone’s hands.
Display
As mentioned above, the Mi Smart Band 6 has a larger 1.56-inch AMOLED display, giving it a 326 ppi screen density. The display is beautiful, as the colours really pop, and it can get quite bright. However, I found that the display isn’t as responsive as expected, as it lags a little with every swipe.
The display is big enough to show an adequate amount of information, including text messages and emails. It’s not large enough to show the whole content, but just enough for you to know what the text or email is about. Images, however, are out of the question as they’re not supported.
When it comes to watch faces, there are more than 60 different ones to choose from, and I’m happy with the range of selection. There are minimal ones, extra complicated ones with all stats shown, as well as some cartoon/anime ones for the nerd in you. Whatever your taste, I think you’re bound to find a watch face that suits your wrist.
Comfort
The Mi Band series has always been one of the most comfortable fitness tracker to grace my wrists, and that fact hasn’t changed with the Mi Smart Band 6. No allergic reactions whatsoever, thanks to the hypoallergenic straps. And because the tracker itself has this narrow design, it doesn’t hurt my wrists when I bend it. The 13-level adjustment also lets me pinpoint the most comfortable level for my wrist.
The Mi Smart Band 6 is comfortable enough for daily wear, and even more comfortable to be worn to sleep. It’s thin and light enough to feel as if it isn’t even there. Now normally, I’d only take it off right before showering. Technically, the Band 6 is water resistant, but I take it off because I would have to take it off after showering anyway to wipe my hands.
Fitness Tracking
In the fitness tracking department, the Mi Smart Band 6 does a great job at tracking your workouts. There are 30 fitness modes the band can track, where six of them can be automatically tracked – walking, outdoor running, treadmill, cycling, elliptical, and rowing machine.
On top of tracking your fitness, the Band 6 can also monitor your heart rate, as well as your blood oxygen (SpO2) levels. Having SpO2 monitoring is great because it monitors your oxygen intake not only when you’re active, but also when you’re sleeping. This improves the sleep data recorded, to ensure you have a good night’s sleep.
When you just need to relax and take a breather, the Mi Smart Band 6 also has an on-screen breathing exercise guide. You can either look at the screen for guidance, or just feel the vibration to know when to inhale and exhale.
For the ladies, the Mi Smart Band 6 also has a menstrual cycle tracker. I don’t use it, but I’m sure it works just fine.
Smartwatch Features
Being more than just a fitness tracker, the Mi SmartBand 6 is packed with smartwatch level features. Idle alerts for when you’ve been inactive for too long, as well as Find my phone for when you… can’t find your phone. If you’re using a Xiaomi smartphone, you can even use the Mi Smart Band 6 to unlock your device.
Apart from that, the Mi Smart Band 6 also enables incoming call notification, weather forecast, countdown timer, calendar reminder, event reminder, message/email alerts, notifications, and more. You can also use the Band 6 as a remote camera shutter to take photos from a distance too.
Mi Fit App
Paired with the Mi Fit app, the Mi Smart Band 6 is even easier to use. The app is straightforward, shows you all the details you need immediately, and it’s user friendly. All firmware updates are done easily within the app, you can easily download/change watch faces here too, and all your health statistics are summarized into a nice one-pager.
Battery Life
The Mi Smart Band 6 is claimed to offer up to 14 days of battery life. During our testing, we were able to get about 12 and a half day’s worth of battery life, with several workouts included.
The best part about the Mi Smart Band 6 charging this time around, is that it uses a direct magnetic charging, so there’s no need to remove the strap to charge anymore. I’d say this is a huge plus point, as it reduces the wear and tear of the strap. As for charging time, it takes about 30 minutes to charge from zero to full.
Conclusions
The Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 is a great fitness tracker to start with, especially when you’ve never owned a fitness tracker or smartband before. However, the RM189 price tag might be a little tough to swallow for some, as there are cheaper alternatives out there. That being said, the Mi Smart Band 6 is a very polished fitness tracker from Xiaomi, and they’ve been in the industry long enough to deliver a certain standard of quality.
The Mi Smart Band 6 stays on top of your health monitoring, and comes with bonus smartwatch features in a small, compact package.
