Xiaomi Mi Band 6, the latest evolution of the smart band that has conquered the world, finally arrives in Italy on the main channels such as Amazon and Youinchoose. Lots of features, spectacular display, and super affordable price. Let’s see how it performs in our review.
Xiaomi Mi BAND 6
Unboxing Xiaomi Mi Band 6 arrives in a beautiful and super-accurate cardboard package, which shows the device in the foreground, and the classic specifications on the back. Point in favor of the satin finish of the box and the print quality, which give the impression of being in front of a premium product right from the packaging.
The content is the traditional one that is expected from a mid-range smart band: device with strap already installed, warranty and various documents, and the magnetic cable for charging, without wall adapter.
Positive mention for the charging cable: once positioned it remains firmly in place on Xiaomi Mi Band 6, and it is long enough to be placed on a desk having the power socket at the bottom (something not taken for granted lately, with many manufacturers always inserting cables shorter).
As anticipated, Xiaomi Mi Band 6 brings many additions compared to the previous model, such as an improved display and measurement of the blood oxygen level SpO2, always maintaining a more than competitive price.
The case made of plastic houses an excellent 1.56-inch AMOLED display, which we will discuss later in more detail.
Also in plastic is the lower part, which houses the sensors and magnetic pins for charging. As per tradition, Mi Band 6 maintains the “encapsulated” design, with the body that is completely wrapped by the strap, obviously leaving the upper and lower part uncovered.
Speaking of the strap, I really appreciated the build quality and above all the lightness. In fact, the strap wraps the wrist very well, making it very comfortable to wear both during sports (I tried the band on walking and cycling), and while working on the PC.
Excellent adjustment scale, which makes it really suitable for any type of wrist and makes the strap even more breathable. The strap is made of Ag + antibacterial TPU, while the aluminum alloy buckle ensures resistance and is great for those with metal allergies.
The device is completely devoid of physical buttons, with a clean, functional, and elegant design.
In short, whether it is to play sports or to wear it daily, Xiaomi Mi Band 6 always makes its figure on the wrist. The weight of only 12.8g makes the device very comfortable to wear, almost to the point of not feeling it on the wrist.
Here are the technical specifications of the smart band:
Model Name: Xiaomi Mi Band 6 | Display: 1.56 inch AMOLED, 152 × 486 pixels, 326 PPI | Bluetooth 5.0 | Battery: 125mAh | Dimensions: 47.4 × 18.6 × 12.7 mm | Weight: 12.8g | 5ATM Water Resistance | Display Material: Tempered glass with anti-fingerprint coating.
DISPLAY
The display on board of Xiaomi Mi Band 6 is undoubtedly the main feature. We are talking about an excellent 1.56-inch AMOLED panel, with a resolution of 152 × 486 pixels and 326PPI, with adjustable brightness up to 450 nits. Personally, I love the AMOLED panels on smartwatches: the absolute blacks make the gap between the frames and the display practically nil, obviously if you use the right watch faces, giving a unique style to the device.
Compared to Mi Band 5, the display size is 50% larger: the frames are almost non-existent and the screen elements are well optimized for the greater space available. Given the particular shape of the display, long texts will as always, be a bit more problematic to read.
Despite the lack of a brightness sensor, the Xiaomi Mi Band 6 display is always well readable even under the sun, by setting the maximum brightness, and has excellent contrast. In practice, you will have no problem reading all the info during your workouts. For indoor use, even medium brightness is sufficient. Personalization is maximum, with dozens and dozens of watch faces available, to be downloaded from the Mi Fit app or already on board the device.
All interactions with the smart band must be done through the classic gestures: with the swipe up and down we will access notifications, settings, and dozens of sports modes, while the swipe to the right and left allows you to access features as reading music and weather.
Given the lack of physical keys, the question arises: how does it turn off? Well, it is not possible to manually turn off the Mi Band 6, but you will have to wait for the battery to discharge completely.
SOFTWARE & HARDWARE
The software is the classic Xiaomi, with all the functions expected from this type of smart band. Excellent reactivity, completely free of lag or jamming. On the hardware side, some features such as GPS and NFC are missing, which do not affect the overall user experience in a very negative way. Bluetooth 5.0 does its job very well, especially on the battery side, while the various sensors onboard are always accurate and precise, as we will see shortly.
The battery on board of Xiaomi Mi Band 6 keeps its promises: with average use and some training, I easily managed to overcome the week of use.
Let’s start with the basic functions of Mi Band 6: onboard we will find 30 sports modes pre-installed, of which 19 are new: among these, some will not limit themselves to recording the classic data, but there will be more accurate monitoring, such as the stroke in the I swim.
During the sporting activity, the counting of steps is always very precise, even when compared with manual pedometers. Excellent heart rate measurements, which allow you to always keep the frequency under control, even at rest and if desired, 24 hours a day.
Onboard we also find an excellent sleep monitoring system, able to accurately record the duration and phases of sleep, monitoring the levels of oxygen saturation in the blood every night, and analyzing the quality of breathing.
There is also a welcome change, the calculation of the PAI. Personal activity intelligence is calculated using gender, age, heart rate, and other data and provides activity suggestions that improve your score.
The picture is completed by the monitoring of stress and that of the level of oxygen in the SpO2 blood pressure, which is not active 24 hours a day but can be activated manually.
The proprietary software is packed with features including Workout, Heart Rate, SpO2, Workout History, Sleep, Stress, Breathing Exercises, Cycle Tracking, Notifications, Weather, Stopwatch, Timer, Alarm, Flashlight, Find Phone, and Settings.
XIAOMI MI FIT 
Through the app, we have total control of the device, with all the summary info of sports activities, settings, and updates of the case. As always, it is a pleasure to navigate the various menus of the app, always clean and intuitive, full of graphics and information. Also through the app, we will also be able to have access to the watch faces store, with dozens of additional watch faces to fully customize Xiaomi Mi Band 6.
Given the lack of GPS, if we start our workouts from the app, Mi Band 6 will rely on the GPS of the smartphone, making the measurement more complete.
CONCLUSIONS
Xiaomi Mi Band 6 is truly a complete and balanced product, excellent both for those looking for a smart band to keep track of their workouts and for those who want a comfortable product to wear every day and that is able to offer basic monitoring.
