Xiaomi's Mi Band 2 is the first company's activity tracking and heart rate monitoring wearable that comes with a screen, all for just $23.
According to 9to5Google, Xiaomi is the second largest wearable vendor in the world, thanks to a single product line. The company is ahead of Apple and behind only by Fitbit.
On Thursday, June 2, the company announced the Mi Band 2 on its Facebook page. The Mi Band 2 keeps the long battery life feature from the first iteration of the gadget, while adding a heart rate monitor and an OLED display.
All the smarts of the Mi Band 2 fit into a module, like the original. The gadget has replaceable silicone bands in a variety of color options.
In order to accommodate a 0.42-inch OLED screen, the wearable is slightly larger than the first generation. The display shows heart rate, step count and time.
The sole way to interact with the wearable is a slim button on its face. The Mi Band 2 comes with Bluetooth 4.0 and optical heart rate and ADI accelerometer sensors.
Xiaomi's device can also be used as sleep tracker. When they have been sitting for too long, the device can also alert users.
The Mi Band 2 provides a 20-day battery life. For charging, the module need to be removed from the band and placed into a cradle.
The device is also IP67 water resistant. Most of the reviews praise it on its affordability, long battery life and accuracy. The device is likely to follow up on its predecessor's success.
For the moment, the Mi Band 2 has been announced only in China, where it will be launch on June 7. According to Ars Technica, since the news of Xiaomi's patent deal with Microsoft, it is expected that Xiaomi is is planning on expanding more to Western markets. Therefore, it is likely that the Mi Band 2 to become available soon on other markets through third-party retailers.
