The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 remains the great benchmark in smart bracelets

I’ve spent two weeks with the Xiaomi Smart Band 9, a band that doesn’t change much but remains a strong benchmark thanks to its reasonable price of 39.99 euros, its large display, and its unbeatable battery life.

After its release in China several months ago, Xiaomi has now launched its next-generation smart band, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9, in Spain. Announced in September alongside the Xiaomi 14T and the foldable Xiaomi Mix Flip, the band keeps its affordable price of 39.99 euros.

With this band, the Chinese brand aims to continue dominating a market that consistently brings it success, holding a 40% share far ahead of other smart band brands, according to data from Canalys. The Xiaomi Smart Band line, formerly called Mi Band, remains one of their mainstays, along with smartphones, which lead in sales.

Design: the metal body feels more premium, though the band is not perfect

The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 closely follows the design of its predecessor in almost every aspect, so you have to look closely to find differences. However, after the positive experience with the Xiaomi Smart Band 8, this is not bad news.

The body of Xiaomi’s new smart band has an oval—or pill-shaped—design, with rounded corners that help reduce the perceived screen size, which is quite large for a band.

It remains extremely comfortable due to its compact form, measuring only 10.95 mm in thickness and weighing 15.6 grams without the strap. I had no trouble wearing it all day, even while sleeping. In fact, I often forget I’m wearing it.

The main upgrade from last year’s model is the use of metal for the edges of the body, giving it a more premium look and a greater sense of durability. Despite this, the underside, where the sensors are and which contacts the skin, is still plastic.

As for the strap, Xiaomi keeps the same system as the previous generation, so you can use the one from the Smart Band 8. Additionally, new bands are available, allowing you to turn it into a fashion accessory: the asymmetrical and metal straps are my favorites, but there are various styles like sneaker clips, fabric, leather, and pendant straps. They cost 9.99 euros each and are sold separately.

I can speak for the basic silicone or TPU strap included in the box. While I liked the ease and security of attaching and detaching it, it’s far from perfect.

I’m not a fan of the TPU strap’s clasp system. As with the Honor Band 9, the clasping mechanism on the outside makes it easy for the strap to catch and come undone if you move your hand a certain way, something that’s happened to me a few times and doesn’t occur with systems where the strap tucks inside.

Display: a small screen but full of resolution and brightness

The 1.62-inch AMOLED touch screen of the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 surprised me because, with regular use, it felt larger and higher quality than I expected for a 40-euro band.

The oval shape is a great choice as it gives you more vertical space to view content, and I think Xiaomi makes the most of this with its software, which I’ll discuss later.

But above all, I appreciate the quality of this AMOLED panel.

Its AMOLED technology provides deep blacks, an always-on display feature, and good color reproduction. With a resolution of 192 x 490 pixels, it looks even better in person, surpassing some much pricier smartwatches.

Its 1,200-nit brightness makes it perfectly visible even in sunny outdoor settings and very bright spaces, with an automatic adjustment that works flawlessly. In two weeks of use, I can’t recall ever needing to adjust the brightness manually, which is unusual.

Software: I love the simplicity and visuals of the band and the Mi Fitness app

The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 struck me as a very easy-to-use device, which is undoubtedly a strong point for Xiaomi from a software perspective.

The band has a lightweight operating system with ease of use and quick performance, clearly putting it ahead of its current rivals. I like that navigating the system is simple and intuitive, without needing to swipe through multiple screens or click many times to find what you’re looking for.

Xiaomi allows you to customize watch faces so you can choose whether you want a more classic look of a traditional watch, a more elegant digital watch style, or, as I prefer, one that displays as much information as possible at a glance. Even in this case, you can modify which data is shown.

While the band itself offers various visual ways to display information, Xiaomi lets you control the band and view all historical data through its Mi Fitness app.

The Mi Fitness app is one of my favorites among wearable devices right now. Not only do you have access to all the data, and can customize watch faces and notifications as is typical, but in general, I find it to be one of the most visual and well-organized apps at the moment.

There’s just one thing I didn’t like on the software side, and that’s the fact that the band often sends me duplicate notifications. This happens frequently with the Google Weather app and WhatsApp, where I get a notification simply saying it’s checking for new messages (spoiler: there aren’t any).

Another thing I didn’t like, although it’s not exactly hardware-related, is that Xiaomi still doesn’t include NFC in its bands, which is unfortunate because it would reduce mobile phone usage and is one of the top requests from fans of this product.

Tracking and Sports: One of the most comprehensive for sports and metrics

Among current smart bands, it’s hard to find a model as complete in health and sports tracking as the Xiaomi Smart Band 9.

The new Xiaomi band offers over 150 workout modes. It includes most popular sports, both for gym activities and many of their variations, as well as some less common ones like badminton and even board games. Unfortunately, you still won’t find padel, but other than that, I don’t think you’ll miss anything important.

I’ve used the band for racket sports like tennis and badminton, and it didn’t bother me at any point, even for wrist movements, unlike some watches.

With its 5 ATM water resistance, the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 is suitable for surface water sports, like swimming, though it’s not recommended for diving.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the accuracy and variety of health metrics on the Xiaomi Smart Band 9, which can rival those of much more expensive devices.

This compact band lets you measure the following: heart rate, sleep, blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), and stress levels.

I would particularly highlight the reliable sleep tracking, both in terms of time and stages, and the heart rate monitoring, which I compared at the gym with other devices, showing results practically identical to the band’s data.

Battery: Endless life lasting over two weeks

If I had to emphasize the area where the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 truly shines, it would undoubtedly be the battery.

The band has a 233 mAh capacity, which may seem small but, according to the brand, can provide up to 21 days of typical use and 9 days with high-consumption modes.

Does Xiaomi deliver on this promise?

In my case, it fell short of these figures because I receive hundreds of notifications a day and exercise four times a week, but I can tell you that I’m convinced.

I started using the band on Friday, September 27, charged it to 100%, and enabled all high-consumption modes, including the always-on display. In this scenario, the battery lasted until Tuesday, October 1, which is just under five days—not bad for the always-on display.

Without the always-on display, I’ve been using the Xiaomi Smart Band 9 for nine days and still have 48% battery remaining, so I estimate that total battery life will exceed two weeks, though I don’t think it will reach 21 days.

Between two and three weeks doesn’t make much of a difference to me; you’ll hardly need to charge the Smart Band 9, and that’s what counts, even if my experience fell slightly short of the promise.

The magnetic charger—cable included in the box but no charging adapter—attaches easily to the back, much better than what I’ve found on more expensive models. It charges from 0% to 100% in about an hour.