Based on my experience of using the band a couple of days I can say : Highly recommended if you are on the fence. this will not disappoint.
One of most affordable multi-purpose fitness band
The pedometer is useful for setting soft targets for the day, if nothing you will have walking in mind during the day.
Gives a buzz and reminds if it detects a prolonged period of inactivity.
Very useful as an alarm clock that wakes you up without disturbing anyone else
The phone notification feature is very useful, once I have got buzzing notification in another room where I couldn’t hear the phone ringing.
The heart rate sensor is fairly accurate. It works only when requested by us by touching the button on device. One feature request would be to have an Heart rate scan every X hours so that we can track the general fitness during day and especially while sleeping.
Sleep tracking is also very useful tool. On the app we can see the sleep time, deep-light sleep timings, check back if we are consistently sleeping at regular time.
The screen shows the time for few seconds when we do a time checking wrist motion.
I was very interested in first band but the lack of watch face really was a deal breaker. So when the band 2 came out with the clock feature then it was instantly a good buy. My main requirements were watch, Heart rate sensor, and sleep tracking. Other features were a bonus for me.
I chose to buy on Amazon rather than on company site since I could combine with other items and make use of the Amazon offers.
The band had 18% charge on it when box was opened and the mi app told that it was charged 37 days ago. After pairing the firmware of the band was updated by app. Some configuration of the options to cycle through when band button is activated was required. I chose time with day and date, steps, distance, Heart rate and battery. Configured the morning alarm. and I’m good to go.
Have been using this for last few days and the it does not feel like anything is on my wrist, very lightweight and unobtrusive.
Would have loved to get some other bright colour band so that it will be easier to spot when taken out and kept on the table. The black really blends in and makes it mostly invisible. So if you are looking for something that isn’t flashy then black really works well.