Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro review

For an organization that has been making telephones for over a decade, Xiaomi is a relative newcomer to the world of smartwatches. 

The primary ever Mi Watch solely launched again in 2019, however that Apple Watch lookalike has been traded for one thing which appears to be like extra like Samsung’s Galaxy Watch lately. 

That’s the case for the Watch S1 Professional, which was introduced in China in August 2022 earlier than lastly getting a world launch six months later at MWC 2023. 

It appears to be like similar to the Galaxy Watch 5, and adopts an analogous worth level too. However a couple of key shortcomings make Samsung’s wearable, or these from Google and Apple, higher decisions for most individuals. Right here’s my full evaluate. 

Design & construct

• Premium construct
• Chunky design
• Very snug

The Watch S1 Professional doesn’t do something exceptional by way of design, but it surely actually appears to be like the half.  

Xiaomi has opted for the normal mix of stainless-steel and glass, which makes it really feel extra premium and costly. Nevertheless, there’s just one dimension accessible – 46mm. That’s nearly proper for me, but it surely’d be good to see another dimension for individuals with smaller wrists. 

At 11.28mm thick, it’s additionally pretty chunky. I had no subject with this, but it surely’s actually not as smooth because the Galaxy Watch 5 and even Apple Watch SE 2. 

Nonetheless, Xiaomi has carried out a very good job with the design. The Watch S1 Professional strikes a pleasant steadiness between sturdiness and appears, though the latter varies relying on which mannequin you select.  

Nevertheless, solely the black mannequin will get you a discrete rubber band within the field. The choice silver model features a brown leather-based strap as an alternative, though you may simply purchase others individually and swap them out and in. 

The rubber band is especially snug, making it an excellent choice for each water sports activities and on a regular basis use. It’s secured in place by tucking the tip beneath the sting of the strap, avoiding the necessity for a separate fastened loop. 

You shouldn’t have any points carrying this for a full day, however the chunky design makes sleep monitoring extra of a problem. Even when you have it on the other wrist to the one you sleep on, it will possibly nonetheless get in the best way. 

Contact is the principle manner of interacting with the system, however there are additionally two bodily controls. Clicking the crown on the suitable facet offers entry to the complete vary of apps, whereas rotating it offers another solution to scroll by way of them.

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Under that, you’ll discover a devoted shortcut button for the exercise part. Each bodily buttons are simple to make use of and really feel intuitive, though you may virtually solely get by with out utilizing them. 

Regardless of its dimension, the Watch S1 Professional stays comparatively light-weight. At simply 48.6g for the watch itself (with out a strap), it’s simple to overlook you’re even carrying it. 

Show and audio

• Wonderful 1.47in touchscreen
• Will get loads shiny sufficient
• First rate microphone and loudspeaker

Xiaomi has geared up the Watch S1 Professional with a 1.47in, 480×480 show. The display screen is a pleasure to make use of, profiting from OLED to ship vibrant colors and deep blacks.

The software program has been set as much as take full benefit of the latter, with the darkish hues mixing seamlessly into the body of the black mannequin. Being a flat show fairly than curved means you don’t have to fret about by chance tapping metal fairly than glass, regardless of some impressively slim bezels.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

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The scale of the S1 Professional additionally means it’s simple to faucet and swipe the display screen with out obscuring what you’re . That’s at all times a priority on small watch shows, but it surely’s not an issue right here. 

Xiaomi advertises as much as 600 nits of brightness, though it’s set to robotically regulate relying on the ambient lighting circumstances. A easy flick of the wrist and the display screen is clearly seen in all circumstances, together with shiny daylight. 

Audio isn’t a prime precedence on a tool of this dimension, however what Xiaomi has managed to squeeze into the Watch S1 Professional is spectacular. The built-in microphone works nicely for each Alexa instructions and calls, whereas a transparent loudspeaker makes it an honest choice for listening to different individuals, too. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

Software program & options

• Runs customized Xiaomi software program
• Solely third-party notification help – no apps
• A great deal of options

The S1 Professional runs Xiaomi’s MIUI watch 1.0 software program. It’s based mostly on the MIUI Android pores and skin on its smartphones, however I don’t see many similarities.  

It has much more in frequent with WearOS, notably in the case of the round scrolling listing of app icons. Nevertheless, there’s no Google Play Retailer on the system, or any app retailer for that matter. Apart from notifications, no third-party apps are supported, which is actually disappointing. 

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Nevertheless, don’t take that to imply the S1 Professional doesn’t have many options: fairly the other. It consists of an array of well being monitoring and health options, though their usefulness varies considerably. 

One which could’ve caught your eye is Alexa help, which helps you to converse to the digital assistant by way of a easy proper swipe on the principle watch face. As soon as linked to your Amazon account, it will possibly reply to all the standard Alexa queries (together with good residence controls), though the characteristic feels half-baked.

That’s as a result of it will possibly solely reply to your voice with textual content, fairly than talking to you want a sensible speaker and even smartphone would. The scale of the show means info is commonly minimize off, and the small font isn’t at all times simple to learn. It can also’t reply to the Alexa wake phrase – it’s important to bodily faucet the button every time. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

All the standard fitness-related options are right here, even when the widget screens to the left of Alexa aren’t notably helpful. Checking your coronary heart fee, blood oxygen, pores and skin temperature and stress ranges are all easy, though solely the previous helps steady monitoring. 

A swipe up from the principle watch face reveals a fast settings menu, which helps you to activate don’t disturb mode, expel droplets after publicity to water and toggle elevate to wake.  

Swiping down reveals your notification tray, whereas an extended press allows you to swap out the present watch face for one thing else already downloaded (by way of the app) – there are over 100 to select from. If you happen to’ve ever used a smartwatch earlier than, the software program is simple to get the grasp of. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

However whereas instruments such because the alarm, flashlight, compass and air strain monitor can all run independently, most others are reliant on a connection to your cellphone by way of the Mi Health app. 

They embody making and receiving calls in your watch, receiving any notifications, checking your calendar and feminine cycle monitoring. It’s irritating to have to be completely tethered by way of Bluetooth, particularly when utilizing health-related options. 

The S1 Professional helps NFC, which means it will possibly technically be used for contactless funds by way of Xiaomi Pay. Nevertheless, this requires you to set an annoying PIN lock in your watch (presumably to keep away from unintentional funds) and I couldn’t even get previous the setup display screen. ,

The digital camera characteristic is rather more spectacular. It allows you to take a photograph in your cellphone, utilizing whichever lens you most lately used. It may be set to seize instantly, or with a 3 second delay whilst you get in place. 

Health & monitoring

• Intensive exercise help
• Hit-and-miss exercise monitoring
• First rate sleep monitoring

Like most rivals, the Watch S1 Professional has built-in GPS. This implies it will possibly monitor the place you’ve been for walks, runs and cycles with out being linked to your cellphone. The info is then robotically synced when you’re again in vary, and it’s fully seamless. 

There’s plenty of selection in the case of potential exercises, too. There’s a complete of 117 totally different choices, and there’s nothing clearly lacking from the listing.  

In an try to combine it into my each day routine, I used the S1 Professional to trace my common common actions: a lot of strolling, tennis and swimming. The latter is feasible because of the watch’s 5ATM water resistance, which means it’s effective for the pool however not water sports activities or diving underwater. 

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However swimming was essentially the most profitable of the three, with the watch robotically detecting the size of the pool and which stroke I used to be utilizing. The info it supplied wasn’t essentially the most intensive, however SPM (strokes per minute) and SWOLF (a measure of swimming effectivity) are each helpful indicators of efficiency. 

Strolling was good too, however provided that I manually began it as a exercise. Regardless of supporting computerized exercise detection, it took 5 minutes for the watch to understand I’d really began strolling, and an excellent couple of minutes to finish the exercise after I sat down.

However seeing your stroll detailed on a map, alongside figures equivalent to cadence, stride size and elevation adjustments, is a helpful motivator to remain lively usually. 

I want I may say the identical for tennis, which affords solely fundamental coronary heart fee and calorie burn information. Taking part in additionally uncovered one of many watch’s key weaknesses – being susceptible to unintended button presses.  

Midway by way of a two-hour session, I realised it had ended the exercise a number of minutes earlier. I rapidly began it once more, however the identical factor occurred simply 10 minutes later.  

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This was the one time I had the watch beneath an merchandise of clothes, and there’s no solution to lock the display screen and stop it from occurring. Throughout a swim, it’s important to rotate the crown to finish the exercise – there’s no motive it couldn’t be the identical for different kinds of exercises. 

As is the case with most smartwatches, the S1 Professional helps sleep monitoring. The scale of the watch will make it uncomfortable to put on in mattress for some individuals, however sleep is monitored robotically, and a few helpful information is collected. 

It features a breakdown of how lengthy you spent in every sleep stage, coronary heart fee information all through the night time and a respiration rating, though the latter stays in beta on the time of writing. Coronary heart fee, REM sleep and respiration rating are all thought-about additional options, so ensure you flip them on by way of the app. 

Anyron Copeman / Foundry

The sleep information right here is nothing particular, however it may be a helpful solution to monitor traits over time. 

Specs & efficiency

• Loads of efficiency
• No mobile choice
• Plenty of totally different sensors

Xiaomi hasn’t specified which processor is within the Watch S1 Professional, or how a lot RAM is out there. 

What I can say is that there’s loads of energy right here for each conceivable perform on the watch, together with people who depend on real-time communication with the cellphone. Navigating the watch is easy and responsive, whether or not you’re utilizing the touchscreen or bodily buttons. 

Disappointingly, the S1 Professional doesn’t have the choice for mobile connectivity. There may be Wi-Fi, but it surely’s nonetheless reliant on a Bluetooth 5.2 connection to your cellphone for a lot of key features. 

Storage capability additionally hasn’t been specified, however that’s not notably vital. Key features will depend upon the accessible storage on the linked cellphone, and you may’t obtain new apps to replenish the area. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

To help all its options, the S1 Professional options an array of various sensors. These embody coronary heart fee, blood oxygen, temperature, ambient gentle, air strain and lots of extra. All can work independently of the watch, however you’ll want the app to see all the information. 

Battery life & charging

• 500mAh battery
• Strong battery life, even with all options turned on
• First rate charging speeds

The Watch S1 Professional has a beneficiant (for a smartwatch) 500mAh cell, and the resultant battery life is spectacular. 

Xiaomi claims as much as 14 days of standby time, though common utilization will deplete it rather more rapidly. If you allow most health-related options within the app, Xiaomi warns it’ll have an effect on battery life. 

However even with all the pieces turned on, you may nonetheless count on at the very least two full days of heavy utilization, even with excessive brightness and many exercise monitoring. 

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

With the watch absolutely charged, I tracked the 25-minute stroll to tennis, (most of) a two-hour session and the 25-minute stroll residence. It was nonetheless on 90% after three hours of near-continuous exercises. 

Monitoring your sleep will go away you reaching for the charger most mornings, though that’s nonetheless respectable when you think about all the pieces it will possibly do. 

Xiaomi features a USB-A charging puck within the field, however not the wall adapter you’ll must plug it into. I didn’t let the battery get too low throughout testing, however going from 75% to 98% in simply 20 minutes is spectacular. 

Value and availability

The Watch S1 Professional is just accessible in a single 46mm configuration, which is able to set you again £299 within the UK or CNY 1,499 by way of the Xiaomi website.

In Europe, you will get the look ahead to €299 for the black rubber strap model, or €329 for the brown leather-based model. Nevertheless, it isn’t accessible within the US. 

Sadly for Xiaomi, there are a number of nice smartwatches round this worth level. Each the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 and Apple Watch SE 2 are cheaper, whereas Google’s Pixel Watch is just barely dearer. 

All of the above choices ship a greater all-round expertise for most individuals. With no options unique to the Watch S1 Professional, there isn’t an apparent motive to choose one up – even when you have a Xiaomi cellphone. 

Verdict

The Watch S1 Professional is a gorgeous, succesful smartwatch that has lots going for it, however you in all probability shouldn’t purchase one. 

That’s regardless of its beautiful show, strong battery life and widespread well being and health options. 

Why? As a result of you may’t obtain third-party apps, there’s no mobile mannequin and there are some key workout-related bugs. 

It could nonetheless be value contemplating if it weren’t for the energy of the competitors, with Apple, Samsung and Google all providing a greater all-round expertise. In consequence, the Watch S1 Professional is difficult to totally suggest. 

Specs

• Customized Xiaomi software program
• 1.47in, 480×480 AMOLED, 462ppi, 600 nits
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
• Bluetooth 5.2
• GPS
• NFC
• Mic
• Speaker
• Coronary heart fee monitor
• Blood oxygen sensor
• Accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient gentle sensor, air strain sensor, capacitive sensor, temperature sensor
• 117 exercise modes
• 500mAh battery
• As much as 14 days of battery life
• Waterproof to 5ATM / 50m
• Stainless-steel case, sapphire crystal cowl glass
• Rotating crown
• Aspect button
• 48.6g (physique solely)
• Launch colors (physique): Black, Silver