Redmi’s Note 9 series in China was accompanied by another device last month, the Redmi Watch. Given how smartwatches are gaining a lot of popularity and is all set to further grow in the coming months, the Redmi Watch with its super affordable price tag could turn out to be an attractive option in its price segment.
We finally got the Redmi Watch in our China office last week. So this is our quick Redmi Watch hands-on and we hope we answer most of the questions you have about the new watch.
Redmi Watch has a Simple Square design
The Redmi watch has a simple square 2.5D curved display, similar to the Apple Watch series. You get a single button on the right side, but most of the operations can be performed via the touch screen.
The square display has its set of advantages. You get a more screen real estate to display text messages and other data as compared to a traditional round dial smartwatch.
Note that the display area is quite small and there are thick black bars on the top and bottom part of the 1.4-inch 320 x 320 pixel resolution screen. However, the black background in the interface helps hide these thick bezels.
Redmi Watch is Light-weight and Compact
The Redmi watch is pretty compact with the following dimensions: 41mm x 35mm x 10.9mm. It weighs just around 35 grams, so you can wear it all the time even while sleeping.
The back sensors don’t protrude much from the body, so the wearing experience is good. The sides of the watch is also polished and curved, so it doesn’t feel cheap.
The watch comes with an optical heart rate sensor, six-axis sensor, geomagnetic sensor, and an ambient light sensor.
Features a Multipurpose Single button
The Redmi watch comes with a single button on the right side. The button serves multiple functions like lighting up the screen, opening up the tile-based list of app menu, returning to the previous menu, and even calling up XiaoAI assistant (Chinese only).
Its Features are similar to the Mi Watch
Almost 80% of the features of the Redmi Watch is similar to the Xiaomi Mi Watch, including switching songs, controlling the volume, receiving messages, measuring heart rate, sports tracking, and so on. The biggest difference between the two watches is that the Redmi Watch lacks the ability to accept or make phone calls since it doesn’t feature an eSIM.
Note that Redmi’s new watch cannot accept calls or reply to text messages. Also, you need to manually change the language of the watch via the connected app. We couldn’t find an option inside the watch settings.
The Watch can be used to make NFC payments/ bus cards
Redmi Watch comes with NFC support so you can make retail payments as well as access transport cards using the watch in China.
You should get around 7 days of battery life with its 230mAh battery.
READ MORE: Battle for Your Wrist: Amazfit Bip U or Redmi Watch, which should you buy?
The Redmi Watch is very Affordable
For 299 yuan ($46), the new watch offers a lot of value for your money. It has a simple square design with most of the features that you would expect from a smartwatch. NFC support (in China) is definitely an added plus. Retailers like Giztop has the watch listed for sale for $59.
So what do you think of the Redmi Watch? Are you planning to get one? The Redmi Watch is available for $49 on Giztop before December 15.
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