Xiaomi Mi Band 6 release date and price: Past Mi Band launches and crowded wearables market offer up clues

Details about the Xiaomi Mi Band 6 are starting to leak out, and we already have a good idea of what the activity tracker is going to offer shoppers. A larger display than the Mi Band 5 seems likely and there are also reports of a built-in GPS, SpO2 sensor, and Alexa support being among the features. It’s probable Xiaomi will release more than one variant of the Mi Band 6, with model numbers pointing to an NFC version and non-NFC variant. However, no official price or release date has yet been discovered, although a June launch is possibly on the cards.

Xiaomi appears to favor June release dates for its Mi Band wearables, as most of them have been launched in that month so far. The Mi Band 5 (June 11, 2020), Mi Band 4 (June 11, 2019), and Mi Band 2 (June 7, 2016) were all released in June while the Mi Band 3 came out on May 31, 2018 and the original Mi Band saw the light of day on July 22, 2014. While there has been mention of a May or even April release in China, those seem too early and incongruous considering previous Mi Band launch dates. So we can probably expect a domestic release for the Xiaomi Mi Band 6 in June while the global Mi Smart Band 6 variant should follow around a month later.

The Xiaomi Mi Band 6 price has been estimated by one source at around US$40, which seems like a fair guess. The Mi Band 5 cost 189 yuan (US$29) domestic and, as the Mi Smart Band 5, cost €39.99/£39.99 in international markets. The current smart band market is getting more competitive thanks to releases such as the OnePlus Band and OPPO Band landing in the same budget sector as Xiaomi’s Mi Bands and offering a similar selection of features. Xiaomi will have to price aggressively to help secure a successful launch for the Mi Band 6, and there may be multiple SKUs at increasing price points with slightly different specs (with or without built-in GPS, NFC, etc).

Buy the Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 5 on Amazon