Hello everyone, and welcome to the post. Today, we’ll discuss Xiaomi’s newest band, the Mi Band 7, and how it differs from the Mi Band 6 from a year ago. We’re going to examine the similarities and differences between the two and which one you should buy, so let’s get started.
Mi Band 7 | Mi Band 6 |
---|---|
BUY NOW | BUY NOW |
PROS | PROS |
✔️Larger and brighter display ✔️Always-on display ✔️Larger battery ✔️Many new sports modes ✔️Sufficient battery life | ✔️Larger display ✔️SpO2 tracking ✔️very comfortable ✔️great price-performance ratio |
CONS | CONS |
❌No NFC ❌No GPS ❌No wireless charging ❌Unclear app policy ❌Mi Fitness app still with weaknesses | ❌no GPS ❌slightly shorter battery life than the Mi Band 5 |
Xiaomi Mi Band 7 vs Mi Band 6: Specs
Categories | Mi Band 7 | Mi Band 6 |
---|---|---|
Display size | 1.62 “color dynamic AMOLED display | 1.56 “color AMOLED display |
Dials | 100+ species (dynamic + adjustable) | 100+ species (adjustable) |
Heart rate sensor | 24 hour monitoring | 24 hour monitoring |
Water resistance | up to 50 meters | up to 50 meters |
Intelligent assistant | XiaoAi | XiaoAi |
Fineness of the display | 326 ppi (490 x 192 px) | 326 ppi (486 x 152 px) |
Maximum brightness | 500 rivets | 450 rivets |
Display protection | 2.5D tempered glass | 2.5D tempered glass |
Exercise modes | 120 sports (of which 3 primary + statistics) | 30 – 100 sports (depending on version) |
Sleep monitoring | 24 hour sleep monitoring | 24 hour sleep monitoring |
Charging | Magnetic charging | Magnetic charging |
NFC | Yes (Chinese version of NFC) | Yes (Chinese version of NFC) |
Drums | 180 mAh | 125 mAh |
Endurance per charge | 14 days | 14 days |
Bluetooth | 5.2 BLE | 5.0 BLE |
Additional features | Measurement of blood oxygen content (SpO2) Breathing exercises PAI index Menstrual cycle monitoring Camera shutter remote control Coach mode | Measurement of blood oxygen (SpO2) Breathing exercises PAI index | Menstrual cycle monitoring Camera remote control |
Where to Buy? | View On Amazon | View On Amazon |
Xiaomi Mi Band 7 vs Mi Band 6: Similarities
Design & Features
- They both have AMOLED touch screen interface.
- They both have a Heart Rate Monitor, anAccelerometer, and a Gyroscope.
- They have the same app compatibility; the MI fitness app or the Zep app.
Let’s start with the screens, which are identical in their AMOLED touch screen interface and have a five-atmosphere water resistance rating for both devices.
Although there were rumors that the 7 would have a GPS, they both have a heart rate monitor, an accelerometer, and a gyroscope. While there is no GPS, there is a connected GPS via your phone and spo2 tracking.
These seven pushed me toward the mi fitness app, while the six pushed me toward the zep app. I’m not sure if they’re pushing to put everything in the mi fitness app, but there is a little bit of flexibility between the two, but to be honest, I think the zep app is a little bit better.They have the same app compatibility, whether the mi fitness app or the zep app.
Health Feature & Charger
- They both have Exercise Tracking, Sleep Tracking, Breathing Exercises, Women’s Menstrual Cycle Tracking, and the Personal Activity Intelligence Score.
- They both work with Android and iOS.
- They both come with the same Magnetic Charger.
They both have exercise tracking, which we’ll discuss in a moment, sleep tracking, breathing exercises, women’s menstrual cycle tracking, and the personal activity intelligence score, which indicates your level of fatigue.
It takes about two to three hours to charge either device fully, and they both work with Android and iOS; the only differences between the two are that the 7 requires Android 6.0 or higher, and the 6 requires Android 5 or higher. They both come with pretty much the same magnetic charger, which you can use interchangeably between the two. I like how it snips on.
Xiaomi Mi Band 7 vs Mi Band 6: Differences
Display & Battery Life
- The Band 7 has a 1.62-inch AMOLED display and the Band 6 has a 1.56-inch AMOLED display.
- The Band 7 has 500 nits and the Band 6 has 450 nits.
- Only Band 7 has Always-on display option.
Taking a closer look at the differences, The first and most crucial difference is the size of the screens: the 7 has a 1.62-inch AMOLED display, whereas the 6. has a 1.56-inch AMOLED display, which sounds incredibly small.
It’s also a little brighter; the 500 nits claimed are up from the 6’s 450 nits. Also, with the screen this year, they added an always-on display option with the 7, which is convenient because you don’t have to wait for the band to turn on when you bring it up to your face. Of course, this will significantly reduce the battery life.
Of course, they advertise a battery life of about 15 days with a 180-milliamp-hour battery, but if you use an always-on display, you’ll likely get closer to five or six days.
When I first got the 7, it was a little sluggish, but with the update, it didn’t get much better. The user interface did get a little bit of a makeover. It is a little bit more fluid and a little bit more pleasing to the eye. I would say it is a little bit more blocky on the 6. It’s not that crazy, to be honest.
Additionally, you can choose from a more significant number of watch faces on the 7 (100+) or the 6 (60+), which is still a minimal number. As for battery life, the 7 has a 180 milliamp-hour battery, while the 6 has a 125 milliamp-hour battery. 180 to 125 sounds like a lot, but sadly, it won’t provide much more battery life.
You’ll get roughly the same battery life between the two unless you turn on the always-on display on the 7, which will probably even reduce it by a little bit farther. If you turn on all the activity tracking stuff like that with both of these, you’ll probably get around seven to eight days, but if you’re not turning any of those on again, you’ll get around two to three days.
Fitness Features
- Only the Band 7 has sp02 alerts and vo2 Max.
They both have the same heart rate monitor built into their fitness dragons, but the 7 has sp02 alerts, new training modes like vo2 max and other training loads, and additional sports tracking modes. As a result, the 7 offers more sports tracking options than the 6, and the sp02 on the 7 can be continuously monitored to send notifications when it drops below 90%, whereas the 6 does not.
The 7 also comes with extra data regarding v02 max with the aerobic and anaerobic exercises that go into EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) to let you know how well you are recovered. You can do it with sleep with continuous tracking, which does all-day tracking on the 7 with your sp02 levels.
To help you with your fitness and where you should push yourself, you can find more information on the 7 than you can on the 6.
Xiaomi Mi Band 7 vs Mi Band 6: User Interface
It’s not a big deal because the interface has a little bit more box ears, but as you can see, the 6″ display doesn’t allow for much more screen space.
Let’s get into your workouts immediately, so I’ll start the countdown again if I’m going for an outdoor run. Reasonably bright, you can see a lot of helpful information, including your heart rate, distance, average pace, and even more details like cadence, in addition to other things like distance and additional information that you can swipe up.
When you need to cancel these, swipe to your right and hold that. It took me a while to figure this out. When you launch the Mi Band 6 workout app and head out for the same outdoor run, you’ll notice that it’s not connected and that the countdown isn’t as bright as it usually is.
However, it is a little bit different; they are attempting to improve the contrast by showing cadence, stride, calories, and where your heart rate is down at the bottom rather than pace, which makes it a little bit more challenging to see all of your information on the 7 when you do this.
Additionally, both have interchangeable straps, and their backs appear nearly identical, with the same charging at the bottom. As a result, you won’t see much at the bottom of either of these.
The 6 will not fit into the 7 because it is slightly larger; however, if you push it in, it will fit, though it will be a little loose, and they can still fit reasonably well.
Price & Conclusion
What are my conclusions and advice for the two devices overall? If you have the 6 and are considering upgrading to the 7, hold off because the price will soon drop to around $70 on Amazon. A similar thing happened when the 6 was first released; the price started high and declined.
The 7 is currently around $70, but we can still purchase the 6 for about $45; therefore, if you already own a 6, wait for a little before considering upgrading. However, the difference between the two is only about $25, so if saving money is not a priority for you, the 7’s larger screen and additional information will enable you to track your oxygen saturation continuously.
I would suggest the 7 over the 6, but if you want to wait, say, a month or two, I think the price tag will drop to $60, maybe even $55, when it does so, so you will be able to save a little bit of money in that regard.
I don’t see many situations where you would want the Mi Band 6 unless you were looking to save a little bit of money, but if you were looking for something with a little extra battery life, the Mi Band 4 and Mi Band 5 do come with a lot more battery life.