Besides the Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro and Mi TV 5 and TV 5 Pro, the Xiaomi Mi Watch was also launched in China today, November 5. It can be considered the company’s first true smartwatch, after four generations of fitness-centric Mi Band wearables.

Priced aggressively at ¥1,299 (around P9,362 or $186), the Mi Watch is already available for reservations in its home country and will go on sale there November 11.

There’s an exclusive edition that features a sapphire glass display with a polished stainless steel body and strap. This premium model retails for ¥1,999 (P14,407 or $286), and it will be released in China in December.

SEE ALSO: Xiaomi Mi CC9 Pro launched with highest camera score on DxOMark

This 44mm smartwatch is the first to run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 3100 4G chip that’s paired with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. It has a sizeable 570mAh battery to boot. The closest smartwatch that can rival it in terms of battery capacity is the 46mm Huawei Watch GT 2 with its 455mAh battery. Xiaomi claims the Mi Watch can last up to 36 hours or two days on a single charge.

At first glance, you can already see what inspires its design. You see Apple Watch-like rounded edges and a standout digital crown button. The display seems a bit more elongated and more compressed.

Besides the crown, there is a microphone and a multi-purpose button on the right side. On the left, it has another mic and a speaker vent.

Xiaomi Mi Watch official product video originally posted on Chinese social media platform Weibo

The Xiaomi Mi Watch has an aluminum alloy body with a matte finish, while its back is made of ceramic. And at the bottom, there are the pins for the charging dock as well as the heart rate sensor.

The smartwatch comes with a 1.78-inch AMOLED curved touchscreen with 326ppi and sapphire glass protection. It supports low-power Wi-Fi 802.11n, GPS, Bluetooth 4.2, and NFC.

READ ALSO: Huawei Watch GT 2 review: What’s new, what’s changed

As with other premium smartwatches released this year, you can put an eSIM into the Xiaomi Mi Watch, which lets you connect to the internet using cellular networks or make and receive calls independently. Meanwhile, NFC allows for payment transactions using the accessory. Oh, and in case we forget, it can control smart home devices, too.

Xiaomi opts to use Google Wear OS as the basis for the MIUI for Watch skin. It will offer customizable watch faces as well as integrate the brand’s XiaoAI voice assistant. The platform will come with its app store, complete with more than 40 optimized apps, which includes QQ, WeChat, and Keep.

SEE ALSO: Honor Watch Magic hands-on: Easy to recommend

Rumor has it the tweaked version will be exclusive to Chinese customers. For international users, Xiaomi might opt for the traditional Wear OS platform. But the company hasn’t confirmed if the Mi Watch will be sold outside of its home market.

Besides its smart functions, the Xiaomi Mi Watch comes with the typical fitness-centric features, too. It supports heart rate tracking, sleep monitoring, and body energy tracking. The wearable also has a bloody oxygen VO2 max sensor. And according to one of the marketing videos, you can take it with you on a swim as well.

Xiaomi offers removable strap options for this smartwatch. Made out of fluoro rubber, which is skin-friendly, the straps come in white, blue, silver, and black.

---