While the Xiaomi 13 Ultra and the Pad 6 stole the show at the company’s China launch event, many eagerly awaited the unveiling of the Mi Band 8. Indeed, the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 was introduced at the event, sporting a familiar yet refreshed design. Let’s delve into everything you need to know about Xiaomi’s Mi Smart Band 8.
Mi Band 8: Price and Availability
Similar to its predecessors, Xiaomi’s Mi Band 8 is priced at 249 Yuan (~Rs 2,975) for the standard version. The NFC variant is available for 299 Yuan (~Rs 3,575) in China. Additionally, there’s an early bird promotion offering a 10 Yuan discount on the standard variant and a 20 Yuan discount on the NFC variant.
Currently, no information is available regarding the global or India release of the Mi Band 8. Stay tuned to Beebom for updates on release dates.
Mi Band 8: Specs and Features
Design
Firstly, let’s discuss the design of the Xiaomi Smart Band 8. Although the fitness bands market is dominated by feature-packed budget smartwatches, Xiaomi maintains its signature pill-shaped design with the Mi Band 8, offering minor upgrades for enhanced customization.
The company has revamped the watch strap, opting for a new quick-release mechanism over the engulfing design. This change facilitates swift band swapping. Additionally, the pill now sports a metallic texture, available in black with a black silicon strap and gold with an ivory silicon strap.
Xiaomi now positions the Smart Band 8 as a fashion-forward fitness tracker. Beyond its core functionality, it can be accessorized with items such as a pendant or a bean-shaped activity pill attached to shoelaces.
Display
Moving forward, the Mi Band 8 features a 1.62-inch AMOLED touchscreen (same as Mi Band 7) with a 60Hz refresh rate, up to 600 nits peak brightness, and a pixel density of 326ppi. Xiaomi offers up to 200 watch faces on this fitness band, emphasizing fashion. These can be easily changed through the Xiaomi Health app.
During the event, Xiaomi mentioned users attempting to play games on the small display, which intrigued many. This interest prompted the Mi Band 8 to introduce special watch faces for gaming, featuring games such as 2048, ping-pong shooter, trivia, and more.
Fitness and Health Tracking
One area where the Mi Band 8 remains mostly unchanged is in health and fitness tracking. The wearable now supports 150+ sports modes, including walking, running, cycling, weightlifting, swimming, and more.
The bean-shaped walking/running tracker brings new functionality to the wearable. It tracks professional data such as stride frequency, stride length, ground contact vacancy ratio, ground impact force, and more. You can even attach Band 8 with boxing gloves to use them like joy-cons and master movements with rhythm games.
Furthermore, the Mi Band 8 supports continuous heart rate and sleep tracking, blood oxygen monitoring, menstrual tracking for females, and more.
Battery Life
Xiaomi asserts that the Smart Band 8 boasts enhanced battery life, lasting up to 16 days on a single charge in standard mode, surpassing the 14-day capacity of the Mi Band 7. However, this duration diminishes to approximately 6 days when the always-on display (AOD) feature is activated.
In addition, the Band 8 features rapid charging, allowing for a full recharge of its 190mAh battery in just 1 hour. The inclusion of a magnetic charger in the packaging enhances user convenience.
Despite earlier speculation, the Mi Band 8 Pro did not materialize. What are your thoughts on the Smart Band 8’s enhancements? Are you considering a purchase? Share your opinions in the comments section below.
Pritam Chopra is a seasoned IT professional and a passionate blogger hailing from the dynamic realm of technology. With an insatiable curiosity for all things tech-related, Pritam has dedicated himself to exploring and unraveling the intricacies of the digital world.
