Xiaomi Mi Band 5 Review

However, one of the biggest flaws that we found with this tracker is that it only offers fairly limited options when it comes to an online community or other social features, so this might not be the tracker for you if you were hoping to compete and challenge your friends and family for that extra motivation.

Performance Comparison

Fitness Impact

We began our testing and review process by looking at how the different fitness tracking features of the Mi Band 5, focusing on how it counted steps, tracked flights of stairs climbed, and how it logged workouts. We also looked at the social or community aspects offered by this tracker. The Mi Band 5 did alright, earning a score just above average.

This fitness tracker got off to a solid start in this metric, delivering some very accurate results when it came to our step counting test. We compared the count shown on the Mi Band 5 against a manual count for three separate one-mile walks, then averaged the results to determine the score. This tracker only had an average error of around 9 steps. It was also fairly accurate when it came to calculating distance, only having an average error of 0.03 miles for these three trials.

This fitness tracker doesn't have a built-in GPS so it relies on your phones for speed, distance, time, and elevation. The metrics are limited if your phone isn't connected but it actually can be quite accurate in our experience, depending on what type of phone you are paired to.

This wearable has 11 different activities that it can track, like outdoor running, treadmill, cycling, indoor cycling, walking, elliptical, rowing machine, yoga, jump rope, pool swimming, and freestyle. It mainly just collects your duration, heart rate, and distance for these, though it will also tabulate strokes and strokes per minute while swimming.

Unfortunately, it doesn't track the number of stairs you climb throughout the day and it's fairly limited when it comes to social functions. You can add friends to compare steps or sleep info and keep track of your history but there aren't other options for challenges or competitions.

Health Impact

Our next set of tests looked at the health-specific tracking abilities of the Mi Band 5. We awarded points based on the heart rate monitor, sleep tracking, and diet aids, as well as if the tracker has reminders to get up if you have been sedentary for too long. The Mi Band 5 performed similarly, again, earning a score just above average.

We scored the accuracy of the heart rate monitor by comparing it against a chest strap model, looking both at resting and active heart rates. The Mi Band 5 delivered fairly accurate results compared to our chest strap with resting heart rates but would be off by an average of 15 bpm or so at more elevated levels.

We didn't find any aids for keeping with a diet and this tracker doesn't estimate any calories burned from your resting metabolic rate, only ones burned from an activity. The Mi Band 5 will notify you if you have been sedentary for too long.

We found the sleep tracking to be lackluster on this tracker, as it would tend to miss times where our tester woke up during the night. It will automatically turn on though. The Mi Band 5 also has a silent alarm, vibrating for about 10 seconds based on what you set on your smartphone.

Ease of Use

Next, we rated and ranked how user-friendly and easy to use the Mi Band 5 is. We compared the battery life, the ease of navigating the menus, how water-resistant the wearable is, its companion app, and how easy it is to take on or off. The Mi Band 5 did quite a bit better in this metric, earning one of the higher scores of the group.

The Mi Band 5 has a claimed battery life of up to 14 days and took about 2 hours to charge. It has a proprietary magnetic charger that is fairly strong and isn't easily knocked off. We like that the companion app is easy to navigate with straightforward menus.

We found it to be very simple to navigate through the menus on the device itself using the home button or the touch screen. This fitness tracker is also water-resistant to 5 ATMs/ 50 meters. The band is nice and stiff, making it quite easy to put on or take off. We also like how easy the latch is to operate.

Ergonomics

We based the bulk of the score for our ergonomics metric on how comfortable the Mi Band 5 and the other trackers are to wear, as well as how they looked and how high the profile is. This tracker again did quite well, earning a score well above average.

We like how lightweight and comfortable this tracker is to wear, making it easy to forget that you are even wearing it. It is fairly plain when it comes to appearances, so it isn't the best option if you are looking to make a style statement, though it's a great option if you prefer your wearables on the more discreet side.

This tracker also maintains a very low profile with cleanly rounded edges, so it rarely gets caught when putting on a backpack or jacket.

Display

Our last set of tests focused on the screen for each fitness tracker, scoring the screen on how it looked, how responsive the touchscreen is, and the information shown. The Mi Band 5 finished out with another good score, earning a score well above average.

The screen is easy to read at night but the backlight isn't bright enough to make it easy to see in full daylight. The touchscreen is responsive to taps and swipes and will get most smart notifications that your phone can get. You can customize the watch face and there are subsequent menus that show your current fitness data tallies.

Value

While this tracker is one of the least expensive options out there, it does have some fairly major concessions to keep the price down. It's a great value for those that value budget above all else but might fall short from someone with more substantial expectations from their fitness tracker.

Conclusion