I am not sure why Xiaomi play with global version because last time they also did not launch global version with NFC and this time again they did not launch Mi band 5 with NFC.
There is 2 things
Either they want to show the other countries that they care about Chinese
or
They do not want to provide best thing to th3 world.
If you are making something then make it for all not only for China.
Wouldn't it worthwhile to get the chinese version from Kogan for $59 and have everything but the NFC which wasn't included in the global version anyway. You can change the language to english extremely easily on it as well so you're at not loss whatsoever
As long as it's easily switchable to English that is what we'll do. My partner and I both have health issues where knowing our blood O2 will be helpful.
I'd suggest to get a proper monitor rather than a cheap chinese trinket then.
It's very easy, I can send you a link to a video that shows how to do it and it's not hard at all. Previously mi band 4 and such would change the language to what was set on the phone, the exception with the mi band 5 is that you have to change it manually via the Mi fit app on the phone as it doesn't auto change.
But it's otherwise extremely easy and not a hassle at all and you still have SpO2 monitoring which I also want as I want to check if my parents have sleep apnea. $59 is the cheapest I could find of the mi band 5 although I could be wrong
Hope this helps :)
Thanks for that info, Mr Pariah. I knew Kogan had the Xiaomi Mi Band 5, but I didn't know it was the Chinese domestic version that includes the SpO2 sensors. That might be what I want. I'll check it out.
I guess everyone should check which Mi Band 5 they are buying - Chinese or International version - and whether it includes the SpO2 sensor.
International version the one announced on July 15th, and being sold on July 16th (Although I have yet to find where to buy it from online rn)
As far as I'm aware does not have the SpO2 on it at all. Although is identical to the chinese domestic version, but comes with english immediately and english on the packaging. I think also wouldn't have alipay as an option as there is no NFC in it as well. NFC on the chinese version (the one sold by kogan) is exclusive to China.
I have bought the chinese version from Kogan waiting for it to be delivered
Hey, Mr Pariah, I just checked out the Kogan site. I don't see anything that indicates the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 is the Chinese version.
The Kogan site says it is an international import, but I think that just means Kogan made a grey import direct from China, rather than getting stock from Xiaomi Australia.
Kogan's site says nothing about it including an SpO2 blood oxygen sensor. It doesn't give any SKU model number. It might still be the international version - lacking the SpO2 metre. I just can't tell.
That particular one was on sale much before July 15th, which was the date the international version was announced.
Before July 15th the only version that existed was the Chinese version and nothing else, hence why I believe it is the chinese version.
That being said, you make a good point about the SpO2 not being mentioned, but I'm aware it is included in the chinese version.
I have just found an ebay listing of the Mi Band 5 the explicitly mentions SpO2 if you would like to not take the risk of the Kogan version not having SpO2. This one should, although it is $71.67 shipped, so significantly more expensive.
Here's the link
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Original-Xiaomi-Mi-Band-5-AMOLED…
@MrPariah: Thanks for the link. I figured that - if the version with NFC and SpO2 sensor is shipping in China, why not take a look at China's biggest online shopping site: Alibaba.
So I went to Alibaba. Sure enough, it is selling the Chinese domestic version with NFC. However, the NFC is set to work with UnionPass QuickPay. I'm not sure how useful QuickPay is in Australia. But it's the SpO2 sensor I'm after.
@stringer: AliExpress, a subsidiary of Alibaba aimed at the international market, might be even better.
It advertises the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 "with or without NFC."
https://m.aliexpress.com/item/4001174398519.html
I wish Xiaomi Australia would offer the full model with NFC and SpO2, rather than a cutdown model for the Australian market, forcing people to import their own.
@stringer: As far as I'm aware UnionPass Quickpay is extremely scarce if not available at all in Australia, Google Pay, Apple Pay or Samsung Pay are the go to personally I use Google Pay on my phone, there was a Mi Band 4 variant released in Russia that supported mastercards as payment no idea why they didn't have that feature in the global variant.
Aliexpress would be great, but I'm still unsure how the shipping is at the moment at the peak of covid 19 where a lot china was shut down Aliexpress had extremely lengthy (~3-4 months) shipping times sometimes not even shipping the product
Hence why I've yet to return to buying from Aliexpress that being said I'm not sure if things are better now but have yet to find out
There have been rumours of a Pro model potentially coming out that may very well have full working NFC as well as SpO2 although nothing has yet to confirm those rumours
nonetheless, getting the chinese variant ensuring it has SpO2 should be fine just won't have a working NFC which doesn't matter as there is no variant that has a working NFC at least in Australia so you're not really losing anything anyway
Hope this helps
but i want nfc
This vid has a good explanation of how companies decide to cut costs in the mid tier market;
coming late in to the party, I have a question how do I know if the one at Kogan is international or Chinese and how do I enable the spo2 if it's Chinese ?
I'm not worried that the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 has no NFC for card payments, as even if it did have NFC, it would use a Chinese banking system, such as Allipay.
What bothers me more about the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 is that they left out the blood oxygen sensor (SpO2) on the international version, when it is there on the local Chinese version.
SpO2 metering is really important. It gives you information about your sleep, and whether you have sleep apnea.
Maybe Xiaomi will consider making a Mi Band 5 Pro in the future, to include these missing features. But I can't wait for that. I'll have to buy something else. I definitely won't get the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 with missing features.