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Xiaomi Watch S1 Active Review: A Good Start

When it comes to wearables, Xiaomi may not be a brand that immediately comes to mind, especially for those in South Africa.

That is changing, however, and over the past year the Chinese brand has seemingly reinvigorated its local presence, bringing with it new affordable smartphones, along with smart devices.

These include devices like robot vacuum cleaners and smart LED lightbulbs, but also includes the likes of the Xiaomi Watch S1 Active, which is the company’s latest smartwatch offering that debuted alongside a few other smart devices when Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 11 series in SA recently.

We have already been impressed by Xiaomi’s affordable smartphones, so how does the company’s smartwatches compare?

To find that out we spent the past couple of weeks reviewing the Xiaomi Watch S1 Active. This is what we found out.

Rather simple

Let’s start with design and here Xiaomi have very much kept things understated on the Watch S1 Active.

The round watch frame is neither finically small nor cumbersomely large at 1.43″ (AMOLED), sitting neatly in the middle in terms of size and therefore capable of being used on a fairly wide gamut of wrist sizes. The bezel is also relatively slim and in the black colour option that our review unit comes in, is a rather stealthy looking wearable.

It is therefore kind of perfect for those who want something understated or simply value utility over eye catching elements.

This firs well with the overall elements that Xiaomi is aiming for here, which seem to focus on balancing affordability and performance.

And affordable the Xiaomi Watch S1 Active is at R2 949 (RRP). You can even find it for a little less than that, depending on where you look online. As such, the S1 Active is quite wallet friendly indeed.

Shifting back to design and smartwatch is not too tall, which is often an issue we have encountered with rounded devices.

In terms of layout there are two buttons on the right hand side of the frame taking care of waking up the watch or switching between the clock face and suite of apps. The second button, with sport etched above it, takes you directly to the different workout options, which total 19 out of the box.

No rotating bezels or digital crowns here, which again will suit you just fine if you’re looking for a simple smartwatch that won’t break the bank.

We are therefore off to a good start.

Covering bases

As for the actual performance, all roads lead to the Mi Connect app. There is one available for Android (naturally) and iOS, but we could not spot one for HMS in the AppGallery, so that is something to be cognisant of if you have newer Huawei hardware.

If you not have one already, accessing the app and pairing your smartwatch will necessitate the creation of a Xiaomi profile. This is a fairly straightforward process and once paired via Bluetooth, you can get to work.

Sticking with the app for a bit, it serves up a dashboard of key metrics recorded via the smartwatch, along with the ability to download new clocks (a lot of which are free), as well as get visualisations for workout modes and data.

It does not necessarily push the boundary in terms of wearable apps, but certainly covers all of the bases.

The same goes for the Xiaomi Watch S1 Active itself.

Here the device captures real-time heart information rather accurately, as well as steps, calories, blood oxygen, V02 Max levels and standing time. There is the ability to track sleep too, which has quickly become standard among smartwatches these days.

As such, there isn’t a function that the S1 Active is lacking, so you will be fairly covered in terms of activity tracking is concerned. The on-device controls for smartwatch apps is fairly good too. As an example, there may not be a standalone Spotify app, but if you are playing music via your phone, you can easily control it via a music app on the smartwatch itself.

The same goes for other nifty tools like a camera shutter app, but it is always important to note that a smartwatch must be close at hand. As such, the S1 Active is fairly feature rich, but unlike far more expensive alternatives, cannot operate effectively sans a smartphone connection.

Another area the S1 Active excels is battery life, with the 470mAh unit onboard sipping on battery life even with screen brightness turned to the max and capturing workout data regularly. As such, we have not had to charge the watch since first unboxing it nearly two weeks ago.

Final verdict

The Xiaomi Watch S1 Active fits in with many of the other devices we have seen from the Chinese brand of late, serving up a great value for money product that performs solidly while ensuring the wallet does not take much of a hit.

While there are indeed more feature rich alternatives out there, for those wanting all their bases covered from a stealthy fitness-focused smartwatch, the Xiaomi Watch S1 Active is superb value.

The only real issue we encountered is a power hungry Mi Connect phone app, but battery life on the S1 Active itself should see you through almost two weeks between charges.

If you are wanting to be more cost savvy when it comes to smartwatches, the Watch S1 Active is well worth considering.

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