14 DAY TRIAL // A new Xiaomi Mi Band is on its way, according to a company official, and the launch is projected to take place later this year.
David Cui, the chief financial officer of Huami, a company owned by Xiaomi, said during an earnings call that the Mi Band 4 is already on its way, albeit with no specific target date for the unveiling just yet.
“For Mi Band 4, it’s going to be in this year. It will be in 2019. But I’m not sure, [if] it’s going to be in March and April. But, it is going to be in this year. Each generation we learn something, we always do better,” the Huami official is quoted as saying by XDA.
The Mi Band is among the main catalysts of Xiaomi’s growth in the wearable industry, mostly thanks to its super-low price. The Mi Band 3, for example, launched with a price of just $25, while an upgraded model with an NFC sensor was sold for about $30.
And despite this surprising price tag, the device still featured a 0.78-inch OLED display, sleep tracking, notification support, a heart rate sensor, and even water resistance. The 110 mAh battery was capable of offering up to 20 days of autonomy per charge.
Pushing the Xiaomi Mi Band legacy forward
While no specifics have been provided on its successor, David Cui hinted the new model would be based on the same approach as the Mi Band 3.
“And [for] Mi Band 3 — you can take a look at 2018’s volume, right. So it’s really much better as compared to previous version. So we expect Mi Band 4 will have similar trend. So once we launch Mi Band 4, we expect that product will sell well. Right now, Mi Band 3 is still hot sale — is still [selling] really, really well. The margin is not shrinking, the shipments are not shrinking. So we will work with Xiaomi to pick the right time to launch Mi Band 4 in the year,” he said.
Xiaomi was the top wearable company in EMA in the third quarter of 2018 thanks to its cheap wristbands, with research firm IDC revealing the firm sold 1.15 million units during the quarter in this particular market.
