Xiaomi announces an international version of its Mi Band 5
This marks the first time a Mi Band wearable is officially available outside of China.
For the first time ever, Xiaomi’s popular, low-cost wearable device Mi Band 5 is officially available for sale outside of China. Until now, if you wanted to purchase a Mi Band internationally, you had to buy it through the grey market. But today, Xiaomi announced the international Mi Smart Band 5.
Mi Smart Band 5 is a pared-down version of the $32 Mi Band 5 that Xiaomi revealed in June. Like Mi Band 5, the international version comes with activity tracking for 11 exercise modes, heart rate, sleep and stress monitoring and menstrual cycle tracking. It uses Mi Band 5’s new magnetic charging system, and it’s water resistant up to 50 meters. Supposedly, it lasts up to 14 days on a single charge.
There are a few drawbacks to the international version. For starters, it will have 65 dynamic displays, whereas the China version has over 100. The global version will have six strap color variations, whereas the China version has eight. The global version does not have NFC, and it does not support the XiaoAi assistant.
Xiaomi also announced new earbuds, the Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 Basic. These appear to be a non-ANC version of the already available Mi True Wireless Earphones 2. The Bluetooth earbuds boast up to 20 hours of total battery life (thanks to the charging case), and each earbud can be turned on or off individually.
We don’t know how much the smartband or earbuds will cost, or when they’ll be available. Xiaomi’s products are usually pretty cheap, and since the Mi Band 5 is already available in China, it might not take too long for the international version to arrive.
Update 7/20/10 2:13PM ET: This post has been updated to clarify the Mi Smart Band 5 marks the first time a Mi Band 5 model has been available outside of China.
