Xiaomi is a pretty interesting manufacturer, in that it makes phones, software, accessories but also a ton of other items including headphones, wearables and even an air purifier. It's the wearables in focus here, though, with news surfacing of a third-party developer working on a Windows Phone companion app for the Xiaomi MiBand. The MiBand is a pretty basic fitness tracker, not close to the Microsoft Band in terms of features, but with one massive positive: its price. Officially it only supports Android and more recently, iOS, which isn't all that surprising, especially given Xiaomi's focus as an Android phone maker.

The app is in private beta right now, and so far looks like it supports the step tracking and silent alarm functions of the MiBand. It also looks like it's limited to Spanish language at the moment. The silent alarm in particular is really good, as I found out when I reviewed the MiBand over on Android Central a while ago. While we wouldn't expect a company like Xiaomi to support Windows Phone, it's another example of how strong the third-party developer community is.

We'll be following this one closely. Whether it's official support or not, with the Xiaomi MiBand now officially going to the U.S. and Europe as well as its already established sales channels in Asia, there's going to be more people round the world starting to hear about it. If you're interested in finding out more about the MiBand, check out the review over on Android Central at the link below.

via Microsoft Insider

Thanks Jose for the tip!