Xiaomi is one of the most multifaceted manufacturers in circulation and for years has also had its say in the world of wearables: if in the smartwatch field the gap compared to the Apple Watch is still clear, in the field of smart bands Xiaomi has made school with its Mi Bands and with the new patent seems to offer the first images of the smart band of the future.
As with smartphones, the road seems to have been traced for fitness bands as well, and it seems to lead to devices with ever-larger screens at a touch. In the case of smartphones, the step has already been taken with folding – think of the various Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G, OPPO Find N, Xiaomi Mi MIX Fold and HONOR Magic V – and we have already glimpsed something of those that can be rolled up with OPPO X 2021.
Returning to wrist devices, Xiaomi seems to strongly believe in flexible displays, so much so that it has dedicated important energies to the development of a new design for its smart band characterized by this feature. In short, we recently saw the first interesting rumors about the new and awaited Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 7, but here we are talking about much clearer and more evident changes.
The information and images come from a Chinese patent database and show the one recently granted to Xiaomi: it is a smart band that includes a flexible rollable type display. According to the documentation, the name of the patented design would speak of “Smart Bracelet” and, as for the functional aspect, it would be included in the wearable category. The display folded to adapt to the shape and ergonomics of the smart band is undoubtedly the main distinguishing feature of the device.
The following gallery of images shows every angle and detail of the smart band of the future studied by the Xiaomi team. In any case, Xiaomi is not the first manufacturer to think of such a solution and the cover image of this article is eloquent: Nubia had already tried it with Nubia Alpha and Nubia Watch (which we had also reviewed at the time ).
The comparison between the devices brought to the market by Nubia and the one in Xiaomi’s thoughts is almost merciless for the difference in terms of dimensions and takes into account the impressive progress made in recent years with foldable and rollable displays.
Of course, as always in these cases, remember that we are only talking about a patent, therefore it is not known whether or when it will turn into a product destined for the market.