Xiaomi Mi Band 2 render surfaces showing off a new touchscreen (UPDATE)

Last week, Xiaomi said that it shipped more than 6 million units of its Mi Band fitness tracker. The wearable cost only $12 USD which obviously was some of its appeal. But the Mi Band did not come with a screen which forced its users to rely on a smartphone for readings on workouts and sleep. This morning, a render of the Mi Band 2 was discovered on a Weibo site. The most interesting thing about the image was the addition of a touchscreen on the device.

If this turns out to be a legitimate image (and now would be the time to grab your salt shaker so that you can take this story with the proverbial grain of salt), offering the touchscreen would allow those sporting a Mi Band 2 to keep a paired handset inside their pocket instead of using it as a screen for the wearable. The addition of the touchscreen should also raise the price of the sequel. The Mi Band 2 also has been rumored to include a NFC chip that could connect Mi Band 2 wearers in close proximity to each other.

Considering that the Xiaomi Mi Band was released last July, the timing would appear to be right for the appearance of a Mi Band 2. The leaked render could indicate that we are getting closer to an actual announcement from the company. 

source: leakGK via @GizmoChina

UPDATE: We hope you took your grain of salt. The alleged Mi Band 2 render has been confirmed to be a fake by Huami CEO Huang Wang. Wang's company partnered with Xiaomi on the Mi Band and is expected to be working with the manufacturer on the sequel. As it turns out, the pictured device is a children's smart bracelet already released and priced at the equivalent of $32 USD.


source: Mobipicker