Is the Xiaomi Mi Watch still a good buy? This is our experience with the smartwatch almost a year after its launch.
Xiaomi devices They are always an interesting choice. on the market, since good value for money is usually the main feature of their products. Whether mobile, wireless headphones or a smartwatch, one should always analyze the Xiaomi alternative. We want to talk to you exactly about smartwatches, because passed through our hands -or rather dolls- the xiaomi mi watch.
This Xiaomi smartwatch was launched in early 2021, so now let’s analyze it with a clear base: Is it still worth buying? The truth is that Device competition is fierce, because the smartwatch market already has big brands like Apple, Samsung and Huawei. However, Xiaomi wants to compete with this model by relying on a beautiful design, good features and, above all, a good price.
We already expect that the Mi Watch cannot directly compete with the top smartwatches like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 or the Huawei Watch 3. However there is A lot to say in the segment that is around 100-150 euros. After these weeks of use, we perro tell you what your strengths and weaknesses are and whether it’s worth buying at this point.
Xiaomi Mi Watch, opinion and score
| Should I buy the Xiaomi Mi Watch? | |
|---|---|
| In favor of |
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| versus |
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| Conclusions | The Xiaomi Mi Watch is a smart watch that perro boast of its design, its screen, its autonomy and the many sports and health options that it offers the usuario. However, the operating system is more like a smart bracelet and has major flaws, such as; B. the NFC chip. Despite these disadvantages, the price-performance ratio is right. |
| punctuation | xiaomi mi watch Design, screen, independence and sports and health features make it worth buying. |
Xiaomi Mi Watch price and where to buy it
The Xiaomi Mi Watch launched in early 2021 with one Introductory price 129.99 euros available in three versions: black, beige and navy blue. The black version as you perro see in the pictures is the one that has passed through our hands. Apart from the color, it doesn’t matter which model you choose, because the operation is the same with the same features.
As we said, the introductory price of the Mi Watch is 129.99 euros, a price that it currently maintains in the Xiaomi store. However, in other stores like Amazon Y PC components You perro get it at a lower price now. Also the Mi Watch Lite usually star in big markets in these stores and also in AliExpress Plaza, so you cánido save a few euros on the purchase.
Technical sheet of the Xiaomi Mi Watch
| specifications | |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 45.9 x 53.35 x 11.8mm 32 grams |
| Colours | Black, black or beige |
| belt material | Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) |
| Screen | AMOLED 1.39 inch 2.5D with a brightness of up to 450 nits Resolution 454×454 pixels |
| connectivity | Bluetooth 5.0 |
| sensors | Heart Rate Sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Geomagnetic Sensor, Air Pressure Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Blood Oxygen Sensor, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BDS |
| battery | 420miliamperio-hora pin charging Up to 16 days of battery life |
| Other people | Dual side button, vibration motor, waterproof (5ATM / IP68) |
Where is the Xiaomi Mi Watch located?
The Xiaomi Mi Watch is currently the best Xiaomi Smartwatch //Image: Beatriz Alcántara Gil
The Xiaomi Mi Watch is the supreme smartwatch from the Xiaomi catalogue. Below this model is the Redmi Watch 2 LiteJust get to the market and the Mi Watch Lite, whose address was close to that of the Mi Watch itself. These are also much cheaper, with Redmi costing €69.99 and the Mi Watch Lite came out at €59.99, although it perro often be found on sale.
It is enough to compare these devices with the Xiaomi Mi Watch that we have analyzed to find its main advantages, for example that the latter is equipped AMOLED screen, very important to have a good experience. It also has features like “Always on Display” and a Battery that reaches 420 miliamperio-horamuch higher capacity than the other models compared.
If you like a smart watch, even the price differenceespecially if we take into account that the Mi Watch perro be found under 129 euros with some frequency.
If we leave the Xiaomi universe, this Xiaomi Mi Watch very obvious competitors. It is enough to consult the catalogs of companies such as Realme, OnePlus and Huawei to confirm that they have smartwatches with very afín characteristics and prices. For example him Realme Watch S Prowith AMOLED screen, GPS, water resistance, battery for 14 days of use and a starting price of 129.90 euros.
Other options you perro consider are the Huawei WatchFitA nice smartwatch with an AMOLED screen and a good price in today’s market and that OnePlusWatchwith a good quality screen and excellent autonomy.
design and presentation
In addition to being the best smartwatch in the Xiaomi catalogue, the Mi Watch is also the most special in terms of design. Although all its brothers have a square screen, this model is dedicated to one Good sized round screen. In addition, it is a smartwatch with a very fácil design, light and comfortable when we wear it.
First, your body is built glass fiber reinforced polyamide, we feel the cold as soon as we put on our clothes. let a Diameter about 46 millimeters, making it look better aesthetically on larger wrists. However, if you’re wearing it on a small wrist, it’s not going to draw much attention. No matter what your wrist is, you will never feel uncomfortable because a Weight only 32 grams it makes a lightweight device.
The Xiaomi MI Watch looks fácil but elegant // Image: Beatriz Alcántara Gil
As for the bracelet, it is made of TPU and it also maintains the comfort of the rest of the watch elements. The model we tested is black, although the Mi Watch is also available in blue beige and navy blue. You should know that a Clasp that allows you to easily remove the bracelet So you cánido swap it out for any other 22mm strap. If we analyze the device further, we find a a fácil buckle that is absolutely secure.
Back to the watch case, it’s time to analyze that Bottom, the one that is in constant contact with the wrist. In this area we see three very important aspects for its operation: the heart rate sensor, the blood oxygen sensor and the two pins for the magnetic charge. From this rear you cánido see the mechanisms for pulling out the strap.
The design of the Mi Watch is not innovative, but it perfectly satisfies everything we need
We see that in the design of the Mi Watch too two side buttons, with the name of each of them next to it. He is home button It allows us to access the function menu and return to the home screen at any time. It is also used to turn on, turn off, reset or reset the clock.
He is sports button, as the name suggests, allows us direct access to the training menu of the device. You perro easily spot it as it is surrounded by a row of red cabbages. To fulfill these keys we have to press hard, but after that they don’t pose a problem.
In conclusion, the Xiaomi Mi Watch does not have innovative aesthetics, but it perfectly satisfies everything we need: a beautiful design, light and comfortable makes it a real pleasure to wear on the wrist. Also yes 5ATM water resistance, which gives it added value. As we see in the images below, the Mi Watch sticks with it a few grains of dustbut nothing to worry about.
Let’s move on to another of the most important components when choosing a smartwatch: the screen. In especial, this Mi Watch mounts a 1.39 inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 454 x 454 pixels and a brightness of up to 450 nits. In practice it is a very good looking panel, we pleasantly surprised him during these weeks of use.
The screen of the Mi Watch espectáculos all content Good sharpness, great color rendering and with good viewing angles. In addition, you will not have any problems seeing it in the sunlight because of the maximum brightness level is more than enough. It is noteworthy that he has a tool for coche brightness that works with good accuracySo we don’t always have to worry about a change in brightness when we switch from a dark environment to a very bright one and vice versa.
Another point in favor of this screen or clock system is that it is integrated Always On Display mode.. Enabling it means giving up half of the device’s habitual autonomy, but for some users it’s a very useful feature. If you are not one of those who usually use it, you should know that the smartwatch screen cánido be activated press one of his buttons or raise his hand when the Raise to Activate feature is enabled.
It is interesting for this tool to schedule its activation in such a way as to skip the night hours. So, The clock screen won’t turn on in the middle of the night, to avoid waking you up when you are sleeping. Just as you perro enable these features, you perro also enable the feature “Lid to turn off”How to save energy by automatically turning off the screen when you cover it with your clothes.
Xiaomi Mi Watch on screen // Image: Beatriz Alcántara Gil
When it’s time to interact with the screen, a tangential answer is more than correct. The watch immediately grasps what we want to do and does it in no time. Of course, the traces stay on the screen longer than necessary, although this is not a serious problem.
As a last detail we must say that the weak point of this screen The frame is too thick, so it’s not used as often as it should be. When we see that the front panel is turned off, the screen appears larger than it really is. If Xiaomi had omitted this thick border, The screen would be even better.
programa and performance
The Xiaomi Mi Watch features Xiaomi’s own operating system, which has some advantages and some disadvantages. Before exploring them, you must indicate that this smartwatch is coincidente with mobile phones Android 5.0 or later and for phones running iOS 10.0 or later. The connection is vía the watch’s Bluetooth 5.0 and is essential Install the Xiaomi Wear aplicación on the móvil.
Google plus Play Store | wear xiaomi
Once the two devices are connected, you perro get even more out of the smartwatch as the application gives you access to tools that you perro’t use from the smartwatch itself. One of them is him Download more than 100 different areas To customize the clock to your liking, you cánido even Choose your own photos. They are divided into different categories so you just have to discover them all until you find the one you like the most.
The operating system works very quickly, so that we perro easily switch between the different applications and functions. Of course, since then you perro only use the applications that are already installed on the Mi Watch It does not allow installation of third party applications. Undoubtedly, this is one of the biggest disadvantages of it.
Weather information on the Xiaomi Mi Watch // Image: Beatriz Alcántara Gil
When this detail is clear we are ready to interact with the watch through gestures. These are the ones that allow us to quickly switch between the different menus. If we slide up from the main screen we cánido access the shortcut panel. As the name suggests, it gives us quick access to features like Flashlight, alarm clock, do not disturb the method or the Settings section. In addition, we perro quickly connect to Alexa and know that battery status.
Yes, you read that right, the Xiaomi Mi Watch integrates that Amazon’s personal assistant Alexa. It requires prior configuration by Xiaomi Wear. The smartwatch doesn’t have a speaker, so Alexa answers our questions espectáculos us the information on the screen. During our tests, the assistant was very responsive. Of course, if we want help from Alexa, the smartwatch must always be connected to the Xiaomi aplicación.
Vía the Xiaomi Wear aplicación, you cánido connect the watch to Alexa and customize certain functions, such as the watch face or the order of the widgets.
On the other hand, we slide down from the main screen and quickly access the notification panel. Finally, if we slide to the side, we see the main sections of the watch, such as heart rate, music playback controls or weather information. We cánido do these dispositivos slightly modified by Xiaomi Wearanother point in favor of the clock.
Leaving aside sports and health we will analyze them in corresponding part, in this Mi Watch we see features as interesting as those mobile camera shutter, very interesting for taking pictures from the phone. This is also very useful music control which we have already talked about because it allows us to stop playback, go to the next song or change the volume without having the mobile phone nearby.
The Xiaomi Mi Watch also informs you about the air pressure // Image: Beatriz Alcántara Gil
Navigating through the application menu we find other interesting functions such as the alarm clock, stopwatch, timer, weather information, barometric pressure, compass and the phone finder. The latter is particularly practical, because the mobile phone starts to close as soon as you clic on it ring. So, it will be easier to find when we lost it The Mi Watch has it too Lanterna feature that illuminates your screen in full white to give you some light.
Now focusing on the options offered by the Xiaomi Wear aplicación, configuring this watch is very interesting reports incoming calls on the phone. You’ll have to grant a few permissions for this, but at least you’ll know right away that you’re being called, even if your phone isn’t near you. However, You perro’t make a phone call through the watch that espectáculos its limits.
This is the menu with all Xiaomi Mi Watch aplicaciones // Image: Beatriz Alcántara Gil
From the application you cánido also configure which applications send their notifications to the watch. So if you only want to receive WhatsApp messages and not messages from Instagram or Twitter, you perro easily configure that. Finally, from Xiaomi Wear you cánido Install smartwatch updates to get the latest news and improvements.
In short, the Xiaomi Mi Watch has a very fast operating system, but that’s about it There are absences that we cannot ignore. For example, it doesn’t allow us to interact or respond to notifications and it doesn’t answer calls since it doesn’t have a microphone or speaker. Likewise, It also doesn’t have an NFC chip.Therefore, we cannot use it to pay in stores, which the OnePlus Watch allows.
As we have already seen, you cannot install third-party aplicaciones either, so we will have to make do with the applications already installed on the device. If you choose one basic use of the watch, the available functions will be very useful for you. However, if you want to make more advanced use, you better make a choice Alternatives like Samsung or Apple.
independence and charge
If something has become clear to us during these weeks of testing with the Xiaomi Mi Watch, one of its most striking points is its independence. The smartwatch offers a 420miliamperio-hora battery to takes about two weeks Always keep the device connected to the aplicación, with several sports units per week and with notifications enabled. This great independence is not only due to the large capacity of its battery, but also to the efficient energy consumption of its processor.
The Xiaomi Mi Watch is a mobile phone with great autonomy // Image: Beatriz Alcántara Gil
If you frequently use more demanding functions such as screen mode, this autonomy will be significantly reduced. As always, the ultimate battery life This depends on each usuario’s usage. For example, if you do an outdoor activity with the GPS always onthe Independence will be around 50 hours.
The opposite perro also happen, that you only use the watch to see the time and little else, and the rest of the features like heart rate monitoring are disabled. In this case, its independence perro reach 22 days, a number that is not bad at all. Undoubtedly, being able to spend so many days with the smartwatch without having to use the charger is a very positive feature.
When it comes to charging the Mi Watch battery, it’s time to do it with the Magnetic cable that integrates Xiaomi in the device box. It’s a small charge base on a You must position the smartwatch with great precision, otherwise the loading process will not be carried out. Regarding the time it takes to fully charge the phone, about an hour and a half.
health and sports functions
The Xiaomi Mi Watch is a sports-focused smartwatch, which we notice from its design and the many integrated sports functions. More specifically, the device 117 professional training methods. Among them we find the most typical ones, for example outdoor running or walking and others more specific ones, such as kayaking, paragliding, cricket or bowls. By the way, this smartwatch does not allow synchronization with Google plus Fit.
If you mainly use the Mi Watch for sports, that’s best Use the Sport button to configure at whim. In the Xiaomi Wear aplicación you perro choose whether this button takes you to the training menu or directly to a specific exercise. For example, if you usually use it for your tennis games, it would be better to equipo this button to open a tennis session directly.
Run on a treadmill mode on the Xiaomi Mi Watch // Image: Beatriz Alcántara Gil
It’s also interesting to mention that you perro choose which exercises appear in the exercises menu. You cánido add the sports that you usually play and also delete the ones that don’t interest you You won’t waste time looking for the action that you will achieve, you will find it easily. On the other hand, the device is also automatic detection when walking or running.
While tracking physical activity, the Watch Mi They espectáculo the most important details of the exercisesuch as elapsed time, calories burned and heart rate. Depending on the type of training, the watch analyzes some data or other people. For example, if you go for a walk, you will be shown the steps you have taken. What is always included in every training session is the Music playback controlScreen accessed by swiping left.
The Xiaomi Watch is a sports-oriented smartwatch with 117 training modes, some with automatic detection.
When the workout is over, you perro see the summary from the watch itself and from the application on your mobile phone. If you’ve been exercising outside, you perro even see the route you’ve followed on the Xiaomi device There is GPS and you cánido measure the route even if you don’t have your phone with you.
As you perro see in the images below, the smartwatch provides us with essential training data: time, speed, calories, finish, elevation, heart rate and training power.
Do not expect professional analysis of the exercise, as offered by devices directly aimed at sports, for example smartwatches from Polar or Garmin. As we have emphasized throughout the analysis, the Xiaomi Mi Watch is one a good cheap alternative for users looking for basic features.
Our protagonist also has very interesting features related to health. integrate heart rate sensor who cánido work 24 hours a day, Blood oxygen level meterSleep analysis, stress monitoring, breathing training and energy meter.
These tools are not as accurate as medical ones. For example, a blood oxygen meter is not as accurate as a finger oximeter, but it perro take some getting used to Get a good picture of your health.
On the other hand, the energy analysis is interesting, which tells you how much energy you have left until it’s time to go back to sleep, based on your sleep hours and the activities you’ve done during the day. As always, you cánido meet a a more detailed description of these analyzes from the aplicación Wear Xiaomi.
Finally the Xiaomi Mi Watch perro be proud numerous sports and health applications. The monitoring they do may not be 100% accurate, but it is very useful to get an iniciativa of the physical activity we have done and our health status.
This device has been thoroughly tested Independently thanks to a move of the brand. The article contains purchase backlinks for which Andro4all may receive a commission. take part to the market channel Andro4all to find out about the best deals before anyone else.