Xiaomi just recently launched the new Mi Band 5 model in China. And we have been using the smartband for the past few days. While it’s not a huge upgrade as compared to its predecessor, there are still some important features that give it a slight advantage over the Mi Band 4. So if you are planning to buy the Xiaomi Mi Band 5, make sure to read our review first. 

Also, we are giving away the Mi Band 5 to one of our lucky YouTuber subscribers. You can participate in the giveaway from the link at the end of the article or from the review video that you see below. 

What’s the difference between Mi band 5 and the Mi band 4?

There are only a few differences in their hardware and design.

The most remarkable difference is that the Mi Band 5 features a slightly larger AMOLED display, up from 0.95 inches to 1.1 inches. That’s not much of a difference but the screen now has smaller bezels and a larger area to display more information. While the size difference is hard to perceive on a day to day basis, when we directly compare it with Mi Band 4, you can see the additional line of information available due to its larger screen size.

Another upgraded feature is the display brightness, which can reach up to 450 nits and allows you to view the display clearly under direct sunlight. But it still doesn’t have auto-brightness-adjustment, so you’ll have to max up the brightness manually. This could be a pain because the brightness setting is hidden deep inside the settings menu. But in most cases, you’d be happy with a set brightness level. 

There are more than 100 new themed dials to choose from as claimed, including 54 famous IP themes such as Spongebob Squarepants, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Ali the Fox. But so far, some special themes have not been found in the watch face store. It seems that some of them are only available in Chinese version. 

Another wonderful improvement is in its charging method. The Mi band 5 brings an all-new magnetic charging dock. If you had the Mi band 4, you’d how annoying it was to charge it, even if it was once every few weeks. That’s why I’m so grateful for the new charging method, even though we only charge it once every couple of weeks. But pay attention here, Xiaomi did not improve the charging speed, which is understandable as we don’t need to charge it frequently.

So that’s all the design difference between the Mi band 5 and 4. To be honest, they look almost identical. Since the size of the new body is the same as the Mi band 4 (only the bezels were reduced to increase its display size), we were able to replace the original strap with the Mi Band 4’s strap.

You can also check our out Mi Band 5 hands-on for some additional pictures of the device.

Editor’s Pick: Best watchfaces that you should try on Xiaomi Mi Band 4

Mi Band 5 Review: Fitness Tracking Gets New Modes & PAI scores

As one of the best cheap fitness trackers, Mi band series has been doing an excellent job in offering various health tracking features. In addition to Mi band 4’s six sports modes, the Mi band 5 supports several new exercise options, offering a total of 11 sports modes. We haven’t tested all the sport modes, but it should be a step up from what you get with the Mi band 4. And for swimming mode, the Mi band 5 also supports 5ATM waterproof as the Mi band 4 did. So, you can wear it even when taking a shower or while swimming.

Besides the sport modes tracking, the Mi band 5 supports some other important health tracking, including improved sleep tracking, blood oxygen tracking, smarter heart rate monitoring, stress test, PAI scoring system, and menstrual cycle tracking for women’s health.

To see if the sleep tracking is improved on the Mi Band 5, our colleague tracked his sleep wearing the two bands at the same time. Well, there was a slight difference in sleep tracking but it’s hard to say which one is more accurate. One detail worth mentioning is that he said he woke up to take a phone call at around 8:20 am. Only the Mi band 4 recorded it down while we couldn’t see it in the Mi band 5’s timeline. 

And the heart rate monitoring can be activated all day with different frequencies. But it could increase the power consumption of the band. And it also features a heart rate alert. Simply put, it can warn users about abnormal heart rate issues through vibration and notification.

The new stress test and PAI scoring system can help users understand their physical state through tracking. Giving a numerical figure to your physical activity is a good way to see if you are moving towards your goal of becoming fit. The Mi Band 5 showed that I basically stayed at a relaxed state but had a poor fitness. Although it’s hard to say if the PAI score is accurate, at least it’s informational and will motivate users to be fit.

Mi Band 5 Review: New Remote Camera Shutter  

Besides working as an excellent health tracker, the Mi band 5 also reserves a lot of practical features as a helpful assistant. The smart band comes with features such as Idle alert, notification and call reminder, music control, weather reports, phone finder, and so on. We’ve introduced a lot about these features in the Mi Band 4 Review, so there’s nothing really new here. In addition to the above list, the Mi Band 5 has also added a remote camera control feature via Bluetooth. It can act as your phone’s camera shutter, but it’s still not capable of controlling video shooting. It’s nothing really special but for some, it’ll make shooting photos much more convenient, especially when you are traveling alone or need to take group shots.

Mi Band 5 Review: Same Battery Life As Its Predecessor

As for its battery, there is no remarkable improvement. The Mi band 5 can last for around 15 days without turning on some features like all-time heart rate monitoring.

After wearing it for five days, it consumed 36% of power, which is an acceptable result. But as mentioned at the start of this Mi Band 5 review, the magnetic charging makes it way easier to charge the device every couple of weeks.

So that’s everything about the Mi Band 5. It’s an excellent smart wearable with practical and useful features. And more importantly, it’s really hard to find a better choice at such a price tag.

As mentioned at the start of the review, we are giving away one unit of the Mi Band 5 to one of our YouTube subscribers! Just follow the steps in the gleam widget below to participate in it.

Giveaway: Win a Mi Band 5

The Mi Band 5 is also up for grabs via GizTop! You can check out the listing here.   

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