Jiří Filip Annoyed that Apple still hasn't introduced the round Apple Watch to the world? If so, then we have an interesting model for you, which could banish the gloom from the absence of this product. The new Xiaomi Watch S1 arrived at our editorial office for testing, and since I jumped at them as a smartwatch lover and they kept me company on my wrist instead of the Apple Watch for some time, there is nothing to wait for - so let's take a look at them together.
It could be interest you
Flying around the world with Apple Technical Specifications
The new Xiaomi Watch S1 definitely has something to impress. The manufacturer boasts a round touchscreen AMOLED display with a diagonal of 1,43" and a resolution of 455 x 466 pixels. As for the dimensions of the watches themselves, they have an average of 46,5 mm, and the "thick" ones are 10,9 mm - so this is not a non-compact craziness on the wrist. With its new smartwatch, Xiaomi is trying to target the widest possible range of users through the possibility of measuring 117 fitness modes, 5ATM water resistance or perhaps a whole range of different sensors for health monitoring. A sensor for heart rate, blood oxygenation or sleep monitoring is available. The watch does not lack an electronic compass, barometer, light sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope or even a WiFi module supporting the 2,4GHz band or Bluetooth version 5.2. As for the battery, there is a 470mAh battery available, which, according to the manufacturer, should provide the watch with up to 12 days of normal use. The icing on the cake is GPS, a speaker for handling calls or NFC for contactless payments via Xiaomi Pay (albeit only for ČSOB and mBank cards). If you're interested in the OS of the watch, it's software created by the manufacturer - specifically MIUI Watch 1.0. The normal price of the Xiaomi Watch S1 is 5490 CZK, with the fact that they are available in black or silver (stainless) versions.
Processing and design
I must admit that when the watch arrived for my test, I was already impressed by its packaging, which is definitely good. In short, the dark box with silver details and the printed name of the product was successful and gives the watch a certain touch of luxury. It doesn't lose it even after you look at them for the first time after removing the top part of the box, because they look simply and well beautiful. The manufacturer opted for a stainless steel frame in combination with sapphire glass covering the display and, in particular, a round design with two side control buttons. However, my enthusiasm soon waned a little when I saw that the underside of the watch is made of plastic, which no longer looks so luxurious. Fortunately, the reputation is saved by the leather strap, which is available in the package together with a black "plastic" suitable for sports and the like. The nice thing is that the straps can be changed quickly using a very simple mechanism.
Gallery
I don't know if it's because I've been primarily used to the Apple Watch in recent years, but I enjoyed the design of the round Watch S1 for practically the entire duration of the several-day test, although I have to add in one breath that they're not 1% perfect in my eyes, even in terms of design. The above-mentioned control buttons on the side of the watch look, to be honest, a little forum and would certainly deserve more design work. Unfortunately, their weakness is not only design, but also usability. Now I am not referring to their functionality, but rather to how they are designed in general. Although they can evoke the feeling of a digital crown from the Apple Watch with their round shape, which they successfully continue with the fact that they can be rotated. Unfortunately, the only thing that the watch system responds to are presses, which is why the processing in the form that Xiaomi decided for loses a bit of meaning. If they were simply inconspicuous buttons like the one on the Apple Watch, it would have done better in my opinion, and I wouldn't have to write now that, in addition to turning the button, they also wobble a bit, which also doesn't look good twice. However, please do not understand the previous lines in such a way that the Xiaomi Watch SXNUMX seems like a low-quality, poorly made smartwatch, because it is definitely not the case. I just find it a pity that such a well-crafted body can be seen with such flaws.
Connection with iPhone
As already mentioned in the introduction, the manufacturer tries to attract the widest possible variety of users with the watch, which is why it probably won't surprise anyone that it offers support for both Android and iOS. I specifically tested the watch with the iPhone 13 Pro Max on the latest iOS – in other words, in the combination that will probably be used by most people interested in it at the moment.
Although pairing the Xiaomi Watch S1 with an iPhone is not as intuitive as it is in the case of the Apple Watch, you certainly don't have to worry about any lengthy procedure. All you have to do is turn on the watch, then "scan" the QR code from it, which will guide you to the app you need in the App Store, download it, log into it, and you're more or less done. Then all you have to do is add the device, confirm the pairing on both the watch and the mobile phone, and you can start happily using it - that is, of course, only after the initial setting of your weight, height, date of birth and so on (i.e. the classics that the watch needs to calculate calories burned and so on). It's just nice that both the watch and the mobile application are in Czech, and thanks to that, there will be absolutely no problem with the connection even for people who are not that well versed in technology.
If you are interested in more details about the application, I think it is quite good. Its environment is pleasant and, above all, really clear, so it shouldn't happen that you won't discover something in it. Subjectively, I would even say that, for example, the section with data about your activity is clearer than in the case of Activity on the Apple Watch. On the other hand, it must be said that the watch must always synchronize with the application after opening it, which slows down its use (especially when it is necessary to set something on it).
Testing
I replaced my Apple Watch Series 5 with the new watch from the Xiaomi workshop for a few days to test how well it can be (not) lived with during normal working days. However, right after they were up and running, I had to play with the settings, which actually surprised me a little by the fact that more or less everything interesting was disabled in it. So you have to manually activate notifications, incoming calls, measure health functions and the like, which you don't have to do in the case of the Apple Watch. However, once you get the hang of it, you can be sure that the watch works exactly according to your preferences, which is simply nice.
Undoubtedly, one of the most important things of a watch is its display and the operating system that is "projected" on it. Here, unfortunately, I have to say that, in my opinion, Xiaomi did not do a completely top-notch job, because in terms of design, the OS of the watch is, in my opinion, quite childishly processed. Yes, it's simple, yes, it's fluid and yes, as a result, there's not much missing in it for the average user. Upon closer examination, however, it is simply impossible not to notice that its graphic elements are often a bit blurred, at other times they seem somehow undeveloped and at other times quite cheap. At the same time, it's a huge shame - the display that Xiaomi used is simply great in terms of technical specifications. But I simply can't get rid of the impression that the manufacturer just "threw" on it a modified version of the operating system for Mi Band fitness bracelets. Leaving aside the design aspect of the matter, it must be reiterated that the fluidity of the system as such is at a very good level, and its control can therefore bear comparison with the Apple Watch, albeit with older models.
Personally, I use a smartwatch primarily to receive notifications, control music and, in short, things that I can do on the iPhone, but it is more convenient to do them on my wrist. Here I have to praise the Watch S1 (fortunately), because during several days of testing I didn't come across anything that really bothered me. Notifications go to the watch without any problem, including vibration as a warning, calls can also be handled through them quite well (respectively, the other party has never complained about the poor quality) and the multimedia control is also not clumsy. Yes, even in this respect the Watch S1 is not directly comparable to the Apple Watch, as notifications from Apple arrive a hair earlier and can be responded to, while the same applies to calls, multimedia and other things of this type. All of this is understandable considering the use of the Watch S1's own OS in combination with a significantly lower price compared to the Apple Watch. In addition, it can be expected that the manufacturer will try to move its smartwatch as far forward as possible in terms of software with future updates, so that these ailments will hopefully be eliminated
Gallery
One of the main benefits of the Xiaomi Watch S1 is undoubtedly contactless payment via Xiaomi Pay. By the way, Watch S1 is the first smart watch from Xiaomi that enables contactless payments. The payment card is added to the watch through the application on the phone, and quite frankly, it's not exactly honey - not because the application wants a lot of data from you, but rather because loading and everything around it takes an uncomfortably long time. While in the case of the Apple Watch, adding a card is a matter of tens of seconds, here, count on the fact that you are waiting for units of minutes. Just to give you an idea, after filling in the card data, a message popped up after confirming the correctness "It will take approximately 2 min..”. However, once you overcome this anabasis, the problem is over. Paying via the watch takes place in the same style as in the case of the Mi Band with NFC - i.e. to pay, you launch the Wallet application on the watch, activate the card, and then just attach it to the payment terminal. It's nice that you don't need a paired phone to pay, and of course it's also completely reliable. In the time I've been testing the watch, I've never once had a payment fail.
The watch is not bad either in terms of measuring sports or health functions. When I went for a run with them and took a few walks with them, I got both in terms of measured kilometers and steps, and also in terms of heart rate and so on, at +- the same supposedly as offered by the Apple Watch. Even those are not 100% accurate as a result, but the data obtained in this way is undoubtedly enough for a person to have some idea.
And how is the watch doing in terms of durability? I will admit that when I saw "up to 12 days of normal use" in their technical specifications, I was skeptical of this claim. After all, this is a smartwatch with a touch screen and a lot of functions that logically use up their battery, similar to the case of the Apple Watch, it would be an extreme surprise for me if they beat the Watch several times over in terms of durability. But my skepticism was misplaced – at least in part. With the watch, I did exactly what I did with my Apple Watch, and while it drains in a day and a half (in the case of measuring sports and the like, they have a problem with one day), with the Xiaomi Watch S1 I got to a pleasant 7 days, which is not a bad result at all. Of course, it is necessary to take into account the absence of a few smart functions from the Apple Watch, but even so, 7 days is simply a pleasure.
After the wave of positives, let's go back for a while to the negatives, of which the watch unfortunately still has a few. Not all software functions were completely successful by the manufacturer, not only in terms of functionality, but also somewhat in terms of logic. I'm specifically referring to the remote camera trigger function that Xiaomi copied from Apple in the Watch S1. In the end, there would be nothing so bad about this, because copying is extremely common in the technological world, if this "event" turned out well. Unfortunately, this did not happen, because the Watch S1 does not offer a mirroring of what is currently visible in the phone's lens when this function is activated, but only has a button to press the shutter. So don't expect to quickly check with your wrist whether everyone is standing in the frame without a problem and only then press the trigger.
I also perceive the naming of the dials as illogical, i.e. their processing, including the complications in them. The watch can be set to Czech, the application for managing it can also be set to Czech, but I still have to look at the English abbreviations of the days on the dial, i.e. read their English names when changing the dials? God why, if I have everything set to Czech? Sure, we are talking about the details, but personally, these imperfections always strike me in the eyes in an absolutely extreme way, because it seems to me that if the manufacturer had paid a little attention to them and brought them to perfection, it would have cost him practically no time and the result would was simply much better for users.
The last negative, which is no longer caused by "sloping something", but rather due to hardware limitations, is the sensitivity of the display lighting up when the wrist is turned towards the face. I guess I'm spoiled by the Apple Watch, but it seems to me that with the Xiaomi Watch S1, the delay between turning the wrist and turning on the display is simply long - or at least not as prompt and reliable as it is with the Watch. This is by no means to say that the display does not respond at all or only sporadically, but sometimes you simply got into a situation where you had to wake it up manually, which is not necessarily ideal when driving a car - especially if the watch does not support Always-on .
Summary
So how to evaluate the new Xiaomi Watch S1 in conclusion? Although the previous lines may have sounded rather critical, after a few days with the watch on my hand I have to say that it is definitely not bad considering its price. Sure, there are a few things about them that are simply not pleasing (and for which the engineers at Xiaomi probably deserve to be scolded a little), but overall, I think that the watch has more pros than cons. In my opinion, their design in particular is really beautiful, paying with them is convenient and the measurement of activities and health functions is reliable. If I add to that a very decent battery life, I get a watch that will certainly be sufficient for less demanding users and, in my opinion, will not offend the moderately demanding users either. So if you're thinking about them, don't be afraid to try them.
discount code
In cooperation with Mobil Emergency, we have prepared a discount code for this watch for you, after entering which the 10 fastest among you will be able to buy it 10% cheaper, both in the reviewed version and in the Active version. Just enter “LsaWatchS1" and the price will be reduced to CZK 4941 and CZK 3861, respectively.
hello, I can't receive calls. The watch does not show the caller at all, while the notifications work fine. I also have reception enabled in the app and "silent mode" is also turned off on the watch :( any advice?
the watch supports the Always On function