Xiaomi Mi Band 4 In-Depth Review – A Must Have Smartband

Xiaomi Mi Band 4 In-Depth Review

In the packaging  of the Mi Band 4, you can really sense that Xiaomi has produced a good wearable. Good presentation, quality product is what you will going to see when you open the box.

If you are a fan of wearables, I’m pretty sure that  you are familiar with the Mi  Band 3, it was introduced by Xiaomi last year around May 2018. It is an affordable, sporty lightweight wearable, yes it has a good record sales, but if you have one, you might say it is just OK, but still lack features and that “wow “ factor for fitness tracker.

Xiaomi recognize this and the Xiaomi Mi Band 4 is the answer to that “wow” factor that a new fitness tracker mush have. Before we dive in to the specs and features of the wearable, let’s check first the contents inside the box.

What’s in the Box?

  • Xiaomi Mi Band 4
  • User Manual
  • Proprietary Charging Cable

Right now the band is available Globally, you can get it from prime electronic shopping sites such as Banggood.com or AliExpress. If you are in the U.S, Banggood is also a good site if you want fast shipping in the U.S, or you can also check it on Amazon.com, but it is a bit expensive compared to Bangood.com.

GET it from Banggood.com – Xiaomi Mi Band 4

Display

One of the number 1 selling factor of the Mi Band 4 is its display, unlike the Mi band 3, the Mi Band 4 has a full color display. It is  bigger, beautiful, a 0.95” inch AMOLED screen with good brightness and contrast. Black and other colors is perfectly sharp. The black is pure black unlike other wearables that its black is a bit gray in color.

The smartwatch has a perfect saturation making the display pop-out whether its indoor or outdoors. The band also has a dual method of operation, operate it via tap or swipe, use the capacitive touch key button or swipe it with its touch screen features.

When it comes to the DESIGN, the wearable  has that signature design by Xiaomi,  a capsule like body that is removable from its strap. So far,  it is comfortable  to wear, a food grade hypo allergenic material, durable and yet a soft TPU strap.

The band is available  in different colors, but if you want a different style or colors, you can get a third party strap which is available here and other shopping site. Overall, the body is waterproof up to 50 meters, you can use it during swimming, in fact the band has even a feature for indoor swimming which makes it a perfect partner for workout and other pool activities.

Summary of Display and Design Features

  • Large full color screen, 0.95” inch
  • Dual operation ( touch screen and touch button key)
  • Waterproof up to 50 meters
  • Lightweight and comfortable to wear
  • Availability   of third party straps

Features

Aside to its multi-sport mode that we will discuss later, the Mi Band 4 has an auto step tracking, it is able to track you steps with accuracy and accompanied with distance and calorie counter. The sleep tracking is also on auto with detailed stats on the Mi Fit App, not that comparable to the likes of Fitbit or HUAWEI REM sleep but enough to provide you with the basic details and stats you need.

The mentioned functions is possible through its sensors such as 3 axis accelerator, 3 axis gyroscope, before I forgot it has a heart rate monitor, but you need to activate it manually, there is no option for auto HR monitoring or scheduled time for HR.

Regarding the multi-mode sport, the band has an outdoor run, thread mill, cycling, walking, exercise, pool swimming. The walking, running, cycling is accompanied by connected GPS with MAP trajectory on the app.

Additional functions included in the band are weather, notifications for call and message with the option to read messages right on your wrist. You can also reject calls without reaching for your phone. Other options included  are Do Not Disturb mode, alarm, stop watch, timer and anti-lost.

Music Control Player

Additional functions included in the band that is a great partner during workout is the option to control the music player on your phone, it is easy to set-up and works flawlessly during our test, see the tutorial guide.

PRELOADED Watch Faces

Here is another feature that makes the Mi Band  4 set it apart from the previous Mi Bands. With its AMOLED display, it is now possible to have colourful and attractive watch faces with different designs. From analog style to digital, animated or static design, the Mi Band is loaded with it. At least there default watch faces is available in the band, but if you want other designs, the app has a variety of watch faces it choose from. You can also download custom watch faces and install it in the band.

Watch Faces for Mi band 4 tutorials

Best Animated Watch Faces for Mi Band 4

Best Watch Faces for Mi Band 4

How to install custom watch faces for Mi Band 4

Summary of Features

  • Auto activity tracking and multi-sport mode
  • Easy Access Menus
  • Music Player Option
  • Preloaded Watch Faces and option to install custom watch faces

Support App the Mi Fit App

The Mi Fit app has come a long way since we started using it with the Mi Band 2, it is more polished and loaded with variety of options. But company  it with the popular support app of well known wearables, the Mi Fit app is still inferior, especially in the health section of the app, but don’t get me wrong, it does cover most of the basics and with additional extras.

It is easy to use and set-up the band with intuitive UI, smooth synchronization and with customization features. It support other health app such as Apple Health and Google Fit but sadly is doesn’t yet support Strava integration a popular sport and fitness app.

Battery

When it comes to battery life, the band excel with its 135 mAh battery, the wearable last up to 20 days on just a single charge. So far, on our test it really  seems like it will be able to reach that number of days. With the long battery life,  is the absence of the “always on display”, the smartband only supports “flip your wrist” display which is sometimes not responsive making it annoying if you want to check the time. Charging the band is pretty similar to the previous Mi Band, you have to pop the body out from its strap to be able to charge it, it uses a proprietary charging cable with a micro USB support.

Overall

It is a pretty good smartwatch and with an affordable price. In terms of features, it got the basic, good display and loaded with sport and fitness sensors. It tracks automatically including the sleep, sadly the heart rate is on manual mode with no dynamic HR monitoring. It’s a solid device that is not expensive, and covers all the basics.

Jo Di Calivo -Blogger, Tech Guru, providing the current news on wearables particularly on smartwatches, smartbands. And loves to go fishing on spare time.