Xiaomi Mi Band 6 Could Almost Be An Alexa Smartwatch

Although smartwatches are a dime a dozen these days, some still prefer smart bands not just for their simplicity but also for their discreetness. That's not to say that these fitness-centric devices are less featured than their smartwatch cousins, especially this upcoming product from Xiaomi. According to the latest leak, the company's next Mi Band will be chock-full of features that it would almost qualify as a smartwatch, one that even has Amazon's AI assistant on board.

As with its smartphones, Xiaomi's Mi Band has largely been praised for cramming as many features as possible while retaining dirt-cheap prices. Last year's Mi Band 5 was the epitome of that business strategy but it seems that the company will one-up itself with the Mi Band 6, at least based on this hefty leak.

According to leaker Magical Unicorn, a certain device codenamed "Pangu" was spotted in the code for the Zepp companion app for Xiaomi's Mi Bands. The codes and strings pointed to a variety of features that elevates the device, believed to be the Mi Band 6, to almost smartwatch levels. Perhaps the highlight of those features is the presence of Amazon Alexa, a feature that is rare even among smartwatches.

"Pangu", which has the model number XMSH16HM for China and XMSH15HM for global markets, is also indicated to have its own built-in GPS, making it even more independent of a companion smartphone. There will also be an SpO2 sensor for measuring blood oxygen levels. There will also be 19 new activities supported, based on the leak, making it an even more competitive smart fitness device.

Given the abundance of features, Xiaomi fans might be glad that the Mi Band 6 could become available in markets outside of China just like its predecessor. That said, the leak also suggests that only the Chinese version will have an NFC chip, most likely to support mobile payment systems in the country.