With the Xiaomi bracelet with an initial price of 79 yuan, Xiaomi's Huami Technology has become the second largest intelligent wearable device company in the world. The former shipped more than 12 million pieces in 2015. Xiaomi also launched its new product before this, and the core improvement is to increase the time to show that the price is still 149 yuan.
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Appearance and workmanship
When the whole series of Xiaomi mobile phone packaging has become a pure white paper box, Xiaomi bracelet 2 has maintained the same kraft paper packaging as the previous generation, with a nostalgic taste. The production information on the back shows that the machine is manufactured by Huami (Xiaomi Ecological Chain Enterprise) in Pudong New Area, Shanghai.
The bracelet body and the watch strap are stored separately, and the accessories have only one charging line. Perhaps for cost reasons, the charger is fixed by clamping instead of magnetic adsorption. In addition, because the shape of the bracelet becomes fat, the charger of the previous generation Xiaomi bracelet cannot be used universally.
Xiaomi bracelet 2 is only available in pure black for the time being, but because it is a black display panel, it may not have a version in other colors. If it does, it may be difficult to match with the pure black body.
The biggest change in appearance is that the magnesium aluminum alloy front panel, which used to be only used for decoration, has become a screen and touch button that can display time. Under the smooth plastic panel, there is a touch button that cannot be pressed. It is made of aluminum alloy with concentric circular lines. The two materials are closely combined, but the testing machine has a slight height difference, and the joint is easy to hide dirt.
The heart rate sensor on the back is smaller than that of the previous generation. Theoretically, the anti-interference ability and accuracy should be reduced. However, the heart rate sensor on the Xiaomi bracelet 2 is more prominent and closely fits the back of the hand, improving the anti-interference ability to a certain extent. The side effect is that the contact area with the wrist is smaller, and the wearing comfort is improved to a certain extent.
Wear
Xiaomi bracelet heart rate version, Xiaomi bracelet 2, Samsung Gear Fit
Xiaomi bracelet 2 is slightly larger than the previous generation, which is still a certain distance from the large smart bracelet.
Both generations are fixed with a single buckle, but the buckle nail teeth of Xiaomi bracelet 2 are smaller, but the resistance and tightness of wearing them are close, so they are unlikely to be broken.
The core part is designed to be taken out from the inside only, without flying out, but it can still "rotate" inside the strap.
Wearing comfort Mainly affected by "weight, weight distribution, contact surface and material":
The weight and weight distribution of the already light bracelet are not a problem. The core parts of the two generations are 5g and 7g respectively (the heart rate version of the Xiaomi bracelet is 5.5g), and the weight difference can't be detected on the wearer's hands. The main weight increase of Xiaomi bracelet 2 actually comes from the wider watchband, but it is still very light, close to the small electronic watch;
The contact surface must be Xiaomi bracelet 2 with a wider wristband, but the latter has a convex heart rate sensor at the core, which makes the back of the wrist more comfortable;
In terms of material quality, the first generation with coarser grain size will be more dry and refreshing to the touch, while the second generation will feel like a skin like coating, and there will be obvious differences when you sweat lightly. Of course, there will be no difference between them when they are soaked in sweat
In general, the wearing feeling of the two generations of millet bracelets is not very different, but it may be because of the addition of the appearance value of millet bracelet 2. I personally prefer the wearing feeling of the two generations, but it would be better if the abrasive grain size of the watchband could be larger.
function
The core basic functions of the smart bracelet are step counting, sleep monitoring, vibrating alarm clock and message reminding. Heart rate detection and time display are the functions that began to be popular last year. The appearance of time display and digital screen has begun to blur the boundary between the smart bracelet and the watch.
The app of Xiaomi Bracelet has not changed much from the previous one. The home page is about sleep, exercise and heart rate. "Smart Play" is the function setting page (I still don't understand why it can't be called "setting" seriously). The rest are personal information and 90% of users will not open the discovery page (the collection page of activities, stores and services).
Advertisement at startup
The app is easy to use, but there are some cumbersome parts. What is not so kind is that the opening page of the app has advertisements
Sport mode supports fact data display and map mode, and track information is recorded through GPS of mobile phone.
The display content of the bracelet can be selected by yourself. In addition to time, click the button to switch between "steps, mileage, heart rate, and remaining battery".
Display content of Xiaomi bracelet 2
You can view detailed data by sliding on the step counting and sleep charts. Data backtracking is already supported, but it can only jump day by day.
Step counting
The bracelet is followed by the hand, and the mobile phone is followed by the leg. The latter only counts steps when walking, so it is a recognized fact in the industry that the mobile phone's step accuracy exceeds the bracelet. But the stability of the bracelet is more important than precision. Users don't care too much about whether the bracelet is absolutely accurate. As long as the data statistics are stable, the trend of the amount of exercise can be reflected whether it is too large or too small.
In the test, the left hand wore the Xiaomi bracelet heart rate version and Xiaomi bracelet 2, the right hand wore the Samsung Gear Fit, and then compared with the mobile phone's step counting data, the test machine was S6 edge.
The test results are still disappointing, and once again verify the old law that the accuracy of the bracelet is not good. The three bracelets have obvious deviations. The first thing to say is:
The use frequency of the left and right hands is different, and brushing teeth and typing may be included in the steps, so the step counting data of the two millet bracelets and Gear Fit cannot be completely matched;
The S6 edge and Gear Fit test machines use Samsung's S Health, and the algorithm is consistent. Their data difference is basically the step count difference between the mobile phone and the bracelet.
Statistics of steps and distance of four equipment in three days
The gap between the data of three bracelets and that of mobile phones
Data statistics of mobile phone, Xiaomi bracelet 2 and Gear Fit in 5 days
Data gap between two bracelets and mobile phone data
As for the problem of being too big or too small, the number of steps of Xiaomi bracelet 2 is the smallest. The heart rate version of Xiaomi bracelet and Gear Fit increase in turn. Xiaomi bracelet 2 has a stronger ability to filter invalid actions than the previous generation and Gear Fit. But it seems to have a unified algorithm to reduce the number of steps. When there are many or few steps (June 30, June 29), Xiaomi bracelet 2 has a problem of large or small steps.
In terms of distance prediction, when converting steps into distances, it can be seen that the default step length of Xiaomi is shorter than that of Samsung (personal height and weight data are consistent), leading to a further widening of the distance prediction gap between Xiaomi's bracelet and Gear Fit. In terms of data accuracy, everyone is just 50 steps and 100 steps
In terms of data fluctuation, Xiaomi Bracelet 2 is larger than the previous generation. Although it is slightly better than Gear Fit, considering that the latter is worn on the right hand, the data stability of Xiaomi Bracelet 2 is not very good, especially in the "extreme" situation where there are too many or too few steps.
heart rate
The heart rate function of Xiaomi bracelet will only be automatically turned on in the movement mode and sleep monitoring. Under normal conditions, it will not maintain automatic monitoring like the 37 degree bracelet, Fitbit Charge HR and Apple Watch. In the exercise record, there are only two data, the highest and the average heart rate. There is no fluctuation chart during the exercise, which greatly reduces the practicability.
In terms of heart rate detection accuracy, smart watches and bracelets are basically photoelectric sensors, and there will be no obvious difference between them. Even using mobile phone LED lights+app can achieve similar effects.
For bracelets/watches, the fault tolerance rate and reading success rate of heart rate detection are far more significant than accuracy. In this regard, the Xiaomi bracelet 2 reduces the power of the heart rate sensor (the brightness of the LED light), which directly affects its tolerance for the use environment. When detecting heart rate, even simple walking will lead to the failure of the degree, while the heart rate version of the Xiaomi bracelet and Gear Fit are not few in this regard.
When exercising, we use the Gear Fit that performed well in the previous test as a benchmark (the previous evaluation can be Portal ）。 For the continuous heart rate detection of Xiaomi bracelet 2, the refresh speed is lower than Gear Fit, and the overall value is larger. When the basic heart rate is about 65, Xiaomi bracelet 2 is generally 5-10 higher. In addition, the latter often has 10-15 data fluctuations, and the data accuracy and stability are average.
Xiaomi bracelet 2 may be found that the current heart rate function is of little significance, so it simply selects a component with lower power consumption, leaving the power for standby, which further reduces the availability of heart rate detection. But the author actually agrees with this choice
Sleep monitoring
Xiaomi bracelet heart rate version, Xiaomi bracelet 2, Gear Fit sleep statistics of the same day
The original Xiaomi bracelet can automatically judge the user's sleep time and enable sleep monitoring, which is much better than the manual recording of Gear Fit (Samsung is unwilling to update the firmware of Gear Fit).
I didn't sleep very well that night. Although it was the same hand, the sleep process recorded by the two generations of Xiaomi bracelets was significantly different, and their icon difference with Gear Fit was even more obvious.
In terms of sleep monitoring accuracy, Xiaomi Bracelet 2 is significantly higher than the previous generation (the more times you record waking up, the higher the sensitivity). However, including Gear Fit, their statistical charts are too simple.
Statistical table of light sleep duration (Gear Fit: the sum of "light sleep" and "light sleep")
Statistical table of deep sleep duration
Time of falling asleep and waking up: by directly comparing the data of the two generations of Xiaomi bracelets, their statistics of falling asleep and waking up time almost coincide with each other, and their accuracy is very high, which deserves praise.
Statistical results: there is a certain gap between the sleep statistical accuracy of several bracelets and that of Fitbit Low precision also leads to their irregular detection results. Statistically, the two generations of millet bracelets have similar statistical values. However, as long as I didn't sleep very well that night, the data recorded in the situation would be more complicated, and the results of the three bracelets would have a gap of tens of minutes.
Because there is no reference object, it is impossible to confirm who is the most accurate reflection of the truth. But on the whole, the sensitivity of Xiaomi bracelet 2 is higher than that of Gear Fit, but lower than that of Xiaomi bracelet heart rate version (the higher the sensitivity, the longer the shallow sleep time, and the shorter the deep sleep time). Fortunately, although the error of deep sleep statistics is huge, the difference between them in shallow sleep statistics is within one hour.
Time display
For the bracelet, increasing the time display is a huge practical improvement. At least you can view some data directly, and you can use it as a watch without exercising at ordinary times.
Brightness: its OLED screen does not support brightness adjustment, and the brightness is average. The advantage is that it saves electricity and won't be too bright in the dark, but it can only be seen in the sunlight when it is slightly blocked from the sun.
Raise the hand to light up: trigger sensitivity is very high, rotate or raise the hand almost Both can be lit, but the main problem is the screen lighting speed. The speed of lifting the hand is slower than that of Gear Fit, which is already a bit slow. The whole triggering process needs to wait more than half a second, which often gives you the illusion that "the action may not be big enough to trigger", and the experience is greatly reduced
The touch screen lights up: the sensitivity of the touch screen is very high. It can light up the screen with a slight pressure. All metal, water and sausage can't light it up. The speed of lighting up the screen is much higher than the mode of lifting the hand to light up. Because it is too slow to raise my hand to light the screen, I usually touch the screen directly
Mis touch: It is easy to trigger when the hand is raised to light up. Usually, the chance of accidentally lighting up is higher, but the screen is only lit up for 5 seconds. In addition, after lighting up the screen, continuing to click will only switch between different contents, and the additional power consumption is not much. However, it is worth noting that after the heart rate display is turned on, it will be forced to start measuring the heart rate every time it is clicked, which will consume more power. In addition, the failure rate of the detection is too high, and the reading can only be obtained after a complete stop. The practicability is too low. It is recommended to turn off the heartbeat display for daily use.
Vibrating alarm clock&message reminder&long sitting reminder
Vibration amplitude/perception: the default is 3 consecutive vibrations, slightly weaker than the previous generation. Under normal wearing tightness, it is enough for people to feel. However, there is still nothing you can do for users who sleep too much. If you can't wake up, it is recommended to arrange multiple alarm clocks.
Message reminder: It supports notification by phone, SMS and third-party applications, and the latter can choose the application that can be notified, which is better. However, due to hardware limitations, users can only be reminded by shaking and simple icons on the display. They cannot view details, let alone reply. In addition, it is easy to ignore the vibration of the bracelet when walking, and the practicality is general.
Reminder of sitting for a long time: if no activity is detected within one hour, it will vibrate to remind the user, urge the user to exercise, and set the reminder period and free time at noon. The settings are perfect and careful. The measured effect is also far more meaningful than the notification reminder, and this function can be turned on normally.
Find a mobile phone: It's just a vibrating button, and it's still a little bit vibrating. If you fall on the couch, this function will be weak, and it's better than nothing.
Use and maintenance
Connection: Xiaomi bracelet 2 will take a little time to bind for the first time, and Bluetooth will not be a problem for the rest of the time. The effective connection distance is about 6 or 7 meters, which is acceptable.
Endurance: The official standard has a 3-week endurance. In actual use, there are 3 alarm clocks a day but notification push is turned off. The bracelet loses power at about 5% every day, which is close to the nominal value. However, if push is turned on and there are many messages, the endurance will definitely decline significantly. This heart rate version of the Xiaomi bracelet, whose endurance is lower than that of the original generation, but much better than the 10 day endurance level, can make you ignore charging.
It is worth noting that the 10 day endurance and the 3 week endurance are much better than smart watches, but they seem to be similar. However, the endurance after low battery warning has a huge impact on the experience. It is also 15% of the remaining power. Xiaomi bracelet 2 is enough to last for three days, so it will not be a problem to survive normal business trips, while Xiaomi bracelet heart rate version will start looking for a charger.
Charging: from 0 to 100%, the charging time is about 1.5 hours to 2 hours, and the speed is normal
Maintenance: At the beginning of use, the author subconsciously felt that its mirror surface was easy to flower, and the painted aluminum alloy of the buckle was easy to paint off. But in fact, half a month later, the first thing to scratch is the watchband (the mirror surface also has a slight scratch)... After all, the area of the watchband is much larger than the front mirror surface and the buckle, so the chances of scratching are high. In addition, the smaller abrasive particle size and softer watchband also make the millet bracelet 2 easier to show scratches than the previous generation, so pay attention to maintenance at ordinary times. Of course, the bracelet is not expensive, and it is still black, and it is not obvious to spend it.
Core dropout: The previous generation all had the risk of core dropout, and many users reported that the core of the bracelet was missing after the exercise... The Xiaomi bracelet 2 was designed to only take out the core inwards, and it requires very, very strong efforts to push out the core outwards, so it is almost impossible to fly off.
summary
Xiaomi bracelet 2 has updated its appearance, added time display, and doubled its price compared with the original generation. However, at 149 yuan, it is still the cheapest smart bracelet with time display among major manufacturers.
It is easy to scratch, the accuracy of step counting and the availability of heart rate are general, these are its clear problems, but the availability of sleep monitoring, vibrating alarm clock/notification and movement reminder is very high. Of course, its biggest improvement is the time display. For such a degree of completion, 149 yuan is a price that can't be bought at a loss. However, whether we can get the original price is another question.
