Xiaomi is a revolutionary in the smartphone category, but is it all right with the new smartwatch, which was called Xiaomi Mi Watch?
In this article, I will try to talk about all the features and functions of smartwatches and find out whether they are worth their money or not?
At the moment, there is no global version of Xiaomi Mi Watch and you can order only through China at a price of $199.75 with an 18% discount. As sources indicate, official sales of the global version will begin soon and the wait is a short time.
The main features of the Mi Watch include a large 1.78-inch screen, pretty good performance of the Snapdragon Wear 3100, the presence of a full e-SIM card, a 570 mAh battery and much more.
So let’s get down to a detailed and full review of the new smartwatches from Xiaomi.
Xiaomi Mi Watch: Specifications
| Xiaomi Mi Watch: | Specs |
|---|---|
| Screen: | 1.78 inch AMOLED screen with 368 x 448 pixels |
| Chipset: | Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 |
| IP standart: | 5ATM waterproof |
| Connection: | Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, GLONASS, BEIDOU |
| Battery: | 570mAh |
| Standby time: | up to 36 hours |
| Third-party Applications: | Supports |
| OS: | MIUI For Watch |
| Weight: | 44g |
| Price: | $199 |
Xiaomi Mi Watch: Unboxing
I got a rather large black box and in size, it is very similar to the box from Apple Watch. On the front part, I see a picture of a watch, and on the back, there are the main features and functions, of course, everything is in Chinese.
Inside the box lay a smartwatch with a strap already worn along its entire length. Below was also instruction in Chinese, a power adapter and a charging dock.
The docking station itself has received rather large dimensions; it serves not only to charge the device but also to transfer data.
In general, the configuration is very similar to the Apple Watch both in appearance and in components, but I would like to get some additional accessories, such as a protective glass.
Xiaomi Mi Watch: Design
I can not call Xiaomi Mi Watch a completely unique device, they are a complete copy of Apple Watch 3.
The first thing that catches your eye is the thick body of the Xiaomi Mi Watch, it really looks unattractive and its size can be a problem for many users.
The case is made of aluminum alloy and I have no particular problems or complaints regarding the build quality. In addition to one, the lower function button is very rather tight and it staggers a little, maybe this is a purely single case and my watch got a defect? I definitely can’t say.
The weight of a smartwatch is quite small, only 44 grams, except for its huge dimensions and thickness, by weight I almost did not feel the watch on my wrist.
On the front of the installed square screen with a size of 1.78 inches. The frames around the screen got quite large, but given its thickness, it may not be so obvious.
The screen quality and pixel density are good since the screen resolution is 368 x 448 pixels. According to the manufacturer, the square screen is much more convenient to use, for example, watching videos or watching stories on social networks.
The appearance of a smartwatch looks a bit old-school, so the design is an amateur. As for me, I don’t like smartwatches in appearance, but what do you think?
On the backside of the smartwatch, there are charging contacts and tracking sensors for determining heart rate, sleep, and much more.
On the side right side, there is one functional button and a crown for turning pages, or you can adjust the volume when listening to music. There is also a microphone hole.
On the left side, the Mi Watch has a main speaker and another additional microphone for noise reduction.
Naturally, microphones are not just here, but in the new smartwatch, there is the ability to make calls via e-SIM card. I know that in many countries this SIM card is not used, so I can’t check phone calls yet.
The strap is removable and made of pleasant fluororubber. The standard dimensions of the strap are 22 mm, so replacing it will not be a problem with any other option.
After what I saw, I can not say that Xiaomi is revolutionary. They could not come up with their own designs and make their appearance prettier? I am very ashamed of this model and I hope that the next generation of smartwatches will be unique and not a copy of the Apple Watch.
Xiaomi Mi Watch: Performance
Inside the smartwatch, Xiaomi Mi Watch installed a pretty good processor called Snapdragon Wear 3100. It is based on four cores with a maximum clock frequency of 1.2 GHz and has 28-nanometer technology.
Mi Watch also received 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of internal memory. Therefore, you can upload your music to a smartwatch and listen through wireless earbuds, since Bluetooth version 5.0 is present.
In addition, you have WiFi internet and location sensors such as GPS, GLONASS, and BEIDOU.
The performance of wearable smartwatches is quite fast and during testing, I did not notice any big problems.
Xiaomi Mi Watch: Interface and functions
The smartwatches have received a completely new MIUI user interface for Watches, which is the basis of Android.
At the moment, as I wrote, I have a Chinese version of the device, so almost all the menus and widgets are in Chinese. Although the menu can be set to English and some elements will receive the translation, such as setting up the menu and a couple more.
The main screen received an informative dial with a lot of useful information, such as time, date, day of the week, steps taken, heart rate and much other information.
Also, if you touch a couple of seconds on the main screen, you will be taken to the menu for changing the watch faces to another. You can also use the mobile application to set the watch faces more.
If you swipe down, you will see a notification menu and here you can clear everything, if necessary.
If you swipe up, you get to the quick settings menu, at the top of the menu I see NFC, SIM, Bluetooth icons and battery level.
Below is the department of the music player and even lower to all the already familiar icons, such as the do not disturb mode, flight mode, volume, brightness, and energy-saving mode.
On the left side of the main screen, I see some widgets, such as weather, mentions and a calendar. And to the right of the main screen, there are still additional widgets, for example, analysis of steps taken per day and much more. Also, if you hold a couple of seconds, you can add or remove widgets.
Of course, at the moment, almost all widgets are in Chinese, but if you had devices from Amazfit, then the control structure is very similar.
If you click on the crown, you get to the main menu, here I see the following icons, like calls, contacts, messages, fitness training, heart rate, sleep, alarm clock, stopwatch and much more. Naturally, I see a lot of Chinese applications, but they can be removed without any problems.
To be honest, for me, the user interface looks very old-fashioned, if you compare with the Apple Watch with chaotic icons, then Xiaomi Mi Watch is not good with the interface.
In addition, I found a music player and FM radio. The radio receiver is already built into the smartwatch, of course, I don’t know who will need it, but it is. The sound quality through the main speaker is pretty good, but to be honest, it is a little quiet, I would like to be louder.
Also in the application menu, I found maps, but even they are in Chinese, but they work and show your location. Of course, thanks to the large screen, I can easily read the routes and street names.
What about sports training? Everything is standard here, in total I counted 10 workouts, from running to swimming.
Yes, yes the manufacturer indicates that the watch is completely protected from water and you can dive to a depth of 50 meters.
The main feature of this Xiaomi Mi Watch smartwatch model is that you can install third-party applications. But in this version, there is no Play Store, and you can install applications through the Chinese store. I hope the Google version will be available in the global version.
Xiaomi Mi Watch: Battery
The smartwatch received a pretty good 570 mAh battery capacity. But as the practice has shown good battery life should not be expected.
The manufacturer indicates 36 hours of battery life on a single charge, in my case I had to charge the watch at the end of the first day.
A full charge will take about 2 hours through the docking station and power adapter.
Xiaomi Mi Watch: Conclusions and Reviews
At present, it is difficult to say about the full functionality of the Xiaomi Mi Watch smartwatch, as it is available only for the Chinese market. The global version will go on sale in early December, so there is little to wait.
But at the moment I can say that the appearance of a smartwatch did not surprise me at all, but on the contrary, it gives me a rejection. The thick case with frames around the screen, and the design was not attractive, maybe this is my opinion and my taste, it’s up to you.
The functionality and performance are at a good level, but again I did not like the main menu with ugly icons, the manufacturer and designers could work better.
Also, the main minus is the battery life, on one charge the watch will work for you one day. Of course, this is not the greatest autonomy in general and you have to charge them every day.
Xiaomi Mi Watch: Price and Where to buy cheaper?
Now you can buy a Xiaomi Mi Watch smartwatch for about $199.75 with an 18% discount with a choice of two colors – it is gray or black.
I am sure that Xiaomi’s full-fledged fans and geeks will be delighted with smartwatch models in their hands, but for me, they did not cause a positive impression.
Xiaomi Mi Watch: Video Reviews