Unboxing

So, so. The bracelet was ordered from HEKKA e-mail. shops. Arrived in about 3 weeks from China warehouse. There were no additional taxes or duties. Packaged in a letter-shaped padded case. The box itself is in good order, the corners are not rubbed or dented.

Inside the box - Xiaomi Band 7 Pro, wrapped in a plastic bag. Maybe it was a bit strange that no protective sticker was stuck on the screen. Since the model is intended for the CN (China) market, all the notes on the box and the instructions inside are also in the CN language.

Quality / design

The smart bracelet was ordered in white, but I would say it is more of a cream color. Xiaomi Band 7 Pro has locking buttons, so to change to another strap, just press the button and pull it out of the clasp. I just wonder if such a fastening will not loosen after long wearing, because the button itself is plastic, and the strap is rubber.

The bracelet buckle closes tightly, suitable for both smaller and larger hands. The screen shines brightly, shows clearly. Its corners are rounded, its sides have a chrome border with a slight golden tint. The lower part is made of strong plastic.

Functionality

Swiping your finger across the screen opens different menus from different sides. Screen brightness can be adjusted manually or set to automatic. Xiaomi Band 7 Pro supports up to 117 sports modes and it's great that it has integrated GPS.

Supports Xiaomi AI voice control, but since the model is intended for the CN market, it would have to speak that language as well. The bracelet can track health indicators such as heart rate, blood oxygen, stress level, sleep duration (deep sleep, etc.) throughout the day. 

What did we like?

What catches my eye is the design and the fact that it fits comfortably on the hand. Compared to the non-Pro (Xiaomi Band 7), this PRO model has an integrated GPS receiver, so you don't need to have a phone with you to use to receive the GPS signal. During testing - between buildings, the GPS signal took a little longer, but after that it worked smoothly.

The AMOLED screen shines brightly and blacks are truly black, without any gray cast. After a while, a wider selection of dials (screensavers - themes) appears. Conveniently designed strap replacement mechanism. Should look quite nice with the leather strap on.

The sensors are not noticeably protruding, so the bracelet itself fits nicely and comfortably on the hand. I personally use the Huawei GT2 Pro watch, it is an observation that the Xiaomi Band 7 Pro tracks the sleep duration more accurately (I only looked at the time after waking up and compared what the watches recorded).

Although the bracelet is intended for the CN market, the display of LT letters is not a problem, but instead of smileys (emoji) it only shows squares. After fully charging the 100% and setting it to track all day: heart rate, sleep, stress and reminders to move, the battery lasted for 7 days. After turning off the stress level tracking and setting the heart rate to "auto", the battery life was extended to 9 days.

What we didn't like?

After a week of use and testing, I noticed that the cream-colored bracelet (strap) tends to get dirty - it requires more maintenance. Of course, the strap can be replaced with a new one, but if practicality is important, then it is better to choose a black model right away.

Comparing the step count between Huawei GT2 PRO and Xiaomi Band 7 Pro, the difference was about 1000 steps after 1 day. Xiaomi Band 7 Pro showed a lower result. I would say that the algorithms/software should still be improved on step counting, because when I got up in the morning and went to the bathroom, Xiaomi showed 0 steps, while Huawei counted them correctly.

Initially, the global Mi Fitness app had a problem with location settings for weather information, but the problem was later fixed. The watch now works perfectly. After registering the global Mi Fitness app, I had to select the Chinese region, otherwise it did not detect the bracelets.

After receiving a message - the icon always remains at the top, regardless of whether the message has been viewed or not. After clearing the messages, the icon disappears. When changing the dial (screen saver) between the already existing ones - everything goes smoothly, but when loading a new one, you have to wait for up to 1-2 minutes.

Supports AOD ("always on display") function, but it drains the battery almost 2x faster. The lighting changes according to the light, but at night, even when completely dimmed, it is still too bright. This can be avoided by setting a "Raise to wake" schedule.

When testing with the POCO X4 PRO phone, the camera control function did not work, but the music player worked perfectly. The NFC function on the Xiaomi Band 7 Pro (CN version) is only supported in China itself, so in other countries, including Lithuania, there is no use of NFC...

After comparing the screens between the Xiaomi Band 7 Pro and the Xiaomi Band 7 model, I noticed that when "scrolling" between the menu options, in the PRO model, a slight jerking/jumping is felt as if it wants to stop at some program.

Global vs CN version - what are the differences?

As much as I had to browse the forums and search for information, there is still no possibility to rewrite the CN software (firmware) to Global, and it is difficult to say how it will be in the future. Another minus - there is no possibility to synchronize your accumulated data to other APPs such as Strava (the global model works with Strava).

Of course, it should be noted that the CN version only supports English and Chinese, while the Global version supports more: English, Spanish, French, Spanish, Russian, etc. (however, Lithuanian is not available in either the CN or Global model).

Is it worth buying "PRO"?

For many, I think the most relevant question is what should I buy: Xiaomi Band 7 or 7 Pro? There are basically two main differences between these two models: 1) The Pro model has a slightly larger, wider screen; 2) The Pro model has a built-in GPS receiver.

For a more stylish look, I would suggest choosing the PRO model. After putting on the leather bracelet and activating the formal screen saver (theme) - it should look very solid and elegant. Well, personally, the "Pro" model looks more premium to me.

If you like to run outdoors and want to track your distance and route with GPS (you don't want to carry your phone with you), then the Pro model would be a better choice. In all other cases, the cheaper, lighter and more compact Xiaomi Band 7 should be enough.