Xiaomi Smartwatches: Affordable Fitness with Style

Xiaomi's series has contained everything from high-end smartwatches, such as the Xiaomi Watch S3 and Watch 2 Pro offering advanced tracking and wear OS capabilities, to budget-friendly options like the Redmi Watch 4 and the ultra-lightweight Xiaomi Smart Band 9. These are but a few models within its portfolio, with a wide selection by Xiaomi coming in multiple variants to fit different preferences and budgets.

Xiaomi is known for competitive pricing. The Xiaomi Smart Band 9 costs roughly in the region of $60, and this gives good value for money with regard to tracking fitness. The Redmi Watch 4 costs in the region of $100-$120, making this an affordable option with reasonable features. More high-end versions are the Xiaomi Watch S3 and Watch 2 Pro, which sell for anything between $250 to $350, thus making them fairly accessible alternatives to more premium brands while offering advanced features.

Where Xiaomi particularly shines is in battery performance-for instance, the Xiaomi Watch S3 boasts up to 15 days on a single charge with typical usage. Other great examples include the Redmi Watch 4 and Smart Band 9, each offering up to 14 days, while the Watch 2 Pro will give you up to 7 days of use despite its running Wear OS. This renders Xiaomi an excellent option for users who place a premium on longer times between charges.

Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1, the Watch 2 Pro is slick to use and opens apps with pace, which would make it a great choice for those seeking something a little more upmarket in their experience. The Xiaomi Watch S3 sports Xiaomi's HyperOS out of the box, which offers a pleasingly smooth, responsive interface for daily tasks and activity tracking. Fair to say, that Xiaomi's software just isn't as polished as Apple's watchOS, but it does well to balance features with simplicity.

Generally, Xiaomi watches do look quite modern and minimalistic. A very good example is the Xiaomi Watch S3: it manages to exude a premium feel and touch due to its 1.43-inch AMOLED display and its interchangeable bands that definitely allow for a bit of customization. If you want an even bigger display, you will find a 1.75-inch AMOLED on the Redmi Watch 4; however, its design has more to do with simplicity and comfort. This means that for users looking at a simple design, void of overtures, this fits perfectly. There's less on offer here, in terms of customization, than you'd get with some brands, like Samsung or Apple, but across its range, Xiaomi does offer a range of colors and styles.

Xiaomi smartwatches make use of stainless steel and sapphire glass to add strength and scratch resistance. The Watch 2 Pro houses 5ATM water resistance, too, making it a great candidate for everything from swimming to common usage. While Xiaomi does create solid build qualities, it lacks some of the rugged certifications found in outdoor-focused brands like Garmin but focuses more on everyday wear and general durability.

While all wearables from Xiami offer complete fitness tracking features, it is the Xiaomi Watch S3 that takes things a notch higher by offering 12-channel heart rate monitoring, SpO2 tracking, and sleep analysis. The Smart Band 9 and Smart Band 8 Active have sleep tracking, step count, and even women's health management, making them well-suited for casual users. The Redmi Watch 4 comes with support for more than 100 workout modes for those on-the-go. While Xiaomi does boast a good performance in the basics, it is less specialized for advanced sports compared to Garmin.

Most Xiaomi smartwatches have GPS, NFC for contactless payment, and Bluetooth for easy pairing with smartphones. The Watch 2 Pro supports Wear OS, opening access to Google services and third-party apps that develop its smart functions. The Xiaomi Watch S3 has dual-band GNSS for accurate positioning, thus being a good choice for outdoor tracking. However, in terms of ecosystem integration for this model, the availability of applications is more modest compared to Apple or Samsung.