Update: we've also just heard of Xiaomi's new smartwatch, the Mi Watch Revolve, which might be released globally at some point soon.
The Xiaomi Mi Band 5 was only just announced in China, and we still have no word on when it will be coming to the rest of the world, or how much it will cost when it does - however it looks like the company is already working on three new variants of the fitness tracker.
A user of online forum GeekDoing was apparently scouring code for the Mi Wear app, which you need to download on a smartphone to use Xiaomi's fitness trackers and smartwatches, when they found reference to 'Kongming', 'Kongming L', 'Kongming Pro' and 'Kongming Lite'.
We already knew that 'Kongming' was the code-name for the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 before it released, so it seems like a Pro, Lite and 'L' version of the fitness tracker might be on the cards.
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- The Xiaomi Mi Note 11 might be coming soon
- Read our Xiaomi Mi Band 4 review
We've no idea what these fitness trackers might be like, especially the 'L' version as it's not clear if this would sit above or below the main version in the product range. Xiaomi hasn't used the suffix 'L' on products before, opting typically for 'Lite' or 'SE', so this gives us no clues.
In addition the Mi Band 5 is already a low-end device, with only a few key features and a very minimal price tag, so it's curious to see what more Xiaomi would cut out to make a 'Lite' version.
Will you be able to buy them?
If Xiaomi does release three new Mi Band 5 models, it's totally possible they will only be released in China. We say this because 'Kongming' was the code name of the Chinese version of the fitness tracker, while 'York' was the version that's being released in the rest of the world, with the difference between the two being that the former has NFC.
Even if one or two of these products does make it to the global market, we'd expect it to be some way behind the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 release, or else they likely would have been announced together.
Launching these variants later makes some sense though, as it gives people time to buy and evaluate the original before deciding if they need an improved or more affordable version.
Via NoteBookCheck
