Xiaomi's Mi Band Review: Is the packaging fit enough?
In this series, we review packaging of several companies and using our expertise, suggest improvements. Want to get your product packaging reviewed? Send us a mail to marketing@bizongo.com!
About Xiaomi
Xiaomi was founded in 2010 with a belief that high-quality technology doesn’t need to cost a fortune. They create hardware, software, and internet services for their product range, including but not limited to, Mi Note, Mi 4, Redmi 2, Mi Band and other accessories. In 2014 alone, MI sold 61 million handsets and their products were launched across Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, India, Indonesia, and Brazil. We will be reviewing the packaging of Xiaomi’s acclaimed fitness oriented, affordable product: Mi Band 2
It is often emphasized - Packaging should tell a story. Unboxing the Mi Band 2 was just that. The story was hidden in layers and every layer had a story to tell.
Open Sesame
The Mi box design is visually pleasant, smart and minimalistic. A shrink film stays cleanly taut on the box, successfully preventing any air bubbles from infiltrating the space in-between. Since the box is of bottom top style, the shrink film also helps in holding the two pieces together during transit. As, the Mi Band contains delicate parts, like the OLED Display and charger, using an air-tight shrink film is good thinking, aiding in providing protection from indefensible weather conditions.
On tearing the transparent stretch film, a smooth, exotic white paperboard box was uncovered. The box had neat, sharp and sturdy edges- a rare manufacture in India but easily accessible in China, though. On touching, it exudes a feather-like softness. (Our team of 8 actually took turns just to feel the exterior...sigh!)A neat design of the product on top, with just two letters elegantly inked on the sides- mi - successfully heightens the buyer's curiosity. The design format is clean, crisp and sets your expectation straight with the neat product image.
The Secret Box Design
Being a Bottom-Top box, the lid completely detaches from the bottom. On removing the top, only the black OLED display of the band is revealed. No lettering, graphics or color. Just a black display against a stark white backdrop.
Is there is still more to the story? Your curiosity sniffs for more. On opening the lid, the pieces of the story start forming a hazy picture. The second layer has a single partition: one-quarter of the box hides the delicate charger, while the rest is occupied by the skeleton of the Mi Band. The wristband was perfectly placed on a small stack of warranty card and manual.
Another noticeable aspect was the lid. Instead of covering the product with another paper or bubble wrap, the square top had a flexible PU foam glued to the inside.
Unlike a lot of packaging, the neatness actually trickled inside the box.
Packaging Highlights
Unboxing the Mi Band 2 is a beautiful experience. It takes care of heightening your curiosity, piece by piece. But the highlight was the Slotting for OLED Display. The OLED Display, visible in Level 1, is actually held using slotting in the lid itself. Slotting is basically a perforated thick paper on a lid to hold delicate items.
In this case, the OLED Display was easily removable, without scratching or damaging it.
Packaging Fitness: Final Verdict
Bizongo Score:
Our packaging designers were just not able to find any flaws in the packaging. Right from a thoughtful usage of shrink film, to a gluing PU foam inside the top lid, to an impeccable slot for the display, the designers at Xiaomi have left no stone unturned in enhancing the experience for customers!
