Mi Band 2 vs Lifesense Band 2
2017 has been a great year for Xiaomi as they clinch the top spot in the wearable industry, all thanks to the really well built yet affordable Mi Band 2. I did a review of the Mi Band 2 when it launched in Singapore a while ago and you can read it here.
About a month ago, I reviewed the Lifesense Band 2 here on the 8K Guy blog. Which Band 2 is the better one for you? Do you always get something better when you pay more? In this article, we will be comparing both devices to see which is worth your money.
Design & Customization - Style vs Functionality
Let's begin with the Lifesense Band 2. It has a large 0.87" OLED display, which allows for phone notifications. Despite being made entirely out of plastic (excluding the straps), Lifesense's Band 2 looks beautiful compared to other similarly priced fitness trackers.
The Mi Band 2 features a significantly smaller 0.42" OLED panel, which limits what it can display. The Mi Band 2's design is a lot sleeker though, with a roundish design and a metal textured button that is also round. Simple, yet elegant.
The Lifesense Band 2's display is quite a bit brighter, which is excellent for outdoors, but can get glaring at night, This is not to say that the Mi Band 2's display is dim. It is still visible under sunlight, just that it takes a little squinting.
Moving on to the straps, both are made of similar feeling materials that is gentle to the skin and comfortable around the wrist. Both straps are removable. On Lifesense's Band 2, a mechanism attaches the straps to the device and you press a button to pull off the straps.
Due to the popularity of the Mi Band 2, you do get a lot of third-party options when it comes to replacement straps. You can get bands that are of different materials, like metal or leather. I got a metal one since my original silicon strap broke and it looks amazing.
The Lifesense Band 2 comes with a clever trick. Underneath its straps, you will find a USB connector (top) and device serial number (bottom). This USB connector is used for charging so no additional cable is required. The serial number is used for pairing.
App & Setup - Similar Looks, Different Quality
To use the Mi Band 2, you will have to download the Mi Fit app and login with your Mi account. The Lifesense Band 2 is no different; download Lifesense's app and login. One thing I do like about Lifesense's app is that you can sign up with your Facebook account.
Download Mi Fit
Download Lifesense Health
This is when things start to differ and you can tell that Xiaomi's app is more refined. On Mi Fit, you will be asked to set your weight, height and daily steps target. On Lifesense's Health app however, you are not prompted to do so and the app will use a preset.
Both bands have a different procedure for pairing. Mi Fit uses Bluetooth to search for your Mi Band 2. Meanwhile, you can pair the Lifesense Band 2 scanning the QR code on the instruction manual or typing the serial number, found beneath the bottom strap.
(L - Lifesense Band 2, R - Mi Band 2)
You will have to change your weight and height information in the settings. But the problem does not stop there. I noticed that the Lifesense Band 2 also had my step "readings" from the past two days, despite it being my first time using the device.
Lifesense's app is easy to navigate through as it features a similar layout as the old Mi Fit app and to a certain extend, the current one. On both apps you get tons of customization, like changing display menu, enabling move reminder and setting alarms.
On Lifesense's app, you also get to select which apps to receive notifications from. Currently, this is limited to text messages, WeChat, WhatsApp, Gmail and Line, but more may be added in the future. Both devices are capable of call notifications.
You can update both devices from their respective apps. Both are pretty quick, but I notice that the Lifesense Band 2 heats up quite a bit during updating and the battery dropped from 50% to 18% after the update. Not a problem observed on the Mi Band 2.
Steps Tracking - Both Really Accurate for a Budget Fitness Tracker
If there is one thing both bands perform equally well in, it would be the step tracking. Both get me similar results when worn on the same wrist at the same time. Both are only 1-2 steps off per hundred steps when walking, even without swinging of arms.
However, both get inaccurate results when running. They over count by 6-8 steps when you start to run, which isn't too bad, but not very accurate either. Perhaps a better algorithm would fix this, to make it as good as the free NSC Careeach Step Tracker.
Both devices have an exercise/activity mode, but Lifesense's one seem to not do much. The display's interface will be forced into horizontal mode for some reason and a timer will also be displayed. One thing good is that it can be activated directly from the band.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi's activity mode has 4 types of exercises and can use your phone's GPS to map your run. It can also alert you when your heart rate exceeds a certain bpm or when you run too slowly. Overall, I find Xiaomi's activity mode a lot more useful.
Sleep Tracking - Similar Duration, But Mi Band 2 is More Accurate
I went to bed with both fitness bands on the same hand, close together. Both resulted in a similar sleep duration. The deep sleep graph had similar deep sleep portions, but there were also times where one recorded deep sleep while the other did not.
(L - Lifesense Band 2, R - Mi Band 2)
Without the proper tools, we are unable to tell which deep sleep tracking is the right one, but what I know is that the sleep end time for the Mi Band 2 was pretty much accurate while the Lifesense Band 2 ended a whole 5 minutes after I left bed.
Heart Rate - Take Both With a Pinch of Salt
Both bands uses green light to measure your heart rate, but the Mi Band 2 only reads your heart rate whenever you toggle it while the Lifesense measures it continuously, 24/7. Continuous HR detection is mostly only found on costly fitness trackers.
This means that you have to hold your hand really still when using the Mi Band 2's HR sensor, which is quite troublesome. However, with a recent update, the Mi Band 2 is now capable of continuous HR detection, but only in exercise mode.
At rest or slow jog, they produce very similar readings, but I noticed that the Lifesense Band 2 responded slower to changes. But when you start to run, their readings can get very different, as you can see from the picture below.
So how accurate are they? We shall compare their readings to an Apple watch that I borrowed from a friend. Thanks friend! Apple Watch has one of the more accurate heart rate sensors on a consumer wearable according to a study.
At rest, results were pretty similar on all three devices, with differences within 5bpm. But after running for a few minutes, all three produced very different values. Lifesense's Band 2 has the lowest at only 109. Meanwhile, Mi Band 2 read 152 bpm and Apple Watch read 197.
So which is the right one? No one knows. But Lifesense's value seems to low to be true. The Mi Band 2, while closer to the Apple Watch's reading, produced results that fluctuates wildly when heart rate reading was repeated many times. Can you trust either of them?
Battery Life - Unsurprising Results
On their website, Lifesense claims 30 days of battery life with continuous HR detection turned off and 5 days with it turned on. From my usage, its true battery life is far from that, with only 9 days with HR detection completely off and 3 days with it turned on.
Meanwhile, the Mi Band 2 easily gets me through 25 days on a single charge, with light use of the heart rate sensor. For both devices, I tested with Bluetooth connected 24/7, call notification on and WhatsApp, WeChat, Gmail and Line notification disabled on the Lifesense Band 2.
The Mi Band 2 is the clear winner here, but the results isn't that surprising. With a smaller and dimmer display, the Mi Band 2's display drains significantly less power. If you do not like having to charge your fitness band frequently, go for the Mi Band 2.
Conclusion - Which is Better for You?
If you are serious about fitness tracking, both Band 2 devices are not for you. While they offer pretty accurate step tracking, their heart rate tracking isn't very reliable and you are missing out on a couple of nifty features, like built-in GPS tracking.
Despite being less than two third the price of Lifesense's Band 2 (S$55 vs S$89), Xiaomi's offering in on par with Lifesense's Band 2 in most ways. In some, it even outshines Lifesense. Get the one that meets your requirements.
If you find the Mi Band 2's display too small, the obvious answer would be to get the Lifesense Band 2 instead. However, if you want something polished yet affordable, something millions of people around the world are using, there is no better fitness band to get than the Mi Band 2.
