Xiaomi launched its first smartwatch called the Mi Watch that looks similar to the Apple Watch.

In terms of design, the Mi Watch has a square aluminum body with a crown and a button. It sports a 1.78-inch AMOLED display (368 x 448, 326 ppi) that offers the always-on capability and runs MIUI for Watch, the company's wearable operating system based on Google's Wear OS.

The smartwatch features microphones on both of its sides for recording audio and taking calls, and a loudspeaker on the left to listen to music or incoming calls. The Mi Watch, which comes in one size -- 44mm -- has a ceramic back, which is where the charging pins and a heart rate sensor are also placed.

The Mi Watch is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 3100 4G chipset with four Cortex A7 cores clocked at 1.2GHz, coupled with 1GB of RAM and 8GB storage. It supports cellular connectivity (through an eSIM), Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and NFC for payments. The Mi Watch should last for 36 hours on a single charge on cellular mode.

Mi Watch also comes with eSIM, a built-in chip that allows users to make phone calls and connect to the internet without inserting a physical nano-SIM. With such technology, users can either share the same phone number with their smartphone or have a new private number for the Mi Watch exclusively.

Equipped with a built-in six-axis sensor and a 3rd generation heart rate monitor (HRM) sensor, Mi Watch is able to detect complex motion gestures and heart rate fluctuations during physical activities. With these capabilities, Mi Watch offers up to 10 pro-sport modes such as outdoor running, outdoor biking, open water swimming, and mountain climbing. It also works with professional sports analytics provider FirstBeat to closely track users’ sleep quality, blood pressure levels, heart rate, and physical energy.

Chinese apps such as TikTok and QQ Messenger are available for the Mi Watch on day one. The company’s own XiaoAI assistant is the default virtual digital assistant on the watch.

XiaoAi AI Assistant can be activated for users to use voice commands for music playback, phone calls, and navigation. When connected to the Xiaomi AIoT system, Mi Watch is capable of operating thousands of Xiaomi smart home appliances.

Along with the standard Mi Watch, Mi Watch Special Edition was also announced, with a limited offering of 30,000 units worldwide. Featuring an upgrade to blue sapphire glass as the screen material, the Mi Watch Special Edition adds a classy touch to your day-to-day look. The package also comes with an in-box magnetic charger, an adapter, laser-printed limited product code, suede cleaning cloth, certification for limited collection, and a personalized nameplate.

The Mi Watch is priced at CNY 1,299 ($185) and will go on sale in China next week.

A variant of the Mi Watch that sports a sapphire glass and stainless steel (Special Edition) priced at CNY 1,999 ($285) will also go on sale next month in China.

Specifications

• Cover: Corning Gorilla 3rd Generation Glass Sapphire
• Frame: Aluminum alloy stainless steel
  
• Wristband: Fluoro rubber stainless steel
• Weight: Approximately 44g, 56g with strap
• Thickness: 12.28mm
• Size: 44.69 x 36.92
• Display: 1.78 inches AMOLED (368 x 448)
• eSIM
• Processor: Qualcomm 3100 wearable platform
• Operating system: MIUI For Watch
• Memory and storage: 1GB + 8GB
• Waterproof
• Sensors: A+G, HRM heart rate, Geomagnetic, Ambient light, Barometer, OTS optical displacement detector
• Navigation and positioning: GPS, GLONASS, BEIDOU
• Sports mode: Outdoor running, outdoor walking, cross country, mountain climbing, indoor running, Outdoor cycling, indoor cycling, swimming in the pool, open water swimming, free time
• Health features: Heart rate monitoring, sleep monitoring, stress monitoring, body energy monitoring, Standing activity reminder, sedentary reminder
• Assistant :Yes
• Pay: Support Alipay, WeChat payment
• NFC
• Supported bands:
• WCDMA B1/B5/B8
  
• LTE-FDD B1/B3/B5/B7/B8/B18/B19/B20/B26
• LTE-TDD B39/B40/B41
• Wireless: Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.2
• Battery size
• Standard version: 570mAh (typical), 560mAh (rated value)
• Premium Edition: 590mAh (typical), 580mAh (rated)
• Life time: 36 hours
• Charging method: Magnetic pogo pin charging