Should You Upgrade from Mi Band 4 to Mi Band 5
During most of 2020, I switched between Mi Band 4 and Honor Band 5 (I also used them at the same time for comparison purposes). I knew that Mi Band 5 has been released for some time but yesterday I decided to look at its features. You should keep in mind that I have not used Mi Band 5 yet and this is a comparison using my Mi Band 4 experience and Xiaomi's information on their website regarding the Band 5.
TL;DR: You should buy the new Mi Band 5 if your focus is sleep, you plan to do yoga, or think stress measurement(tracking) of a wearable device can help you.
Design, Display, and Sensors
The design of Band 5 and Band 4 are very similar the only advantage of the newer one is its magnetic charger mechanism. Both have a color display, 50m water resistance, and ~14-day battery life.
Regarding the display, Xiaomi claims the new version has approximately ~20% larger display. But personally, I don’t think it will have much effect on your experience.
Unfortunately, Xiaomi doesn’t provide us any information regarding the improvements of sensors if there is any. When I get my hands on Band 5 I will compare the devices to find the difference in their accuracy.
Sleep
Both versions have continuous heart rate tracking and sleep tracking but Band 5 has an important improvement: it can track the REM cycles. Thinking that this may be a software improvement I updated the firmware of my Band 4 but it only tracks deep and light sleep, not REM.
I don’t know how accurate is Mi Band 5 regarding sleep tracking[1] but I can say that Band 4 had problems regarding detecting accurately the time spent in bed vs the actual sleep.[2]
Activity Tracking
Mi Band 4 can track all the activities that the new version can track except yoga. So if you are a yoga fan or plan to get started Mi Band 5 is the cheapest wearable available that has the functionality.
In addition, the new band has a so-called Personal activity intelligence which suggests you activities to focus on. I didn’t test it yet and Xiaomi doesn’t provide much information but it can be fun to try.
Stress Tracking
Lastly, like all wearables released in 2020, Mi Band 5 can track your stress[3] and provides you with breathing exercises. Personally, I value meditation and breathing, but I don’t believe these devices can measure your stress. So this is another feature that can be fun to experiment with.
Conclusion
There is no price difference between Mi Band 4 and 5 so if you are planning to buy the device then the answer is obvious. If you already have a Band 4 and not obsessed with your sleep or stress levels and don’t plan to start doing yoga then I believe you can keep your device. If you are excited about any of those 3 improvements then buying the new version can definitely help you as those features most probably won’t be available on Mi Band 4 via firmware upgrades.
Extra Notes
[1] I am planning to compare it with the Oura ring in the future.
[2] From my own experience, I can say that Galaxy Watch 3 measures this very accurately if you are willing to spend an extra 300$.
[3] None of the firms explain the tech behind so we don’t have much information on how these devices test your stress. In my opinion, it is just a mapping function from your heart rate.
