On eve of official unveiling, Xiaomi confirms larger display for Mi Band 5 and more
Tomorrow Xiaomi is expected to unveil the Mi Band 5, the latest version of the low-priced fitness tracker. Xiaomi itself has confirmed several rumored new features on China's Weibo social-media site (via 9to5Google) including a larger 1.2-inch OLED display; that's a little more than a 20% bump from the .95-inch screen found on the Mi Band 4. The Mi Band 5 will also support improved magnetic charging, act as a remote shutter button for your smartphone camera, and track women's health (which reportedly includes a menstrual cycle tracker).`
Speculation that the Mi Band 5 will include a sensor to monitor a user's blood saturation level is just that for now-speculation. Apple is reportedly including such a feature with the Apple Watch Series 6; readings between 95% and 100% indicate that a user's blood is being distributed well throughout his body and extremities. And reportedly the Mi Band 5 will support Amazon's Alexa digital voice assistant although the device doesn't have a microphone or speaker. From the start, we suspected that the heavy lifting would be done by the user's paired smartphone, but we are interested in seeing how this will work-if the rumor is legit.
The Xiaomi Mi Band 5 is expected to be unveiled tomorrow, June 11th
Xiaomi is expected to add tracking for more activities including yoga, rowing, indoor cycling, elliptical, and jump rope exercise. That would bring to 11 the number of different physical activities monitored by the device. Color options leaked by Xiaomi the other day include black, yellow, orange, and olive green. NFC was available on the Chinese variant of the Mi Band 4 model so that users in China could pay using mobile payment service AliPay. This year, Xiaomi is supposed to include NFC on all variants of the fitness tracker allowing global users to also make mobile payments with the device.
The Xiaomi Mi Band 5 could be priced in the range of $40-$45. This is one of the few items that Americans can purchase from the manufacturer.
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