Xiaomi Smart Band 9 ZDNET's key takeaways The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 sells for $55 on Amazon, but is discounted to $45
It's a solid fitness tracker with great battery life that covers the basics in a slim form factor
It might not fit everyone, and the entry-level tracking data lacks the deep, personalized insights you'll find on more expensive devices. View now at Amazon
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If you want all the features of a smartwatch but can't commit to a big, bulky watch face, you might be interested in a smart band. Xiaomi's ninth-generation popular fitness band boasts numerous new features, making it nearly on par with any full-fledged smartwatch, albeit in a smaller and lighter form factor.
The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 boasts a compact design with a slim watch face and a bright, 1.62-inch AMOLED display, packed with nearly all the health-tracking features you'd find on any other smartwatch, along with fantastic battery life.
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In fact, Xiaomi advertises this device as having up to 21 days of battery life on a single charge, although this number decreases depending on the number of metrics you monitor simultaneously. That said, the battery life is still quite impressive, and even with everything turned on, I was able to achieve over a week of continuous monitoring without needing to charge it.
So how does the Smart Band 9 differ from a smartwatch? Well, the lines are a little blurred. Basically, it can do all the basic things any smartwatch can do, but without the quality-of-life features found on higher-end smartwatches and without deeper, more personalized data insights. Xiaomi does have a line of smartwatches, after all, and naturally, there is some delineation between the feature sets.
The Smart Band 9 has the basics covered, though. It's accurate at tracking most physical activities and comes with over 150+ sports modes, heart rate and blood oxygen tracking, stress tracking, and, of course, sleep tracking. Additionally, it pairs with your phone to support the most useful connectivity features, such as notifications for emails, texts, calls, etc. It does not have GPS, however, nor does it feature a mic or a speaker.
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