Xiaomi Mi Band 2 launch delayed by a month due to production woes, says CEO Lei Jun

Xiaomi has already confirmed a launch event for its upcoming Mi Max phablet in China on May 10, where updates to the company's much-awaited MIUI software and Mi Band fitness tracker are expected to be unveiled. But now Xiaomi Mi Band 2 might be delayed by a month, the company's CEO, Lei Jun, revealed on Tuesday.

Jun revealed the information on his official Weibo account, adding that the reason for the delay is difficulty producing the fitness tracker. "Mi bracelet 2 production more difficult, it is estimated to be released one month later," Jun wrote.

Xiaomi's first generation Mi Band offered fitness tracking capabilities at an ultra-affordable cost in a market where companies like Jawbone, Misfit and others offer products in a premium price range. News about the Mi Band successor, widely dubbed as the Mi Band 2, has been making the rounds for a while now, but only with limited information.

According to rumours, the Mi Band 2 is expected to feature a display that would show time and the battery status. Jun was recently spotted wearing a smart band with a display, which was widely presumed to be the Mi Band 2. If the new device does come with a display, it would make it the first in Xiaomi's portfolio of wearable gadgets. The new band is expected to feature several upgrades over its predecessor. It will also be priced in a slightly higher range.

Now that the launch of the Mi Band 2 has been pushed by a month, the company might club it with the release of the new Mi smartwatch, which has recently become a centre of rumours. The company's co-founder and vice president, Liu De, had confirmed at a conference in Beijing last month that a Mi smartwatch will be launched in the second half of this year.

This means the smartwatch will be released sometime after June and the Mi Band 2's delay also puts the launch at around the same time.

At the upcoming event on May 10 in China, Xiaomi is going to launch the new Mi Max smartphones running the latest MIUI 8 version. The new phablet is expected to come with a 6.4-inch Full HD display, 16MP primary camera, 5MP front snapper, Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 hexa-core processor, 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage.