Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro smartwatch review: Premium feel, average features

Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro: One minute review

If you dabble in multi-sports and are looking for an attractive watch, which gives your basic stats for an array of sports and exercises this watch could be a great choice. With over 100 exercises to track its inclusive, while it even has a separate running app, but its statistics are very basic and won’t beat its competition. 

The look of the watch is smart, with a choice between a black rubber strap or brown leather and a sapphire glass watch face with 1.47" AMOLED screen – it’s beaming with colorful apps, which are clear and easy to navigate. However, it's a chunky watch, with its watch face really standing out on the wrist. 

The S1 Pro app, called Mi Fitness, is easy to set up but doesn’t offer much more than the watch itself, while it still has some features which need personalization. 

Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro: Specifications

Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro: Price and availability

• $330 in the US
• £300 in the UK
• AU$391 in Australia

The Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro was launched in China in August 2022, but was released officially around the world this February 2023. Its UK price is £299.99, with prices starting in the US at $330 and in Australia at AU$391. 

The price is surprisingly high for what you get, especially compared to its contemporaries. It looks and feels premium, but doesn’t hold a huge amount of value unless you’re a die-hard Xiaomi fan. 

• Value score: 3/5

Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro: Design and screen

• Large watch face for a smartwatch
• Quality AMOLED touchscreen
• A heavy and chunky model

The first thing you notice about this watch is its size; it’s huge, and sat on my dainty wrist looking quite chunky indeed. If you want a discreet watch, this is not it. The main reason for its size is its large watch face, all sapphire glass, paired with a stainless steel case. It's certainly attractive, looking more like a standard watch than a smartwatch.  

Like its predecessors, the Xiaomi Mi and Xiaomi S1, you can choose from a brown leather strap or a black silicone strap – I liked that the brown strap worked as a more formal accessory, and I was able to pair it with not just gym wear, but smarter outfits too. With two buttons on the right-hand side of the watch, the top button is more prominent, and the dual use of buttons and touchscreen was effective. 

The quality of the screen, 1.47" AMOLED, is one of its best features, gliding through the apps and features effortlessly. It’s a colorful display, which looks more attractive than some of its competitors’ offerings. There were no niggles as I tried to open any of the features and we appreciated the quality,of the display, especially when I was out on a run . I also used the watch for hiking on a bright day and it really held its own - never letting me down when I wanted to check out stats as I hiked. 

It’s an expensive watch and really does look the part, but we’d love to see a more lightweight version, as at times this felt quite heavy on the wrist. There are no smaller size options in the same way there are in the best Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy model lines

• Design score: 3.5/5

Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro: Features

• Easy to set up
• Needs more personalisation 
• Lacking sleep details

Setting up the S1 Pro’s adjoining app, Mi Fitness, is really easy and it only takes you a few minutes. The install process takes you through a variety of features, helping you sync your device and add in personal goals, from the number of calories you want to burn while you are exercising to the number of steps you want to achieve every day. This is something I personally think is important for any smartwatch – it has to be tailored around your own activity goals and personal life.

As well as giving you data on the watch itself, you can delve into the app for the details of your workouts, with the app tracking your exercise over the week: illustrating your calories, steps and moving time via a colourful rainbow design, similar to the Apple watch's circle design.

Clicking into the details of the workout, however, each tracked performance seemed to have some randomized values attached to it, which didn't give it a personal feeling - perhaps a bug they need to fix in the app. The Sleep section of the app didn’t provide much detail either, just giving me a score from ‘poor’ to ‘good’ without any details on how to improve or what those scores meant. All of the best sleep trackers and sleep tracking apps break your sleep down into light, deep and REM cycles, and offer actionable advice for getting better sleep. Fitbit, Samsung and even Pokémon Sleep offer chronotype-based sleep profiles, so this is a huge content hole for Xiaomi. 

We like the ‘competition’ element of the app which allows you to add friends, who also have the watch, and compare your exercise routines. A feature which could rouse up some motivation between your group of friends, or cause an argument – providing you all have the S1 Pro. 

•  Features score: 3.5 /5  

Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro: Performance

• Some inaccurate statistics 
• Easy to navigate 
• Basic features, with phone pairing

I used the watch for a couple of months, putting it through its paces on various runs, hikes and at various fitness classes. I also tested it against my everyday smartwatch (a Fitbit Versa), to see if it tracked the same amount of calories and output.

As a runner, I loved the separate app on the watch for different running activities, with everything from a timed basic walk or run to advanced intervals. I mostly used the watch as I sweated through spinning classes and it was great to see real-time statistics, however, it didn’t provide me with anything different to the competition. Tracking was also off compared to Fitbit, and registering a higher calorie burn on the S1 Pro and a lower anaerobic threshold.

At least the watch is easy to navigate day-to-day. Clicking the large button takes you to the home screen, then it changes into a touchscreen, as the home screen gives you shortcuts to tracking your chosen exercise, heart rate, sleep metrics and many other options. We particularly liked the extras, which we haven’t found on other smartwatches, such as skin temperature, a compass and even a flashlight, so you no longer have to rely solely on your phone. 

The home screen also has apps to sync your calendar, your contactless cards and your music, providing you have an Android 6.0 or higher or iOS 11 or above. Personally, I’m not keen on syncing emails or phone calls to a smartwatch, as I primarily use them for fitness motivation, but it’s nice to have the choice. 

After tracking a couple of hikes, the app gave me a detailed breakdown of my cardio output, with speed, cadence and elevation tracked, but no information or further breakdown on these individual metrics. It claims to have a 14-day battery life, but if you’re using it regularly you will only get around a week out of it based on our tests. Remember to take your charger with you if you’re going on holiday. 

However, charging is quick and just 10 minutes will give you two days. It’s a good watch, but to beat its competitors such as the Apple Watch and the Samsung Galaxy watches it will need to have more accurate stats and more stand-up features – especially for just under £300.  

•  Performance score: 3.5/5 

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How I tested

Our writer wore the Xiaomi Watch S1 Pro for over a month and used it during a variety of workouts, including runs and spin classes. She compared its workout statistics to a contemporary Fitbit for accuracy, wore it overnight to test its sleep tracking capabilities, and hiked with it to examine its GPS credentials.  

First reviewed: June 2023