Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite review: Xiaomi devices are popular because they are good and affordable. This also applies to the company’s smartphones and fitness trackers, and so does the smartwatches.
The Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite is a basic smartwatch with a surprising number of fitness functions. If you’re wondering whether to spend your money on this ultra-cheap smartwatch, read our full Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite review.
About this Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite review: I used the Xiaomi Mi Watch for nine days with software version 4.0.93. It has been paired with my Google Pixel 5 for the duration of this review. The Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite test device was made available to Android Authority by Xiaomi.
What you need to know about the Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite
The Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite is another ultra-cheap smartwatch from the Chinese brand. It costs just € 50 (~ $ 60) and goes well with Xiaomi’s popular Mi Band line and the recently released Xiaomi Mi Watch. Eagle-eye fans may also recognize it as a renamed Redmi watch.
Although it has a traditional smartwatch form factor, it is best to simply think of the Mi Watch Lite as a Mi Band with a bigger screen. There are important differences between the two, but the focus is on fitness, not smartwatch features.
What I like about the Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite
Many sport modes and fitness functions
Credit: Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority
One would expect that a smartwatch for 50 euros would bring some hardware losses. While this certainly goes for the Mi Watch Lite, it comes with a surprisingly good spec sheet for the price.
The Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite has an integrated GPS, an optical heart rate sensor and a water resistance of 5 ATM. We’ll talk about accuracy in a moment, but the fact that GPS + GLONASS (disconnected GPS) is on board is good news for runners.
See Also: The Best Smartwatches You Can Buy
It can also track a wide variety of sport modes. These include outdoor running, treadmill, trail running, indoor and outdoor cycling, hiking, open water swimming, pool swimming, cricket, hiking, and freestyle training.
The Mi Watch Lite’s GPS is about as accurate as that of the Mi Watch. That said, it’s okay, not great. During numerous outdoor runs, the Mi Watch showed me running through rivers and across the street, even with little cloud and tree cover. It was surprisingly more accurate than my Garmin Fenix 6 Pro in some areas, but not by much.
Credit: Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority
The heart rate sensor on the Mi Watch Lite can monitor your heart rate all day in 30, 10, 5 or 1 minute increments, or with manual spot checks throughout the day. It can also alert you if your heart rate goes above normal levels during inactivity.
The heart rate sensor on the Mi Watch Lite was pretty accurate in my tests. See below for a four mile treadmill run:
Credit: Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority
During several points in the run, the Mi Watch Lite was able to keep up with the Wahoo Tickr X chest strap and the Garmin Fenix 6 Pro. All three devices matched at the high heart rate peak and again in the great valley in the middle of the run.
However, it’s not perfect. The Xiaomi Wear app smooths the data too much for my taste and does not allow data exports. Still, it’s an all-round good heart rate sensor.
Also Read: The Best Fitness Trackers You Can Buy
Battery life and charger
Credit: Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority
According to Xiaomi, the Mi Watch Lite can last up to nine days on a single charge. My tests show that the claim is correct.
I used the watch every day for sleep tracking, notifications, and a handful of workouts a week. Right now I’m on track to recharge the full nine days. However, if you exercise almost every day, the battery life may decrease.
The charger included in the scope of delivery is OK. It’s proprietary (hello e-waste) and not very attractive. However, it allows for a nice view of the bedtime clock when the clock is connected.
Sleep tracking
Credit: Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority
The Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite is a good sleep tracker. Like other Xiaomi wearables, it records your total sleep, deep, light and REM sleep time. It then gives you a sleep score of 0-100 based on how well you slept. Overall, the charts in the Xiaomi Wear app are easy to read.
Still, there are some limitations. Napping or sleeping during the day are not recorded. If you have an unconventional sleep schedule, the Mi Watch Lite is not the sleep tracker for you. I would also like Xiaomi to improve the implementation of the sleep score a bit. Right now it’s all about the details of where the score is coming from. There aren’t many details on how to improve your sleep score, either.
A few other tidbits that I liked about the Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite:
- Firstbeat workout analysis: Like the Xiaomi Mi Watch, the Mi Watch Lite also offers a detailed analysis after training. It is provided by Firstbeat, the analytics company now owned by Garmin. After the workout, you will see your total time, distance, calories burned, steps, average and maximum cadence, average / max / min pace, average speed, heart rate, heart rate zones and VO2 max.
- The watch faces:<span style=”vertical-align: inherit;”> Xiaomi doesn’t allow third party watch faces, but it does have a lot of nice first party options. Over 120 are available for download via the Xiaomi Wear app.
- The basic apps are all here: while the Mi Watch Lite doesn’t support any third-party apps, it does have all of the basic pre-installed apps you would expect. There is a guided breathing app, a compass, a barometric pressure app, an alarm, a stopwatch, a timer, a weather app, a flashlight and the ability to control your phone’s music.
What I don’t like about the Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite
Kneecap smartwatch software
Credit: Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority
I know I just praised the watch face options for the Mi Watch Lite, but surprisingly, the software on the device is a notable step up from the actual Mi Watch.
Everything is usually set up the same way. You swipe down for notifications, up for quick settings, left or right for widgets and press the button for the screen for all apps. However, there are a few omissions that will improve the overall experience. For one thing, there are no software animations. That doesn’t sound very fussy, but in reality it makes using the smartwatch a pain. As a result, the Mi Watch Lite feels more sloppy than I think it actually is. I don’t know if my touches will register until the next page of the settings menu appears.
There is also no haptic feedback that increases the anger. Little things like haptics and animations help you connect to the device you are using. Without it, you have the feeling that you are wiping around and hoping that the wiping movements will register.
The Mi Watch Lite is still missing a few more functions to improve the quality of life:
- There’s no always-on display, probably because the Mi Watch Lite uses an LCD panel instead of the OLED.
- There is no way to turn do not disturb mode on automatically while you sleep. If you forget to mute notifications before bed, you can see the bright LCD light up when you get a late night email.
You’d think that the Mi Watch Lite software would be on the same level as the other Xiaomi devices.
The hardware and the design
Credit: Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority
I’m not going to put too much strain on the Mi Watch Lite here. After all, it is a 50 euro device. However, I ran into a few hardware issues that you should know before buying.
- The straps are interchangeable, but they are very difficult to change. The belt release button is too heavy to push. I was only able to successfully remove the straps on my device once. I’m not sure if this will be the case with other devices, but it is with me.
- Speaking of straps, this is roughly the same high quality silicone strap as you’d find on the Mi Band line. Translation: It feels cheap and rubbery, yet feels soft.
- I can’t give Xiaomi a pass without delving into the obvious design features of the Apple Watch. The Mi Watch Lite copies the design of the Apple Watch the wrong way, even except for many of the watch faces. I would really love to see Xiaomi design a watch for itself and not based on what Apple is doing right now.
The Xiaomi Wear app takes a lot of work
Credit: Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority
I just covered the Xiaomi Wear app in my Xiaomi Mi Watch review. For the sake of brevity, I’ll refer you to this review if you want to learn more about the Companion app. While it’s a step up from Mi Fit in aesthetic terms, I often have problems with translations, conversion problems from metric to imperial, and problems with time preferences.
Technical specifications
| Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite | |
|---|---|
| display | 1.4-inch TFT-LCD resolution 320 x 320 323ppi 350 nits |
| Dimensions and weight | 41 x 35 x 10.9-11.9 mm 35 g (with strap) 21 g (without strap) |
| materials | Plastic container TPU strap |
| Colours | Case: black, navy blue, beige Strap: pink, ivory, black, navy blue, olive |
| Storage | N / A |
| IP rating | 5ATM |
| Drums | 230mAh ~ 9 days with typical use ~ 10 hours with continuous GPS use 100% charge in ~ 2 hours |
| Sensors | GPS / A-GPS / GLONASS PPG sensor 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis gyroscope compass altimeter |
| compatibility | Android 4.4 and higher iOS 10.0 and higher |
Price and competition
The Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite is available in parts of Europe at mi.com for € 50. Xiaomi remains calm in the regions where the Mi Watch Lite will be available. Your best bet is to check mi.com or Gearbest to see if it’s available in your area. We expect it to arrive on Amazon too, so we will include a link to this retailer as well.
Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite A Xiaomi smartwatch for only 50 €
The Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite is one of the cheapest smartwatches you can find. With built-in GPS, all-day heart rate monitoring, and 11 different sports tracking modes, the Mi Watch Lite has a surprisingly powerful data sheet.
If the Mi Watch Lite isn’t your cup of tea or isn’t available in your area, there are plenty of alternatives that share the same DNA. The obvious competitor is the Amazfit Bip U. It is available on Amazon in the US, India, and other regions for about the same price as the Mi Watch Lite. It can track far more sport modes and has the same long-lasting battery. However, in her full review, Adamya noted that the materials used in the band are pretty cheap.
The Amazfit Bip U Pro, which costs $ 70 in the US, is almost the same device as the Bip U. However, it also has built-in GPS and Amazon Alexa support.
If you’re just looking for fitness tracking and don’t need a standalone GPS, then you should consider the Xiaomi Mi Band 5. It records a lot of activity, can last two weeks on a charge, and has about the same amount of smart features as the Mi Watch Lite. It’s also $ 15 cheaper.
Related: The Best Smartwatch Deals | The best deals on fitness trackers
Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite review: the verdict
Credit: Jimmy Westenberg / Android Authority
The Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite is a good fitness tracker, but a very simple smartwatch. If you are looking for the Mi Band experience and want to take advantage of a larger display, the latest budget smartwatch from Xiaomi is a great option. However, it is limited beyond these basic functions. Anyone looking for a voice assistant on the device or music storage for offline listening should look elsewhere.
I hope to see more competition in this area from companies other than Xiaomi or Huami. Until then, if you want a smartwatch for around $ 50, this might be your top pick.