Yeah, smartwatches are great, but there’s just something special about a low-key version that’ll hit a lot of the same notes. Xiaomi’s Smart Bands have managed just fine for years, asking very little in return. The same goes for Xiaomi’s new Smart Band 11 — not to be confused with the Band 11 Active — that it just unveiled in China.
Xiaomi what you got
Announced on Weibo, Xiaomi confirmed the Smart Band 11, which doesn’t add all that much over its predecessor. It’s still downright impressive, however, offering a 1.72in AMOLED with what appears to be a decent selection of straps to complement it. “Ultra-narrow” 2mm bezels outline the puny little display, adding to the sleekness.
It is brighter than its older sibling, however, hitting 2,000 nits. It’s also been given a bit of a makeover, now measuring a slim 9.9mm. It’s also lighter now, weighing 15.58g (a big reduction from 15.95g…). Just how good it’ll be at tracking anything other than the time, we can’t be too sure yet. Xiaomi made it clear that this would include “upgraded professional sleep monitoring with HRV tracking,” and heart rate and blood oxygen sensors.
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It’s the first in the line-up to ever feature Xiaomi’s HyperOS 4, like that matters. Far more interesting is the claimed 21-day battery life. One model, if you want it, can be NFC-enabled, allowing owners to pay at terminals using the Smart Band 11. It’s also rated for five atmospheres of depth, telling us it’ll survive a dip in the pool.
If you’ve got a bit of extra cash to throw around, Xiaomi hopes it might tempt you with a ceramic or “all-metal” version of the Smart Band 11, priced at 340 Yuan (∼R810). A step above that is the NFC-enabled version, costing 400 Yuan (∼R950). The cheapest of the lot sells for a reasonable 290 Yuan (∼R690). The Smart Band 11 is yet to make it out of China, but previous renditions of this wearable tell us it’ll land in South Africa eventually.
