At a Glance
Xiaomi’s latest offering in the smartwatch market, the Watch S1 Pro, has been generating a lot of buzz lately. The Chinese tech giant, known for its affordable smartphones, has been making strides in the wearables market with each release. The Watch S1 Pro, announced in China in August 2022 and launched globally at MWC 2023, boasts a more classic design that is reminiscent of Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5, but with a higher price point of €299.
Despite its “Pro” moniker, the Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro has some key shortcomings that put it behind the competition. While it achieves a more classic look, it lacks true smartwatch features and falls short in workout and health tracking accuracy, making it a lackluster choice for most people. Nonetheless, the Watch S1 Pro offers Xiaomi’s new in-house built MIUI Watch OS, which packs several fitness, wellness, and smartwatch features. In this review, we’ll delve deeper into the Watch S1 Pro’s design, features, and performance to see if it’s worth the investment.
Interested in Xiaomi products? Here’s our Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro review.
Xiaomi has taken a step forward with its first real attempt at a premium smartwatch with the Xiaomi S1 Pro. Although arriving late to the smartwatch market, Xiaomi has made several attempts, but none have commanded the same price as the S1 Pro. The S1 Pro follows the Xiaomi Watch S1, launched in 2022, which had mixed accuracy and average smartwatch features. The S1 Pro, while not changing much in this regard, has some bright spots for those who want a Xiaomi smartwatch.
Design & Display
The Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro comes in a single 46mm size and is made of stainless steel and glass, making it feel more expensive and premium. However, it is a bit chunky at 11.28mm thick, making it not as sleek as its competitors. Nonetheless, Xiaomi has done an excellent job with the design, striking a balance between durability and looks. The Watch S1 Pro looks great and is available in two models – a black model with a rubber band and a silver version with a brown leather strap.
The Watch S1 Pro is fairly light, weighing only 70 grams, 48g of which is the case. The black version has no extra loops, making it more streamlined. The rubber band is particularly comfortable, making it a great option for both water sports and everyday use, secured in place by tucking the end under the edge of the strap.
The display on the Watch S1 Pro is sharp, and the user interface is pleasantly responsive. However, the overall design of the watch feels somewhat outdated and uninspired. In a market where Samsung, Apple, and other major players have created iconic designs for their smartwatches, the S1 Pro’s generic styling falls flat.
While some may appreciate the simple, no-frills look, we don’t feel that it lives up to the premium, classic timepiece aesthetic that Xiaomi seems to have been going for. The leather band feels somewhat cheap, and the stainless steel case and size of the watch don’t quite match up with its emphasis on fitness tracking over pure smartwatch features.
The Watch S1 Pro does, however, boast a 1.47-inch, 480 x 480 resolution AMOLED display with sapphire glass on top, providing a larger and higher resolution screen than the S1. It has good visibility both indoors and outdoors, and you can choose to keep the screen on 24/7. The 5ATM water rating also means that the watch is waterproof and suitable for use in the pool or open water swimming.
The sapphire glass is highly scratch-resistant and has remained unmarked even after weeks of active use. The durability of the S1 Pro is commendable, making it a good choice for water activities and workouts, although the design may not be the most practical for such purposes.
In terms of battery life, the Watch S1 Pro is good enough to last a full day of use. However, its bulky design can make it somewhat cumbersome to use for sleep tracking, even if you wear it on the opposite wrist.
Smartwatch Features
The Xiaomi S1 Pro smartwatch disappoints in terms of features. Despite being marketed as a smartwatch, it lacks third-party apps, and the Alexa support is limited to screen read-outs and work well only in a few markets. There’s also no cellular option, making it no different from a typical fitness tracker. Although the MUIU Watch OS software is responsive and easy to navigate, it’s not significantly different from its predecessors. The array of watch faces available in the Mi Fitness app is a highlight.
The Xiaomi S1 Pro runs on the MIUI watch 1.0 software, which has more similarities with WearOS than MIUI Android skin on smartphones. The device doesn’t have Google Play Store or any app store, so no third-party apps are supported. Despite that, the watch has an array of health monitoring and fitness features, although their usefulness varies significantly. The Alexa support feature is half-baked, as it can only respond with text, the display size often cuts off information, and the small font is not always easy to read.
The smartwatch has Bluetooth 5.2 with BLE for communication with a smartphone, but the experience is rather poor. The Watch S1 Pro does not display all notifications despite having the necessary permissions.
We find the app’s visuals for heart rate and SpO2 measurements disappointing, which makes it frustratingly difficult to read the results. The device also has a 10-12% discrepancy in heart rate measurements compared to a certified medical device, which can be misleading for athletes who rely on their heart rate to determine their performance.
When it comes to dual-band GPS support, Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro performs better than the previous S1 model. It may not match the distance tracking capabilities of the Apple Watch Ultra, but it provides similar metrics for average pace and elevation gain.
The Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro features great hardware that sets a high standard for the company’s future smart wearables. Despite its underwhelming software improvements, the device’s great battery life, appearance, and durability make up for it. The data may be poorly displayed on the Mi Fitness app, but it is displayed ok on the watch itself.
In terms of value, the €300 price tag is a solid deal for those who prioritize looks over functionality and don’t plan to use it for intense tracking activities like marathons. It is a great low-maintenance accessory with great battery life and design. However, if serious tracking is your main goal, there are better options available.
Ultimately, the MIUI Watch OS has a polished appearance and is aesthetically pleasing, but the operating system is hampered by technical glitches and lacks some important features, which can lead to a less than optimal user experience with the smartwatch.
Verdict
The Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro has a lot of attractive features, such as a durable display, good battery life, and health and fitness features. However, there are several downsides to the watch that make it hard to recommend. These include lack of third-party app support and the absence of a cellular model, along with workout-related bugs. Additionally, the MIUI Watch OS is buggy and misses some key features.
While the S1 Pro may feel sleek and high grade, it ultimately struggles to compete with other more capable smartwatches in its price range.
