Xiaomi Mi Band 3 review: 20+ Days battery backup ⋆ China Life & Buying Guide

Xiaomi has officially released their third generation of fitness band Xiaomi Mi Band 3. The event was held today and apart from the Xiaomi Mi Band 3, Xiaomi Mi 8, MIUI 10 and other budget smartphones were launched. We at Gadgets First managed to get a sneak peek into the device. Here is our Xiaomi Mi Band 3 review. Be sure that, we’ve also tested the device to check for its waterproofing state. Furthermore, the detailed Xiaomi Mi Band 3 review will also include, in hand appeal, our user experience and the battery backup of the device. So without further ado, let’s get started.

The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 review

Xiaomi Mi Band 3 has been released today by Xiaomi on their 8th-anniversary conference. This Xiaomi Mi Band 3 review will cover an in-depth analysis of the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 features, functions and the usage of the device. We’ll also be going to take their claims to test. The design of Xiaomi Mi Band 3 is almost similar to that of the previous generation Xiaomi Mi Band 2. But as the initial impression goes, there are some tiny bit of modifications done.

The device feels a little bit roundish, and the device hosts a bigger display as compared to its predecessor. We also, kept Mi Band 2 with Xiaomi Mi Band 3 side by side so that you can make out the difference. The yellow one is Xiaomi Mi Band 2 whereas the black one is the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 in this Xiaomi Mi Band 3 review image. Furthermore, the device also claims to be water resistant. As per the specifications, the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 can resist up to 50 atm of pressure (water pressure under 50m underwater). On the other hand, the previous generation Mi Band was splash proof, and there was no certified resistance. Moving on, we’ll now move to the section where we’ve talked about the specification and configuration in Xiaomi Mi Band 3 review.

Xiaomi Mi Band 3: The configuration Xiaomi Mi Band 3 Configuration (Specs Sheet) Screen 0.79-inch PMOLED panel Connectivity Bluetooth 4.2 or NFC Sensors Triaxial Acceleration / PPG Heart Rate Sensor Battery Backup (20+ Days) 110mAh Compatibility Android 4.4 or iOS 9.0 and above Waterproof certification 5 atm (equivalent to water pressure at 50 m) Size 46.9 x 17.9 x 12mm Weight 8.5g Price 166, 199 yuan As per the hype, the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 will have a 20+ days battery backup and a bigger and larger display. As per the design of the chassis goes, it’ll be rounder than its predecessor. The device is priced at 166 yuan, but an NFC-only version may also feature that will cost 199 yuan. Xiaomi Mi Band 3 comes with a 0.78 PMOLED display panel that can display even more characters as compared to the Mi Band 2. It can display up to 24 Chinese characters at once. Xiaomi Mi Band 3 have a PPI of 193 which is decent. The design overhaul: Xiaomi Mi Band 3 The initial impression of Xiaomi Mi Band 3 reveals a sturdy body that has even more curves as compared to Xiaomi Mi Band 2. Previously, there was a lip present in between the screen and the chassis. This time, Xiaomi made some changes and tried to blend the screen with the chassis.

This approach of blending the screen and the chassis looks cool. It gives the device an illusion that it is crafted from a single piece of plastic. Furthermore, the button that was of metal in the previous generations has now been replaced by fiber material. The metal button used to lose its shine with time, Xiaomi took this into their notice and make the possible changes of replacing it with fiber material. Coming on the backside of the device, Xiaomi Mi Band 3 have heart rate sensor located at the back of the device. And the Mi branding. There is not much of a difference to notice as compared to the Xiaomi Mi Band 2. By default, the display shows the time and the date respectively. Apart from this, there are some additional features provided with the Xiaomi Mi Band 3, more on that in our Xiaomi Mi Band 3 review. As already mentioned that Xiaomi Mi Band 3 houses a 0.79-inch screen with 193 PPI density which gives this display an edge. The color reproduction is great, and the viewing angles are quite nice. The band is made up of a polymerized rubber material which we found was durable, during our review. Also, the band doesn’t get all messed up because of the sweat, thanks to the coating that is present in it. Now about the durability of the screen, there is not an exact indication about which type of glass is used in Xiaomi Mi Band 3. But the screen durability seems to be increased when compared with the Xiaomi Mi Band 2. Xiaomi Mi Band 3 in-depth specification This year Xiaomi has introduced their third generation of the MI band with NFC support along with the Bluetooth 4.2 For the devices that have NFC enabled can go for the pricier 199 yuan model and the rest 169 yuan model will suffice.

As already mentioned, the device will offer 20+ days of backup with its, 110mAh battery. The screen durability has been increased significantly, along with its size. As compared to the Mi band 2, the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 have almost the double size. The Mi band 2 had a 0.48 inches screen whereas the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 have 0.78 inches screen with increased pixel density of 193 PPI. This enables the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 to produce crips colors. Apart from all this, the heart rate sensor has also been improved in the Xiaomi Mi Band 3. The last year variant had some issues with displaying the heart rate precisely. There are a few features added this time around by Xiaomi, such as weather monitoring, replacement of the metal touch button, news notification and notification from the other apps. Let us know more about these features. New features: Xiaomi Mi Band 3 review Innovation is the need of the hour, and therefore Xiaomi brought some cool new amazing features to the new Xiaomi Mi Band 3. Weather forecasting With the increase in the screen real estate, Xiaomi made sure that they can display a little bit more information. And with that, they came up with the most useful feature, the weather forecasting. Weather forecasting works right through your smartphone itself. Xiaomi Mi Band 3 directly updates the weather data from your phone, but the phone needs to be connected to the internet. This will enable the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 to fetch data more efficiently. What all you can see?

Temperature, Quality of air in percentage, Maximum and minimum temperature, Forecast of the weather for three today Tomorrow and day after tomorrow- temperature prediction Xiaomi claims that this features will even reduce the use of their smartphone as the data will be readily available on their Xiaomi Mi Band 3. Notifications So, the predecessors, Xiaomi Mi Band and Xiaomi Mi Band 2 had the haptic feedback for notifying for the messages and notification. Xiaomi Mi Band 3 combined that haptic feedback and took advantage of the large screen size displaying a lot of notification information. The device can display not only the icons of the apps from where the notifications are arriving but also the exact message that has been delivered. Using our testing, we tested WeChat and WhatsApp. The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 showed complete messages, along with the name of the sender with time.

Furthermore, you also receive reminders, alarms, text messages, timers, call logs and other alerts on Xiaomi Mi Band 3 screen. It is worth mentioning that this notification availability offered by Xiaomi Mi Band 3 also gives it an edge for offline reminder function. What else can you do?

You can store to-do lists locally, and you can wait until the time data will be synced to your Mi account via your phone. Furthermore, the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 will enable to show you all the notifications even if your phone is placed a few distances away from you. Find the phone feature: Xiaomi Mi Band 3 review

Well, in the previous versions of the Xiaomi Mi Band we have seen that the smartphone can activate the band’s motor. This enabled us to locate the band. Which is good but isn’t practical. But in Xiaomi Mi Band 3, we can locate the phone also. This feature enables the users to find their phones with the help of their Xiaomi Mi Band 3. You are required to push the find my device button. And the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 will play some beep sounds via your smartphone (device connected to the band). Note- there is only one downside, during our Xiaomi Mi Band 3 review, we found that your smartphone may not play those sounds if the device’s volume has been set to the lowest or are disabled. These results applied to our testing device, the iPhone for Xiaomi Mi Band 3 review. Secondary display There is an additional display provided within the main display which only shows important information like, the heart rate, step counts, and calories. This feature, they are calling it as ‘dashboard.’ Using the Mi-Fit app, you can choose what all information you need to put in the ‘dashboard’ menu. This display applies only when you need the information to be displayed in a jiffy. All you need to do is, rotate your write towards yourself and the secondary display will automatically light up. More so, beneficial for sports enthusiasts and runners. Step counter and sleep monitoring So these features need not be explained all over again. As these features were present since the first version of Xiaomi Mi band, there are no enhancements in this department. The pedometer functionality also doesn’t need any explanation. The sleep monitoring works well, and the step counter is accurate. The device syncs the data to your phone and which later on is transferred to the Mi account. Here is a screenshot of the Mi Fitness app. Where I slept, for 9 hours to be precise, but after waking up in the morning, there was no significant activity.

So, the app shows 10 hours and 52 minutes of sleep activity last night. Well, I can’t blame the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 for my laziness after all. Water resistance As per the claims, the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 can sustain a pressure of 5 atm which equals to the pressure at 50 m depth under water.

We tried to test their claims by soaking the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 in water for half an hour. And to our surprise, no harm was done to the Xiaomi Mi Band 3. The watch worked just fine; there were no hiccups. Apart from this, all the sensors were also working flawlessly.