Mibro Watch GS Explorer review: A cheap outdoor smartwatch packed with features, but lacking basics

Mibro Watch GS Explorer: Two minute review

It's possible to buy super-affordable smartwatches, but sometimes they tend to fall short in terms of design and features. By way of example, the standout cheap watch in our best smartwatches guide is the CMF Watch Pro by Nothing, which is stylish but quite basic, although our best cheap smartwatches guide offers plenty of sub-$300 / £250 / AU$500 alternatives.

That's why I was so intrigued when the Watch GS Explorer dropped through my door. At $155 / £121, the latest smartwatch from Mibro appears to hit all the right notes when it comes to specs. Let me list just a few: rugged military-grade durability, an AMOLED display, dual-frequency GPS with 5 satellites, and comprehensive sports & health modes.

Does that sound too good to be true? Surely they've cut some corners somewhere. I was so excited and determined to find out that I threw the watch on charge and got it on my wrist as soon as was humanly possible. It's been sitting there for around two months.

Let’s begin with the design. The watch itself has passed a total of 15 military standard tests in compliance with MIL-STD-810H-2019, which guarantees stability and reliability in extreme environments. Having used the watch in wet and cold conditions, I can testify that it's durable and waterproof. I also dropped it a few times and didn't suffer any scratches or screen cracks thanks to its Corning Gorilla glass.

All of this 'ruggedness' comes with some tradeoffs, though, the first of which is that it's enormous. If your wrist is on the slender side, then this is not the watch for you. The design is also far too chunky and lacking detail. You could even call it brutalist. The stretchy rubber strap also makes it sit a little uncomfortably on the skin and, at times, grip painfully onto any hair that gets caught underneath it.

At the centre of the watch is a 1.32-inch AMOLED display with a 466x466 resolution and 353 PPI. There’s little not to love about the display and at 1500 nits, it’s bright enough in almost all environments. However, while operating the touch screen, the chunky outer bezel gets in the way of efficient swiping. I appreciate that this probably provides protection to the glass, but in my opinion it simply gets in the way.

While we’re on the subject of operation, the three buttons, located on the right-hand side of the watch, are a little clunky and even a little 'sticky’ at times, which hampered efficient and enjoyable navigation. I think if Mibro reduces the protrusion of the bezel and engineers the buttons better, then the user experience will be greatly improved.

The abundance of health and fitness tracking features and data can be accessed through both the watch and the associated Mibro app. You’ll find the ability to track basic health measurements, including heart rate and SpO2, but not much beyond that. Heart rate and SpO2 measurements were commensurate with the accurate Huawei GT 5 Pro, although the latter was slow to read.

The GS Explorer wants to come into its own when users are undertaking outdoor activities including climbing, swimming, and running. It is here that I experienced some of the more significant problems, namely to do with GPS accuracy. Tracking lines went off route and therefore couldn’t be trusted for distances and as a result, pacing was off. Exercise graphs are displayed on the screen but are unfortunately too small to really tell what’s going on outside of the companion app. More positively, training stats including heart rate tracking and ground contact time during runs appeared more accurate.

My general feeling of this watch was a mixed bag. It has some impressive features that perform well especially considering the low price, while other more basic and necessary measurements struggle for accuracy. As a result, this is a watch to get if you value premium features at a budget price, but is certainly not to be purchased if accuracy is paramount.

Mibro Watch GS Explorer: Specifications

Mibro Watch GS Explorer: Price and availability

• $155 / £121
• Extremely cheap for features
• Not available in Australia

The Mibro Watch GS Explorer is only available in one size and retails at $155 US / £121 UK (around $238 AUS), which is insanely cheap for the screen and number of features available.

The only part of the watch that can be customized is the strap color with black, white, or green being your available options. The watch is not available in Australia or China.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Mibro Watch GS Explorer: Scorecard

Mibro Watch GS Explorer: Should I buy?

Buy if it...

Don't buy it if...

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How I tested

I wore the Mibro Watch GS Explorer for around eight weeks, which gave me a good period of time to fully test the watch features and battery life. As it’s billed as an outdoor watch, I also made sure to get out and about for special ‘assignments’ as well as integrate it into my daily activities.