Xiaomi has made quite a name with its ultra-affordable yet feature-packed fitness bands. Now, the Chinese giant has just introduced its latest iteration: the Mi Band 7.
Highlights include a larger display than its predecessors, improved blood oxygen tracking and up to 15-day battery life but there’s more to this lightweight tracker worth exploring. Here we round up all the details on the Mi Band 7, from price to availability, features and more.
When does the Xiaomi Mi Band 7 launch worldwide?
The Mi Band 7 was introduced on 24 May, alongside the Redmi Buds 4 and Redmi Buds 4 Pro, and went on sale in China on 31 May.
The Band 7’s launch was exclusive to China, so we’re still left waiting to hear if and when the new activity tracker will make its way further afield.
Traditionally, Xiaomi tends to release its fitness trackers in the summer. Most of the last few versions arrived in China in June and then made their way to global markets in July, with one notable exception being the Mi Band 6, which was released at the beginning of April in China, launching globally a few weeks later. This was followed up by the Mi Smart Band 6 NFC, which was made available across the world in September 2021.
Assuming that Xiaomi does intend to release the Mi Band 7 elsewhere, it will likely make its way to more markets internationally in June.
How much does the Xiaomi Mi Band 7 cost?
Pricing has always been aggressive on the Mi Smart Band/Mi Band range, with Xiaomi keeping costs low for customers.
The Mi Smart Band 6 arrived at CNY¥229 (¥279 for the NFC model), which was slightly more than the previous models. The Band 7 maintains this upwards climb, with the standard model priced at ¥249 (approximately £30/€35/$37), while the NFC model costs ¥299 (approximately £35/€42/$45).
Internationally, here’s how much the last few generations of Mi Band have cost:
Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6: £39.99/€44.99/$42.30Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 5: £39.99/€44.99/$39.99Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 4: £34.99/€39.99/$34.99Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 3: £19.99/€24.99/$19.99
Rumour has it we’ll also see a slight price hike for the global release, with leaker SnoopyTech predicting a European price between €50 and €60 – still affordable, but at least a €15 increase on the price of the 6.
As before, the Mi Band 7 also supports interchangeable TPU wristbands, with six standard colours available at launch for ¥19.90 (approximately £2.40/€2.80/$3) each and four special bands (two camouflage, two fluorescent) for ¥29.90 each (approximately £3.60/€4.20/$4.50).
What features does the Xiaomi Mi Band 7 offer?
The most obvious change in the move to the Mi Band 7 is unquestionably the tracker’s new larger display.
While it maintains the signature pill shape of its predecessor, it’s now approximately 25% larger (according to Xiaomi), measuring in at 1.62in; with a higher resolution (490×192) to ensure it’s just as sharp as before (326ppi).
The added screen real estate afforded to Xiaomi by this larger full-colour always-on AMOLED panel has allowed for a reworked UI that can serve up more information at a glance, while some of the 100+ watch faces include animated elements that – thanks to a new chipset – should look smoother.
The Mi Band 7 offers continuous heart rate and (improved) blood oxygen tracking, as well as support for breathing exercises, stress evaluation and female cycle tracking.
Expanding on the 120 supported sport modes, the 7 can also offer insights on VO2 Max, training load, recovery time, training effect. There are four ‘professional’ sport modes (as part of that 120), with automatic workout detection for some activities.
Outside of the Band 7’s activity tracking chops, the wearable also has inbuilt tools like a flashlight, remote camera and music controls (on compatible phones), timers (including the Pomodoro timer), weather, alarms and more.
The NFC model, which usually remains a Chinese exclusive, supports Alipay and WeChat Pay, however, the added functionality sucks a day from that promised 15-day battery life. The Xiao AI assistant also features, granting smart home control with compatible IoT devices.
Here’s the Xiaomi Mi Band 7’s full spec sheet:
1.62in 490×192 AMOLED display326ppiAlways-on supportUp to 500nits brightness2.5D tempered glassPolycarbonate body160mm to 224mm interchangeable antibacterial TPU strapsAluminium alloy buckleVibration motorOptical heart rate sensorBlood oxygen saturation monitoringSix-axis motion sensor5ATM water resistance100+ watch faces120 sport modesContactless Alipay & WeChat Pay support (NFC model only)Smart home control via Xiao AI (NFC model only)Bluetooth 5.2 LE180mAh battery15-day battery life (standard model) | 14-day battery life (NFC model)Full charge = Two hours2 POGO pin magnetic charging46.5mm x 20.7mm x 12.25mmStandard band colours: White, black, light blue, cream, dark green, orangeSpecial band colours: Camouflage blue, camouflage green, fluorescent yellow, fluorescent orange13.5 grams (standard model) | 13.8 grams (NFC model)Supports Android 6.0/iOS 10 and up
Despite everything the Mi Band line continues to bring to the table, it still lacks a handful of popular wearable features. Namely, GPS (which some have speculated could arrive on a Band 7 Pro) and any sort of speaker integration.
Hopefully, we won’t have to wait long for Xiaomi to launch the Mi Band 7 internationally, so be sure to check back regularly as we continue to update this article with the latest news and rumours.
In the meantime, you can find our recommendations for the best fitness trackers, to see what the competition has to offer competition. Alternatively, take a look at the best smartwatches to buy right now.
