This $45 Wearable Made Ditching My Smartwatch Easier Than I Expected

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 sells for $55 connected Amazon, but is discounted to $45
• It's a coagulated fittingness locator pinch awesome artillery life that covers nan basics successful a slim shape factor
• It mightiness not fresh everyone, and nan entry-level search information lacks nan deep, personalized insights you'll find connected much costly devices.

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If you want each nan features of a smartwatch but can't perpetrate to a big, bulky watch face, you mightiness beryllium willing successful a smart band. Xiaomi's ninth-generation celebrated fittingness set boasts galore caller features, making it astir connected par pinch immoderate full-fledged smartwatch, albeit successful a smaller and lighter shape factor.

The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 boasts a compact creation pinch a slim watch look and a bright, 1.62-inch AMOLED display, packed pinch astir each nan health-tracking features you'd find connected immoderate different smartwatch, on pinch awesome artillery life.

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In fact, Xiaomi advertises this instrumentality arsenic having up to 21 days of artillery life connected a azygous charge, though this number decreases depending connected nan number of metrics you show simultaneously. That said, nan artillery life is still rather impressive, and moreover pinch everything turned on, I was capable to execute complete a week of continuous monitoring without needing to complaint it.

So really does nan Smart Band 9 disagree from a smartwatch? Well, nan lines are a small blurred. Basically, it tin do each nan basal things immoderate smartwatch tin do, but without nan quality-of-life features recovered connected higher-end smartwatches and without deeper, much personalized information insights. Xiaomi does person a line of smartwatches, aft all, and naturally, location is immoderate delineation betwixt nan characteristic sets.

The Smart Band 9 has nan basics covered, though. It's meticulous astatine search astir beingness activities and comes pinch complete 150+ sports modes, bosom complaint and humor oxygen tracking, accent tracking, and, of course, slumber tracking. Additionally, it pairs pinch your telephone to support nan astir useful connectivity features, specified arsenic notifications for emails, texts, calls, etc. It does not person GPS, however, nor does it characteristic a mic aliases a speaker. 

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

The instrumentality besides requires immoderate manual tuning that other, much premium devices would astir apt admit automatically. By default, galore of nan continuous monitoring features are switched off. To get nan astir retired of nan device, you'll request to manually move connected nan features you want. 

The set coordinates pinch nan Mi Fitness app for Android aliases iOS for nan complete experience. The app is straightforward capable to screen nan basics, but it isn't overly comprehensive. All nan antecedently mentioned search metrics are accessible successful nan app, which is cleanable and easy to navigate.

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The Smart Band 9 uses nan Mi Fitness three-band rainbow creation arsenic its halfway regular search system. It shows your calories burned, steps taken, and regular movement. As you do each 3 of those things, nan bands fill, marking your progress. This conception is utilized by each mode of wearables, but this 1 features 1 of nan cleaner designs I've seen.

In fact, Mi Fitness is 1 of nan much accessible apps for individuals who aren't well-versed successful fittingness search terminology aliases are caller to nan concept. It does a bully occupation of spacing retired nan information truthful arsenic not to bombard you pinch numbers and metrics. For that reason, this would besides make a awesome locator for kids aliases teens.

Xiaomi says that nan Smart Band 9 features a search sensor that is 16% much meticulous than nan erstwhile version. Still, its accuracy sometimes strayed for me, peculiarly pinch nan much analyzable metrics. For example, it doesn't look to drawback erstwhile I aftermath up astatine night, moreover if I get retired of bed.

Nevertheless, nan slumber search is astir connected par pinch different smartwatches, providing a breakdown of really agelong you were successful each slumber stage, arsenic good arsenic your mean bosom rate, humor oxygen level, and breathing complaint (provided you alteration these features). Its lightweight and bladed shape facet besides makes it very easy to slumber with, truthful if wearing a chunky watch to furniture feels weird to you, this mightiness beryllium a bully option.

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The Smart Band 9 doesn't connection immoderate of nan deeper insights that much broad slumber trackers, for illustration nan Oura ring, provide, but it will construe nan basics for you and incorporated nan information into your wide Vitality Score. This number is Mi Fitness' holistic wellness appraisal metric, which looks astatine nan past 7 days' worthy of information to supply an overarching people based connected your age, weight, and activity level.

Xiaomi makes immoderate wearable accessories that link pinch its smartwatches and smart bands to supply much meticulous data. For example, nan Running Clip for nan Smart Band 9 is only $12 and clips to your footwear for deeper, much meticulous tracking. You conscionable move nan set into moving mode to entree tally cadence, stride length, landing time, landing mode, and more.

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

Let's break down immoderate of nan things I don't emotion astir nan Smart Band 9. First, nan fresh is not precisely perfect. Because nan instrumentality is truthful small, it tends to suffer its optimal position connected nan wrist. There were aggregate instances wherever I looked down, only to spot nan sensor ray flashing connected nan bottommost of nan device, indicating it didn't person tegument contact.

If you're a thin personification aliases person smaller wrists, nan Smart Band 9 whitethorn person a small much problem positioning itself and suffer interaction from clip to time, particularly erstwhile moving around. One measurement to get astir this is to deterioration it very tightly connected your wrist, which whitethorn aliases whitethorn not activity for you.

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Also, nan surface is small. Navigating nan menus is functional, but if you person large hands aliases problem seeing nan mini 1.62-inch display, nan Smart Band 9 mightiness beryllium a small excessively compact.

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

When I tested it retired during a HIIT workout, nan modulation from moving astir to nan small show took immoderate getting utilized to. Similarly, if you're mid-run, it's very difficult to navigate. This is simply a instrumentality you group up earlier moving around.

ZDNET's buying advice

The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 is simply a awesome entry-level instrumentality that tin execute almost everything a smartwatch can, albeit successful a much basal form. If you're looking for accurate, actionable insights crossed circumstantial metrics, you'll want to put successful a premium smartwatch. Still, nan Smart Band 9 and nan accompanying Mi Fitness app are well-designed and accessible, making them awesome options for kids, teens, and individuals conscionable starting their fittingness journeys. 

The instrumentality itself is mini and thin, which whitethorn not make it a bully fresh for definite individuals. Additionally, nan display, though very bright, is astir half nan size of a smartwatch. Its mini size makes it very easy to deterioration to furniture for slumber tracking, and it provides nan basal roundup of slumber search metrics.

If you're looking for a wearable that tin do astir of nan aforesaid things but features a due watch face, see the Amazfit Bip 5, presently connected waste for $60.