Insane value: World most popular $50 sports tracker gets massive redesign, wear it as a necklace too

Fitness trackers are something that many people seem to have used for at least a while in their lives, yet still when you look around you, chances are that you will see most people wearing smartwatches in their daily life instead of a fitness tracker.

And most people will probably say that this is simply because a smartwatch looks better, while a fitness tracker is usually something with a rubber band that looks okay on a track field, but not in the office.

This is about to change once and for all with the Xiaomi Smart Band 8, the next version of the world's most popular fitness tracker.

Xiaomi seems to have gone back to the drawing board and completely redesigned the Smart Band 8. The pill-shaped gadget no longer comes in a cheap-looking rubber strap, but it gets watch-inspired lugs that make it look so much more stylish. In fact, it looks so different that calling it a fitness tracker might be a bit of a misnomer.

Xiaomi has done a great job with a vast selection of straps available for this new system. You still have your colorful, rubberized sporty bands, but you also have various textile options and leather finishes, and even something that resembles the up-class double loop Hermes band for Apple Watches.

Read more: Best fitness trackers in 2023

But the biggest change? You can now wear the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 as this really cool necklace! We love the idea!

The Xiaomi tracker is certainly tiny enough, and the shape, size and weight make this a possibility. Not only that, the band now features a "necklace mode" for the interface that will show menu items in the correct orientation and still be able to count the amount of steps you take. Xiaomi also says that this mode is also useful with the NFC functionality on the band for payments.

There is no information whether the band will be able to take heart rate readings or other data while worn this way, but common sense tells us this will not be possible.

As you can see, the Smart Band 8 also has a clever and brand new system for attaching bands.

You can have different quick release plates to the pill shaped body. For example, you can have lugs on both sides to attach bands like a traditional watch, or you can also have a kind of a loop for smaller sized bands on both bands. If you attach the loop to just one side, you can use that for the neck strap. We are curious to see more details about how the system works, it really seems very elegant and well thought out.

Of course, this likely means that the old system of attaching bands is not compatible, and you will not be able to use your old Xiaomi straps with this new tracker.

While we still don't know the price of the upcoming Xiaomi Smart Band 8, we know that it will be officially unveiled next Tuesday, on April 18th, at one of the biggest events of the year for Xiaomi (yes, the same one where we will see the Xiaomi 13 Ultra monster camera phone). 

Xiaomi has gradually increased the cost of its Smart Bands throughout the years and the current Xiaomi Smart Band 7 costs around $60 (but it is often discounted to about $40).

The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 might be a bit more expensive, but we still expect it to carry a double digit price, and with this stylish redesign, it should be flying off the shelves. After all, price is one of the big reasons why this is the world's most popular sports tracker, and it just got a lot better.