Redmi Band launched: A fitness band for under $15 (Update: India launch soon)

Update: September 3 2020 (9:13 AM ET): Xiaomi launched the Redmi Band all the way back in April (see original article below), and now it’s finally bringing the wearable to Indian shores.

The Redmi India Twitter account revealed that the Redmi Band will launch in India on September 8 at midday IST (2:30 AM ET). Check out the tweet below.

The Redmi Band could be cheaper than the Mi Band 4 in India, at least when comparing Chinese prices. And you’re still getting a solid list of features here, ranging from sleep tracking and heart-rate monitor functionality to two weeks of power and over 72 watchfaces.

Original article: April 3 2020 (7:24 AM ET): Xiaomi’s Redmi sub-brand recently confirmed plans to release a fitness band, and it’s now done so with the launch of the Redmi Band.

The new wearable has a retail price of just 99 yuan (~$14) in China, according to MyDrivers, but you can also get it for 95 yuan (~$13) from April 9 as part of a crowdfunding initiative. By comparison, the Mi Band 4 is available for 159 yuan (~$22) in its home market.

The Redmi Band delivers a 1.08-inch color screen, 72 face options, and four colors (black, blue, red, and brown). Unlike the Mi Band series, however, you can’t separate the main body itself from the wriststraps.

Redmi’s fitness tracker also offers sleep tracking, heart-rate monitor functionality, sedentary reminders, direct charging, and two weeks of juice.

The new fitness band comes almost a month after rival manufacturer realme launched its Rs 1,499 (~$20) realme Band. Our own Dhruv Bhutani thought the realme Band was an “obvious first generation product,” and advised people to spend a little extra on the Mi Band 4 instead. Hopefully the Redmi Band offers a better experience as well.