Getting closer and closer to a smartwatch, Xiaomi has been injecting important features into its popular Mi Band to maintain the reign. Although the format has not changed in the Mi Band 7 — which is now called just Xiaomi Band 7 — the fitness bracelet remains relevant, offering good features for the category.
Review Xiaomi Mi Band 5: the darling continues to reinse
Xiaomi Mi Band 6: conquering for the basics
The launch of the Mi Band 7 was marked by a new display (larger, of course), with support for always-on mode, in addition to improvements in the oximeter, the SpO2. Is there any other news that justifies the switch from Mi Band 6 to 7? Does she make sense? That’s what we’re going to find out in today’s evaluation.
Ethics Notice
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The Xiaomi Mi Band 7 was acquired by Tecnoblog in retail. For more information, visit tecnoblog.net/etica.
The look of the Mi Band remains unchanged and, with each new edition, Xiaomi has dedicated itself to tinkering only with the product display. In addition, the current need to make the device talk to the personality of the user has made the Chinese bet on different colors.
Still in pill format and with TPU bracelet, the colors available for the Mi Band 7 are blue, white, orange, black, rosé and green. And, as is the case, belt replacement is relatively easy. On the Internet it is possible to find differentiated models (with Milanese style, sports and even leather) at very affordable prices, which is a great differential of the wearable.
The Mi Band 6 was very discreet on my wrist, but the current generation is more present and has been losing this traditional appearance of “bracelet”. Does she walk to turn a clock? We’ll see in the future.
The AMOLED display went from 1.56 to 1.62 inch. Looking back, for you to get an idea of evolution, the Mi Band 5 was only 1.1 inch long. This change in the display was still accompanied by a new software. And I could see that the current system takes better advantage of the almost 2 inches to display more information.
Xiaomi Band 7 icons have a nicer shape, some watchfaces have gained animations similar to smartwatch, and the jump in resolution to 490 x 192 pixels favors the inclusion of them in the bracelet system. The excellent widget dials, implemented in the sixth generation of the gadget, were also kept in Band 7.
The brightness of the screen can reach 500 nits — 50 more than the Mi Band 6, which did not receive any update on lighting intensity when it was released. Whether you’re in an open or closed location, the preview remains great.
It’s natural to wait for health news when brands launch a new generation of smartwatch or smartband. The Xiaomi Band 7, however, offers no really new feature. Features of the previous version, such as analysis of heart rate, oximeter, menstrual cycle, and sleep and stress monitoring, are available in the 2022 model. But there are one-off updates that we’ll still explore throughout this review.
In addition to the oximeter, another feature that I like a lot in Xiaomi’s smartband is sleep monitoring. It not only pleases me for being very reliable, but the detailed supply of light, REM and deep sleep stage is very nifty. The app even shares scores that help you understand whether your night’s sleep was good or not.
Even without GPS, Xiaomi Band 7 was a good fitness tracker in my workout
For those who train, it has more than 100 training modes: there are traditional ones — walking, running, treadmill, cycling, swimming and rowing — that should suit most buyers of this product. But there are also the most unusual: you find chess, tug of war, eSports and bocce.
The integrated GPS, technology that fans of the brand have long asked for, has once again been forgotten. In my view, this is a super valid appeal, considering the proposal of this device, which is to be a fitness tracker and that easily meets those who walk and run. Despite the absence, it is feasible to record the route with the help of the smartphone GPS.
The training information record continues as a highlight. Let us take as an example a 20-minute warm-up on the treadmill: the Xiaomi Band 7 records the average duration, average heart rate, pause time, calories burned, cadence and average speed.
The bracelet is also able to accompany vo2 max, which assifes the volume of oxygen obtained by the person during an aerobic workout.
Also to assist in his physical conditioning, the famous PAI (Personal Activity Intelligence) is available, also found in amazfit smartwatches. Always in the test period, I feel that PAI is a stimulating factor for me to practice exercises. It generates scores according to the elevation of heart rate in workouts.
In smartwatch features, the Mi Band 7 hasn’t evolved as I’d like. My first review goes to the app: with The Mi Band 6, the recommended was to use the Mi Fit app; this time, the ideal app is Zepp Life. The Zepp belongs to Amazfit. Only that the Amazfit is clearly moving from Xiaomi.
But in even usability, some people even manage to connect the Band 7 with the Mi Fit. In our tests, to no avail.