Everything you need to know
Update: The Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 8 review is now live
The Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 8 has finally been released globally – as was unveiled by Xiaomi alongside the all-new Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro.
The Mi Band 8 Global Edition brings minimal physical upgrades over its predecessor, but some significant improvements under the hood.
The budget fitness tracker range has been a colossal hit since 2014, with strong features and a low price, in comparison to the likes of the Fitbit Charge 5 and Inspire 3.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Global release date and price
The Xiaomi Mi Band 8 has a £39.99/€49.99 price tag, so it’s had a small price cut from the Mi Band 7. There’s no official US price, but we’re sure it will land at around $50 soon.
It’s available from the official Xiaomi store, and you’ll find it at other retailers too, including Amazon.
The company also released the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Active, which boasts an LCD display and 14-day battery life, and retails for just £19.99.
Xiaomi Smart Band 8 key specs
> Our guide to the best fitness trackers.
| Mi Band 8 | Mi Band 7 | |
|---|---|---|
| Display |
1.62-inch 192 x 490 AMOLED 600 nit 60 Hz |
1.62 inch 192 x 490 AMOLED 500 nit |
| Sensors | PPG HR SpO2 (blood oxygen) 6-axis motion |
PPG heart rate SpO2 (blood oxygen) 3-axis accelerometer 3-axis gyroscope |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 5.1 LE | Bluetooth 5.2 LE |
| Battery |
190 mAh 16 days standard 6 day with AOD |
180 mAh 14 days battery life |
| Water resistance | 5ATM (50m) | 5ATM (50m) |
| Dimensions | 48 x 22.5 x 10.99mm | 46.5 x 20.7 x 12.25mm |
Read our full Xiaomi Mi Band 8 vs Mi Band 7 comparison guide.
Health tracking metrics
The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 is equipped with Xiaomi’s SpO2 and heart rate monitoring and sleep monitoring.
It also includes blood pressure monitoring, according to Xiaomi. We’ll be testing this out as well, and discovering the extent to which the Mi VBand 8 will keep tabs on your blood pressure.
There’s also female menstrual cycle recording and prediction – although not the biometrically smart systems we’ve seen from Samsung, Apple and Huawei.
New style and better battery life
The Mi Band 8 still offers a 1.62-inch, 192 x 490-pixel AMOLED always-on display, which was introduced on the previous generation.
While the screen resolution or size hasn’t changed, it is brighter and has been treated to a larger 60Hz refresh rate.
Battery life has also been beefed up, and the Mi Band 8 is quoted as lasting 16 days between charges, and 6 days if you use the always-on display. That’s up from 14 days on the Mi Band 7.
As we reported from early rumors, Xiaomi has changed the straps, which now clip into the module directly – which looks far more modern and attractive.
And Xiaomi has focused on increasing the number of strap choices. By and large, Mi Bands have been left with charmless, rubber bands that hold the module in place. The new straps certainly elevate the design, and give the impression of a design change.
New running smarts
The Mi Band 8 has over 100 sports modes built in, but there’s a bigger focus on running this time around. While it doesn’t have a built-in GPS, the Mi Band 8 can track running workouts from the foot.
Xiaomi has also doubled down on the Mi Band’s ability to clip onto clothing and still track movement, which it calls “Pebble Mode.”
When clipped to the laces of the shoe it will track metrics from running shoes – however, the extent of this data and insights is unclear and something we’ll be putting to the test in our forthcoming review.
Xiaomi is getting deeper into the insights game, however, and the Mi Band 8 will use its improved accelerometer sensor to plug into fitness courses in the Mi Fitness app, which are based on movement.
We hope this rolls out to an international audience, and we’re excited to see what kind of insights it could provide.
