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Xiaomi Mi Band 6 activity tracker

“The Xiaomi Mi Band 6 is equipped with sensors that allow you to track your activities, simple software that makes it easy to use, and a comfortable fit for 24-hour portability. It's not for the serious athlete, but it's great for everyone else. "

• Convenient and easy

• Easy to use with a reliable app

• Comprehensive sensor array

• Heart rate monitor accuracy concerns

The Xiaomi Mi Band, or Mi Smart Band as it is often called, has always been one of the best low-cost fitness bands out there. Since the first was available in 2015, Xiaomi has updated it annually to keep up with new technological developments and it has only gotten better. The latest version is the Mi Band 6, which I've been wearing for over a week and the formula hasn't changed much.

It filled the space that the Honor Band 6, another inexpensive fitness tracker that surprised me with its capabilities and style, meant that while there is a lot of goodwill towards the Mi Band 6, it still has a tough job ahead of it had. Will Xiaomi's tried and tested wearable still work if others prefer a smartwatch-like design? That's how it went

design

Xiaomi didn't dare to look different from the look of the Mi Band 6, so it is very similar to the Mi Band 5 – a generous screen on a core module attached to a silicone band with a pin-and-hole connector to to hold it on your wrist. At 13 grams, it hardly weighs anything, is a little more than 12 mm thick and in the black color it is an almost completely incognito piece of technology. The module can pop out of the band so you can swap it out for lighter versions if you want the Mi Band 6 to stand out a little more.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The screen is a 1.56-inch AMOLED panel, versus the 1.1-inch AMOLED on the Mi Band 5, and it's sharp, colorful, and bright. I could see and see it in all lighting conditions, despite it there is no automatic brightness function. So I just set it to the maximum. Unfortunately, the screen isn't always on, but you can choose how long the screen stays on (up to 10 seconds). The wake up gesture is accurate and does not require excessive movement to be activated.

There are hundreds of different watch faces to choose from through the app, but don't think that this means you are spoiled for choice. There isn't much of a difference between them, and many of them are pretty unattractive. I tried to find even a handful that I liked. I chose one and didn't want to change it for another.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

I found it very comfortable and had no problem wearing it 24 hours a day. The pin-and-hole adjustment can be a hassle at times, but it's easy up here, and there are a variety of adjustments available so that it fits regardless of the thickness of your wrist. It doesn't get too sweaty, isn't annoying at night and the band itself hasn't collected any fluff either, so it looks neat and new for longer.

No, the Mi Band 6 isn't a style icon, but there's a reason Xiaomi hasn't strayed far from the established look of the Mi Band – because it works. Smartwatch-like fitness bands are fine, but there's still room for a more compact, less intrusive fitness band to wear next to a traditional watch. If you're looking for a fitness tracker that fits well, can be worn day and night, has a pretty screen, but isn't trying to be a smartwatch, this is it. It also looks a lot better than the many cheap smartwatches infiltrating Amazon's wearable space, and is a much better option overall.

Activity tracking

Before we get into the details, let's talk about the app. I used the Mi Band 6 with an iPhone 12 Pro. The Xiaomi app called Xiaomi Wear is available in the App Store. However, the band also works with the Mi Fit app developed by Huami, the company behind the Amazfit range of wearables, and maker of Xiaomi's wearables. Both integrate with Apple Health, but it's the Mi Fit app that I would recommend.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Confusing right? Yes, especially because Mi Fit – the app not developed by Xiaomi – is the better option as Xiaomi Wear has not been fully localized for use outside of China and there are still some options and menus in Chinese. Mi Fit might not be as attractive to look at, but it has all the information you need, stays connected with no hassle, and won't scare off newbies.

Let's move on to activity tracking. The band has 30 different training modes, six of which can be recognized automatically or activated quickly in the menu. The usual options like walking, running, and swimming are available, as well as a range of more unusual activities like street dancing, zumba, and boxing. I found the auto detection a bit arbitrary and started the workout myself.

The data collected in the app are well visualized. The graphs show heart rate, pace and heart rate zones as well as GPS routing when you grant access to the app. The simplicity is repeated throughout, with everything from sleep to stress data presented in a logical and clear manner. However, sometimes menus can be very dense and historical data can be difficult to find. The main screen in the Mi Fit app shows statistics about the band, including the remaining battery.

It requires some learning and does not look as modern graphically as the Xiaomi Wear app, but it offers all the information you need in one place and is also reliably synchronized. It also provides a PAI value, and the usefulness of this statistic increases the longer you wear the band. You need to read something about what this actually means though, as the in-app explanations are pretty bad.

How about the accuracy? During daily activity, the steps and calories burned were consistent with my Apple Watch, as were the SpO2 blood oxygen readings. However, the accuracy of the heart rate is less certain. A higher value tends to be displayed during exercise and when monitoring in the background. This may be a result of the strap being attached as it is not easy or convenient to get the pin-and-hole system really tight on your wrist. If you force a heart rate measurement, the results will be consistent with the Apple Watch at rest. This shows that there are some problems with the measurement.

For sleeping, I compared it to the Withings Sleep Analyzer under the mattress. It measured very similar total sleep time and REM sleep, but underestimated my deep sleep stage and overestimated my light sleep stage by about an hour each compared to the Withings. It shows a sleep value and also evaluates breathing during sleep. The discrepancy in the sleep stage is not a problem as it is not certain that the Withings sleep is 100% accurate. However, the breath measurements did not match the Withings, which in turn could have something to do with the fact that the band is worn loosely at night. Otherwise, the Mi Band 6 is a good sleep tracking partner for general use by someone without specific sleep problems.

The Mi Band 6's activity tracking is superb – comprehensive, easy to use, and presented logically for easy understanding

Other features include bike tracking for women, breathing exercises, alerts to remind you to move, and automatic stroke detection while swimming. I was struggling with the auto-pause feature, which seemed to pause my workout when I was still in the middle, forcing myself to dig into the settings and turn the feature off.

A software update can remove the heart rate monitor's slight overestimation and a few other accuracy concerns, but the rest of the Mi Band 6's activity tracking is excellent – comprehensive enough for the casual fitness fan, simple to use, and presented logically easy to understand.

Software and battery life

The Mi Band 6 is easy to use. Swipe up on the screen to see a vertical list of options that includes exercise modes and notifications, as well as features like alarms and a world clock, as well as access to the heart rate monitor, stress monitor, and SpO2 blood oxygen test. The order of the list can be changed in the app, as can features that can be accessed with a swipe to personalize the Mi Band 6. It's all relatively smooth, and once the features are placed in an order appropriate for your own use, it's very convenient to live.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The band displays notifications from your phone with moderate frequency, with most, but not all, of the warnings displayed on your wrist. For example, there appeared to be an issue with viewing Gmail notifications, but not with Twitter or Outlook. It may be due to the settings in iOS but I couldn't seem to solve it. It's a nice addition, but don't expect alerts to be that helpful as long messages don't display in full and there's no way to interact with them.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Xiaomi claims that the battery will last two weeks before it needs to be charged. However, it depends on your own use. If you want to take advantage of the continuous heart and stress monitoring features, track sleep, and record an exercise every day, it will take half that time. When used with all of these active features, the battery was 8% on the seventh day. Charging is quick but it is done using a short proprietary cable that is small and easy to lose.

Price and availability

The Mi Band 6 costs £ 40, which is roughly $ 55. It is available through Xiaomi's online shop in the UK. Everyone in the US has to import one, although the Mi Band 6 just like the Mi Band 5 finds its way on Amazon. One thing to watch out for is backing up the UK or "global" version, otherwise it will contain some China-specific features that will not work.

Our opinion

The Mi Band 6 is an excellent fitness band for people who are interested in their general health and want to track their daily movements and make improvements. I put it this way because the Mi Band 6 is not a serious fitness tracker for sports addicts. For example, GPS is not built in, and the accuracy concerns mean anyone seriously looking to improve their performance may find it inadequate.

All of this is reflected in the price. High-end fitness tracking products like the Suunto 7 or Garmin Forerunner 745 cost at least $ 500 and are far better suited for people who train for a marathon or are serious about a particular activity. If you aren't, there is a bit of pointless spending that much, and the Xiaomi Mi Band 6 is great value when you consider what it can do and what sensors it contains.

Xiaomi has not broken its proven formula with the Mi Band 6, it remains a cheap, comfortable fitness band with a list of focused activity features and all the important sensors a modern tracker needs to keep most people happy.

Is there a better alternative?

The Samsung Galaxy Fit 2, priced at $ 60, has a similar design and is more readily available, but doesn't have an SpO2 sensor for improved sleep tracking or GPS. The Honor Band 6 is a great alternative if you prefer a bigger screen and a more traditional, clasp-style band. If you choose Fitbit, Fitbit Charge 4 is our recommended version, but it's much more expensive at $ 150. Sometimes there are decent deals out there to bring that price down a bit.

How long it will take?

The Mi Band 6 should be durable due to its simple plastic construction and be enclosed in the protective belt, which can be replaced inexpensively if it breaks. The entire tape has a water resistance of 5 ATM (50 meters), so it is suitable for swimming but not for diving. Provided Xiaomi has app support (both versions were updated in the last two weeks when this review was written), the Mi Band 6 will last for several years without any problems.

Should you buy one?

Yes. It may take some effort or patience to get one in the US, but it's a good fitness tracker at a very reasonable price.

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