Home Hi-Tech Android World ,,,,, Xiaomi finally releases its third proposal for economic smart bands on the market. It takes the name of Mi Band 3 and maintains the philosophy of the second version unchanged, while not lacking the news, both in terms of design and technical characteristics, with 5 ATM certification, which makes it an ideal companion even during the new one. Here's what we think in our review.
Mi Band 3 is a smart bracelet with display, which allows you to track numerous data related to daily physical activity in everyday life, without disdaining those that the bracelet receives during the night. On an aesthetic level, although similar in size to Mi Band 2, it presents not indifferent news. First of all, the front surface is wider, with rounded edges and more rounded shapes. On this part insists a 0.78-inch PMOLED display, with a resolution of 193 PPI. The quality of the display will obviously come back later.
A little lower than the display, but still inside the bezel on the front, there is also a touch button, which allows you to interact with the system interface. Despite the presence of this button, the display is also tactile.
The strap is the part of the bracelet that has least undergone changes and revisions compared to previous versions, resulting very similar, identical in materials, as well as in the coupling system. It is probably not the most comfortable system, so much so that at least initially it will be difficult to wear it alone. After doing it, however, the system seems to work.
The weight of the bracelet is just 20 grams, 11 grams for the strap, 9 for the central unit, which is slightly wider and thicker than the previous revision. However, these are almost imperceptible differences in everyday life.
Functionality
Mi Band 3 has no more features than the 2. It does not integrate, for example a GPS, and instead allows you to track steps, count calories burned, distance traveled, sleep data, and still offer a quick overview of the weather. Of course, it has the sensor to calculate heartbeats.
We tested the veracity of the information returned by the bracelet, alongside other smartwatches deemed reliable in the sector. The estimate of steps, calories, as well as the distance traveled is absolutely in line with the data provided by other more popular devices, so we therefore believe the data returned by Mi Band 3 to be plausible.
On the other hand, what seemed more inaccurate to us is the sensor for calculating the heartbeat. Or rather, the results returned have always been higher than the other comparative smartwatches used. Even by manually calculating the heartbeat, it seemed to be lower than the data returned by the Mi Band 3. Moreover, if the bracelet is not worn optimally, it is not uncommon for the heartbeat to not be read at all. It could be bugs related to the young age of the bracelet, which has been on the market for a few days.
Display
As already mentioned, Mi Band 3 also improves the display. First of all, it is larger than its predecessor, 0.78 inches, against 0.41. It is also brighter, although to be honest, the glossy cover of the dial makes it practically illegible in direct sunlight. In the opinion of the writer, this is not a small detail: Mi Band 3 should be a valid companion during outdoor races, and reading the display in the sun is an essential element. Obviously, indoors, or even on days that are not particularly bright, the problem disappears.
Furthermore, another element that immediately seemed evident to us is that the particular glossy surface that covers the entire front part turns out to be a natural dust attraction: you can clean the upper surface of Continua, but you will practically never see it shining. It is always full of dust and hair, in a really exaggerated way.
Navigation and interface
Initially you will have to do the hand, but thanks to the few menus, rather simple, after a few minutes of use you will have full control of the smart band. With a slide upwards you scroll through the main tabs, then Steps, Heartbeat, Weather, Notifications and More, while with a slide to the right you enter the various submenus, which offer more information than the main tab. And so, for example, the Steps tab only shows the number of steps, but with a horizontal slide you will access the info on calories burned and distance.
The soft touch button, on the other hand, is used to start a choice or go back: with a simple tap you go back, with a long press for a few seconds you start the desired option.
Daily use
Obviously, Mi Band 3 is still a reference point for all lovers of cheap smarband. It is absolutely worth what it costs and offers all the features you would expect from such a bracelet, including water resistance, absolutely essential for a device of this type.
Also improved the battery, which rises to 110 mAh and which ensures a use of 20 days. This is the same longevity as the predecessor, which had a battery of just 70 mAh. The figure is due to the fact that Mi Band 3 has a larger and brighter display, and despite the extra mAh, it cannot do better than its predecessor in terms of durability. In any case, this is a more than appreciable autonomy.
The weather is also particularly useful, clearly legible on a display like that of Mi Band 3, where it is also possible to browse the information to see the forecast for the following days. Too bad for the presence of only 3 quadrants: with a larger display than the previous model it was reasonable to expect greater attention to the graphic customization of the UI. It is still early to draw conclusions in this sense: who knows that soon the community will decide to support more the watch faces of the product.
Notifications
Particularly important is that Mi Band 3, unlike the classic concept of smart fitness bracelet, allows you to read the text of the notifications in the most important applications, such as WhatsApp and other instant messaging apps. Thanks to the larger display it is also possible to read longer and more articulated texts than simple words: just scroll to the right to see the text divided into several pages. Of course it is not possible to reply in any way, neither with preset phrases, nor with emojis, nor with text or voice messages. Never mind, such a smartband is not rightly designed for this use.
Conclusions
Mi Band 3 is still the benchmark for those who want an inexpensive fitness bracelet. Top autonomy and larger display make it a valid choice for anyone. Too bad the display is unreadable in direct sunlight. Positive is the ability to read the notifications on the wrist, as well as accurate is the response on the steps taken, distance traveled and calories burned. A few small fixes, on the other hand, are desirable for the heartbeat sensor, which in order to function properly requires an optimal positioning of the smartband on the wrist.
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PRICE
On GearBest you can buy it at a price of about 30 euros: at the moment it is the cheapest and fastest way to get it at your home.
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