Xiaomi’s smartwatch sport has steadily developed for the reason that first Mi Watch got here on the scene in 2019. We’ve seen numerous Xiaomi wearables since – some with easy proprietary working techniques that is modified extra identify than options and a few with Google’s extra succesful, however power-hungry WearOS. Xiaomi Watch S3 is the primary smartwatch from the model to launch with HyperOS which is the maker’s in-house working system that powers quite a few different gadgets together with IoT home equipment and the maker’s SU7 electrical automotive.
Watch S3 brings every part you’d want in a smartwatch – a vivid and crisp AMOLED display screen, the usual mixture of well being and exercise monitoring, GNSS positioning, NFC funds, and the flexibility to take calls out of your wrist. It’s additionally extremely customizable with interchangeable watch bezels and straps permitting you to adapt the watch to your type.
At €150/£130 in Europe, Xiaomi is positioning Watch S3 as its go-to smartwatch for 2024 and we’ve spent the final two weeks testing it out.
Xiaomi Watch S3 specs
- Show: 1.43″ AMOLED touchscreen, 466 x 466 px decision, 60Hz refresh price, 600 nits peak brightness
- Straps: Removable straps, 22mm width, 140-210mm adjustable size
- Options: 5ATM score, Actual-time coronary heart price monitor, 24/7 Blood Oxygen degree monitor, Sleep monitoring, Stress monitoring, Sports activities monitoring, VO2 Max, Step Counter, Meditation, Notifications, Idle Alert, Telephone Finder, Climate Forecast, Music and Digital camera Management, Recorder, Alarm, Stopwatch, Compass, Barometer, Flashlight
- Sports activities Modes: Outside Run, Indoor Run, Outside Stroll, Outside Cycle, Climbing, Power Coaching, Leap rope, Freestyle (150+ extra in Mi Health app)
- Sensors: 12-channel PPG optical coronary heart price sensor, SpO2 sensor, 3-axis accelerometer, barometer, rotor Vibration Motor
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2, Appropriate with Android 8.0 and iOS 12+, dual-band L1+L5 GNSS, NFC (market dependent), microphone and audio system
- Battery: 486 mAh
- Colours: Black, Silver
- Dimensions: 47 x 47 x 12 mm
- Weight: 44 grams with out strap
Design
Watch S3 brings a well-recognized design that falls in keeping with the Xiaomi Watch 2 technology. It’s a big watch with a 47mm casing and a 1.43-inch AMOLED display screen which definitely takes some getting used to in the event you’re coming from a smaller watch or smartband. The massive new addition to the Wach S3 is the stainless-steel bezel which is removable and permits for unparalleled customization choices.
A fast counterclockwise twist and switch detaches the bezel and frees up the wach to absorb any of the 4 extra types which we solely presume will develop in quantity from right here. The bayonet mount which is such as you’d discover on a digicam lens is a very neat design selection that locks in securely. Every watch bezel comes with its personal watch face which instantly toggles on when it’s connected.
The interchangeable bezels coupled with the infinite choice of 22mm watch bands allow unprecedented customization, which is a good way to carry new life to the watch down the road. Sadly, the bezel is only for seems to be and would not add any performance such as you’d get on a Galaxy Watch6 Traditional and its rotating bezel. Our silver Watch S3 overview unit comes bundled with an identical stainless-steel watch bezel and silver fluoro rubber watch strap.
Watch S3 feels as premium because the dearer smartwatches we’ve examined with its modern aluminum body, stainless-steel watch bezels, and the plethora of 22mm watch strap choices. Regardless of the big formactor it by some means feels mild and unobtrusive on the wrist. Watch S3 weighs 44 grams with out the strap and is 12mm thick. It’s additionally 5ATM waterproof so swimming periods are a go.
The 1.43-inch AMOLED show gives saturated colours and nice viewing angles. It will get vivid sufficient even for outside – maxing out at 600 nits of peak brightness and in addition includes a devoted auto brightness sensor. The show refreshes at 60Hz making it really feel snappy and it’s additionally protected by Gorilla Glass 3. We should always observe that a number of the AOD choices are tougher to see in direct daylight.
There are two buttons for navigation with the highest one performing as a shortcut to the app menu whereas additionally doubling as a again button whereas the underside one is programmable and might be paired to launch any app however acts as a shortcut to the exercise web page by default.
Regardless of its aluminum alloy body and stainless-steel bezel, Xiaomi Watch S3 weighs 44 grams which doesn’t really feel heavy on the wrist and is comfy to put on all day lengthy. The retail field options the Watch S3, its proprietary two-pin magnetic charging puck which ends in a USB-A cable, and the same old mixture of manuals. Wi-fi charging appears to be the one omission.
Options
Xiaomi Watch S3 packs an extended spec sheet with one among its key options being HyperOS. Xiaomi’s proprietary IoT platform seems to be acquainted to MIUI Watch, however sadly doesn’t assist third-party apps outdoors of China.
There are 31 built-in apps together with Amazon Alexa, a cellphone dialer, a voice recorder, an NFC playing cards app alongside all the typical set of apps you’d discover on a smartwatch like an alarm, a fairly detailed climate app in addition to well being and exercise monitoring apps. You additionally get reminders, calendar, contacts, media controls, respiration workouts, a barometer, compass, flashlight, and a digicam shutter.
Xiaomi Watch S3 apps
Watch S3 includes a microphone and speaker permitting you to make and take calls out of your paired cellphone over Bluetooth. Our overview unit doesn’t function eSIM connectivity although Chinese language variations do, gaining complete independence out of your cellphone. Xiaomi can also be providing push notifications on the watch for many apps however these are often simply easy alerts with out the choice to answer or toggle any extra actions.
There are two vibration settings with customary and robust values. Along with the 2 bodily buttons, Xiaomi added fast gestures that are a gimmicky method to launch extra apps by tilting your wrist 90 levels or performing a round movement. Choices are restricted right here with assist for summoning Amazon Alexa, the climate app, rejecting incoming calls, and triggering the distant digicam shutter operate in your paired cellphone.
Watch S3 additionally helps dual-band (L1 and L5) satellite tv for pc positioning over BeiDou, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and QZSS in addition to NFC funds by means of Xiaomi Pay. The caveat with funds is you can solely add Mastercard-issued playing cards and pay at Mastercard cost terminals.
On the well being monitoring aspect, Watch S3 includes a 12-channel coronary heart price sensor with 24/7 coronary heart price monitoring, SpO2 monitoring, stress, and sleep monitoring with an up to date new sleep algorithm providing REM sleep and respiration scores.
Xiaomi’s Mi Health app is one obligatory set up you’ll want in your paired cellphone to toggle a lot of the capabilities on the Watch S3. The watch helps a complete of 161 exercise modes masking nearly each exercise you possibly can consider from working and weightlifting to as nuanced as kite flying and board video games.
You get entry to the complete listing of actions throughout the Exercises app on the watch which is neat and Mi Health can maintain as much as a month’s price of well being and exercise information. You too can sync your well being and exercise information with Apple Well being, Google Match, Strava and Suunto.
There are 13 pre-loaded watch faces with various ranges of customizable parts for watch problems and accent colours. You’ll discover an ideal choice of extra watch faces throughout the Mi Health app too.
Watch S3 additionally comes with fall detection and emergency help capabilities although they’re restricted to Android customers. These embody the flexibility to name emergency providers or an emergency contact of your selecting and ship out an SMS message within the occasion of a fall. You too can retailer your key medical information on the watch which will probably be displayed while you set off the emergency help function. Understand that these settings should be configured throughout the Mi Health app in your cellphone beforehand.
Software program and efficiency
Whereas its naming is new, HyperOS didn’t provide any tangible variations over earlier non-Put on OS Xiaomi watches throughout our testing. The app icons and menus have acquired a brand new coat of paint however that’s about it. Xiaomi says that HyperOS will permit for extra seamless connectivity and integration between its gadgets down the road, however for now it is principally the identical factor beneath a brand new identify.
Whereas Google’s WearOS gives in depth third-party аpp assist and savvier smartphone substitute expertise, a watch just like the S3 with HyperOS is preferable in the event you simply need to cowl the fundamentals of a smartwatch whereas additionally getting nice battery life. Other than a devoted maps app and the choice to answer to notifications, I didn’t really feel I used to be lacking any performance on the Watch S3 throughout my overview interval.
The UI is straightforward and runs with none noticeable lag. You may work together with the watch in a number of methods – by double-taping the display screen, elevating your wrist, or by pushing both of the aspect buttons. From there you possibly can swipe down for notifications, or swipe up from the underside to toggle the management heart web page.
Swiping left or proper provides you entry to your widgets that are playing cards of apps bundled collectively. You may configure as much as 4 apps in a single widget card straight from the watch or throughout the widgets tab on the Mi Health app. Notifications on the Watch S3 come promptly however we already coated the dearth of any extra performance as you possibly can solely dismiss them.
The onboard speaker does the job nevertheless it’s a bit arduous to take heed to throughout calls in noisier environments. The microphone handles voice pickup effectively with individuals on the opposite finish of calls reporting loud and clear reception on my half. The watch saved a steady connection to my paired iPhone 15 Professional by means of the overview interval with no drops in
Well being monitoring
Watch S3 helps configurable coronary heart price monitoring by way of a 12-channel PPG optical coronary heart price sensor. You may configure the readings between 1 and 30-minute intervals with the shorter values consuming up extra of your battery life. Coronary heart price readings have been on par with different not too long ago examined smartwatches. You too can set excessive and low coronary heart price alerts with alerts showing when you’ve handed or dropped beneath a predetermined threshold.
Blood oxygen monitoring (SpO2) can also be supported with 24/7 readings. When it comes to accuracy, we discovered each the guts price and SpO2 outcomes provide related values to what you’d get on competing smartwatches and different well being trackers like devoted pulse oximeters. Don’t anticipate medical grade readings right here as wearables like this are meant for monitoring your common well-being. We in contrast the guts price and blood oxygen measurements from the watch with these from a specialised coronary heart price monitor and pulse oximeter and acquired related values.
Coronary heart price, blood oxygen and sleep readings within the Mi Health app
Xiaomi is promoting its new sleep analyzing algorithm with claims of improved accuracy and we are able to verify it does an ideal job of logging correct go-to-sleep and wake-up instances. You get an in depth breakdown of your sleep by class with deep, mild and fast eye motion (REM) sleep. Sporting the Watch S3 for every week will generate your personal private sleep perception report with an assigned sleeping animal based mostly in your sleeping sample in addition to a beneficial schedule on find out how to set your day for optimum relaxation and restoration.
I did expertise a bug with a number of random extra awake instances added to some sleeping periods though I used to be in mattress and didn’t rise up in any respect throughout these nights. Hopefully, Xiaomi can repair this with future software program updates. With the SpO2 monitoring function enabled throughout sleep monitoring you additionally get respiration scores which may warn you of early indicators of sleep apnea.
Exercise monitoring
Leaping to exercise monitoring, Xiaomi Watch S3 didn’t disappoint with correct step counting and easy-to-read important exercise information. Most exercise modes present your fundamental vitals like coronary heart price charts, energy burned, exercise depth, VO₂ max, and advised restoration instances. Strolling, working and climbing additionally get some extra in-depth metrics like common pace, cadences, stride, and elevation acquire. The watch additionally helps computerized exercise detection for a number of actions together with strolling, working, biking, rowing, bounce rope, and elliptical.
Exercise monitoring metrics in Mi Health app
I did encounter a bug the place my exercise monitoring randomly stopped after I unlocked the watch to verify by means of my exercise metrics. I discovered myself lacking upwards of 20 minutes throughout a exercise earlier than I observed the exercise was paused with none extra enter from my aspect.
GNSS positioning locks in as immediately when you choose any of the supported exercises even in case you are indoors which was a stunning feat. Positioning information was pretty correct on a climbing path, however not a lot throughout walks within the metropolis because it did not determine the right aspect of the sidewalk from my route.
The devoted ski mode is a neat addition masking distance traveled, common pace, and a devoted Ski Monitor Map which you’ll share with associates. Sadly Watch S3 doesn’t assist the flexibility to load GPX format maps on the look ahead to navigating hikes or runs which is one thing you are able to do on opponents like Huawei GT4 and Amazfit GTR 4.
Battery Life
Xiaomi Watch S3 includes a 486 mAh battery which is claimed to last as long as 15 days on a cost with regular utilization and 5 days with All the time-On Show enabled. Watch S3 offered a good battery endurance of 4.5 days in my use case. We acquired these numbers with the AOD toggled on, all the well being monitoring options turned on 24/7, a number of quick cellphone calls, and a 1:30-hour each day exercise. Extra average well being monitoring and disabling the AOD extends the endurance to 7 days.
The watch is intelligent sufficient to offer you an estimated battery life based mostly in your utilization sample throughout the battery menu although we discovered it to overestimate the values. There’s an extremely power-saving mode that can squeeze out a number of further days of utilization however you’ll want to show off virtually all the options on the watch to attain these values.
Charging occurs solely by means of the two-pin magnetic puck that comes bundled with the watch. It’s backward appropriate with the one discovered on the Xiaomi Watch 2 and Watch S1 collection which is nice. A 5-minute top-up will get the watch from 0 to twenty% whereas a full cost takes 1 hour. The one main concern nevertheless is the dearth of any wi-fi charging which is an enormous caveat for a smartwatch.
Verdict
Xiaomi Watch S3 brings a mixture of premium construct and modular design with unparalleled customizability choices. The detachable watch bezels give the watch a way of individuality setting it other than the pack of opponents. You may simply carry new life to the Watch S3 with one of many colourful bezels and the usual 22mm watch bands guarantee much more customizability choices.
The style-centric strategy is backed by correct well being and exercise monitoring and whereas it could not provide the capabilities of a correct WearOS watch and all that it entails, it does the fundamentals effectively sufficient whereas providing strong battery life.
The 1.43-inch AMOLED show is crisp and straightforward to learn even outside in direct daylight. The twin-band GNSS positioning connects quick and gives dependable monitoring and Bluetooth calling additionally works nice. Xiaomi Pay is considerably restricted by its quick listing of supported financial institution playing cards and sleep-tracking leaves some to be desired.
We additionally would have appreciated to see wi-fi charging for these instances while you’re not carrying the proprietary Xiaomi charger and richer notification assist with choices to answer to incoming messages.
Finally, if you wish to categorical your type and have the choice to utterly remodel how your watch seems to be down the road then the Watch S3 is a good choice with no actual competitors. It’s additionally bundled with Xiaomi 14 collection pre-orders in sure markets which is a good freebie to go together with your brand-new cellphone.
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