This video features a teardown of the new Xiaomi Mi Band 10, with the primary goal of assessing its internal components and potential for hacking. The creator, Aaron Christophel, expresses disappointment upon discovering that the Mi Band 10, like its predecessor the Mi Band 9, incorporates the highly closed-source BES2700iMP System-on-Chip (SoC), rendering it unhackable for community development. While observing the smart band's continued growth in size and screen quality, the internal board layout is found to be nearly identical to the Mi Band 9. The video concludes that the Mi Band 10, now priced around $50, offers no new opportunities for software customization, recommending older, more affordable, and open-source Mi Band models for those interested in hacking.
Exploring the Xiaomi Mi Band 10: A Teardown and Hacking Outlook
0:01 Mi Band Teardown Series: Aaron Christophel continues his tradition of tearing down new Xiaomi Mi Bands, noting that the Mi Band 8 was the last model that was easily hackable by the community.
0:30 Persistent Closed-Source SoC: The Mi Band 10 is confirmed to use the same highly closed-source BES2700iMP System-on-Chip (SoC) as the unhackable Mi Band 9, frustrating efforts for custom firmware development.
1:04 Increasing Size and Cost: The device, now priced around $50, is no longer a budget-friendly option and continues the trend of increasing in physical size with a slightly larger display than previous generations.
2:45 Teardown Process: The teardown reveals that the back panel is tightly glued, requiring careful prying with an X-acto knife to access the internals, including a flex cable connecting the main PCB to the display.
5:57 Internal Similarity to Mi Band 9: Upon opening, the Mi Band 10's internal PCB layout, including the heart rate sensor, display cable, and battery, is found to be almost identical to that of the Mi Band 9.
7:23 No Hacking Potential: Due to the confirmed use of the unhackable SoC, the creator concludes that the Mi Band 10 offers no new avenues for hacking, advising users interested in customization to choose older, more affordable, and open-source Mi Band models.