Dialog Semiconductor's Bluetooth Smart IC Selected By Xiaomi For New Mi Band Wearable Device

Dialog’s DA14580 SmartBond low energy SoC provides industry-leading power consumption for fitness tracker from China’s fastest growing consumer electronics company

Dialog Semiconductor plc, a provider of highly integrated power management, AC/DC, solid-state lighting and Bluetooth Smart wireless technology, recently announced that Xiaomi, one of China’s fastest growing electronics companies, has included the company’s Bluetooth ultra-low-power SmartBond SoC (System-on-Chip) in its new Mi Band fitness tracking wrist band.

Dialog’s DA14580 enables the Xiaomi Mi Band wearable device to deliver up to 30 days of battery power from a single charge, which is more than double the battery life of its closest competitor, creating one of the most energy-efficient connectivity solutions available to consumers today.

Since the company’s inception in 2010 with the launch of the Android-based MIUI operating system, Xiaomi has designed and developed an innovative range of consumer electronics products including smartphones, smart TVs, set top boxes, tablets, routers and, most recently, wearable devices. The Mi Band is developed and manufactured by HHTech, an affiliate of Xiaomi. Rapidly growing popularity has seem Xiaomi  recently more than double its market value, making it one of the fastest growing consumer electronics companies in China. The newly launched Mi Band wearable is a highly competitive alternative to more expensive - but less powerful and less energy-efficient - fitness tracking bands from global rivals.

“Xiaomi’s decision to incorporate the DA14580 SmartBond solution at the heart of the new Mi Band wearable product is a significant breakthrough for us in the vitally important China market,” said Sean McGrath, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Connectivity, Automobile & Industrial Business Group for Dialog Semiconductor. “The DA14580 provides a real competitive advantage for Xiaomi’s products because engineers using Dialog’s Bluetooth SoC no longer need to compromise on product design due to limited battery capacity: they can build slimmer and more appealing devices equipped with industry-leading energy efficiency that can still meet users’ performance expectations. As a result, consumers can rely on the Xiaomi Mi Band to monitor their physical activity, calorie intake and sleep patterns, without the hassle of frequent charging.”

Demonstrating the potential to generate the next wave of growth in the tech sector, shipments of wearable devices are forecast to rise from 19 million units in 2014 to almost 112 million units in 2018, according to research from IDC. The appeal of wearables such as the Xiaomi Mi Band is likely to increase significantly as the industry continues to leverage very energy efficient solutions such as Dialog’s DA14580, the world’s smallest, lowest-power and most integrated Bluetooth Smart SoC.

Dialog’s SmartBond is a highly integrated SoC which is recognized for its cost savings and ease of use. DA14580 requires fewer external components than any other Bluetooth Smart solution available today, while enabling fully hosted applications without an external microcontroller. With a versatile software development kit and support for the latest Bluetooth 4.1 specification, designers are empowered to develop pioneering applications targeting an accelerating range of markets including HID, Wellness & Fitness Wearables, Medical, Proximity and Smart Home. With world-leading energy efficiency, SmartBond is also perfectly positioned to enable the billions of battery-powered devices that make up the Internet of Things, without the need for compromise in product design.