Chinese tech giant, Xiaomi, has just launched its first smart wearable. It’s called the Mi Watch and if you look at it for the first time, you’ll be forgiven for mistaking it for an Apple Watch. However, after knowing that it costs just $185, you’ll immediately realize that the similarities end with just the looks.
Now, as most of you may have realized, smart wearables have been getting popular by the day. Almost everyone I know owns and regularly uses a smart watch or band along with their primary mobile device. It aids in checking the time, recent notifications and even receive phone calls when simply checking your phone isn’t possible.
If you want a good wearable, it won’t come cheap. Starting at the bottom is the Mi Band, which can be had for just $30. For just basic functionality, it’s a good value for money. However, if you want the best of the best, you’ll have to go with something like the Apple Watch or the Samsung Galaxy Watch, which cost well over $300.
This is where the Mi Watch comes to your aid. As mentioned earlier, it starts at just $185 and it’s designed like the already sought after Apple Watch. The rest is all down to specs and functionality, which we shall now discuss.
The Mi Watch has a 1.78″ AMOLED display with 326ppi and an Always-On functionality. Running on it is a skinned version of Google’s Wear OS with Xiaomi’s own MIUI on top. Everything is processed via a Qualcomm® Snapdragon Wear™ 3100 CPU paired with a 1GB RAM and it has 8GB of storage space to offer. Powering everything is a 570mAh battery that is claimed by Xiaomi to last for 36 hours.
As far as connectivity is concerned, you get Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC as standard. Other features include a Heart-Rate monitor and even an eSIM support for 4G connectivity. Inside, you get two microphones for audio input and a loudspeaker.
That’s all we know about the specs yet, a full review will be on its way once we get our hands on this device. But from what we already know, I’ll have to say it does seem like a pretty good deal. For $185, you’re getting a functional smart watch with good specs and design. In case you’re wondering about the build quality, I expect it to be great, judging from the quality of other Mi devices.