A lot has been happening at Xiaomi these days. Aside from announcing the powerful, all new Xiaomi Mi4 smartphone, the China-based company also announced the launch of a new fitness band. This fitness band is Xiaomi’s first try at a wearable gadget and is called Mi Band.
Mi Band is a fitness tracker, water proof and costs $13
The Mi Band comes with a ridiculously low price tag of just 79RMB (which converts to around $13 and £7.5). The band functions as a fitness monitor and sleep tracker, and it will also work as a proximity unlocker for your Xiaomi smartphone. This means that if you’re holding a Xiaomi smartphone in the same hand as the band, then your smartphone would be automatically unlocked without you needing to manually unlock it. However, if you’re holding the phone in other hand, then it won’t unlock.
Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said in a presentation today that the band can function for 30 days on a full charge, and is waterproof per the IP67 standard, which means you don’t need to worry about wearing it at the shower. The battery life claim is particularly interesting, suggesting the device draws very minimal current. The band can also act as an alarm clock. It will be available in a range of fashionable colors, including orange, pink, blue, and green.
For now, there’s no word on when the new Mi band will be launched in international market, but it will certainly be eagerly awaited, as the $13 price tag is quite inexpensive for a cutting edge, multipurpose fitness tracker.
CEO Lei has big ambitions for the Mi Band and wants to make it the “world’s most popular fitness band”. It’s possible that Lei will see his ambitions realized given the device’s long battery life, several color options and more importantly, its price.
