Review of Redmi Band (Xiaomi Mi Band 4C) – the best budget phone of 2022

Contents of delivery

If not all fitness bracelets costing $50 have high-quality packaging and additional accessories, then what can we say about a device that costs $17. The user will receive a rectangular box made of cheap and thin cardboard, inside which there will be a fitness bracelet and instructions.

There is no charger included due to the design features of the device, but more on that below.

Possible mistakes

If the Xiaomi fitness bracelet is connected for the first time and unsuccessfully, then the reason may be hidden in the presence of a connection to another gadget. During the connection process, the MAC address of the device must be checked. Accordingly, if a pair has already been created, then connecting to a new smartphone will be impossible. The solution lies in resetting the settings of the fourth Mi Band and resynchronizing.

The cause of the error may be a lack of Bluetooth connection. You need to activate Wi-Fi, install VPN Master, select any country, and re-login to your Xiaomi account.

Another reason for the inability to synchronize with a smartphone is the non-original origin of the Xiaomi tracker.

Usually one of the methods we present helps restore normal operation of devices.

Design

I do not share the statement that the bracelet has an ill-conceived and frankly weak design. As for me, Redmi Band looks good, it is made in accordance with all the standards of the fitness bracelet market.

The rectangular case, smoothly transitioning into the strap, and the display with beveled edges give an ascetic look, but at the same time make the bracelet universal, easily fitting into any style of clothing. The severity of the forms is also emphasized by the touch button in the form of a horizontal gray line.

But all the positive aspects of the design are negated by one design disadvantage - the thickness of the capsule. It can be called incredible, as much as 16 and a half millimeters. Let me remind you that the same Xiaomi Mi Band 5 has a case thickness of 12.4 millimeters, and Honor Band 5 is 11.5 millimeters. If the developers managed to limit the thickness to at least 14 millimeters, then I would give 9 points for the design, but the bracelet gets a well-deserved 8.5.

Mi Band 4 for cycling training

Especially for the test, I chose a route along which I would ride a bicycle to find out how useful the Mi Band 4 would be in this activity. The total distance of my short bike trip was 69 kilometers. I drove from Malaya Vishera to the village of Selishchi, located on the banks of the Volkhov River, which flows in the Novgorod region.

The bracelet notifies you with vibrations about every kilometer passed. During a cycling workout, the screen displays the clock, time from the start of the ride, speed and distance. If you scroll down, you can see the heart rate value, as well as the load level. I can’t say how accurate the pulse data is. But it’s clearly not worth using Mi Band as a heart rate monitor, since for such tasks there are more expensive and more accurate devices - all kinds of chest sensors.

Speed ​​data, by the way, was calculated quite accurately when compared with the performance of a cycling computer. Therefore, the bracelet can be a good assistant in cycling training. Since thanks to it it is possible to maintain a certain degree of load. Let's say that for me the optimal speed value during a race is 19-20 km/h, and based on the data from the bracelet, I can maintain a given pace to make the workout more effective, without exposing myself to overload. The route is also recorded accurately, but it all depends on the smartphone with which you use Mi Band. Since it uses a GPS module installed directly into the smartphone itself.

In general, after 4 hours of cycling, the battery charge of the bracelet decreased by 5% - from 100 to 95%.

In the Mi Fit app, after finishing your workout, you can view the time, average speed, calories burned, heart rate graph, speed, and elevation.

Materials and ergonomics

Redmi Band is made in accordance with the standards of modern wearable gadgets, which involve a combination of plastic, glass and silicone in the design of the device.

The display is covered with tempered glass with an oleophobic coating, to which there are no complaints. Of course, it will constantly get dirty with fingerprints, and in the foreseeable future there will be a lot of small scratches, but this is the fate of all modern fitness bracelets.

The plastic chosen for the case was good, it can even be called excellent, considering the cost of the device. All the gaps were checked, I didn’t hear any creaks or rattles, the water tests were successful.

The strap is the element on which it was decided to save. Not only have silicone straps from Xiaomi always lagged behind those on Huawei/Honor fitness bracelets in quality, but in this case, questions also arise from the features of the design. The main drawback of the strap on the Redmi Band is that the ear is too thin, which makes it inconvenient to fasten the bracelet.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning that the adjustable strap length is 150.7 – 198.8 mm, which means it’s perfect for thin wrists, but may be a little small for those with larger hands. The girth of my wrist is 19 cm. I fasten the bracelet to the third hole from the end.

First impressions

The very first thing that caught my eye after I took the bracelet out of the box was the display. In Mi Band 4, Xiaomi did not skimp and installed a fairly high-quality AMOLED matrix with good viewing angles and rich colors.

Compared to Xiaomi Mi Band 3, visibility on the street has become significantly better. You can see the difference in the photo

By the way, about the packaging: in addition to the Mi Band 4, the box contains instructions and a charging dock.

Compared to the charger for Mi Band 3, it has become much larger. The quality and shape of the cable raises serious doubts about the durability of this design. I hope that savvy craftsmen will be able to make custom chargers for the Mi Band 4. With such dimensions, it seems to me that instead of soldered wiring, a microUSB connector, or, in general, a Type-C connector could be placed. Let's return to the bracelet itself.

Under direct sunlight, the screen, of course, fades a little, but I do not consider this point critical, since this is a feature of all AMOLED displays. The only thing that does not have such a disadvantage is the transreflective type of matrix - a similar one is installed in the Xiaomi Amazfit Bip smartwatch, for example. But now it’s not about them.

The next thing that made me happy about the Mi Band 4 is the new front panel coating. Tempered glass has been used instead of plastic, and in terms of tactile sensations, the device now feels higher quality and more expensive. In theory, this should also provide better scratch resistance. However, the most successful in terms of appearance for me is still the Mi Band 3. Although, taking into account the fact that in such devices it is probably more important to maintain a balance with a preference for practicality, I understand and support such a step on Xiaomi’s part.

The capsule itself has become noticeably thicker. The weight of the gadget, compared to the previous generation, has become slightly larger - if the Mi Band 3 weighed 20 grams, then the Mi Band 4 weighs 22 grams. The difference is not felt on the hand.

By the way, despite the increased size, Mi Band 4 is fully compatible with straps from the previous generation. My set of silicone straps from Mi Band 3 fit without any problems.

I'm delighted with the device, let's now talk in more detail about the filling of the bracelet.

Display

Redmi Band is equipped with a 1.08-inch diagonal TFT color display with a built-in capacitive sensor. The screen resolution is 128 by 220 pixels, which corresponds to a density of 236 pixels per inch.

The color depth of 16 bits means that the color saturation will not be the same as, for example, on the Honor Band 5 or Xiaomi Mi Band 4 (the depth is 24 bits), but the display of the new Xiaomi Mi Band 5 has exactly the same depth.

I compared the display of Redmi Band with Huawei Band 4 Pro. It was noticeable that in terms of color saturation and backlight brightness, the hero of our review is inferior to Huawei’s flagship, which is explained by the difference in the brightness level of the displays (Band 4 Pro has 400 nits, Redmi Band has 200 nits).

But all these claims are based precisely on comparing the fitness bracelet with more expensive and advanced competitors. If you leave only the Redmi Band on your wrist, then all the nuances of the screen become invisible. The display is clear enough to not see individual pixels during normal use, and the brightness is enough for full use outdoors and indoors with good lighting.

The only thing is that in direct sunlight it becomes difficult to read the information on the display, but in the shade in sunny weather everything is visible well.

For the quality of the display, the bracelet deservedly receives 9 points. In the end, I also note that the screen diagonal of 1.08 inches makes the device even more attractive, since 90% of all fitness bracelets on the market have a diagonal of less than 1 inch.

Design vs convenience

According to most observers and bracelet owners, the new shape of the Mi Band capsule has become less beautiful and aesthetic than in the third version. Now, instead of a convex screen, there is a flat display surface, as was the case with the second generation Mi Band.

Here I will side with the manufacturer. Making the screen in the third model of the bracelet streamlined for the sake of design and at the expense of ease of use was a big mistake, because nothing was visible on the display except the sky. Now there is no such problem, and visually the Xiaomi tracker still looks good on the hand (even on a thin one like mine).

Along with the capsule, the charging station has also changed - the contacts have moved. It seems to me that the charging began to look better, but the third Mi Band cannot be charged with its help. But the straps from the previous model will fit the “four” like a glove. So, if you bought it for all occasions, we continue to use it and enjoy it.

Functional

Xiaomi Mi Band 4C does not have the widest range of functions, but it will definitely more than satisfy the needs of most users. So, the owners of the bracelet will have access to the following functionality:

• Receive and view notifications
• Accept or reject an incoming call
• Counting steps and calories burned
• Continuous heart rate measurement
• Sports operating modes
• Sleep monitoring
• Alarm
• Weather forecast
• Controlling music on your smartphone
• Timer and stopwatch
• Sedentary reminder
• Search for smartphone/search for bracelet
• Activate the screen when you turn your wrist
• Do Not Disturb Mode

Notifications

The fitness bracelet works in conjunction with the Xiaomi Wear application, where you can select the applications from which you want to receive notifications. Also, Redmi Band will duplicate SMS and incoming calls on the screen. By the way, you cannot answer the call, you can only reset it or switch it to “Silent” mode.

As for notifications, the sender's name, time of receipt and the text of the message itself will be displayed on the screen. In this case, the specific application from which the notification came will not be indicated, but in the upper right corner there is an “App” icon, which in future updates may be replaced with the icon of the corresponding source.

The Redmi Band screen can accommodate approximately 90 characters, and the maximum message size is 240 characters. If the text is longer, the bracelet will cut it off by placing “…” after the 240th character. But this only applies to text written in Latin.

If you are sent text in Cyrillic, it will be displayed in larger size with a space after each letter. This feature arises due to the fact that we have a Chinese version of the fitness bracelet, which is designed only for English and Chinese, and the Russian font there is not fully developed.

There is a possibility that this problem will be fixed after the Xiaomi Mi Band 4C starts selling in Russia, but there is also a possibility that it will not be fixed at all.

Another interesting nuance. If from messengers and social media. message networks are duplicated normally, then when displaying SMS messages or letters from email, the fitness bracelet does not display the text itself, but only the sender’s name and the subject of the letter.

Sports modes

The fitness bracelet has 5 sports modes:

1. Running

During the training process, the following indicators will be displayed on the bracelet screen: time since the start of the lesson, distance traveled, pace and pulse. After completing the workout, a statistical summary will be displayed on the screen: activity time, distance traveled, pace, average heart rate, number of calories burned, minimum heart rate. The application will present the following statistics:

I ran with a connected smartphone that had GPS running, so the route was plotted on the map. If you run without a smartphone, there will be no map.

2. Treadmill

According to the data collected, exercising on a treadmill is not much different from running. During your workout, the screen will display your activity time, distance traveled, pace, and current heart rate. After completing the activity, the application will display the following statistics:

3. Cycling

In this mode, the following indicators will be displayed on the bracelet screen in real time: time from the start of the workout, distance traveled, speed in km/h, current heart rate. Please note that this workout cannot be started without a connected smartphone with working GPS. The application will provide complete workout statistics: route on the map, calories burned, distance, duration of the session, average speed, average heart rate, as well as graphs of heart rate and calories burned.

4. Walking

During the training process, the bracelet screen displays the time from the start of the activity, the distance traveled, the number of steps taken and the current heart rate. As soon as you complete the workout, the bracelet will display a small summary of the statistics: .... You can learn more about the collected information in the Xiaomi Wear application on the “Data” tab; all the parameters you are interested in will be presented there with graphs and diagrams (see screenshots below).

5. Free workout

During the workout, the following parameters will be displayed on the screen: time, calories, current heart rate. At the end of the lesson, the bracelet will display a short statistical summary of the activity: training time, number of calories burned, average heart rate, maximum heart rate. Full statistics will be available in the application (see screenshots below).

Heart rate monitoring

The fitness bracelet supports 2 heart rate measurement modes:

• Single measurement through the menu of the bracelet itself
• Continuous measurement at specified intervals

Activation of continuous heart rate monitoring is carried out through the Xiaomi Wear application. In the settings you can set the measurement interval (1/5/10/30 minutes). Please note that the shorter the measurement interval, the more the bracelet will consume the battery. Below is a screenshot of a 24-hour heart rate measurement.

You can also set an alert when a specified heart rate threshold is exceeded in the settings. The limit can be selected from the proposed values: 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150 beats/min.

Sleep monitoring

In terms of sleep monitoring, the Redmi Band is very similar to the Xiaomi Mi Band 4, but the statistics in the app are not as detailed. The bracelet can analyze night sleep and determine the deep and rapid phases of sleep. The user will also be presented with the number of awakenings made during sleep. Unfortunately, Mi Band 4C is not able to detect all 3 stages of sleep (deep, light, fast).

There are no complaints about the accuracy of the work; the bracelet correctly calculated both the time of going to bed and the time of waking up. Below you can see the statistics in the application. This is all the data that Remi Band provides. There are no sleep assessments, identification of common problems and recommendations in the application, so in this regard the device is much inferior to the “top” models of the market.

You can set up to 10 alarms in the app. In the menu of the bracelet itself, you can turn off or turn on previously created alarms. Smart alarm is not supported.

Weather forecast

The user can view the weather forecast for the week ahead directly on the screen of their fitness bracelet. Xiaomi Mi Band 4C provides the following data: cloud cover, precipitation, day and night temperature. In terms of the details of the forecast, the device is in no way inferior to the same Xiaomi Mi Band 4.

The locality for which the forecast will be generated is selected automatically when the bracelet is paired with a smartphone. But in the settings you can select any other location manually.

Music control

Redmi Band supports control of music played on your smartphone. Moreover, you can not only switch tracks in applications, but also videos on various video hosting sites, for example, on YouTube. The following actions are available from the functionality: forward/backward, pause/start, change the volume.

Review of the Xiaomi Mi Band 4C (Xiaomi Redmi Band) smart bracelet: six months of use

The bracelet was purchased as a pre-order in April, when the global version did not even exist yet, and in China it was sold under the name Redmi Band. The first bracelet from Redmi interested me with its “rough” design with a completely flat screen and thinking that, as previously happened with Mi Band bracelets, when the international version comes out, I will simply update the firmware and get the Russian language. But “it didn’t work out as expected” and after the release of the global version, which was already called Xiaomi Mi Band 4C (they actually took the bracelet away from Redmi), the firmware was not updated and the Russian language did not appear. Even after 6 months, there is no Russian language and probably never will be, so we have to be content with English. It is worth noting that the Xiaomi Mi Band 4C and Redmi Band bracelets are actually the same thing and differ only in language support. Why doesn't the manufacturer want to release an update that will add Russian? Dont clear. But those who, like me, hoped for an update in the future, were left with an unpleasant aftertaste. Nevertheless, the bracelet is quite interesting and very inexpensive, so I still decided to review it. I'll leave a link to the global version

find out the price for the global version of Xiaomi Mi Band 4C

Content

• Packaging and equipment
• Appearance, design and ergonomics
• Screen
• Functionality of the bracelet
• Working hours
• Application features
• Results

Video version of the review

Packaging and equipment

The packaging is colorful, but very flimsy, as a result of which many people note that upon receipt it is very wrinkled. My case is no exception: the box was slightly flattened and lost its presentation. There is no need to worry too much about the contents, as the bracelet is not fragile and can easily withstand the rigors of delivery. The front part shows a bracelet model.

On the back side we can find the characteristics, but for convenience I translated them:

• Compatible with Android 4.4 and above or iOS 10 and above
• Bluetooth 5
• Moisture protection: 5ATM
• Battery: 130 mAh (provides battery life up to 14 days)
• Screen: 1.08″ TFT with a resolution of 128x220
• Weight: 13g

Inside I found only a bracelet and instructions with a link to the proprietary application. There is no separate charger provided, because the bracelet can be charged directly from USB; to do this, you just need to remove the strap from one side, but more on that a little later...

Appearance, design and ergonomics

The bracelet contrasts favorably against the background of the remnants with which the market is filled, and this is what captivates it. Of course, this design will not be to everyone’s taste, but the model looks very original: flat rectangular glass, sharp chopped edges.

You can easily stick a protective film on the screen and it will stick without peeling off at the edges. Many users note that glass without film scratches quickly, although I didn’t get a single scratch during the entire period of use. True, I don’t wear them all the time, often alternating them with other watches and bracelets. I love all kinds of wearable technology. To control the bracelet, it is proposed to use the touch button under the screen; the screen itself is also touch-sensitive and understands gestures (swipes).

The clasp is the same as that of the Mi Band. It holds tightly and does not unfasten itself. But if it is unsuccessfully caught on clothing, then such a scenario is theoretically possible, so it’s worth keeping an eye on it. I have no problems with this, but I know a person who has already lost 2 bracelets in this way (Mi Band 3 and Mi Band 4).

To recharge, no additional devices are used here; you just need to remove the strap from the bottom. One of the inconveniences is that the strap is quite difficult to remove and it hasn’t gotten better in half a year. Although this may be good, because it will not come off on its own and the bracelet will not be lost.

This solution allows you to charge the bracelet at any time, anywhere where there is a free USB connector. Well, you don’t have to worry that the charging capsule or cable will get lost somewhere.

The second part of the strap is removed in the same way. Replacement straps of other colors are available for sale, so replacing them with something else over time will not be difficult. The material of the complete strap is thermopolyurethane: durable, soft and pleasant to the body. It does not cause skin irritation, even if you wear the bracelet around the clock (which is what I actually do).

On the back side is a typical plethysmographic sensor for reading pulse.

Screen

The screen here is quite good, although in terms of contrast it is of course inferior to the same OLED in Mi Band 4 and Mi Band 5. Nevertheless, the image on it is quite bright and detailed, graininess is not noticeable.

The maximum brightness is enough for the screen content to be clearly readable outdoors.

There are quite a lot of different dials, currently there are 82 varieties and the number continues to grow. Everyone can find something they like. I will show you a full list of watch faces later, but for now a couple of random ones.

In general, the external component of the bracelet can only be praised. In fact, for pennies, Xiaomi made a decent bracelet with an unusual design.

Functionality of the bracelet

The information on the home screen varies depending on the theme you choose, but typically includes a large digital clock, a date in smaller font, and daily pedometer readings. The first item is called status and shows the daily pedometer indicators: the number of steps taken, distance and calories burned. There is also a separate section where you can find out how many times you were “kicked” for low activity throughout the day.

The next section is heart rate. Here you can measure your heart rate on demand, automatic settings are only available in the application. The accuracy is at the level of other bracelets: I turned on heart rate monitors and Amazfit Bip, Mi Band 4 and Mi Band 4C at the same time - the results are the same + - 1-2 beats. This is not surprising, since the sensors are very similar, perhaps even the same.

The next section is training, where various modes are available: running outside, treadmill, cycling, walking, etc.

Depending on the mode, various information is displayed on the screen: time, calories, pulse, distance. If this is for example running on the street, then the GPS of your smartphone is additionally used and then the workout can be viewed on a map with more accurate statistics. You can pause the workout at any time, after which the bracelet will temporarily stop taking readings.

Next comes the weather with daily indicators, the information is pulled up from a smartphone. The next section is notifications. Even the Chinese version understands the Cyrillic alphabet, although of course it doesn’t look very good - there is an extra space after each letter, which greatly reduces the readability of the text. In the global version, Russian text looks good, without being stretched out by unnecessary spaces.

The functions here are the same as in other Mi Bands: you can reset the call or put it on silent; to answer you need to take out your smartphone. I also want to note the good vibration, it is certainly not as powerful as that of expensive smartwatches, but even under winter clothes I can clearly feel it, and in the morning it wakes me up without any problems when using a silent alarm clock.

The last section contains additional features and settings, such as the “do not disturb” mode, where you can temporarily turn off vibration from notifications. There are alarms, but you can only add a new one through the app.

Next are themes, i.e. skins or dials. The bracelet stores 3 watch faces in memory; you can download new ones from the application. A very useful function is to control the smartphone player, convenient when playing sports or on a walk, when the smartphone is in your pocket, and you can use the bracelet to switch tracks and adjust the volume. The player can also be quickly accessed by swiping to the right from the main screen.

As additional tools, we are offered a stopwatch and a timer, and there is a search for your smartphone. The Chinese version has Alipay, but it doesn’t work for us, so it’s of no use.

In the settings you can adjust the screen brightness (in winter, a medium level is enough, in summer you have to turn it up to maximum), reboot the bracelet, reset the settings to factory settings and view information about the firmware.

Working hours

Depends on the usage scenarios, so I can only give my example:

• gesture of turning on the screen by waving your hand is disabled
• maximum screen brightness
• constant connection with a smartphone via Bluetooth
• notifications from instant messengers, calls and SMS on the screen
• automatic round-the-clock heart rate monitoring with a frequency of 1 minute

In this mode, I charge the watch once every 7-10 days, depending on the number of calls, messages, workouts, etc. Reduce the heart rate measurement rate, turn down the brightness a little and the promised 2 weeks will be achieved. Everything is fair here.

Application features

The app is called Xiaomi Wear and is functionally similar to Mi Fit. I recommend that owners of the Chinese version of Redmi Band install this version (mod), it forces the clock to be translated into English. In the standard version of the application from the market, you will receive Chinese on your watch. The application itself is in Russian. You add a device, a connection occurs and the application is ready to use. On the “device” tab there are basic settings for notifications, alarms and watch faces. Let's look at everything in more detail.

Here are some more dials (this is not all) to assess their level. The themes vary: from minimalism to anime, there is plenty to choose from.

You can add several alarm clocks, I have 5 of them and it is possible to add more, perhaps there are no restrictions on their number at all. In notifications, you can select absolutely any application, not just from a specific list. Be it instant messengers, or any games, everything will be displayed on the bracelet screen. Of course, there are notifications about an incoming call with a name or phone number displayed.

In additional settings, you can select the frequency of automatic heart rate measurement and enable notification when a specified threshold is exceeded. This is convenient for running when you need to keep your heart rate in a certain zone. It also includes gesture activation of the screen, reminders to warm up during low physical activity, and the weather. Also in this section you can view information about the firmware and update to the latest version.

The second tab is responsible for indicators and statistics; here you can find information about steps taken, heart rate, physical activity and sleep quality.

Readings are available both per day and for a selected period of time. The statistics are quite detailed and by analyzing them you can adjust your lifestyle, add sports or improve the quality of your sleep. In principle, the bracelet has typical capabilities for its class and is very similar in function to other Mi Band bracelets.

Next is the “health” tab with programs for maintaining physical fitness. This functionality is designed for the domestic market and therefore everything here is in Chinese; this is not interesting for us. In the last section, you can edit your personal information, enter your basic parameters (height, weight) and adjust other settings, such as allowing access to background activity and other applications.

Results

As you can see, the bracelet is functionally no different from the same Mi Band 4; we are offered a standard set: pedometer, heart rate monitor, notifications + monitoring of all main indicators. The differences are mainly cosmetic. Again, in comparison with the classic Mi Band 4, the Mi Band 4C bracelet was made cheaper and the design was significantly redesigned. The screen is simpler, yes. But in principle he is not bad. The rest, plus or minus, is the same: the accuracy of the heart rate monitor and pedometer is the same, and so is the vibration. Autonomy is up to 2 weeks, but when using automatic heart rate measurement and active use it is more likely 7 - 10 days, which is also good. Who can I recommend this model to? Yes, anyone who is satisfied with the functionality of a typical fitness bracelet, but wants to wear on his hand not a remnant in the form of Mi Band 4/5, but something else, brutal and rough. Did I like the bracelet? The impressions were mixed. The bracelet itself is quite good and there are no complaints after 6 months of periodic use. But the setup from Xiaomi with its reluctance to release an update that will add the Russian language is a little upsetting. On the other hand, there is English and this is quite an alternative.

find out the price for the global version of Xiaomi Mi Band 4C

Accuracy of work

Steps and distance

I’ll say right away that the bracelet accurately counts steps while walking, when you are in the process of a specific activity. In everyday use, false alarms are inevitable.

During active gestures, no false alarms were observed with the bracelet. With activities such as exercises, jumping in place, squats, and the like, the step counter will constantly increase. When washing dishes, the bracelet periodically counted steps; in 5 minutes at the sink, it counted 20 extra steps.

As for driving, there are also some inaccuracies. While driving there were no false alarms the entire way until I started parking. Due to sudden movements of the hands when twisting the steering wheel, the bracelet began to add extra steps. I parked 24 steps away.

I conducted a short test to analyze the accuracy of step counting over short distances. Here are the results:

• Took 100 steps, bracelet counted 102
• Took 300 steps, bracelet counted 297
• Took 500 steps, bracelet counted 498

Thus, the average error was only 1.1%.

In order to at least approximately understand the error in calculating the distance and number of steps over long distances, I decided to walk a route exactly 3.5 kilometers long with 2 bracelets on my wrist: Redmi Band and Xiaomi Mi Band 4. On both bracelets I started the “Walking” workout and turned off the connection with GPS on the smartphone (it is clear that when connected to GPS, the distance will be calculated with greater accuracy).

Redmi Band Statistics:

Xiaomi Mi Band 4 statistics:

Firstly, the error in calculating the distance (without connecting to GPS) of the Redmi Band is slightly less than 10% (340 meters at a distance of 3.5 kilometers), which can be called a completely standard result among the “top” modern fitness bracelets.

Secondly, we can conclude that in terms of the accuracy of counting steps and distances, Xiaomi Mi Band 4 and Redmi Band are identical (the difference in the calculated distance is only 40 meters, that is, approximately 1%; the difference in the counted steps is only 8, that is, 0.2%) .

Thirdly, if both bracelets showed almost the same number of steps taken, then we can conclude that the Redmi Band also counts steps quite accurately.

Pulse

As mentioned earlier, with continuous heart rate measurement, the minimum interval between measurements is 1 minute. But this rule does not apply to work in sports modes. There the pulse will be measured in real time. True, there is no escape from the delay in counting. For Redmi Band it can range from 5 to 20 seconds. That is, the bracelet can reliably calculate your current heart rate during this time.

In order to find out how accurately the bracelet measures heart rate at rest, we decided to compare it with Huawei’s flagship, the Band 4 Pro bracelet. As you remember from the review of this bracelet, it has an error of approximately 3% compared to a tonometer.

The result of this comparison was pleasing. The bracelets determined the pulse with almost the same accuracy. The only thing is that several times there was a discrepancy of 1-2 strokes.

We can conclude that Redmi Band measures heart rate at rest with high accuracy. As for measuring high heart rate values, we will conduct a separate test for this, which we will post later in this section.

Joy for my eyes

The display is unrecognizable. Now it is a color 0.95-inch AMOLED with a resolution of 120 × 240 pixels and the ability to change watch faces. It cannot be compared with previous models - there was only 0.75 inches with a resolution of 128 × 80. It seems that the changes are not such a big deal, but taking into account the small size of the gadget, the screen has become not only larger, clearer, brighter, more convenient and informative, but also simply more beautiful. I want to look at him more often!

Interface

Redmi Band has a completely standard interface with the usual menu structure for Xiaomi fitness bracelets. But this device has one big advantage - a large display, which allows you to significantly increase the size of icons and displayed data, which will clearly please many users.

So, swiping up/down opens the main menu, which consists of the following items:

• Status
• Pulse
• Training
• Weather
• Notifications
• Additionally

In the “Advanced” item you can familiarize yourself with the secondary menu, which includes additional functions and settings. There you can find:

• Do Not Disturb Mode
• Alarm clocks
• Dials
• Music control
• Stopwatch
• Timer
• Finding a smartphone
• Alipay

There is one more item missing from the photo above – “Settings”. There you can set the brightness of the bracelet's backlight, reboot the device, reset it to factory settings, and also find out all the system information about the bracelet.

Battery life

Despite the color and larger screen, the tracker's battery life remains the same: up to 20 days on a single charge of a 135 mAh battery. Of course, if you turn on round-the-clock heart rate analysis, brightness to maximum and all kinds of notifications, then you can drain the battery in 5 – 7 days. It’s difficult to say more precisely, since it all depends on the intensity of use.

Autonomy and charger

The manufacturer claims that the autonomy of the Redmi Band is 14 days, but it is greatly exaggerated. Of course, in standby mode the bracelet may last 14 days, but with active use you should not expect such indicators.

At maximum load (constant heart rate measurement every minute, sleep monitoring, daily launch of sports modes, maximum display brightness, receiving and viewing notifications, using alarm clocks, viewing the weather), the bracelet will work for 4 to 5 days.

Redmi Band has one of the most convenient chargers on the smart gadget market. The fact is that a USB connector is integrated into the design of the bracelet, which is hidden under one of the two parts of the strap. Thus, you do not need to carry extra wires with you, as you can charge the bracelet from any power source with a USB port by simply inserting your gadget into it.

Is life better with custom watch faces?

Mi Band 4, like most other wearable technology, despite its functionality, is primarily a stylish accessory. Therefore, those users who care about appearance will appreciate the ability to install third-party watch faces on the fitness bracelet. The watch faces themselves can be installed both from the official Mi Fit application and from third-party sources. One of these is MyWatchFace. The application is completely free. In it you can find dozens of different watch faces for a variety of wearable technology from Xiaomi. If desired, the dials can also be set manually. We will tell you how to do this in one of the following materials.

Language, firmware and bracelet versions

At the moment, Xiaomi Mi Band 4C is not yet sold in Russia, so you can only buy it on AliExpress. There are several nuances associated with this.

Firstly, you will not be able to synchronize the application with the bracelet under the name “Xiaomi Mi Band 4C” (the name of the European version), you will have to select the name “Redmi Band” (Chinese version), and for this you will have to set the region to “Mainland China” (I’ll say right away , that your location will still be determined correctly and the weather will be shown specifically for your city).

Secondly, only Chinese will be available in the bracelet interface. It won't be possible to put it in English. It is not yet known whether the update will come with the Russian language, but, for example, it came to the Chinese version of Xiaomi Mi Band 4. It is worth noting here that the application will be completely translated into Russian, and notifications will display Cyrillic text, albeit in a non-standard font.

Those who are not ready to put up with the Chinese language on the screen of a fitness bracelet can wait for the official release of Xiaomi Mi Band 4C in Russia. But here it is worth mentioning that the Russian version of the tracker will cost much more (approximately 1500-1700 rubles).

A little about the history of Mi Band

The very first generation of smart bracelets from Xiaomi was released in 2014. Mi Band 1 did not have a display; users could learn about new notifications using three LEDs on the front panel. The device was equipped with an accelerometer to track physical activity, however, there was no heart rate monitor yet; it appeared in the Mi Band 1S Pulse, released in 2016.

Photo from 2016. From personal archive.

By the way, my acquaintance with the Mi Band line of fitness trackers began with this model, and from personal impressions, I can say that the first versions were fitness trackers that did not have anything superfluous. Only sport. However, the course of development changed with the release of the next generation Mi Band 2 in the middle of the same 2016.

Mi Band 2 received an OLED display, and at the same time a new design and functions. For control, a touch key at the bottom of the front panel began to be used.

Mi Band 3 will be released in 2022. It differed from Mi Band 2 in the presence of a full-fledged touch display - it became possible to navigate the interface using swipes, and the button in the middle, made in the form of a recess, began to function as a return to the previous screen. The design of the capsule has become streamlined, which makes the device look more premium in appearance (according to my subjective feelings).

For the last six months, by the way, I have been using this particular model and in short I can say that Xiaomi’s device turned out wonderful, but with a number of shortcomings - one of them is the screen, which fades greatly in the sun, and the plastic coating of the front panel. These shortcomings have been corrected in Mi Band 4. First impressions after unboxing the device below.