The Xiaomi Mi Band 4 has just been launched in China, and it is superior to its predecessor in almost every way. It has a larger, sharper AMOLED display now (no more monochrome screen here), a bigger battery, and even support for voice control.
Most importantly, the Mi Band 4 retains the company’s very competitive pricing strategy. So should you buy it? Let’s find out.
What differentiates the Mi Band 4 from its predecessor the most is definitely the new colour screen. The 0.95-inch 240 x 120 AMOLED display (protected by a 2.5D glass) is not only bigger and sharper, it’s also said to be brighter than the OLED display of the Mi Band 3.
And with that new display, the Mi Band 4 is a lot more customisable now. There are various watchfaces for the new wearable, and Xiaomi also collaborated with a few names like Overwatch to release their own custom watchfaces.
In retrospect, this level of customisation is really quite impressive for a wearable at this price point. Despite the bigger display, it’s worth noting that the Mi Band 4 can still return up to 20 days of battery life.
Voice control is also available on the Mi Band 4 now. Yes, it has a dedicated microphone, and you can give specific voice commands to it. Xiaomi demonstrated several use case scenarios for this new feature, some of which can be really useful.
Naturally, the Mi Band 4 works in tandem with Xiaomi’s range of smart home products, so you can issue voice commands to the wearable to control them. You can use the Mi Band 4 to, say, dim your lights, open the curtains, or play some music through a connected smart speaker.
It doesn’t just stop there, of course: voice commands on the Mi Band 4 goes further than just controlling connected devices. It’s possible to ask the wearable to show your heart rate, start a timer, or even set a reminder. At a glance, it’s almost as powerful as a dedicated digital assistant.
However, as impressive as the voice command is on the Mi Band 4, it remains to be seen just how much of the feature will be retained outside of China. Hopefully, it will be just as useful once the wearable is available globally.
Just like its predecessor, the Mi Band 4 has two models: one with NFC support, and one without. On top of that, it supports payment via QR code with Alipay too, though it’s not confirmed if this feature is only available in China.
Besides the two variants of Mi Band 4, there is also a special limited edition model of the wearable: an Avengers-themed version. It comes with a custom Avengers watchface, a collection certificate, and three different straps – that’s right, three.
One of the straps is modeled after the Avengers itself, while the other two are inspired by Captain America and Iron Man. It’s quite a neat-looking limited edition model, and we imagine fans of the franchise would be keen to get it.
That being said, you’ll have to pay quite the premium for the Avengers-themed Mi Band 4: it retails for 349 Chinese yuan, which comes up to about RM210. While that’s not awfully expensive, the standard versions of the wearable are a lot more affordable.
The regular, non-NFC variant of the Mi Band 4 retails at only 169 yuan (approximately RM100), while the NFC model goes for 229 yuan (around RM135). All three variants of the Mi Band 4 will be available from 14 June onwards in China.
Needless to say, the Xiaomi Mi Band 4 is one of the most impressive wearables unveiled so far, and it’s certainly Xiaomi’s best offering to date. Its sheer value for money alone makes it a very compelling product, and hopefully, it will be available in more markets soon – especially Malaysia.