As it further expands its hardware catalogue, Xiaomi recently launched the Smart Band 7 Pro which retails for €84.99 at the time of writing. The package comes with the following items:

• Band body ×1
• Band strap ×1
• Dedicated charging cable ×1
• User manual ×1

As for the specs of the Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro, you can find them below:

With its low profile straps and 1.64 inch display, the Smart Band 7 Pro might look odd at first glance. Fitness bands have traditionally adopted a longitudinal orientation while smartwatches bear either a rounded or squarish form factor. This device on the other hand appears to be a mix of the two in terms of its screen size. It’s slightly more elongated than a square-faced smartwatch but wider and smaller than a smart band. That said, despite its unconventional appearance, the Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro does look good once wrapped around the wrist and the TPU strap is comfortable to wear for whole-day use.

What also adds to the comfort is the 20.5g weight (without the strap) of the smart band. It easily goes unnoticed while worn and gives seamless access to details about the time and notifications. Its lightweight also helps with its primary function which is to track your health and fitness activities with minimal input from the user. Its 235mAh battery easily provides around a week of mixed usage from a single charge and being water resistant (5ATM) means you can use it for your regular activities in most weather conditions and even while in your shower with some much-needed peace of mind. 

To start using the band you will have to download the free Mi Fitness app and pair the device to it. This will require you to sign up for a Xiaomi account, if you don’t already have one. Once paired, you will be able to get further details about your tracked health and fitness activities such as workouts, sleep and steps taken. It also allows you to configure the watch face, menu look and apps arrangement. It’s a handy companion software but the need to have yet another account for yet another app can be a hassle.

  

Unlike most smartwatches and fitness bands, the Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro does not feature any physical buttons. To first power it on, you need to connect it to its charger. From there on, navigation is performed only through taps and swipes across the 1.64” display. This approach can be divisive among users but I am in favour of it as it adds a unique user experience and also adds to the minimalist appeal. And interacting with the crisp AMOLED display is a real joy. 

Accessing the menu, viewing your workout results and starting to track your fitness is easily performed with the touch gestures and the device is responsive, even if there can be some occasional lags when swiping through numerous notifications. For fitness tracking, the Smart Band 7 Pro comes equipped with a heart rate sensor, a blood oxygen sensor, accelerometer, and gyroscope. These enable you to track over 100 sports modes from the built-in app as well as provide sleep tracking results. One welcome addition is that of female health tracking which has been a feature that has been traditionally left out of fitness trackers.

While I couldn’t test the latter feature myself, activity, workout and sleep tracking are on par with other fitness tracking devices that I’ve tried. The smart band provides an adequate snapshot for you to gauge your performance and sleep habits while the Mi Fitness app provides further insights for you to scrutinise. There is also a handy stress level checker and a breathing app to help you take a moment to relax through guided breathing.

With the Xiaomi Smart Band 7 Pro strapped to your wrist and paired to your phone through the Mi Fitness app, you can further get notifications from your phone but cannot interact with  them as you would with a smartwatch. So no replying to messages, liking tweets or sending emojis. The notifications are just for viewing what you might have missed. 

I was intrigued to find that the device hosts an on-board microphone, thinking it could also handle calls. However the mic only allows for Alexa commands and doesn’t support answering phone calls. Hopefully phone call support can be a feature that is added through a future update as I am sure users of the Smart Band 7 Pro would find it handy.

I also welcome the inclusion of removable straps as this allows for replacement or just a change of style. However, Xiaomi opted for proprietary watch straps with the Smart Band 7 Pro which is not optimal if you want a strap style/colour that’s not available from Xiaomi itself or just want one that’s cheaper. 

In addition, the number of apps is limited to what’s been preinstalled on the smart band. While there are some handy inclusions such as a torch (just a very bright screen), events (synched from the app), timer and music control. Others like an audio recorder, news app, note taking and even some casual mini-games would be welcome. And even if the Smart Band 7 Pro tracks your sleep, it doesn’t feature a smart sleep alarm which can wake you up during the light sleep stage for an optimal feeling. These are apps to expect out of an actual smartwatch and their lack further indicates that the Smart Band 7 Pro is an in-betweener rather than a full-blown smartwatch. 

But then again, the memory is limited on the device, so much so that it can only accommodate just two extra downloaded watch faces. The pre-installed ones can't be deleted to free up space. 

I think Xiaomi should consider making a Wear OS smartwatch to cater for such needs as the ecosystem is more matured on the platform and can satisfy a wider range of user needs. As it stands, the Smart Band 7 Pro will provide decent health and fitness tracking and a few smartwatch-like perks. But this is no smartwatch and its ecosystem and abilities will feel restrictive for those looking to do just a bit more with the smart band. The only hope for doing so is through future updates from Xiaomi but as of now, the Smart Band 7 Pro is more of a souped-up smart band than a smartwatch. And I hope that they do deliver on such updates given the price point of the fitness band.