Introduction
The Watch S4 could very effectively be Xiaomi’s hottest watch but. Our S4 evaluation’s recognition can attest to that. However whereas the full-sized S4 was centered on customizability, the Watch S4 41mm is locked in on being elegant.
It is also fairly female in each design and dimension. The 41mm mannequin is not strictly talking a ladies’s watch, however it’s shut sufficient. We discovered the watch too small for even probably the most slender of male wrists right here at GSMArena HQ.
Ours is the Sundown Gold mannequin, and it is probably the most particular of the Watch S4 41mm fashions. You even have a alternative of Black, White, and Mint inexperienced, although the distinction is principally within the alternative of strap and the particular customized factor that adorns the rotating crown.
The instances of the Black, White, and Mint inexperienced fashions are all shiny silver. The straps are both leather-based or fluororubber, although the Sundown Gold has a singular strap, which is a mesh of finely-woven metal wires.
Every shade has a particular accent embedded into the crown – the Sundown Gold has a “lab-grown” diamond, whereas the opposite three fashions have a color-matching middle.
The Watch S4 41mm ships with the identical proprietary puck-style wi-fi charger because the 47mm mannequin (and certainly seemingly all of Xiaomi’s watches). It’s essential match the 2 pins on the charger with their respective beds on the watch’s rear. It isn’t very best – we might love a place-it-as-you-wish charger.
Construct high quality and options
The Xiaomi Watch S4 41mm is not solely smaller than the common S4 but in addition has a barely completely different design. The most important distinction is the flush watch bezel. The 47mm mannequin has a screw-on bezel that protrudes over the glass, the 41mm mannequin’s bezel is flush with the glass and provides no safety.
The lugs are built-in into the physique of the watch, and the strap attaches to them (and never the watch itself). Within the case of our Gold unit, you’d discover it arduous to discover a better-matching third-party strap.
There are two buttons on the Watch S4 41mm – the crown, which each rotates and acts as a pusher, and the power-slash-function button beneath. Push the crown to open the apps listing, and rotate it to scroll by way of the completely different widgets on the homescreen.
The perform button will open the toggles display screen with a press and might rapidly launch apps or settings with a protracted press.
The strap has a magnetic clasp, which could be very handy for rapidly placing the watch on or taking it off.
However one of these clasp is not only a detriment to health and well being monitoring, however an impassable roadblock to it. I attempted to trace my sleep with the Watch S4 41mm for 4 completely different nights, solely to get up to seek out the watch had indifferent from my wrist and ended up someplace below the sheets – not very best.
And neglect about fast-paced exercises like operating, soccer, or basketball. The watch merely falls off after the primary low-impact contact.
So a no-go on well being monitoring, regardless of the watch’s wonderful well being suite. There are greater than 150 sports activities modes, deep-insight sleep monitoring, and even a pores and skin temperature sensor for feminine cycle prediction. Nevertheless, the strap clasp mechanism has proved a particular downside on this regard, primarily forcing you to decide on between type and well being monitoring.
Magnetic clasp
The show is superb. It is a 1.32-inch 466x466px AMOLED panel with a 60Hz refresh charge, and a peak brightness of 1,500 nits. The panel has wonderful distinction, it is razor sharp, and is seen even within the harshest of sunshine – high marks throughout!
The show is flat, wonderful
Not like most different smartwatches, which have a side-scrollable Rolodex of widgets and apps, the Xiaomi Watch S4 exhibits them in a vertical listing. This modification required some getting used to, however should not be an issue for long-term customers of the watch. Right here, swiping from the proper edge allows you to change the watch face. It is sooner than another watch, the place you’d have to faucet and maintain first.
Battery life
Xiaomi claims 8 days of battery life with mild utilization. That drops all the way down to 4 days of regular utilization, and as much as 3 days of heavy utilization. The heaviest utilization situation principally has all the pieces on on a regular basis – at all times on show, notifications, well being monitoring (together with coronary heart charge, SpO2, and stress), a number of exercises, and sleep monitoring.
There is a Xiaomi-developed T1 SoC to assist with effectivity and eke out the many of the 320mAh energy pack.
In our use, we had simply began our fifth day when the watch died. That included three exercises, at all times on show enabled, notifications on, and all of the well being monitoring options enabled all through the day.
Whereas it will not match the very best performers within the sensible wearable area, like Huawei and Honor, it is nonetheless a lot better than what you’d get from most WearOS sensible watches or the Apple Watch.
Conclusion
The Xiaomi Watch S4 41mm is nice at what it does. It is feature-packed, has strong specs, an amazing show, is well-built, and what’s key right here, it is trendy and enjoyable to personal and use. Get one of many fluororubber strap models, and you will get a complete well being and health tracker for just a little over €100. That is a strong deal.
Should you spend near €200, you will get the Sundown Gold mannequin we examined, which is all about appears to be like and really feel. It is beautiful, distinctive, and characterful in a means often reserved for devoted watches. It is not likely meant for use as a fitness-oriented watch, and that is comprehensible. On the plus aspect, utilizing it as a easy watch and never an all-out tracker means you will get nearer to the 8 days of projected battery!
