In addition to regular upgrades, Xiaomi Mi Band 8’s innovation in appearance design has made the bracelet’s fashion attributes leap forward. The new “necklace mode” and “running mode” break the traditional way of using smart bracelets.
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Appearance Design & Strap & Comfort Fit
Xiaomi Mi Band 8 adopts a “runway” pill-like design, and the shape continues the consistent style of Xiaomi Smart Band (except Xiaomi Mi Band 7 Pro).
After the strap is separated from the main body of the bracelet through the quick release button, the appearance of the two is as shown above. It can be seen that the shape of the bracelet is oval, and the edge of the screen, the middle frame and the back panel are connected by arcs, without obvious edges and corners. There will be no “hand cutting” feeling when worn or held in the hand.
There are no buttons on the side of the bracelet, and there is a microphone on the right side for activation voice control. A heart rate sensor is set in the center of the back of the bracelet, and a double-contact magnetic interface is set on the top. The top and bottom positions are quick-release structures, and the bracelet can be separated from the strap by pressing it.
The strap is made of TPU with a skin-like coating on the surface, which is very gentle to the touch. Xiaomi Mi Band 8 still uses the snap-on design, which is easy and stable to wear. During strenuous exercise, the smart bracelet will not be fall off.
Also, one of the highlight of the upgrade of Xiaomi Mi Band 8 is that it officially provides more strap options. In addition to the default TPU strap, braided, genuine leather, and metal hollow straps are also available.
Another highlight is that the bracelet has added a “necklace mode”. After removing the bracelet from the strap, installing the pendant accessories and turning on the “necklace mode”, the screen will always be on. At this time, hang the bracelet on your chest, and you can wear the bracelet like a pocket watch or necklace.
Display & Battery Life
The screen size and resolution of the Xiaomi Mi Band 8 are similar to those of the previous generation, both are 1.62-inch AMOLED screen with the resolution of 192*490. However, the screen refresh rate of Xiaomi Band 8 has been increased to 60Hz – significantly smoother in operation than the previous generation. In addition, the screen peak brightness of Xiaomi Band 8 reached 600nit.
Xiaomi Mi Band 8 can last up to 16 days with default settings. After turning on the AOD mode, the battery life is up to 6 days.
Pairing & Interaction with Phone
The pairing and connection can be performed in the Mi Fitness App on the Xiaomi phone. If you use other Android phones or iPhones, you can also download the Mi Fitness App to connect the bracelet to your phone.
Just connect the charger to the bracelet, and the bracelet will automatically power on. After selecting the language on the bracelet screen, on the “Device” page in the App, you can search for the bluetooth signal of the bracelet to complete the connection.
After the connection is successful, you can see the real-time status of the bracelet on the mobile phone, and make further settings for the notification reminder and call reminder of the bracelet. In addition, there is also a watch face market built into the App, and users can download third-party watch faces.
It is worth mentioning that Xiaomi Band 8 NFC Version also has rich NFC functions. In addition to common transportation card functions, Mi Band 8 also has access control card simulation functions. Put the access control card that meets the specifications on the bracelet to simulate the access control card.
Smart Bracelet System Interaction
Xiaomi Mi Band 8 is equipped with Xiaomi’s already mature bracelet system. In terms of operation, it inherits the quite complete operation logic of previous generations of bracelets.
By default, raising your wrist wakes the screen. On the dial interface, swipe left and right to switch between different components such as the control center, heart rate health, and weather, which is very convenient.
Swipe down to expand the notification center, and swipe up to enter the app selection page. This set of operating logic is very mature – for users who have already used smart bracelet, they can basically get started quickly without learning costs.
In addition, since Xiaomi Mi Band 8 adopts a higher refresh rate panel on the screen, the system response of Mi Band 8 is very smooth. Performing various operations in the system is faster than the previous generation.
Health & Sports Monitoring
In addition to increasing the types of sports, Xiaomi Mi Band 8 also added a new black technology – “running mode”, which provides more professional data monitoring for running through a unique wearing method.
Xiaomi Band 8 supports 150+ sports monitoring. In addition to common running and hiking, HIIT, somatosensory games and other items can also be monitored. And niche skateboards, chess, cards, and even e-sports are also on the support list.
The “running mode” is a new way of sports monitoring. After placing the Xiaomi Band 8 in the running pod and clipping it on the shoelace, the bracelet can be transformed into a professional running record analyzer – providing professional data such as stride frequency, stride length, ground impact force, and landing style .
I noticed that Xiaomi Mi Band 8 in running mode is very similar to some professional running sensors – such as RunScribe.
Conclusion
In addition to regular upgrades in performance and motion algorithms, Xiaomi Mi Band 8’s innovation in appearance design has made the bracelet’s fashion attributes leap forward. The “necklace mode” that can be worn on the chest as a pocket watch impresses me, and the newly introduced “running mode” for sports monitoring breaks the traditional way of using the smart bracelet.
Xiaomi Mi Band 8 specs and features:
- 1.62-inch AMOLED screen
- 5ATM waterproof rating
- 24/7 Heart rate monitoring
- 6-16 days battery life
- Bluetooth 5.1 BLE
- $35 – Check latest price on AliExpress