Part II: Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro Review
The Package
Unboxing All Items
Package Content
- x1 Charging Cable
- x1 Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro
- x1 User Guide
Design – So What’s New?
A Brighter and Bigger Display
Xiaomi added some improvements to the new Smart Band 7 Pro. For example, the display is more significant, equipped with a 1.64-inch rectangular AMOLED display with a resolution of 280×486 pixels, which provides good sharpness and color range. Also, the straps are easier to detach from the central unit and feel more comfortable to wear on the wrist. The software features remain the same as in Xiaomi’s previous Smart Band series.
There is nothing new or innovative in the software arena. You got your heart rate, oxygen, and sleep monitoring, plus hundreds of sports modes most users will not use daily, but it’s good to have access to them.
Build In navigation (GNSS)
The Smart band 7 Pro by Xiaomi now includes a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) option. What does it mean for the average user? It means you can do sports without using a smartphone as a navigation aid. The user route is displayed directly on a watch instead of using various online map services such as google, bing, and Baidu maps stored on the user’s smartphone.
This function will be helpful for jogging/running and less practical for power-walking sports. Running with a mobile phone carrier attached to the arm can sometimes be uncomfortable, plus you are carrying an extra +200g of weight in addition to your body weight.
Power button
Xiaomi skipped adding a power button to the Smart Band 7 Pro. You can effortlessly utilize the resume power function by merely tapping on the Band display. The user can monitor the battery’s remaining power usage in real-time and know when it needs further charging through Xiaomi’s Mi Fitness mobile App.
Alexa Service Ready: Built-In Microphone
The Microphone hole is located on the top right-side corner of the Smart Band back cover designed for Amazon’s Alexa service users who use voice commands to operate their smart home appliances.
Xiaomi Smart Band 7
Interchangeable Straps: Style Your Smart Band
Xiaomi offers an option to change the strap design and color with replaceable TPU straps that can be purchased separately and upgrade the Band appearance according to the user’s flavor. Xiaomi offers them in six primary colors: Ivory, Olive, Orange, Blue, Black, and Pink, plus two unique edition straps in Pine Green and Moon Gray.
Xiaomi’s new strap attachment method uses a snap push button for assembling/disassembling both straps. From a user standpoint, The idea of pushing a tiny button while trying to pull each strap with the other hand demanded some skills and using some force. This arrangement isn’t ideal for children or elderly users who want a smooth and easy strap installation. Our personal experience could have been a lot better.
Xiaomi Smart Band 7 ( Moon Gray Color Straps )
Display
Based on our impression, compared to the Smart Band 7, the 1.63″ AMOLED display is more touch responsive, and switching between different screen settings is much smoother with zero lagging. The display’s curved glass edges give it good viewing angles that are sometimes needed, especially during outdoor activities.
Viewability Under Direct Sunlight
With a screen brightness of 500 nits, you shouldn’t keep your hopes too high. Viewing the display under direct sunlight would only get great results if the luminance level is a minimum of 3000+ nits. Still, if implemented, you will need a higher battery capacity. Considering that the display core technology is LED-based, you can enjoy reasonable brightness levels when used outdoors.
Adaptive brightness Control
Xiaomi added an automatic screen brightness adjustment sensor. This new feature is essential for outdoor activities rather than solely. The sensor’s purpose is to adjust the brightness levels according to various environmental conditions.
The sensor takes care of power consumption problems. You don’t need the display to operate the Band on maximum brightness levels on a cloudy day or inside a room with sufficient lighting conditions, which unnecessarily drains the Band battery faster. If that’s not enough, you can manually set the brightness levels on the Band from preset values of 1 to 5.
