A vast number of Smart Watches are currently available on the market. From the Moto 360 to Samsung Galaxy Gear, manufacturers have been trying to achieve the perfect smart wrist companion for a couple of years. However, following the announcement of the Apple Watch, more companies are getting on the smart watch band wagon as the wearable market promises to grow in the upcoming months.
Huawei has already released a smart watch, called TalkBand B1 and Meizu also plans to release a smart wrist band. However, the biggest Apple Watch competitor to seems to be Xiaomi.
Partnering with Huami, the company is aimed at conquering the wearable ID market. Following the success of the Mi Band, Xiaomi has recently announced a second iteration of the smart band as well as the Xiaomi Smart Watch, which seems to be a direct response to Apple’s wrist wearable device.
The Xiaomi Band 2 won’t be that different from its predecessor. With a sporty look and a light design, the band will feature a new NFC sensor in addition to the existing Bluetooth module and accelerator.
“My mission is to make the Xiaomi band (Mi Band) look better,” Huang Wang, CEO of Huami stated in a recent interview with 36 Krypton. “In addition to variety of designs, at the core of the Xiaomi band will be its customization.”
Even more interesting is the direct Apple Watch competitor – the Xiaomi Smart Watch. Improving on the wrist band, the watch will feature a large dial, making pulse wave velocity identification possible. Currently, the technology has two major problems – light pollution and high energy consumption.
“Apple did made a lot of progress in health tracking with the Apple Watch, but they also had to give up a lot of health-related functions,” researchers told 36 Krypton. Doing accurate measurements and identifying biological signs with such a small device seems to be a problem and researchers state that “in order to improve the accuracy of pulse reading and other health-related measurements, the wrist wear should be solid and well-positioned, which is hardly achieved with a smart watch.”
However, Huang Wang is certain that the engineers of Huami have managed to deal with those difficulties, while achieving an amazing design. Whether or not the new Xiaomi Smart Watch will be able to deliver on said promises is still to be seen. However, Huang said that the their previous experience in the development of consumer electronics, will help them achieve a great product at an affordable price.
What’s more, the Xiaomi Smart Watch will feature a special design and be made with brushed metal material, similar to the one used in smartphones, such as the HTC One (M8). Although, Huang did not reveal any information regarding the overall shape of the device, he noted that “the watch industry has been around for many years and the classic dial shape is the most popular, as everyone can see.” He also added that “For everyday purposes, smart watches are relatively thick, thus they can sue some trimming of the design, so it looks more pleasing.”
Huami have also made sure to get the best software engineers on their Smart Watch team, as well. Lin Bin and Hugo Barra, Huami and Google employees, stated that “the [Xiaomi Smart Watch] user experience will be the best.”
All in all, Huami seem to be pretty confident in their ability to deliver a worthy competitor to the Apple Watch. Furthermore, according to Huang, the Xiaomi Band 2 and the Xiaomi Smart Watch will come at a lower price, compared to other devices on the market.
Will the company be able to deliver on their promises? Only time will tell!
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