Xiaomi’s latest fitness tracker – Mi Band 3 – comes to India

In a press event in Bangalore, Xiaomi announced the launch of the Mi Band 3 in India. The Mi Band 3 is the latest update to the company’s popular affordable fitness tracker.

Design

The Mi Band 3 has a fairly by-the-numbers design, but it gets the job done. Like the Mi Band 2, the Mi Band 3 has an OLED display, although this time it is also a touchscreen and is slightly bigger. Xiaomi says this leads to a better experience for viewing messages and answering calls.

Like more affordable Fitbits, the device itself is separate from the band and can be popped out for charging, and the straps can be swapped out for different colors. It comes with a black band in the box, but you can buy orange or blue straps separately.

Compared to previous Mi Bands, the latest iteration is a looker. The face is made entirely of 2.5D curved glass, which gives it a very premium feel given the price point. The OLED display sits in the middle of the screen’s glass panel with invisible bezels.

The IP rating also appears to have been improved as the device is now water resistant at up to 50-meters, meaning you can wear it in the shower or pool without worrying about ruining your new toy.

Performance

As a basic health tracker, the Mi Band 3 can do a lot. It can track calories, count steps, monitor your heart rate, and register sleep. You can decide in the app how frequently it checks your heart rate, allowing you to better balance the completeness of the data with the device’s battery life.

Activity tracking is less impressive. The Mi Band 3 only has four activity profiles: running, treadmill running, walking, and cycling. If you plan to lift some weights or go swimming or play some sport and monitor your heart rate during that workout you will be disappointed.

The Mi Band 3 is not exactly a smartwatch but its smart features are still impressive, given its price. You can get notifications from five different apps, call notifications, and 5-day weather forecast. There’s also a ‘Find my phone’ function along with ancillary features like alarm, stopwatch, and idle alert.

According to Xiaomi, the Mi Band 3 has a 20-day battery life which is similar to its predecessor.

Pricing and Availability

Of course, the USP of the Mi Band 3 fitness tracker is its price. For 1,999 rupees ($28), you can get a fitness tracker capable of pretty much everything a casual user could need. Its feature set rivals more expensive options like the Fitbit and yet it doesn’t feel cheap or poorly made.

The Mi Band 3 will go on sale starting 12 noon on September 28 on mi.com and Amazon.in, and soon will be available at Mi Home and other Mi Preferred Stores.

What are your thoughts on the MI Band 3, and would you pick one up? Tell us in the comments!