Xiaomi smartwatch made the headlines last year for quite some time, however, soon, the rumors died down. Till now, we haven’t seen a full-fledged smartwatch from the company. Instead, Xiaomi has focused on its Mi Band wearable which is doing quite well, releasing the new Mi Band 1S model with heart rate sensor on board.
Xiaomi does not personally manufacture these Mi Band wearables, instead, its partner company, Huami takes care of the process. Hence, although, we call it the Xiaomi Mi Band, it’s actually made by Huami. Now, Huami’s CEO Wang has revealed a few details about the second generation model of the Xiaomi Mi Band as well as Xiaomi smartwatch. It looks like, once again, Huami is manufacturing these two devices.
First up, CEO Wang confirmed that both, the Mi Band 2 and the Xiaomi smartwatch will debut in the next two months, within Q2 2016. The major selling point of the new Band version will be the small display on board. So, it looks like the Mi Band 2 will be able to show you a lot more information than its previous generation, reducing reliance on the connected smartphone.
As for the price, the new Band will be slightly costlier than the previous generation model. To recap, the Mi Band 1S with heart rate sensor retails for 99 Yuan (~$16) in China. Another important information revealed by him was that the new version will abandon the “Mi” branding. It will be called as the Band 2, but we are not sure of the exact name.
Now, coming to the most interesting part of the interview, CEO Wang confirmed that Xiaomi smartwatch with a display exists and will meet us in Q2 2016. The watch will feature a larger screen than the Band 2, and focus on a particular function. Smartwatch manufacturers are particularly keen on health-related functions, so we may see the smartwatch boast of such features. But, apart from the existence of the device as well as the release timing, nothing else is confirmed.
Finally, remember the Amazfit smart wearable that we read about back in September, 2015? He confirms that a new generation version of the wearable is also coming, but only in the second half of the year.
So, now that these two devices have been almost confirmed, we hope to see a lot more information about them in the coming days.
Adding a display on the new Band 2 won’t be a bad idea, as long as it provides a decent battery life. The definition of decent differs from one person to another, but personally, I feel a week’s battery life on the new Band with a display would be just great. My Mi Band lasts for around three weeks on a single charge, so I would expect the new version to give me, at least, a week’s life.
So, what do you think? Happy to hear that the new Band 2 comes with a display?
(Source)
