Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro Review: The Mi Band Grows Up
While the purchase isn't as instantaneous as the regular Mi Band 7, the more advanced Smart Band 7 Pro still carries a slightly higher asking price with extras like built-in GPS and a bigger screen. great smart watch styles.
The beloved line of Xiaomi Mi Band fitness trackers is synonymous with affordability. But what makes them truly special is not the low entry threshold, but the value you get in return. The Xiaomi Mi Band 7 increased the price of the range by about $10, but changes to the formula such as a brighter, larger, always-on display and better health tracking meant it was a solid option. it's always a robbery. But for the first time, it wasn't the Beijing juggler's only choice. Xiaomi had a model with additional improvements and smartwatch styling.
Does the bigger, better and bolder Mi Band 7 Pro, also known as the Smart Band 7 Pro on the global stage, increase that value too much? Find out in the Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro review from Android Authority .
About this review of Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro: I tested Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro for 10 days. The device was provided by Xiaomi for this review.
What you need to know about Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro
Oliver Craig / Android Authority
- Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro: £84.99 / €99.99 / ~$80-120
Vanilla Smart Band 7 / Mi Band 7 was launched in Europe at the end of June 2022, but a few days later, Xiaomi released its second fitness tracker of the year - Xiaomi Mi Band 7 Pro, then owned by the Chinese. The new Smart Band 7 Pro took another four months to make its way to the west.
The Smart Band 7 Pro, the first in the series with a Pro attachment, should offer little more than Xiaomi's flagship tracker as it attempts to blur the line between a fitness tracker and a budget smartwatch. Gone is the pill-shaped design and foldable silicone strap, replaced by a 1.64-inch 2.5D screen, glossy metal-coated frame and rectangular face with quick-release straps. The straps also pair with a traditional gemstone clasp, unlike the Band 7's eyelet.
With the Smart Band 7 Pro, Xiaomi aims to bridge the line between a fitness tracker and a budget smartwatch.
While some feature changes are more subtle than you'd expect from a "Pro" model, the Smart Band 7 Pro brings some notable additions such as built-in GPS support and an ambient light sensor. It also has a larger battery (235mAh compared to the Band 7's 180mAh) to try and make up for the larger screen.
Xiaomi's range of health and fitness tools are almost wholesale different from the Band 7, including continuous blood oxygen (SpO2) monitoring, 24-hour heart rate monitoring and alerts, basic sleep, stress and menstrual cycle tracking. It includes over 110 ridiculously varied activities that are worth a try. The built-in apps will also be familiar, although the universal model will activate the Amazon Alexa voice assistant via the companion Mi Fitness app, though there are reports that it won't work in the US.
Oliver Craig / Android Authority
The Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro is available in light gold (pictured) or graphite gray, each of which can be paired with different band colors. There are also pine or moon gray leather straps, though I couldn't find them for sale anywhere.
As with other Xiaomi fitness trackers, you cannot officially buy the Smart Band 7 Pro in North America, but you can easily buy it from Amazon sellers or import websites.
How good?
Oliver Craig / Android Authority
The Mi Band line has always managed to pack more headwear than you'd expect from such a cheap fitness tracker, but their actual wardrobe has always been lacking. After seven generations of boring black tablets, the Smart Band 7 Pro has shed the shackles of fitness and looks like a real smartwatch; It's just as good for a quick morning run as it is for casual or smart wear at any time of the day.
While the polycarbonate back threatens to detract from the premium feel, the pointy, curved body and metal chassis are uncomfortable enough for anything but a very close inspection. The latter is definitely easier to scratch than a real metal frame, but in my experience it takes a few bumps and bruises before it shows any obvious wear. The tempered glass also withstood a few light knocks, and the anti-fingerprint coating minimized the appearance of sweat stains.
The larger screen of the Smart Band 7 Pro is more comfortable and doesn't compromise on quality.
Despite the increase in size and weight, the Smart Band 7 Pro does not feel heavy on the wrist. As a long time user of the Mi Band 6 (and Mi Band 3 before it), I can say with confidence that the excess volume is not registered at all. It would be nice to see the addition of a crown or button to complement more input options and a more sophisticated aesthetic - especially now with so much space - Xiaomi's motions and gestures are worth the price.
Oliver Craig / Android Authority
The elongated screen provides a good increase in screen real estate without the need for a larger form factor. The quality is also excellent; The 2.5D glass flows gracefully into the frame and hides the edges, although it's not exactly thin, it's easy to miss. To Xiaomi's credit, it has also upped the screen resolution to match the total pixels per inch of the regular Band 7. The result is just as sharp and vibrant (with a peak of 500 nits) when using the Pro's dedicated ambient light sensor, which dynamically adjusts brightness according to your surroundings.
Xiaomi claims the Band 7 Pro is 50% larger than the vanilla Band 7. Big numbers are one thing, but there's an immediate practical benefit in that the extra space allows for two vertical rows of apps instead of just one. The program name text is gone, so you need to remember what all the download icons mean. However, it's a small price to pay for sliding too hot to get the right type of workout when you're warmed up and ready to go. The rest of the UI has also been redesigned for a larger scale, and while the result is now more like a watchOS competitor, I can think of worse solutions than mimicking the smartwatch platform. the most popular. Beautifully scaled repeaters and clocks, some of which are unique to the larger Band 7 unit, are also a lot of fun.
There's a lot to like on the health and fitness front, and it's no surprise if it maximizes the Band 7's winning formula. Resting heart rate tracking and activity tracking have proven to be pretty accurate compared to other fitness trackers. In addition to heart rate alerts, the Band 7 Pro's SpO2 tracking system can alert you when your blood oxygen drops below 90%. Of course, this is not a medical device, but continuous SpO2 monitoring is not a given at this price point. There are many different modes of operation. To be honest, maybe a lot, but I'm sure someone wants to focus on snowmobile training statistics in their checks . It's also handy to have automatic tracking of common exercises like running, walking, treadmill, rowing, and elliptical exercises.
The biggest fitness upgrade of the Smart Band 7 Pro is built-in GPS. Mi Band users no longer need to carry their phone with them to get a complete picture of their route and related distance statistics. This works too. It takes a few seconds for the location to be locked, but after that I had no problem getting it disconnected from the outside in my test. For accuracy, the chart above shows a comparison walking route with my Galaxy Watch 4. While the two devices aren't a perfect fit—both sometimes watch people's homes—the Band 7 Pro was better at tracking the actual path I walked. In particular, it caught my attention faster than Samsung's high-end wearables, as evidenced by the delayed blue launch line.
The battery is very weak, but the built-in GPS is a big improvement for the Xiaomi Pro fitness tracker.
Battery life is best thought of as a glass half full situation. The advanced tracking features are worse than the Band 7, which lasted about a week in our hands-on tests. By comparison, the Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro lasted about three days with Active Always-On Display (AOD), continuous heart rate, sleep and SpO2 monitoring enabled, and daily exercise tracking with built-in GPS. . The latter is the biggest consumer, with about 10% battery loss after an hour of operation.
Xiaomi claims that the Smart Band 7 pro can last more than 12 consecutive days. This might be true if you disable all tracking and AOD, but I'm not sure if that's necessary. Simply disabling AOD and returning to the trusty wake gesture instantly increased battery life by several days, and even two or three days on a single charge isn't the worst we've seen in smartwatch-style trackers. .
What's not good?
Oliver Craig / Android Authority
For a wearable with the words "Smart" and "Pro" in its name (at least in the West), the Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro is a bit, well... silly... and simple. It may look thicker than the regular Xiaomi Mi Band 7, but if you break it down to the very basics, the functionality is the same, with no app store to add new apps. Unfortunately, this creeping sense of familiarity extends to rudimentary dream tracking as well, which is incredibly difficult once it actually starts. It also offers small tips or comments about your sleep habits.
The inability to make mobile payments outside of China due to the lack of NFC comes across as unprofessional. There is still no speaker, so no calls, voice training, or messages other than vibration. And these vibrations are terrible and not in a good way. When the Smart Band 7 Pro is on a table and receives a ping, it sounds like an air drill is activated; this is one of the few areas where the Smart Band 7 Pro feels cheap.
The Smart Band 7 Pro is technically compatible with two different apps, but doesn't offer the full package you're hoping for.
However, the real headache comes when you download the Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro companion app. When the device is turned on, it invites you to the Mi Fitness (formerly Xiaomi Wear) app with a QR code, and for good reason, unlike older Mi Bands, the Smart Band 7 Pro is not compatible with Zepp at the time of writing. . Life is the original app for fka Mi Fit Mi Band phone. It's a little confusing, as the standard Mi Band 7 can sync well with the Zepp Life, but it's even harder when you realize there's no feature parity between the two. For example, Mi Fitness is metric-bound and cannot sync with Google Fit, two things that all other Mi Bands can do through Zepp Life.
It should be noted that the Mi Fitness app offers a more visually pleasing experience with an Apple-like user interface and includes all the options to customize the watch. However, I have always found the always-reliable Zepp Life to be simpler and less intrusive with its fitness data and workout view. While you can never use them at the same time, the lack of Mi Fitness features becomes even more noticeable when you have no other choice.
Finally, while UI performance is generally good when switching between apps and learning modes, the notification bar is a different story. Sometimes during my tests it would freeze for a while, but almost always it would freeze and stutter when trying to navigate between messages.
Specifications of Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro
| Xiaomi 7 Pro Smart Bracelet | |
|---|---|
Screen | 1.64" AMOLED |
Sensors | PPG heart rate sensor |
battery | 235 mAh |
Communication | Bluetooth 5.2 BLE |
Tracking and other features | Over 110 fitness modes |
Waterproof | 5 ATM |
Program Compatibility | Mi Fitness app |
Fill method | Magnetic charging |
Compatible devices | Android 6.0 and up |
dimensions | 44.7 mm × 28.8 mm × 11 mm |
Colors | Light gold, graphite gray |
Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro Review: Verdict
Oliver Craig / Android Authority
Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro is a larger version of an already fantastic budget fitness tracker. Does it cost more than the regular Mi Band 7 comes down to a simple question: Is it worth the extra cost of a fitness tracker that's more like a smartwatch and doesn't require you to wear your phone while you run?
If the answer to this question is yes, then the Smart Band 7 Pro is a good buy. It's hard to find a tracker with so many features at this price. This is especially true of built-in GPS support, as popular options in the price range like the Fitbit Inspire 3, Amazon Halo View, Garmin Vivosmart 5, and Garmin Vivomove Sport rely on connected GPS instead. If you're not desperate for a round dial, this is a better pseudo-smart watch than the Xiaomi Watch S1 Active considering the price difference and the fact that both sides have the same gross software sides (seriously, Xiaomi, get your look right). . ) .
The Smart Band 7 Pro takes Xiaomi fitness trackers to the next level with built-in GPS and a large screen.
If you want a more complete and reliable experience, the Fitbit Versa 3 ($152 on Amazon) or the Fitbit Charge 5 ($148.95 on Amazon) are the closest you can get at that price. The latter is especially attractive in the US because while you can import the Smart Band 7 Pro, it can cost up to $120, which isn't that far off the usual $130-150 Charge 5 discounted price on Amazon. The Charge 5 is probably the best fitness tracker out there, but if you find the Band 7 Pro for less than $100 (or if you're in Europe where the retail price is already low), you'll probably find all the features boring. . . It's more bearable when you think about the money you're saving.
Xiaomi 7 Pro Smart Bracelet
Water resistant 5 ATM • Long battery life • Always-on display
The Mi Band 7 Pro turns into a smartwatch that is little more than a fitness tracker.
The Mi Band 7 Pro has a larger AMOLED screen than its predecessors. It includes 117 sports tracking modes, all-day heart rate monitoring, and a built-in trainer with pre-programmed programs.
Best questions and answers about Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro
No, Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro has completely different buckle straps than the straps compatible with other Mi Band bracelets.
It's not official, but you can buy Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro through import sites and sellers like Amazon.
You need a compatible smartphone to set up your Smart Band 7 Pro and sync your fitness and health data through the app, but with built-in features, you won't need your phone during your workout to track all the important metrics instead of tracking. GPS.
The Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro variant with NFC is exclusive to China.
No, Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro does not have a speaker, so you cannot receive calls.
Yes, Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro is compatible with iPhone running iOS 10 and above.
In our tests, the Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro was charged to around 61% within 30 minutes.
Best Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro Review: Get @Xiaomi Global Edition
Labels: Xiaomi
posted by Admin @ November 08, 2022
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