Xiaomi Mi Band 4 vs Honor Band 5 - Which is better?

Shortly after the Mi Band 4 of Xiaomi the Honor Band 5 was released. The Fitness Tracker is supposed to be a competition to the new Mi Band. But is it? Where are the differences and which device is better? Let's compare the two models and decide which one is better for you.

Comparison table

Differences Mi Band 4 and Honor Band 5

SpO2 - oxygen content

Probably the biggest difference between the Mi Band 4 and the Honor Band 5 is the SpO2 sensor. It can be used to measure the oxygen content in the blood and thus the physical load. A thing that even Fitbit has long problems with.

Waterproof

Both fitness trackers are waterproof up to 50 meters with 5ATM. This also makes both machines suitable for swimming.

But here the Honor Band 5 trumps a bit. It is a bit better optimized for swimming units. The Honor Band 5 measures the SWOLF Index, a value that is interesting for the evaluation of a swimming unit. This is otherwise only known from expensive Garmin fitness trackers. However, it will certainly work a little better there.

If you are a swimmer, then the Honor Band 5 gives you a little added value.

Battery life

In the battery life the Mi Band 4 still does the running. There the battery lasts about 20 days. Of course it depends on usage and load. The Honor Band 5 offers only 14 days. This was already the case with the predecessor.

The battery of the Mi Band 4 is a bit bigger with 135 mAh. The Honor Band 5 has a capacity of 100 mAh.

Display, optics and weight

The display of the Honor Band 5 and Mi Band 4 is identical. Both have a 0.95" color AMOLED display. The resolution in both cases is 120 x 240 pixels.

So both devices are the same. In spite of the same display, the devices appear somewhat different because they are built in differently. Here, of course, it's the personal taste that counts.

Optically the Honor Band 5 goes a bit more in the direction of most fitness trackers. The Mi Band 4 stands out from most other devices due to its design.

The weight of both machines is almost identical with about 23 and 22 grams. In any case, the difference is not worth mentioning.

NFC

Both fitness trackers have NFC, but in Europe and the USA this is not useful. The payment system there is AliPay, which can only be used in China. Thus this point is out of the question for most of us. Also access controls over NFC are usable only in China and with us so or so hardly present.

Which Fitness Tracker is better?

In both cases we have low-budget fitness trackers. For the price both offer very good performance.

The differences between Mi Band 4 and Honor Band 5 are very small and are basically limited to 4 points:
 

• Better battery life with 20 days instead of 14 days - Mi Band 4*
• Better Swim Recording (SWOLF) - Honor Band 5*
• SpO2 Sensor - Honor Band 5*
• Optic

The Mi Band 4 is even cheaper. If you don't swim much and don't care about the SpO2 sensor, the Mi Band 4* is the right choice for you. If the features are important to you, the Honor Band 5* is your choice. But there you have to pay a little more.

In comparison between Honor Band 4 and Mi Band 4 the Mi Band is ahead. Due to the changes from Honor Band 4 to Honor Band 5 this has changed a bit. Only the battery life, the price and possibly the optics speak for the Mi Band 4*.