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This story was originally published 2020/09/18 7:00am PDT on Sep 18, 2020 and last updated 2020/09/28 3:20pm PDT on Sep 28, 2020 .  Xiaomi’s Mi Band series has won fans by offering a lot of fitness features for not a lot of money. That formula isn’t changing with the latest entry, the Mi Band 5. It looks almost identical to its predecessors but makes some notable improvements: There’s finally magnetic charging so you don’t have to pry the device out of the band anymore, the screen is a little bigger, and the tracking is a bit more accurate. The Mi Band 5 might not compete with high-end trackers and smartwatches from Garmin or Fitbit, but it doesn’t have to. At €40/$50, it gives you a chance to try continuous fitness tracking and notification mirroring without breaking the bank. Design, hardware, what’s in the box Like the Mi Bands before it, all the Mi Band 5’s smarts are in the core. The core snaps into the included rubber band, where it’s held in place firmly. I wouldn...

This story was originally published 2020/09/18 7:00am PDT on Sep 18, 2020 and last updated 2020/09/28 3:20pm PDT on Sep 28, 2020 .  Xiaomi’s Mi Band series has won fans by offering a lot of fitness features for not a lot of money. That formula isn’t changing with the latest entry, the Mi Band 5. It looks almost identical to its predecessors but makes some notable improvements: There’s finally magnetic charging so you don’t have to pry the device out of the band anymore, the screen is a little bigger, and the tracking is a bit more accurate. The Mi Band 5 might not compete with high-end trackers and smartwatches from Garmin or Fitbit, but it doesn’t have to. At €40/$50, it gives you a chance to try continuous fitness tracking and notification mirroring without breaking the bank. Design, hardware, what’s in the box Like the Mi Bands before it, all the Mi Band 5’s smarts are in the core. The core snaps into the included rubber band, where it’s held in place firmly. I would...