Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite review: good and cheap
A TEST REPORT from Nils Ahrensmeier 
on May 25, 2021, 9:10 am | Write a comment
The Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite is now also available in Germany. We tested Xiaomi's cheap smartwatch.
Xiaomi is better known in the wearable sector for its Mi bands, but smartwatches are now also part of its portfolio.
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Design and workmanship
The design of the watch is kept relatively unspectacular. The rectangular case is directly connected to the bracelet. So you cannot change this and are limited to what Xiaomi gives you.
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- Picture: TechnikNews
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- Picture: TechnikNews
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- Picture: TechnikNews
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- Picture: TechnikNews
Display of the Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite
The watch's display is 1,4 inches and comes with a resolution of 320 x 320 pixels. Instead of OLED, TFT was used as the display technology, which lowers the price of the Mi Watch Lite. We have slightly larger display edges at the top and bottom, and the corners of the touchscreen are rounded. In everyday life, the display has a pixel density of 323 pixels pro inches very sharp. As a result, texts or icons are easy to read. Unfortunately, there is no always-on display, so the wearable must either be lifted or activated with a button.
With a brightness of 350 nits, the touchscreen is bright and easy to read in sunlight. The brightness can be adjusted either automatically or in stages.
The Mi Watch Lite has a TFT display, not an OLED panel. (Picture: TechnikNews)
Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite: hardware
The Mi Watch Lite comes with its own operating system, not with the complex Wear OS. As a result, Xiaomi has an expensive Proprocessor from Qualcomm. The manufacturer does not specify the size of the internal memory, but that is relatively unimportant. Since there is no app store and no music can be moved to the watch, it does not need a large memory either.
There is only one button on the side, which is there in apps for jumping back. In standby mode, the button is used to activate the display.
Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite software
The operation is mostly done by touch. The operating system itself runs quickly, but due to the lack of animations, the operation seems slow and sluggish. Most of the apps are classic smartwatch apps. For example, we have a stopwatch, an alarm clock (only via vibration) or a timer. These apps work well and are useful in everyday life. The latest weather data is received in the weather app via the Bluetooth connection with the smartphone. Due to the lack of an app store, I count the smartwatch more as a "fitness watch +".
The range of deliverable notifications is very similar to that of the Mi Smart Band, but the watch proFitted by its square design. Texts can be displayed better and emojis are now displayed correctly. Large apps like WhatsApp also present a small icon, otherwise you just get a universal icon. However, you cannot reply to the notifications, this is only available in higher price ranges.
Xiaomi uses its own operating system as software. (Picture: TechnikNews)
App
Xiaomi uses the Mi Wear app instead of its Mi Fit app for the Mi Watch and Mi Watch Lite. I really like it optically. Very clear, colorful and user-friendly. You will find a lot of health data there, more on that later.
The range of functions suffers slightly from this, but the most important functions, such as the individual activation of notifications for an app or the selection of the watch face, are available.
The app can be used on iOS and Android.
The app for the Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite is very clear. (Picture: TechnikNews)
Fitness tracking
Sleep tracking can be activated via the app and is pretty accurate. my Nest Hub (2nd generation) measures around 5 to 15 minutes longer for comparison, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. In addition, the battery life is reduced a little because the watch works all night. The exact values for all days can be viewed in the app, the daily overview is also displayed on the clock.
The tracking of the Mi Watch Lite is accurate (Image: TechnikNews)
Record workouts
There are 11 sport modes to choose from on the watch, although a distinction is made between running, for example, between treadmill and jogging via GPS. Other sports are trekking, swimming and cricket. For most of them, however, jogging via GPS will be interesting.
That works pretty well too. The GPS signal is found after 20 to 30 seconds and there were no interruptions whatsoever. In addition to your pulse, step frequency and altitude gain, the individual kilometers and the time required are also tracked.
Tracking is very accurate for the price. Compared to the TicWatch Pro 3 are measured around 100 meters less, I haven't been able to find the reason for this so far. Unfortunately, the music can no longer be controlled while jogging, so this has to be done via the smartphone or headphones.
The Mi Watch Lite records jogging via GPS. (Image: TechnikNews)
Battery
One of the biggest pluses of the watch is the battery life. The manufacturer promises a running time of nine days, in practice I came to eight days. So the promise is realistic and will be kept depending on the settings. I turned all the settings to the maximum and recorded a training session once or twice a week. However, GPS significantly reduces the battery life, the manufacturer promises 10 hours with activated GPS.
The watch is charged with an adapter. A charge from 0 to 100 takes about two hours.
Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite: conclusion
The Mi Watch Lite costs around 50 euros and offers a lot for it. A good display, long battery life and tracking of sports with GPS. You rarely see that in this price range. If you prefer something more compact, I can recommend the Mi Band 5. Unfortunately, this and its successor do not have a GPS. I would like to see improvements in the watch's software, which still feels in need of improvement thanks to animations. If you want a cheap smartwatch with many functions, you won't go wrong with the Mi Watch Lite.
