Xiaomi Hey Plus: Should You Buy It?

This smartwatch has created quite a buzz on social media. The new Xiaomi Hey Plus has more advanced features, a brand new design, larger and sharper display, faster processor and longer battery life – and it’s keenly-priced.

As of May 2020, there is a new model of this watch – the Mi Band 5 . You can read about it here.

The smartwatch has a flat screen with speaker grilles on the side. On the back there’s a heart rate sensor, an accelerometer and a gyroscope for measuring heart rate and tracking fitness activities. It has a tough rubber strap with plenty of adjustment

Hey Plus Setting up

Set up requires you to download the Mi Fit app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, search for the watch with the app using Bluetooth and then changing the settings to your liking. 
The smartwatch has two versions:  a 0.95-inch model with an AMOLED touchscreen display with a resolution of 240 x120 pixels and a 0.78-inch model with the same AMOLED display and resolution. Both are the company’s first with coloured displays.

Hey Plus for Fitness Tracking

Apart from time-keeping, the Hey Plus can track your heart rate, steps walked, distance, how many floors you climbed and how much calories you burned. It can also track sporting activities like your swimming speed, your running distance, your cycling speed, how high you climb, how long you’ve slept and your sleep cycle. The smartwatch has a water resistance rating of IP67 which means it’s able to go 50 meters underwater for 30 minutes, so you don’t have to worry about it not working on rainy days, while swimming or when taking a shower or if someone spills juice on it at a party.

It’s Voice Assistant Enabled

The Xiao A voice assistant lets you make calls, send messages and emails, check the weather, keep track of your appointments and to-dos, get directions, set timers, alarms and reminders, play music, and much more with just your voice.

But wait, that’s not all… the Hey Plus is also equipped with NFC, that means you can make payments with WeChat Pay and Alipay, and even unlock hotel and apartment doors by just holding it near to the door lock. With a 135-mAh battery, Xiaomi claims that the watch has two-to-three-day battery life.
It’s not perfect though. It pairs with iPhones and most Android phones, but can’t be paired with Windows devices. It has to be used with a smartphone as Xiaomi hasn’t developed its dedicated operating system and it doesn’t have built-in cellular. 

How much does the Hey Plus cost?

With general availability happening now, prices are yet to be fully confirmed, but it will be slightly more expensive than its predecessor which means it will start at below $35 / £25 / AU$40. It’ll come in two configurations: a cheaper one without NFC and an expensive one with NFC.

Comparing the Hey Plus with Mi Band 3

So, should you buy the Hey Plus? If you want to buy a smartwatch that won’t break the bank while having features that can be found in most smartwatches, this is the watch for you! The only thing that you have to sacrifice is speed. If you live outside of China and are looking for a similar or better alternative from Xiaomi, look at the Mi Band 5

Just arrived… Unboxing of Xiaomi Hey Plus

New, just in – See how the Xiaomi Hey Plus looks like in real life:

Last Updated on February 5, 2021