The Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 is the latest addition to the family of affordable fitness trackers. At 45 euros, it costs significantly less than models from Fitbit and other parties. But do you also notice the price difference in practice? In this Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 review you can read how good the fitness tracker is.
Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6
price € 45,-
Colors Black
Platform Android, iOS
Screen 1.56 inch amoled (486×152)
Format 4.7 x 1.9 x 1.3 cm
Weight 12.8 grams
Sensors Heart rate monitor, accelerometer, pedometer, calorie counter, sleep monitor, barometer
Connectivity Bluetooth 5.0, GPS
Other waterproof, interchangeable straps
Website www.mi.com/nl 8 Score 80 
- Pros
- Price quality
- Screen
- Functions
- Battery life
- Negatives
- Hard to share app data
- Sleep detection not reliable
- Not accurate enough for serious athletes
The Mi Smart Band 6 is the logical successor to the Mi Smart Band 5, which came out last year and is ours. In that review, we concluded that the fitness tracker offered many functions and a nice screen for little money, but lacked GPS and NFC and sometimes performed unreliable measurements. Has the Mi Smart Band 6 addressed those concerns? You can read that and more in this Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 review.
Bigger screen in the same jacket
The design of the Mi Smart Band 6 is very similar to that of its predecessor. Yet there is an important difference: the screen has grown from 1.1 to 1.56 inches by making the edges around the screen narrower. As a result, a larger display fits in the same jacket and the sixth-generation fitness tracker is the same size and weight as the previous model. You can also exchange straps. All very pleasant.
The OLED screen is colorful, sharp enough and can be nice and clear. The format is large enough to show the time and important health information. For me as a smartwatch user it takes some getting used to, from a round to more rectangular screen. However, it works fine and I like that the Mi Smart Band 6 is barely noticeable on my wrist. The fitness tracker is very compact and light (12.8 grams) and also fits well on a smaller (women’s) wrist.
It is also nice that the fitness tracker is waterproof and dustproof and has a magnetic charging connection. I am less enthusiastic about the strap model, which works differently than a regular watch strap. I can’t get used to it. Fortunately, as said, you can put a different strap on the Mi Smart Band 6.
Keep track of your sports
The Mi Smart Band 6 can track 30 kinds of sports activities, including popular ones like running, cycling, swimming and fitness. Hiking, all kinds of dancing and ball sports are also part of this. You start an activity on the fitness tracker screen. Afterwards, you also stop the activity on the screen and you can see, among other things, what your heart rate was during exercise, how many calories you have burned and how long you have been active.
This is fine for those who want basic statistics, but not enough for real athletes. The Mi Smart Band 6 lacks the sensors to keep track of the route itself and sometimes goes wrong with monitoring your heart rate or distance. A pity, but an expected downside in this price segment. Incidentally, the wearable measures everyday movements as your steps in the background, so you don’t have to do anything about this.
The Mi Smart Band 6 can also track your heart rate automatically and regularly. As mentioned, the sensor is sometimes quite wrong, but usually the results correspond enough to those of an accurate wearable.
This does not apply to the sleep detection. It is simply unreliable and therefore not worth using. If you would like a good insight into how well or badly you sleep, I recommend another fitness tracker.
The Mi Smart band 6 can also provide anti-stress exercises and track a woman’s menstrual cycle. The first works fine, I can’t pass judgment on the second as a man.
Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 battery life and charging
The battery of the Mi Smart Band 6 lasts about six days with my use. I think that’s fine. Charging once a week is a small effort, especially because the battery is fully charged again within two hours. If you use the fitness tracker more intensively, it will last about four days. Anyone who does less sports and puts the wearable on the bedside table in the evening can squeeze out about ten days from the battery.
I give you as a tip to buy an extra charging cable via a well-known or less well-known web store. Because if the supplied cable gets broken or lost, you still have one. The magnetic cable of the Mi Smart Band 6 is a lot scarcer than a regular USB cable.
Smart Features
The Mi Smart Band 6 is not only a fitness tracker, it also works well with your smartphone. For example, you can set that you want to see smartphone notifications on the screen of the fitness tracker. Answering is not possible.
Great app keeps data to itself
The Xiaomi Mi Fit app works with Android and iOS. So it does not matter which smartphone you want to use with the Mi Smart Band 6 and that is nice. The Apple Watch, for example, only works with an iPhone.
Xiaomi’s app is easy to use and shows the most important health statistics directly on the home screen. Other menus provide access to the settings of the Mi Smart Band 6. For example, you can set in which situations the fitness tracker should (not) vibrate, which apps you want to see (no) notifications from on your wrist and you can view new watch faces and on the install fitness tracker.
I think a disadvantage of the Mi Fit app is the limited integration with other sports apps. Linked to a androidsmartphone, you can connect the Mi Smart Band 6 to Google Fit. An iPhone can be integrated with Apple Health. That’s where it ends. It would be much more convenient for athletes if you could sync the fitness tracker data with special sports apps such as Strava, Runkeeper and 7 Minute Workout.
Conclusion: Buy Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6?
The Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 is recommended if you are looking for an affordable (first) fitness tracker to register your daily movement. It is extra nice that you can see the time and smartphone notifications. You can’t have too high expectations for that 45 euros. The Mi Smart Band 6 simply measures your heart rate, sleep and distances less accurately than a more expensive fitness tracker, which doesn’t make it a good buy if you’re a more serious exerciser. In that case, it pays to put down a hundred euros more, especially because you can go for years with a wearable.
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