Replenishing the Mi Band 5 battery will be much easier if images showing a new plug-in charger are legitimate. Currently, the user has to pop the MiBand 4 capsule out of the band and put it in a special cradle; the later has a USB-A plug that connects directly to a power bank or a plug that goes into a wall outlet. A leaked image shows that the capsule for the Mi Band 5 would go into a cradle where a cable with two pins plugs directly into the bottom of the capsule.
The Mi Band 5 is also expected to carry support for Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant. Most likely Alexa won’t be found on-device and questions and tasks will be spoken into the fitness tracker and answered through the Amazon Alexa app on the user’s smartphone. State-side Mi Band 5 wearers will be able to use the device to make mobile payments if there is truth to the rumor that all models will have NFC capabilities. Last year, only the version of the Mi Band 4 sold in China featured NFC.
Five new exercise modes will be added to the Mi Band 5: yoga, elliptical machine, rowing machine, rope jumping, and indoor cycling. And the fitness tracker will also control the shutter on a paired smartphone. Perhaps the most exciting addition health-wise is the oxygen saturation monitor; similar to the new feature being added to the Apple Watch Series 6, this tool monitors the percentage of oxygen in a user’s red blood cells. A reading between 100% and 94% means that the device wearer’s heart is pumping with enough strength to send oxygen throughout his or her body. There also is a possible connection between a very low reading and the coronavirus.
When you’re talking about Xiaomi, you’re talking about value for money and the Mi Band is a good example of this. The Mi Band 5 is rumored to be priced at 200 yuan (the equivalent of $28.15) and as you can probably guess by now, it will be available in the states.
