Smartwatch
Xiaomi Smart Band 7: test / review
Published on: 15-06-2022 / Modified: 07-10-2022
Mi Band bracelets have established themselves over the years as the benchmark for connected bracelets offering excellent value for money. I started buying and testing these bracelets with the Mi Band 3, then I bought the Mi Band 4, Mi Band 5, Mi Band 6 and now the Mi Band 7.
I've always been quite satisfied with the products in the Mi Band range but I find that Xiaomi hadn't brought much to the last 2 generations and I would even say that the Mi Band 6 was less interesting than the previous version because of less battery life. On paper, the Mi Band 7 is evolving into something new with a bigger screen and some new features in the operating system.
Promo Code
The Mi Band 7 in this test comes from Hekka, a new Chinese sales site that offers products such as this connected bracelet but also clothes. At launch, the Mi Band is available for 56€ but I received a promo code to lower the price by 9€. Use coupon HekkaAFMiB7 from the following link to get this strap at the best price:Mi Band 7 / Hekka.com
The bracelet was delivered to me within a week, I did not have to pay any tax or customs fees because Hekka sells its products with VAT included in the price.
Manufacturer web site:
https://www.mi.com
Price Mi Band 7
The list below shows the prices for the Mi Band 7 from more than 50 sites around the world. If you are not satisfied with any price, you can subscribe to a price alert to be the first to be notified when the price drops.[pricelist keyword="Not yet available / tested
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Timeline
June 10, 2022: Order Mi Band 7 on Hekka.comJune 17, 2022: Wristband received, test can begin
Waarom deze smartwatch?
I haven't worn traditional watches for years and what made me switch to this universe is the possibility of recording sports sessions. I have tested many watches and bracelets in recent years and have often been disappointed with the inaccuracy of the measured data and especially the heart rate measurement. Many manufacturers highlight the accuracy of measurements as a selling point, but the vast majority of entry-level watches are absolutely unreliable...except Mi Band bracelets!I started testing these bracelets with the Mi Band 3 and then I bought all the models up to the Mi Band 7. The bracelets gradually improved and enriched with new features but Xiaomi has managed to keep them within a reasonable price range.
I was a little disappointed with the Mi Band 6 because it brought few new features and the battery life was not very good. I kept all the models I bought and the Mi Band 6 is the only one that no longer works. I therefore hope that this Mi Band 7 will quickly make people forget the previous model.
Structure of my tests
I test products according to a pre-established structure (see below) to provide you with maximum information. Unfortunately, this takes a lot of time. Unlike some sites where products are tested on a single day, I use the products I test for a minimum of a few weeks and sometimes even a few months. If the test is not complete at the time of your visit, I invite you to come back later or ask your question in the comment section below.Unpacking
First configuration
The configuration of the watch is very simple and here too Xiaomi stands out compared to other entry-level models with a much more accomplished application layer. Xiaomi has changed its application several times, it is now the Zepp application that will support the bracelet, this application is a variation of the application used by the Amazfit brand. This application uses the basics of Mi Fit (application used by previous models) with a home screen showing most of the measurements of the watch, a screen to invite friends and a screen to configure your profile.To associate the watch just search for it with the application, it appears quite quickly and the rest is very easy, just follow the instructions on the phone.
Finish
The silicone strap is a strength and a weakness of the Mi Band. The strength is that it is very practical, it is interchangeable, it is malleable and there are many variants. The weakness of the bracelet is that it can open when under pressure, this is in any case what I have noticed on previous versions but I need time to see if this problem is still present on this model. This morning I was mowing my lawn with the Mi Band 7 attached to the same wrist as the Mi Band 5 and by pushing the mower, my wrist exerted pressure on the two bracelets, that of the Mi Band 5 opened.
Connectivity
The Mi Band 7 connects via bluetooth with your phone, it does not have a GPS sensor, so you must use it in combination with a smartphone to be able to associate your sports sessions with your position.Battery range
The Mi Band 7 has a battery capacity of 180 mAh, it is very little in comparison with a phone, but a bracelet of this type does not need so much energy. The previous version was equipped with a 125 mAh battery, so the capacity has greatly improved and that's a good thing because it was a weakness of the Mi Band 6. The manufacturer announces an autonomy of 2 weeks, it I need more time to see if the autonomy is actually two weeks.Update:
I drained the battery after 6 days, I was a little disappointed but this overconsumption comes from the measurements that are carried out every minute and the brightness of the screen which was too high. By reducing the frequency of measurement and using 50% of the luminosity, the autonomy is between 12 and 14 days.
Screen quality
The Mi Band 7 screen is a 1.62-inch screen (1.56 inches for the previous version) with a brightness of 500 nits (compared to 450 with the previous version) and a resolution of 192x490 (152x486 on the previous version). The Mi Band has been equipped with an Amoled screen for a few generations now, which offers excellent contrast. You're not going to find many AMOLED screens in this price range. The screen has always been a strength of the Mi Band range but what it lacked was a little more brightness because outdoors and in direct sunlight, the screen was not very readable.The Mi Band 7 therefore has a larger screen, with better resolution and better brightness. This is undoubtedly the most visible evolution compared to the previous version. The screen is of good quality, the readability is very good although in direct sunlight it would have needed just a little more brightness, but the gain in brightness compared to the previous version is clearly visible.
Features
After the screen, it is at the level of the sports functionalities that we must look for the novelties. The Mi Band 7 has 120 sport modes which are sometimes configurable depending on the chosen sport. Xiaomi may have gone a little far here because I don't see the point of having so many sports because in the end the watch will record the same type of information. It is especially for the calculation of the calories that each sport can be interpreted differently and I suppose that certain sports measure the steps in a different way.As I wrote in the next paragraph, each sport can be configured differently with different objectives. When you launch one of the sports modes, you access 3 screens. The main screen summarizes your activity in real time, the left screen allows you to stop or pause (but the buttons are so small that it is difficult to see if the press has worked) and a screen with a player music player that will control the music on your smartphone. For music, the application must be active on the phone, otherwise the bracelet will not detect it. I tested the music player with Deezer and everything works fine.
The menus of the bracelet have also evolved, the menu is no longer circular as before, all the functions of the watch are at the bottom of the home screen. At the top we find notifications and on the left-right axis we find customizable widgets from the application. The Mi Band 7 has crossed a new threshold in the maturity of its interface, the watch is rich in functionality but you never get lost.
Other features include heart rate measurement, activity summary, activity overview via a points system (PAI), oxygen monitoring in the sense , stress control, sleep control, weather, music, alarm, event calendar and the usual features such as an alarm clock, a stopwatch, ...
The menus are very long but if the screen turns off and you quickly turn it back on, you'll find yourself back where you were and that's a good thing because sometimes you have to go through a few screens to find a feature so many possibilities are numerous.
Measurements
Step measurement
Walking normally on a flat surface, I get a number of steps quite close to reality, I measure a deviation of less than 10% which is quite good. The reliability of the step measurement will depend on several factors. I noticed that the movement of the arms is one of the most important factors because if I immobilize an arm while walking slowly, the number of steps detected decreases. If, on the other hand, I wave my arms back and forth a lot, I get an overestimation. You should therefore never take these measurements as something scientific but rather a kind of barometer that will tell you if you have moved a lot or not. If you walk at a normal pace and without too many jerks, the measurement will be quite reliable.
To complete the theory, I walked around town for about 2km using my phone for the GPS part because the Smart Band 7 does not have its own GPS sensor. The application shows the route on the map, distance, speed, elevation, average speed, duration, heart rate, ... The view is very detailed! If you look at my speed measurement, I see two interruptions which are probably related to the loss of the GPS signal because I was sometimes in very narrow streets and with the phone in my pocket. The average speed should therefore have been a little higher but is quite consistent with what I have measured with other devices, I know that I walk at a speed of around 7 km/h. The passages at 12km/h are passages where I crossed the street while running. The stride data seems correct to me too, I'm 1.94m and I have strides of almost a meter. The cadence also seems correct to me with an interruption when I had to stop at a red light (2x).
The Zepp Life application has been really enriched and offers a panoply of indicators that few other applications use. Most of these measurements are really very close to reality and as I said above, these measurements are more reliable when walking on a regular surface and when the movements of the arms are regular. I don't remember having tested other bracelets that report so much information so reliably.
To complete the theory, I walked around town for about 2km using my phone for the GPS part because the Smart Band 7 does not have its own GPS sensor. The application shows the route on the map, distance, speed, elevation, average speed, duration, heart rate, ... The view is very detailed! If you look at my speed measurement, I see two interruptions which are probably related to the loss of the GPS signal because I was sometimes in very narrow streets and with the phone in my pocket. The average speed should therefore have been a little higher but is quite consistent with what I have measured with other devices, I know that I walk at a speed of around 7 km/h. The passages at 12km/h are passages where I crossed the street while running. The stride data seems correct to me too, I'm 1.94m and I have strides of almost a meter. The cadence also seems correct to me with an interruption when I had to stop at a red light (2x).
The Zepp Life application has been really enriched and offers a panoply of indicators that few other applications use. Most of these measurements are really very close to reality and as I said above, these measurements are more reliable when walking on a regular surface and when the movements of the arms are regular. I don't remember having tested other bracelets that report so much information so reliably.
Heart rate measurement
The previous versions of Mi Bands that I tested had all shown good reliability of heart measurement data. This still seems to be the case with this model except that for the test session, the watch lost the pulse signal and the total measurement is therefore no longer correct. I tested the watch together with my Polar H10 belt. At rest the measurements are very similar, I only have a few pulsations difference and they can also come from the fact that switching from one application to another can influence the measurement so I can consider that the measurement at rest is good . I then did a 31-minute spinning bike session with both devices at the same time. With the Polar H10 I get an average frequency of 133 beats per minute where I get 108 with the bracelet.
It is not good but it is the interruption of the signal which disturbs the average here. For the maximum level I am at 151 for the Polar and 147 for the Mi Band, the results here are quite close. Graphs, when unbroken, are quite similar.
I will have to do other sports sessions to see if the measurement will be interrupted again. I'm not sure but I think the sweat played a part, I had sweated a lot during this session and my arms were very wet.
Sleep measurement
I have never considered sleep measurements to be something really reliable (on any watch or bracelet) because I don't have the possibility to compare this data with reference data. On the other hand, I can compare the durations and my subjective feeling in relation to the sleep score. In terms of durations, they correspond quite well to reality, but like most watches, if you have a static position after 10 p.m. (eg while watching TV), the watch will think that you are sleeping. The Mi Band 7 then assigns a sleep score based on its own criteria and I must say that even if it's subjective, I find it quite interesting. The days with the lowest scores are the days I slept the least well, yet I hadn't looked at the score when I got up in the morning, so I wasn't influenced by the results of the watch.
Oxygen level measurement
As with sleep, I don't have any benchmark data to see if the watch measurements are correct. The measurements I took were all within the normal range.
App
I had not yet tested the Zepp Life application before this test, I had tested the Zepp application used by the Amazfit brand, I had used Mi Fit from the Xiaomi brand and finally Zepp Life takes the best of both worlds . This application has reached a level of maturity that only a few specialized applications can hope to achieve. In addition to the wealth of data, I find the interface is also well designed, I don't have to search to find a measurement or a feature, everything is in the expected place.Compatibility
The Smart Band 7 is compatible with all phones capable of running the Zepp Life application. I only tested it on Android.Operating system
The operating system of the watch has evolved a bit but as for the application, we find here a really high level of maturity which is the result of trial and error over almost 7 generations of products. No wonder Xiaomi was able to come up with such a complete and easy-to-use product.The functionalities revolve around 4 axes like most watches/bracelets, but these axes have changed slightly since version 6. At the top are the notifications. At the bottom we find all the functionalities of the bracelet and on the left/right axis we find customizable widgets from the application. Since the watch has many features to offer, the depth of the menus is sometimes too great, but there are two solutions to overcome this problem. You can either use a widget to get the data quickly from the home screen or let yourself be guided by the automatic personalization where the most practiced sports will go to the top in the sports menu. This second possibility is particularly interesting because with 120 sports, I couldn't see myself having to go through them all to find the one that interests me.
The home screen is also customizable, you can choose the data type on the watch and choose the dial type from the app, there's something for everyone tastes. The screen is very responsive, even sometimes a little too much because if I put my other arm on the watch, the screen will light up as if I was pressing with my fingers.
Encoutered bugs
I did not encounter any bugs, there is just this interruption of the measurements that I have to retest. I saw a few Chinese characters showing up on my home screen but other than that this bracelet works really well.Compare Mi Band 7 with the others
Test / Review conclusion
The Smart Band 7 is where I expected it, it has just settled on the throne of the kingdom of entry-level bracelets. The new screen really brings a plus and not only by its size but also by its brightness. The operating system has also improved and the Zepp Life application brings an additional dimension by offering a very detailed overview of all the measurements captured by the bracelet. I had been a little disappointed by the evolutions between the 5th and 6th model, this time Xiaomi corrected the situation by offering a new product and a new experience. For around thirty euros, you don't have to think too much!I have tested many Chinese entry-level products and in the vast majority of cases, the measurements (heart, sleep, steps,...) are absolutely unreliable and it's a shame because we end up with a bracelet that tells the time correctly but apart from that, there is nothing really interesting. This is one of the strengths of the Smart Band which manages to capture reliable data but manages to make it useful with the Zepp Life application, this application truly enriches the experience with the bracelet.
The battery autonomy is no longer the strength of this product because between the autonomy of several weeks of the first models and the autonomy of maximum 2 weeks of this one, there there is a big difference but it can be explained. The product has evolved a lot and in the end a bracelet that lasts more than a week is a completely correct result.
With the previous models I had encountered some problems with the bracelet which opened when my wrist bent strongly, I have not yet had this problem with this model but it is may just be a matter of wear and tear.
The Smart Band 7 is a product that will suit a very wide audience thanks to its price but also its ease of use and its wealth of features. Demanding athletes will undoubtedly move towards the top of the range, but for everyone else, this bracelet will meet most expectations.
Strengths
Nice amoled screen (brightness, contrast, size, ...)
Ease of use
Reliability of measurements
Well-designed application
Decent battery life
Light and discreet
Weaknesses
Loss of measurements in certain positions/movements
State of rest after 10 p.m. considered as sleep
Non-adaptive brightness
LAURENT WILLENHead of myself on this blog
I share my passions on my blog in my free time since 2006, I prefer that to watching nonsense on TV or on social networks. I work alone, I am undoubtedly one of the last survivors of the world of blogs and personal sites.
My speciality? Digital in all its forms. I have spent the last 25 years working for multinationals where I managed digital teams and generated revenues of over €500 million per year. I have expertise in telecoms, media, aviation, travel and tourism.
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