Xiaomi is a technology company that sells a wide range of products. Android enthusiasts know of the company for its smartphones and tablets but Xiaomi also sells things like air purifiers, desk lamps, laser projectors, electric scooters, and more. The company also sells these products in a large number of markets with some regions being restricted from certain products (Xiaomi not selling smartphones on its U.S. website is a good example of this). If you buy the Mi Band 4 in China then it comes with working NFC and voice activation but if you buy it in Europe then neither of these features currently work.

This is interesting but actually quite common for Xiaomi. The company provides both Chinese and Global versions of MIUI for a number of its products. If you're using the Chinese version of MIUI then you get the option to enable the company's voice assistant, which it calls XiaoAI. However, this isn't available on MIUI's global releases as it is replaced with Google Assistant. So, when Xiaomi rebranded the Redmi K20 as the Mi 9T and launched it in Europe earlier this month, the company also brought the Mi Band 4 to the region as well.

This was the first time European customers could buy the Mi Band 4 from Xiaomi without importing the Chinese one from a reseller. Those who decided not to go on that route may have read up on the coverage the device received when it was launched in China. Just as we reported it earlier this month, the device has NFC and Xiaomi's own voice assistant so people could easily assume the same features would be included in the European version. However, if you're using the Mi Band 4 right now then you know that it doesn't have working NFC and there isn't a voice assistant either.

Unless a major outcry changes Xiaomi's mind, it doesn't look as if these features will ever be coming to the wearable either. We reached out to a spokesperson from Xiaomi and they were able to confirm that those features are only available in the version sold in China at the moment. That doesn't specifically mean they won't ever come, the statement also doesn't say the features are coming or that they're even being actively developed right now.