Xiaomi Mi Band 3 – Review


Xiaomi Mi Band 3
Xiaomi Mi Band 3


Xiaomi Mi Band 3

| SmartBand | Heart Rate | 5ATM Waterproof | OLED |



⌚ Xiaomi Mi Band 3, the latest generation of the ultra-famous Xiaomi smartbands.

The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 is the newest model from the brand preceded by the Xiaomi Mi Band 2, the Xiaomi Mi Band 1S and the original Xiaomi Mi Band.

The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 is also named Xiaomi Shouhuan3 and Xiaomi XMSH05HM.





You can buy the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 in:

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Xiaomi Mi Band 3 Review

Tests & Scores


AF

Advanced Features

The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 features include advanced options such as:

  • Triaxial acceleration sensor
  • PPG heart rate sensor
  • 5ATM waterproof rating
  • Bluetooth v4.2
  • Vibrating motor
  • -10 ° C to 50 ° C operating temperature
  • OTA firmware upgrade

W

Weight

Xiaomi Mi Band 3 weight in Ounces and Xiaomi Mi Band 3 weight in grams.

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A

Accessories & Packaging

The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 unboxing results in a charging cable and the user manual. Everything comes inside a square minimalist box, the style and design is inline with many Xiaomi headphones packaging like the:



But not as robust and aesthetically designed as the one of the:

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D

Design

The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 has a classic smartband design with a thin, oval-shaped and stretched form factor.

The overall aesthetics are classy, not flashy and low-key with a small and very light weighted design. On the bottom of the main unit you will see the PPG heart rate sensor.

The wristband is made of thermoplastic elastomer with a rubberized finish and feel. The wrist strap can be adjusted from 155mm up to 216mm and can be replaced with any compatible custom wristband available in the market.

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Xiaomi Mi Band 3
Xiaomi Mi Band 3

OC

Operation & Control

The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 has 1 dedicated buttons and touch controls that respond to some gestures.

The combination of a button + touch controls is very well implemented, making their use intuitive and easy to operate.

  • Swipe up or down to switch between steps, heart, rate, watch
  • Swipe left or right to navigate the menu of each selected option
  • Tap the button to go back to previous page
  • Long press the button to use the stopwatch, find device and confirm other features
  • Swipe up to unlock (if the screen lock in app is turned on)
  • During incoming call, long press of button rejects the call

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B

Battery Life

The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 is equipped with a 110 mAh lithium ion polymer battery that provides 20 days of battery life on a single charge, quite impressive.

Charging: To charge the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 you will need to slide the main unit into the charging cable and plug it to a compatible charger.

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CB

Construction & Build

The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 feels durable, yet light due to the mainly plastic construction of the unit with the additional thermoplastic elastomer wristband and the wrist buckle made of aluminum alloy.

The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 has a 5 ATM waterproof rating and can be used for swimming activities.

A 5 ATM waterproof rating assures that withstands pressures equivalent to a depth of 50 meters (164 feet), this also means that it supports pressure of 5 atmosphere which is higher than the 1 atmosphere supported by devices with an IPX7 waterproof rating.

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Xiaomi Mi Band 3 wristband
Xiaomi Mi Band 3 wristband

F

Functions

The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 offers a wide amount of functions that can be used when used with a smartphone and the Xiaomi Mi Fit app.

The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 functions include:

  • Caller ID
  • Reject incoming call
  • SMS notifications
  • Instant message display (WeChat, QQ, WhatsApp, Messenger, Hangouts, etc.)
  • Push notification for any app
  • Vibrating alerts: stronger than the DT NO.1 F13 but without a speaker
  • “Lift wrist to view info” (responds well to screen turn on / turn off)
  • Step counting
  • Calories burned
  • Stopwatch
  • Alarms
  • Reminders
  • WeChat red envelope reminder
  • Sedentary reminder (the bracelet will vibrate gently to remind you to get up and walk to wake up better physical condition)
  • 3 days weather forecast with max temp, min temp and weather condition
  • Heart rate measuring can be started manually or can be set to continuously monitor it 24 hours. Additionally, you have a third option to activate it continuously only for the sleep quality statistics/measurements
  • Sleep monitoring: Motion sensors + heart rate monitor are used also to monitor the sleep quality with statistics recording in-app
  • Automatic unlock of your phone when the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 is paired and near your smartphone
  • Goal notifications, you can set personal goals and the band will inform you when you have reached them
  • When a sports activity is chosen in the app a new sports screen will be enabled in the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 that resumes calories, times, distance, bpm, steps.
  • Night mode (introduced with the firmware upgrade v1.5.0.2)
  • Exercise display (introduced with the firmware upgrade v1.6.0.16)

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S

Screen

The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 has an OLED screen with a diagonal size of 0.78 inches. With this screen Xiaomi is offering a resolution of 128×80, this might not seem much but it corresponds to 193.5 PPI which is more than a 4K 32” TV/monitor can offer, still more than a 27” 4K monitor and slightly more PPI that a 4K 24” monitor has.

Xiaomi made a smart decision by choosing OLED instead TFT for the screen of the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 as OLED screens are a more modern technology which is efficient regarding power consumption, angle view and outdoor visibility.

Despite being an OLED screen, it is a monochromatic one and does not have any colors besides white.

Thanks to it’s PPI and resolution the screen is able to show up to 48 characters per screen.

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Xiaomi Mi Band 3
Xiaomi Mi Band 3
Xiaomi Mi Band 3
Xiaomi Mi Band 3

M

Menu

Once turned on, you will notice that the menu of the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 is in Chinese. Fear not, the language will be set automatically and modified according to the country selected in the Xiaomi Mi Fit app during the first setup.

The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 menus are: “Clock”, “Notifications”, “Weather forecast” (3 days), “Steps”, “Distance”, “Calories”, “Battery charge”, “Heart rate”, “Stopwatch”, “Silent” (mute smartphone), “Find device” (smartphone will ring to find it), “Screen” (1 of the 3 different clock screens can be chosen), “About”.
You can reorder this menus to personalize their position. Moreover, additional screens are available according to their in-app functions like: alarms, reminders, incoming call, goals notifications.

On first pairing, the app will search for any firmware update and proceed to update the band firmware (ours did update)

Update: Xiaomi has launched a recent firmware upgrade v1.5.0.2 that now gives the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 a “night mode”

Update #2: Xiaomi’s new firmware upgrade v1.6.0.16 now introduces the “Exercise” screen where a sport activity tracking can be launched straight from the band.

This “night mode” enables the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 to reduce the brightness of the screen during night hours, the option can be manually set to any desired range, can be applied automatically or fully disabled. To access the “night mode” settings you need to open the Xiaomi Mi Fit app.

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C

Connectivity

The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 has a single connection on one of it’s edges, this connector is used to charge the unit by sliding it to the proprietary charging cable.

Unfortunately, to charge it you will have to remove the main smartband from the wristband each time.

Users looking for more feature rich alternatives can consider the Kospet Hope or the Finow X7.

gramophone-256603.5/5

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CO

Comfort

The overall light-weighted, small design and quality materials utilized for the construction of every piece make the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 a wonderfully comfortable smartband to wear for as long as wanted and on any weather conditions.

Regarding their correct positioning, as indicated by the brand, the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 should be placed 1cm above the wrist bone and the tightening of the band should not be too loose nor too tight or it will affect the correct measurement of the heart rate sensor.

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Xiaomi Mi Band 3
Xiaomi Mi Band 3
Xiaomi Mi Band 3
Xiaomi Mi Band 3

App

App

To use the advanced function of the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 you will need the Xiaomi Mi Fit app, the app is 100% free and only requires login with a social account or creating a Mi account.

The user manual has a QR-CODE to be scanned to download Xiaomi Mi Fit app. If you lost the manual or are not sure where to find it, you can scan it here below.

Xiaomi Mi Fit App QR-CODE
Xiaomi Mi Fit App QR-CODE

After first pairing, the app will guide you through the basic operation of the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 with clear and graphical instructions.

It is nice to see that the app comes predefined with additional permission turned off and will explicitly ask you if you want to turn on/authorize any specific permission like in settings options of “Incoming call”, “App alerts”, “Unlock Screen”, “Incoming SMS alerts”.

The Xiaomi Mi Fit app will not only let you set and control the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 advanced functions but will also tell you the battery charge in percentage (battery charge can be found also in the smartband itself as the last option in the “steps”, “distance”,”calories” menu) and every stats that has been recorded like sleep data, activity data, heart rate, calories, steps, etc.

Xiaomi Mi Fit app screens

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Scores Scores

Xiaomi Mi Band 3 Scores

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Specifications

Xiaomi Mi Band 3 Technical Specifications

Bracelet body
17.9 x 46.9 x 12mm

Total length of wristband
247mm

Wrist strap adjustable length
155 – 216mm

battery capacity
110mAh

Standby duration
About 20 days

type of battery
Lithium ion polymer battery

Input voltage
DC 5.0V

Input Current
250mA Max

Weight
About 20g (including wristband)

The main material
Plastic

waterproof level
5ATM

Operating temperature
-10 ° C ~ 50 ° C

screen size
0.78 inches

Display resolution
128 x 80

Sensor
Triaxial acceleration sensor, PPG heart rate sensor

Wireless connections
Bluetooth 4.2 BLE version

Setting requirements
Mobile phones that support Bluetooth 4.0 for Android 4.4 or iOS 9.0 and above

Unlock function support model
Support for MIUI systems based on Android 4.4 or above, or Android 5.0 or above.
And models that support the Smart Lock feature

Wristband material
Thermoplastic elastomer

Wrist buckle material
Aluminum alloy

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Photos

Xiaomi Mi Band 3 Photos

DISCLAIMER
We highly discourage anyone from trying to apply our testings to your own earphones, the risk of damaging or permanently breaking your iems is absolutely probable to happen. With our standardized equalization and amplification tests we push the limits of the earphones to the extreme. If anyway you decide to do so, we cannot be held responsible of the damage done to your equipment. Do it at your own risk.

Xiaomi Mi Band 3

8.7

SCORE

8.7/10