Xiaomi Watch S1 and Watch S1 Active review

Alongside the global launch of the 12 series, Xiaomi showed the S1 pair of smartwatches that take direct aim at Huawei and Samsung’s lineups. The Xiaomi Watch S1 and Watch S1 Active share their internals and smarts, but they’re very different on the outside and target different people - one is a classy, premium watch, the other is a youthful, sporty watch.

#XiaomiWatchS1Active features a strong metal bezel, a large AMOLED display, various fitness modes, and many more! #StyleUpYourFitness pic.twitter.com/GPRFE4hAkI

— Xiaomi (@Xiaomi) March 21, 2022

As per gsmarena.com, the most impressive thing about these smartwatches is the bang-for-buck ratio - both are fast, capable, and look great, and both are cheap compared to their direct competition. The Xiaomi Watch S1 Active is only €179/$199, while the S1 with a stainless steel casing and sapphire glass display is €229/$269.

Huawei and Samsung’s offers, which are heavily discounted at the time of this review, are still much more expensive. Huawei’s GT 3 starts at €209 for the 42mm, while the 46mm is €229. The Watch 3 is €299, the same as the Watch GT Runner. Samsung’s Galaxy Watch4 starts at €199 for a 40mm model and is €239 for the 44mm. Going for a Galaxy Watch4 Classic starts at €269 for the 42mm and jumps to €289 for a 46mm.

That immediately puts Xiaomi’s in a great position. Going for a Xiaomi S1 watch is a no-brainer if your main concern is the price.

But the Xiaomi Watch S1 and S1 Active are more than just the cheaper choice. They’re good watches that cover just about every need. Let’s take a deeper dive.

S1 is classy, S1 Active is sporty

The Xiaomi S1 lineup is very simple. First of all, there are no size differences - both the Watch S1 and Watch S1 Active have 46mm cases and 1.43-inch displays.

The S1 is a premium watch that weighs just over 70g (with the band). Its casing is simple and stylish. You can have it in Black or Silver and the watch comes with a Leather and a Fluororubber strap in the box. The case is made of 316L stainless steel and has a quality look and feel. The model we have here is the Black one and it’s brushed, while the Silver is glossy. Xiaomi says that each case is individually polished.

The S1’s dome is all glass - Sapphire glass, to be precise. It has that infinity pool look where the glass flows over to the edges. It’s a very clean look that’s only interrupted by the embedded 12 marks for the hours on the bezel underneath the glass.

Normally we’re not fans of this glass-topped design, because it’s much easier to scratch - it’s better to have a metal bezel that protects the delicate display. But with the Xiaomi S1, we aren't worrying that the glass would scratch. Xiaomi calls this ‘Synthetic Sapphire Glass’ and we can verify that it hasn’t a single scratch on it after two weeks of use - either micro or deep.

The underside of the Xiaomi S1 is made of plastic but you get standard wireless charging. We tested the watch with a number of charging pads and it worked with all of them, so you can use the bundled charger at home, for instance, and charge the Watch S1 on a wireless charger at work.

The Watch S1 Active, on the other hand, doesn’t support any wireless charger outside of its own bundled puck.

The displays on both smartwatches are the same. They measure 1.43-inch and have 466x466px resolution. They’re sharp and detailed. Both can reach up to 450 nits in strong light, so you won’t have issues with legibility.

The Watch S1 Active is much lighter than the S1. With the silicone strap, it weighs just over 50g. The case is made out of fiberglass-reinforced polyamide, which feels like plastic. The watch glass is slightly recessed under a physical bezel. This will serve to protect the glass from scratches.

Both Xiaomi watches operate in the same manner - you get two physical buttons on the right side - one takes you home and opens the apps menu, while the other is customizable but takes you to the Rolodex of sports modes (which is also customizable).

Xiaomi went with the 22mm standard for the straps, which is a great thing as it’s by far the widest at this size - you can easily swap with any 22mm sized band you have lying around.

The leather band of the S1 feels more premium than what you normally get with smartwatches. It’s wider and softer than a Galaxy Watch3 band (the Watch4 ships with silicone). It’s a nice middle ground as far as quallity is considered.

But the rubber band feels better suited to the Watch S1. It’s similar in weight and size to Huawei’s rubber band for the GT2 Pro but isn’t textured like it. The silicone band on the Xiaomi Watch S1 Active is plain and unimpressive, but will more than suffice for training.

In closing on design and build, some may be put off by the lack of a smaller Watch S1 or Watch S1 Active option for a smaller wrist. There’s also no clever use of a rotating bezel or rotating crown, which gives some competitors an edge - you get two buttons and a screen.

Software, health and fitness tracking, battery life

The Xiaomi Watch S1 and Watch S1 Active use a proprietary OS with a preloaded set of apps and no way of installing new ones, at least at the time of this review. Xiaomi’s smartphone app does have a section for new apps, but there weren’t any available.

The app, called Mi Fitness is easy to use. It acts as a hub for your fitness and health data, as well as a place to change smartwatch settings like the watch face. And while on that topic, watchface selection is disappointing to say the least. You get around 8 preloaded watchfaces, of good quality. Some of the animated ones from MIUI are even available. But there’s a single additional, downloadable one for the Watch S1 Active and just 9 ones for the Watch S1. Competitor smartwatches have hundreds at their disposal.