Xiaomi Mi Band 3 gets a sports mode

Xiaomi Mi-Band 3 has received one of its most requested features, a sports mode. This allows you to start, pause and stop an exercise directly from the wrist.

Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets

The functionality was recently enabled via an over-the-air firmware update. To access simply swipe on the screen until you see the little exercise icon. Long pressing the physical button will start the 3 second countdown to exercise tracking. You can pause your activity and stop it with further presses of the button.

When this mode is activated the tracker displays information such as time, calories and heart rate on the wrist. All this info and more will find its way to your smartphone the next time you open the app.

Previously, the only way to start exercise tracking was via the smartphone app. Its needless to say this was a very inconvenient option. Mind you, users still need to have their phone with them during the activity but this is so the band can tap into the phone’s GPS signal. At least now you don’t need to fumble with anything at the start and end of your runs.

We recently tested Mi Band 3 and this was one of the things on our wish list. In our review we note that the range of features on offer make this a great wearable for those on a budget. Of course, its not quite on-par with some of the more expensive options out there, but its close.

And while the app would benefit from a design overhaul and the OLED screen is a bit temperamental, the stats it dishes out are fairly accurate. If you’re looking for a basic fitness tracker and don’t want to spend lots of money, Mi Band 3 does the job quite nicely.

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