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How to Get an Even Cheaper Version of the Inexpensive Mi Band 2 with the AGPtek Smart Wristband

The Xiaomi Mi Band and Mi Band 2 have been one of the best selling fitness wearable trackers especially in Asia given their ultra low prices. While the Mi Band 2 sells for 149 RMB in China (~$22 US Dollars), most of the Mi Band 2 models offered on Amazon are over $30. Xiaomi has an interesting business model in general where they release their devices at very low prices in limited stock, allowing for third parties to resell them at a large markup.

After purchasing the Garmin vivofit 2 which subsequently got lost, we were looking for a much cheaper almost disposable solution which could be used primarily as a watch but could also be used for casual tracking of heart rate, steps, and sleep.

We found the AGPtek Smart Wristband sold through Walmart's online store by AGPtek which among other things has a lot of low cost fitness trackers sold online. A lot of these fitness trackers are now designed and made by a set of companies in the China region that they sell to brands like Xiaomi and AGPtek.  

Interestingly, despite the design and function of the AGPtek Smart Wristband obviously being the same as the Mi Band 2, AGPtek puts a disclaimer that this product is not an original Xiaomi Mi Band. Amazon does not sell the AGPtek Smart Wristband despite selling a lot of other AGPtek fitness trackers, perhaps due to this Xiaomi issue.

We purchased the AGPtek Smart Wristband through Walmart to see how it differed from the Mi Band 2.

The AGPtek Smart Wristband box did not subscribe to the same box aesthetics philosophy seen on Xiaomi's version (click here to see unboxing for the Mi Band 2). It was pretty obvious that AGPtek simply put their brand sticker on this generic box which was developed in China complete with poor English product descriptions.

The AGPtek Smart Wristband comes with a non-branded generic User Guide, USB charging adapter, and wrist strap.

To use the AGPtek Smart Wristband, you first need to insert it into the USB charging adapter and plug it into some USB charger or PC.

Once charged, you can remove the AGPtek Smart Wristband from the USB charging adapter and place it into the wrist strap.

There is only one button on the AGPtek Smart Wristband which is used for power and to cycle through the time, date, steps, distance, and heart rate views.

The AGPtek Smart Wristband does not continuously track heart rate but once you cycle to the heart rate screen, you then need to do a long press on the button with some slight pressure to the skin before the tracker buzzes and provides a heart rate measurement. It takes about 10 seconds to make a heart rate recording.

With products like the AGPtek Smart Wristband, casual price sensitive users can easily find and purchase fitness trackers which are 'good enough' especially when considering the price level is about the same as an inexpensive meal. Given this environment, it's also easy to see how companies like Jawbone have run into financial difficulties and Fitbit hasn't been able to sustain its previous high growth levels.