Haven't you ever thought of when you're overwhelmed with advancements, including in the technological realm, you wish to take a step back to rest? We have been there, what with all the shiny features in a smartwatch that we may or may not need.
It is why we're thankful to have been able to review a simple yet practical fitness band such as the Xiaomi Smart Band 9, which is always great news for users who seek a budget-friendly fitness tracker albeit with sufficient tech features.
Here's our Xiaomi Smart Band 9 review.
Editor
Jodee Tan chevron_right
Table of Contents
Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Review Specifications
- Dimension: 46.53 x 21.63 x 10.95 mm
- Display: 1.62-inch AMOLED Touch Display, 192 x 490 pixels (resolution), up to 1200 nits adjustable brightness
- Battery: 233 mAh, magnetic charging, up to 21 days usage
- Compatibility: Supports smartphones with Android 8.0 or iOS 12.0 and above
- Durability: 5ATM water resistant
- Weight: 15.8 g (without strap)
Design and Display
Display
Right off the bat, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 has a good set of hardware for its display to allow easy readability even under the bright Malaysian sun.
Although on the small side for smartwatch screens, the Band 6 has a nice 1.62-inch AMOLED Touch Display, of 192 x 490 pixels (resolution) and has up to 1200 nits adjustable brightness. On the latter, we didn't feel the need to adjust as the auto detection brightness was sufficient to get by without us needing to squint our eyes. If anything, the AMOLED panel makes the Band 9 very attractive even from afar.
Speaking of which, we were also impressed by the number of watchface we get to choose from; the library is very vast even compared to higher end smartwatches.
Design
Just like previous Xiaomi Smart Band generations, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 sports a familiar shape, except that it's now made with a different material. We give it to Xiaomi for finally using aluminium alloy frames which compliment well with theit other accesories such as the typical silicone strap, a chain bracelet, a running clip for your shoe and even a pendant chain never before seen in other brands.
At the back is a magnetic area for charging, as well as the sensor. There are also embedded quick-release buttons which you press into in order to detach the watch straps.
We're not sure if this is a design flaw or us; a couple of times the watch pops off our wrist via the quick-release buttons. So do watch out if you are wearing the Smart Band tightly as this can cause unwanted pressure and force it off your wrist.
Accessories
What really excited us about the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 was its compatibility with several new accessories. As mentioned earlier, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 is available with a sillicone wrist strap. But you can also purchase other straps and attachment such as a chain bracelet strap, a running clip for your shoe and a pendant chain.
Chain Bracelet
While we enjoyed the look and aesthetic of the chain bracelet, the strap is not made with heavy metal but rather a stainless steel type of alloy, so it won't look as premium as one might expect the strap to be. Moreover, we find the strap attachment to be on the flimsy side; the best way to enjoy this strap is to wear it slighly loose, like an actual bracelet. If worn too tight like most fitness watches and trackers, the straps might pop off.
Running clip
Are you someone who prefers to have nothing on your wirst but you cannot skip fitness tracking? If you detach the straps, you get to the main smart band body in a Xiaomi running attachment clip.
It is exactly how you think it should work; just attach the clip to your shoes, and you're free to run wild. Accuracy and tracking wise, it's similar to wearing it on our hands. Although you cannot track heart rate, it's nice for those who wants to focus on calories burned through movement or high-intensity exercises.
Pendant chain
This is one of the only accessories that serves purely as an aesthetic piece. The chain itself is quite long and is easy to style your outfit around it. If you'd prefer, you can also use your own necklace chain to fit just the pendant, though this means a shorter chain would make it difficult for you to view the watchface.
Note that due to how the Band 9 is worn this way, it won't accurately track your movement, even if it's just for walking.
Performance
Health Tracking
The Xiaomi Smart band 9 is able to track over 150+ sports, manage sleep tracking and has a pulse oximeter. Features wise, it's rich with health trackers.
Compared to higher-end smartwatches, the accuracy for the Smart Band 9, when worn correctly, is quite good. If we were to make a sure estimation, it's at least 90% accurate. As a matter of fact, Xiaomi actually shared that they've increased the heart rate accuracy to 16% compared to predecessors.
No doubt that the accuracy factor is something to worry about, as most of the time it detected whether we were moving or not and if we were actually doing a sport (tested with rope jumping and regular daily walking). It also gave us more or less our usual heart resting and active rates when compared to other smartwatches we had.
Battery Life
Xiaomi smartwatches and smart bands are touted for their excellent battery life especially for a budget product/segment. When we were testing ours, we could comfortably use just 20% of the battery with regular tracking use in 5 days. This was particularly great especially for travelling as we didn't need to worry about bringing its charger.
Speaking of which; we do wish Xiaomi makes a universal charger for their smartwatches and bands, as this will produce less waste for both brand and consumers.
Why Get The Xiaomi Smart Band 9
- Competitive price for its slew of features (good value)
- Enough attractive accesories to treat it as a lifestyle product instead of fitness
- Seamless responsive and navigation
- Great and colourful display options
Those new to Xiaomi Smart Band 6 and wanting it for fitness tracking can confidently pick one unit up. It's great for its value which cost just RM159 for the base watch and a silicone strap. Bbattery life is also the biggest reasons to get this Smart Band 9.
Even if you are new and fairly interested in it for its lifestyle offerings instead of fitness, the Smart Band 9 is an attractive "smartwatch" to help you get started and enjoy the benefits of owning one, as it has pretty accesories and features to like, such as "Find my phone", music control, weather reports and notification viewing, though you cannot reply to message with it.
- End of review -