TESTED MI SMART BAND 5With way more tracking power than its predecessor
and at a bargain price, the lightweight Mi Smart
Band 5 wants to be your all-day data buddy
QIf you’re after a dinky wearable
to help shift the lockdown love
handles, Xiaomi’s latest might be
a smart choice... even if, despite the
name, this is an unsmart fitness
band. With no installable apps, it
can’t stack up to smartwatches
or reply to notifications, but it can
relay alerts and track everything
from sleep to workouts.QIt’s also daft-cheap, putting it in
prime Christmas present territory...
but it’s actually £5 dearer than its
predecessor and the battery life is
inferior. So what gives? A bigger,
brighter, higher-res screen, that’s
what – plus stress tracking, 11
sports modes (up from six) and
menstrual cycle tracking.QAt 12g you’ll hardly feel it on
your wrist, whether enduring
a long workout or chasing a PB
in napping. On the front is that 1.1in
touchscreen, a bit of bezel and a
capacitive button. Navigation is
simple, responsive and intuitive.QSteps and sleep are the two
tracking staples, but it’s the extra
modes that set the Band 5 apart.
Exercises include running, rowing,
skipping and swimming; it’s just a
pity the stopwatch and timer can’t
be accessed during a workout.QThe Band 5 does a great job of
basic fitness tracking while adding
enough functions to make it better
than many rivals. You can also fire
various notifications to your wrist,
and everything is customisable
through a phone app that includes
a plentiful selection of watch faces.The Mi Smart Band 5 is better than the Mi Smart Band 4, even if you can’t tell by
looking at its specs. Its screen is bigger and brighter, its software is smarter and its
charger is much less annoying. Reduced battery life could have been an issue but
really isn’t; and with the additional activity, stress and menstrual cycle tracking,
this is a £40 gift that keeps giving.Don’t go wasting
your emotion
(and cash); lay all
your love on Mi
Basil KronfliKnowing Mi, knowing you
STUFF SAYS Fantastic value and decent features make this easy to recommend +++++
Display 1.1in 294x126 touchscreen
Sensors Accelerometer, gyroscope,
heart rate Connectivity Bluetooth 5
Battery life Up to 14 days
Waterproofing 50m Weight 11.9gQ Take a charge on me
Charging is much less fiddly than
on the Band 4: you just hover the
magnetic charging mount below
the tracker and the two click into
place like magic. It’s a proprietary
charger, which is not ideal, but it’s
a much improved experience.Q Ticky beater
A heart-rate tracker around the
back does a decent job for the
price, keeping within a 5-7bpm
range of our chest strap. It can
also track distance when you’re
running by buddying up with your
phone’s GPS.£40 / stuff.tv/MiBand5Tech specs
Super drooper
The 125mAh
battery is smaller
than in the Band 4 and
will conk out after 10 to
14 days, but that’s not
much of a pain in
practice.