undefined | Better HN

0 pointsbayindirh3y ago0 comments

I have a couple of Mi Bands, and they're nice devices. However, they're not watches. They're body monitors with watch functionality patched in, and that's OK.

While the functionality they add-in is intriguing, their low processing power is taxing the mobile phone a lot. I'm in apple ecosystem, and constant communication and process offloading reduces battery life of the phone considerably. Esp, when on the move.

I want a watch primarily. A time keeping device which I can depend and can use for a long time (i.e. years). So returning to a vanilla, bona-fide watch was refreshing and liberating. Having a self-winding, completely mechanical heart inside is also nice.

0 comments

3 comments · 2 top-level

kramerger3y ago· 1 in thread

That sounds odd, what kind of processing would the band need?

bayindirhOP3y ago

If the Zepplife application is running (even in the background), the band constantly feeds it data about your steps, pulse and whatnot it gets from you, to keep its send queue empty. This wakes the processor a lot, and consumes a lot of battery.

If you're exercising, band establishes and keeps a constant connection about your movement data and pulse. It also gets some information from app (is GPS healthy, etc.).

Both modes keep the phone out of its deep sleep, and halves your daily battery stamina if you have a moderately active day.

Because of that, I actively kill the Zepplife application most of the time if I'm wearing the band that day, unless I'm exercising.

IIsi50MHz3y ago

I use GadgetBridge with my Mi Band. It supports several other brands, is open source, and doesn't noticeably affect battery on the paired phone.

The only annoyance is that a recent update which added support for a device I don't use has caused GadgetBridge to prompt my for a permission that device support needs every time I open the app, and doesn't care that I have no reason to grant that permission. I should make a bug report…

My main battery issue is that the Mi Band's "up to 14 days" (or whatever) is nowhere near enough. I get about 7 days, and I'd prefer "at least 30 days", or...dare I say it?...a few years . (-:

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse