"Hardcore Review" Issue 1 | Which smart bracelet is more powerful?
Mouser Electronics has teamed up with Yifei.com and invited Karlno, the founder of Cool IoT Lab and a senior up-host at Bilibili, to launch a hardware disassembly video series - "Hardcore Disassembly and Review". In each issue, we will select several currently popular IoT devices of the same type and conduct in-depth hardware disassembly, horizontal evaluation and comparison. Let us take a look at the hard power behind these popular products.
EP01
Hardcore Review Episode 1
Entry-level IoT product--smart bracelet review
In the first issue, we will disassemble entry-level IoT products - several smart bracelets. Huawei is known as a high-quality pioneer, while Xiaomi takes the high-cost-effective and affordable route. Let's take a deep comparison of the masterpiece of Fitbit, the originator of smart bracelets, to see which one is better?
The core components used in several bracelets can be found and purchased on the Mouser Electronics official website:
01
Motion monitoring
Since the advent of smart bracelets, our exercise volume can be accurately calculated in "steps". This precise exercise data has promoted everyone's enthusiasm for exercise to a certain extent.
So how is motion detection achieved?
02
Sleep monitoring
At present, the principle of sleep monitoring in smart bracelets is to analyze the sleep state through the body movement recorder. Simply put, the smart bracelet will have a three-axis acceleration sensor and a photoelectric sensor, which can measure the quality of sleep according to the amplitude, frequency and heart rate of wrist movements during sleep.
The three-axis acceleration sensor can detect tiny movements, and the photoelectric sensor can detect heart rate conditions. Then, a certain algorithm is used internally to determine whether the user is awake, in light sleep, or in deep sleep. As for how to determine the user's state, this depends on the preset parameters of the bracelet. The bracelet will preset several trigger conditions to determine whether the user has entered a sleeping state. When the monitoring data of the bracelet matches the preset data, the bracelet will determine that the user has entered the corresponding mode. Of course, different bracelets will have different monitoring result deviations due to differences in hardware and software.
03
Heart rate monitoring
04
Temperature monitoring
05
Blood oxygen saturation monitoring
Blood oxygen saturation refers to the percentage of the combined capacity of oxygen and hemoglobin in the blood to the total hemoglobin capacity, and is an important physiological parameter of the respiratory cycle. Blood oxygen saturation can reflect the body's oxygen supply status. The blood oxygen saturation of a healthy person is generally maintained between 95-100. When the blood oxygen saturation is between 80-85, vision and cognitive abilities will change. When the blood oxygen saturation is around 75, your physical condition is already very dangerous and you need to see a doctor immediately.
06
Vibration wake-up/reminder
The smart bracelet has a built-in vibration component that can wake up the sleeping user through vibration. Users can select the bracelet alarm in the settings to activate the vibration wake-up function, set the time and save it, or set reminders for important events. This wake-up or reminder method gives people a much softer experience than an alarm clock, and it is not easy to feel panic, depressed, etc. due to being woken up by an alarm clock, and even affect memory, cognition, and calculation speed.
07
Meal Record
08
other
In addition to the common functions mentioned above, smart bracelet manufacturers often obtain blood pressure information by detecting the pulse conduction rate and calculating the time difference between ECG detection and pulse detection. They detect the heat generated by metabolism , blood oxygen saturation, and blood flow rate through the metabolic heat integration method, and then calculate the blood glucose concentration value, etc. These are very helpful for patients with hypertension, diabetes, and pregnant women to detect their own body data.
01
Honor 5
( Reference price : ¥179)
Honor 5 | Image source: Huawei official website
Functions listed: heart rate monitoring, infrared wearing detection, blood oxygen saturation detection, digital silicon microphone, ten exercise modes, 15 days of battery life (100mAh), 0.95-inch AMOLED screen (resolution 120×140), sleep monitoring, 5ATM waterproof, Alipay payment, Bluetooth 4.2, smartphone notifications, optional NFC function, compatibility with Android and iOS, etc.
Experience evaluation
Advantages:
Blood oxygen saturation detection is more suitable for sports enthusiasts, color screen is easy to read and navigate, the bracelet body is not easy to lose, easy to charge (no need to remove the body), the supporting app has fewer advertisements, and it is cost-effective.
02
Xiaomi Mi 4
(Reference price: ¥169)
Xiaomi 4 | Image source: Xiaomi 4
Features: heart rate monitoring, capacitive wear detection, six exercise modes, 20-day battery life (135mAh), 0.95- inch AMOLED screen (resolution 120×140), sleep monitoring, 5ATM waterproof, Alipay payment, Bluetooth 5.0, smartphone notifications, linking to XiaoAi and other smart home devices, optional NFC function, compatibility with Android and iOS, etc.
Experience evaluation
Pros:
The Mi 4 is a marked improvement over the Mi 3. In addition to a color screen that's easier to read and navigate, it offers a satisfying list of tracking capabilities and other features that are hard to find at this price point.
03
Fitbit Inspire HR
( Reference price : ¥698)
Experience evaluation
Advantages: small and light, stronger sports elements, the bracelet is not easy to lose, magnetic charging is more convenient, and the monitoring data accuracy is better than domestic smart bracelets.
1. Schematic framework comparison
Frame diagram : Fitbit Inspire HR
One-sentence review: From a hardware perspective, the Honor 5 and Xiaomi 4 bracelets are almost the same, while the Fitbit Inspire HR has some differences in screen and trigger compared to the previous two. In comparison, the screen style of the Fitbit Inspire HR is older.
2. Comparison of main components
Main device: Fitbit Inspire HR
One-sentence comment: From the perspective of component composition, Fitbit Inspire HR does not have a Flash chip, so the amount of data is not too large, which is consistent with its relatively single function.
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