It’s been a while now since Google unveiled its comprehensive overhaul of the Wear OS platform, giving fans and Android users a more consistent and well-rounded wearable ecosystem. If the past few years are any indication, it’s clear that there have been a lot of bumps along the way, although it’s safe to say that we’re at a time where most Wear OSs have matured in terms of both software and hardware offerings.
Take for example the Xiaomi Watch 5, announced for the global markets in March this year, the watch brings a number of improvements over its predecessor, the Xiaomi Watch 2. We’ve actually had a chance to use it for quite some time now, and it looks like Xiaomi is finally bringing its A-game with the Watch 5. Let’s take a look.
Xiaomi Watch 5 Specifications
- 1.54-inch AMOLED display
- 480×480 pixels
- stainless steel frame
- 5ATM waterproof
- Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Generation 1
- android wear os 6
- wifi 2.4 ghz
- bluetooth 5.4
- 930mAh battery
Design and performance
As far as looks are concerned, Xiaomi Watch 5 looks quite premium. Surrounding the watch is a stainless steel chassis (which itself comes with 5ATM water resistance) that houses a two-button combo, with a rotating crown at the top and a secondary action button. Xiaomi says it has used sapphire crystal glass on both ends of the device, so the screen and sensors at the bottom of the watch are covered in sapphire glass, which is a very welcome feature, and adds a little extra durability for daily use.
Moving to the display, you get a 1.54-inch AMOLED touchscreen that gets quite bright at 1500 nits brightness, so there should be no problem seeing it outdoors. This is a large watch face, so it will definitely look different on smaller wrists; However, overall, it is a good looking device that gives both aesthetics and an overall premium feel, although it plays it safe when it comes to design in general.
Battery and performance
However, by far, the biggest improvement Xiaomi has brought with the Watch 5 is its battery life. Xiaomi claims the watch can deliver up to six days of battery life on a single charge, which is pretty impressive if you think about it – it’s clear that Wear OS watches have come a long way in terms of battery life, although real-life usage does make a difference.
However, by far, the biggest improvement Xiaomi has brought with the Watch 5 is its battery life.
So far, I’ve managed to get about four and a half days of battery on a single charge with the Xiaomi Watch 5, using the watch with AOD and Wi-Fi mostly off, except for times when I need to update software or maybe download an app. But still, this is a big improvement from previous smartwatches like the Xiaomi Watch 2, which could only last for a maximum of two days.
The Xiaomi Watch 5 also comes with a dual-chip system inside, so you are getting a Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 chip in addition to the BES chip. This allows for better power efficiency as the two chips will essentially be able to switch depending on what type of apps or tasks the watch is currently running. For example, we’ve seen this approach to hardware on competing devices like the OnePlus Watch 2 and 3, and it’s become a tried-and-tested means of getting multi-day battery on modern Wear OS devices by now.
Software Features
Another big draw of the Xiaomi Watch 5 is, of course, Wear OS 6 – not many Wear OS devices have Wear OS 6 right now, so it’s great to see it on the Xiaomi Watch 5. You get pre-installed apps from both Google and Xiaomi here, and you’ll need to install the Mi Fitness app on your smartphone to set up the watch, change watch faces, and customize its settings, to name a few.
With that in mind, things generally run smoothly on the Xiaomi Watch 5, although I have noticed a slight stutter sometimes when it comes to certain transitions and animations. On the other hand, these are so rare that I wouldn’t go so far as to call them a dealbreaker. However, for everyday use, the Xiaomi Watch 5’s interface is nice and fluid.
Now like a lot of other smartwatches, you get some built-in health and fitness tracking features, including heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, step counting, and over 150 built-in sports modes. Personally I’m not really a fitness junkie, so besides the usual notifications and smart features, I mostly use my wearables to track my sleep, monitor my heart rate, and count my steps.
Talking about smart features, it comes with support for Gemini as default voice assistant; I’ve also managed to get it working well with my Google Pixel phone, and there’s also an option to mirror all information from the user’s device rather than app-by-app.
Decision
With the Xiaomi Watch 5, you’re getting the whole package here, which includes great hardware, impressive battery life, and of course, compatibility with the latest Google Wear OS version, at least at the time of this review. Now, it costs around £270 (about $370), which puts it in competition with similarly priced rivals like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 and OnePlus Watch 3, for example.
Sure, it’s not a perfect device, and some software quirks may be enough to discourage potential buyers, but overall its features definitely give you more bang for your buck.
