Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro guide

The Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro is Xiaomi's latest smartwatch to go global, landing in the UK roughly a year after it launched the Watch S1 and the S1 Active much further afield.

With the Pro we're getting a new look, a first look at Xiaomi's new in-house built MIUI Watch OS that packs many of the same fitness, wellness and smartwatch features as its S1 and S1 Active smartwatches.

Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro review: Smartening up

BY

MICHAEL SAWH

PUBLISHED FEB 26, 2023

Xiaomi has added to its Watch S1 family with the smart-looking S1 Pro. But can it match up to the competition?

It's sitting at a price point that sees it competing with the Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5. So, is the Pro a big leap over the original S1 and can it compete with some of the best smartwatches in the business? Here's our take.

The Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro takes the S1 and gives it an upgrade in the looks department but ultimately doesn’t do quite enough on the software side to make it a really standout smartwatch - particularly when it costs more money.

Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro review and comparison with Watch S1: Are there any improvements?

Recently, along with other new devices, Xiaomi has presented a continuation of its flagship smartwatch line – the Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro. It so happened that I was one of the first in Ukraine to get this wrist gadget for testing, so after a few weeks of testing, I will tell you in detail what the new model is and, most importantly, how it differs from the previous Xiaomi Watch S1, which was reviewed by my colleague Olga almost a year ago (read here). So, get ready for a lot of comparisons between the two watches.

The Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro packages up its operating system in a sleeker package, but ultimately still doesn’t do enough to convince you that this is a smartwatch you should be going for when you can buy something more complete from Apple, Samsung and Huawei for around the same price or less.

The Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro debuted in China last year, but it took six months for the company to launch its best smartwatch globally. The wearable made its global debut at MWC 2023 in Barcelona, but we've actually had it for a while before that and now we are ready to share our test findings.

Xiaomi set a relatively high price tag for the Watch S1 Pro - it is €299, compared to last year’s €229, but it's not just inflation we are seeing here - the new wearable is actually considerably more powerful and better built.

The Watch S1 Pro comes in a single 46mm size and is fairly light, despite its stainless steel case. We received the Black version with the black fluoroelastomer strap, and the whole device weighs 70 grams, 48g of that is the case itself.

Our strap has an Apple-type buckle, while the other version, a brown leather option, has a more standard solution. The black one is great because there are no extra loops, and everything tucks neatly underneath, making the whole device look more streamlined.

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

The first ever Mi Watch only launched back in 2019, but that Apple Watch lookalike has been traded for something which looks more like Samsung’s Galaxy Watch these days.

That’s the case for the Watch S1 Pro, which was announced in China in August 2022 before finally getting a global launch six months later at MWC 2023.

It looks very similar to the Galaxy Watch 5, and adopts a similar price point too. But a few key shortcomings make Samsung’s wearable, or those from Google and Apple, better choices for most people. Here’s my full review.

Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro review

Pro in some ways, amateur in others