What I liked most about the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 is that it improves, but without becoming premium

Over the last month I have had the opportunity to try one of Xiaomi’s most famous products: the Xiaomi Smart Band 9, the latest version of its family of smart bracelets, as I told you recently in the detailed review.

This month carrying the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 on my wrist everywhere has been enough to appreciate something that is becoming less common over time in the technology sector: It is better than last year in many ways but its price remains at 39.99 euroswithout ups – or downs –.

Manufacturers of technological devices always want to convince you that their products are the best and that you should buy them, and that is natural, but the direction of the market and the appearance of increasingly higher ranges is blurring the boundaries between ranges in many cases.

And where is the problem? In that if everything is premium, nothing really is. And if brands go too slow by adding technologies and raising the price of their new products, those devices with good value for money become increasingly strange and the mid-range loses interest.

I’ll tell you the cThings that have improved in the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 compared to the last generation without this having meant a price improvement or suddenly becoming another premium product (and therefore expensive):

Goodbye to plastic: the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 adds a metal frame

Design is one of the main aspects that differentiate cheap smart bracelets from much more expensive smartwatches. In this aspect, Xiaomi has always economized and all previous versions of its bracelets have been made of plastic.

However, one of the novelties that surprised me the most when testing the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 is that the dial has a metal frame that, as much as I don’t want to use that word here, I must admit that it feels quite premium.

The choice of this metallic material instead of the plastic of previous models is not only more pleasant to the touch and sight, but also provides much greater resistance to scratches, bumps and falls,

It is not that the entire design of the bracelet is made of aluminum, far from it: it is only the frame that surrounds the screen, but the back part, which houses the sensors, the charger and which is in contact with the skin, is indeed plastic.

The screen of the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 is so bright that it surprises

The screen is another aspect in which Xiaomi has improved the Smart Band 9 compared to the previous generation.

Although it has the same screen technology (AMOLED), the same size (1.62 inches) and the same pill shape, I have been able to notice a enormous improvement in the brightness of the bracelet’s screen, which goes from 600 to 1,200 nits this year.

Double the brightness is a big difference, and it is very noticeable especially when you are outdoors during the day, especially if there is sun, but also if you are in well-lit rooms, since the greater brightness quite compensates for the reflections.

I would also highlight the good functioning of the automatic technology that adjusts the brightness of the screen to the ambient light. After a month of use, I still haven’t had to change it manually, something truly unusual.

The high brightness of the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 follows in the footsteps of other high-end products such as mobile phones, which are reaching maximum brightness of up to 4,000 nits at peak. Within the mid-range and with the same price, Xiaomi has managed to make the experience similar in this sense and make this AMOLED panel stand out without becoming more expensive along the way.

The battery lasts much longer and the more I use it, the more it convinces me.

Although the format is the same as last year, Xiaomi has improved the battery of the Smart Band 9 compared to last year, and this has been very noticeable in my tests.

The new Xiaomi bracelet has a 233 mAh capacity, higher than the 190 mAh of its predecessor. With it, typical use increases almost a week, from 16 to 21 days for the new model.

In one month of use I have only charged the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 three timesand let me tell you how it was:

• First I configured all the maximum power consumption modes and notifications, with the most intensive use possible. The battery lasted a little less than 5 days, which may not seem like much and is less than the 9 days that the brand promises.but that’s pretty good if you think that practically all high-end watches need to be charged daily.
• Afterwards, I disabled the always-on display to see how long it lasted, but with the rest of the consumption options activated to check average usage. After 12 days, I still had 30% battery left.
• I had to charge the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 because I was traveling for a week and I didn’t want to carry the charger, even though it still had battery left. Even with the always-on display disabled, I turned off app notifications, except for calls, to simulate reduced usage. I’ve been using it for 10 days and I still have 61% battery left.so I think it would reach and even exceed the 21 days that Xiaomi promises.

I love the experience of being able to forget about charging a device and go through the charger a little more than once a month, something that I had practically forgotten about after so much time testing smartwatches.

And above all, I think it is appreciated that Xiaomi has also improved this point of its bracelet while maintaining last year’s price of 39.99 euros. In a world where all prices are rising, it is a relief.

Get to know how we work in ComputerToday.

Tags: Xiaomi, smartband