Xiaomi has already launched its impressive and very cheap Xiaomi Smart Band 9 globally and it looks like the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 Active will soon follow in its budget footsteps.
The Smart Band 9 Active was first spied via an Amazon France listing and has since surfaced on Amazon UK’s website, suggesting the fitness tracker will launch on November 18. Its predecessor, the Smart Band 8 Active, arrived in October 2023, making it about a year since its release.
Along with those listings, details of the budget tracker are already available on Xiaomi Malaysia’s website, giving us a clearer idea of what to expect and how the 9 Active will be an upgrade over the 8 Active.
In terms of design, we can probably expect three case colors, which is two color options less than the previous Active. The case will grow from 42mm to 45mm and will have the same 9.9mm thick frame as the 8 Active.
That is combined with a replaceable TPU strap of the same size with an optional luminous strap, one of the options to enable. As a package it will be waterproof to a depth of 50 meters (5ATM).
Xiaomi
While the case will get bigger, it looks like the screen won’t. According to Xiaomi’s website, it will stick with the same 1.47-inch 172 x 320 TFT display. However, the Amazon listing suggests it will be an AMOLED display.
If it’s the former, that’s something of a downgrade from the AMOLED screen on the slimmer Smart Band 9 and the GPS-packed Band 9 Pro.
As for the sensors, it has the same accelerometer motion sensor and a PPG sensor equipped to monitor heart rate and blood oxygen saturation all day long. You can also track your sleep and stress. In terms of sports tracking, you can choose from more than 50 sports modes, just like on the 8 Active.
In smartwatch mode you get notifications, music controls (on some phones), weather reports, a flashlight and the ability to take smartphone camera photos remotely. It’s compatible with iOS and Android and the listing suggests a new chip has been added to deliver an improved screen refresh rate and an overall smoother software experience.
Mike Sawh
Again, there is conflicting information about battery life on the 9 Active. Xiaomi’s website suggests this will improve, with a larger capacity 300mAh battery packed inside, for up to 18 days of battery life or 9 days of heavy use. The Amazon listing suggests it will adhere to the same 14 days as the 8 Active.
The price of the Smart Band 9 Active is listed on Amazon as £25.13. The Band 8 Active cost £19.99 and has since dropped to £14.99, so that would suggest a small price increase, but even so it will still be a budget purchase and also set you back less than the Smart Band 9.
With the Smart Band 9 and the Band 9 Pro already available on a budget, the Band 8 Active would be an even cheaper alternative in the Xiaomi range and once again undercut the competition.
It seems like you’ll have to make some compromises in areas like design and the smart features available, but if you like the idea of a fitness tracker and smartwatch mash-up with a big screen, the Band 9 Active’s cheap price might might be attractive.
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