Xiaomi Watch S4 Review | Geek Lifestyle

It has been a year since the S3’s launch, so it makes sense that Xiaomi has unveiled its new Watch S4, a smartwatch that once again promises premium features at a price tag that won’t break the bank.

When we reviewed the Watch S3, we were impressed by its eye-catching design and robust health tracking features. Most of all though, we liked that it provided a premium experience even with its price tag of well below PHP 10k. As we liked the previous Xiaomi Watch a lot, we were interested in testing out this new model. After all, it promises to deliver a similarly premium experience, this time with a range of other improvements while still retaining the affordable price tag.

So, does Xiaomi deliver once again in making a great smartwatch? Here’s what we think in our Watch S4 review.

Geek-sthetic

To start, let’s take a look at the Watch S4’s design. Much like the S3, the newest Xiaomi wearable comes in three color options by default: Silver, Black, and Rainbow. The unit we got our hands on was the Rainbow version which still has a sleek black-colored bezels, but has added pops of color. The included strap is also primarily in black, though it has colored stitching on the sides.

While the design isn’t a massive change from the S3, the bezel does look markedly different thanks to its soft octagonal design that reminds us a bit of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak. That’s not to say it’s an AP clone though as you won’t mistake it for a Royal Oak given that it still looks very much like a Xiaomi smartwatch (a good-looking one at that).

Aside from the bezel, the biggest difference with the Watch S4 when compared to last year’s model is the rotating crown. This isn’t just an element added to enhance the look though as it’s a functional crown which serves as an alternate way of scrolling through the menus and apps, giving users a more tactile navigation option. Of course, the watch still has a touch display that you can use to navigate through the various features.

Speaking of the display, the Watch S4’s screen is a 1.43-inch AMOLED with a 60Hz refresh rate and a brightness of HBM 1500 nits. We found that the screen of the S4 can get plenty bright even when outdoors, so you won’t have to worry about readability when you’re out and about for exploring, exercise, or any other activity.

Even though the watch has a fairly large face, we found it to be a comfortable device to wear, enough that I had no issues wearing it while sleeping. I don’t typically like wearing smartwatches when sleeping (even if that means I can’t track my sleep pattern), though in my time reviewing the Watch S4 to test its sleep tracking function, I had no issues falling asleep with it on.

It is worth noting that, because it’s a fairly large watch, those with smaller wrists may find the watch a bit too large. While it won’t get uncomfortable, we can see the watch not being a match with some users on the style department, at least for those who prefer smaller wrist accessories.

If you’re fine with a big watch though, or if you actually prefer overwatched styles, the Watch S4 is one stylish device. Even with its included bezel and strap, we think it’s a stylish accessory. Now, if you want something different, Xiaomi has a range of bezels and straps available to buy separately, including Festive Orange, Pine Green, Liquid Silver, Dual-tone Ceramic (Blue-Gray), and Midnight Carbon. We particularly like the Dual-tone Ceramic and Midnight Carbon options, but there is likely something here for everyone.

Also, if you have a Watch S3, you can use the bezels and straps from the older-gen smartwatch on the S4. This is a nice touch for those looking to upgrade, not to mention that it gives users more options as they can buy Watch S3 bezel and strap accessories for the latest model.

Plus, you can also mix and match the bezels and straps with a variety of watch faces. We like the default option already, but it’s nice to have plenty of options if you want something that looks a bit more formal. It’s also good that the watch has a handy guide on which faces consume more or less battery, so you can optimize for longer battery life.

Everyday Reliability

The Xiaomi Watch S4 has a wide array of fitness and wellness trackers. Aside from the standard step counter, sleep, and heartrate monitors, the watch has a over 150 sports modes. Yes, it also has connectivity with popular apps like Strava and Suunto, meaning this is a proper, fully-featured smartwatch that should satisfy fitness enthusiasts. In that regard, the Watch S4 does not disappoint as we found the trackers to be accurate and responsive, with no major issues popping up during our time with it.

Thankfully, that’s also the case with its other features. As with most smartwatches, the Watch S4 can display useful info such as weather, notifications, and more. Much like with the health and fitness tracking apps, there were no issues with these other features.

This new smartwatch works best if you have a Xiaomi smartphone as you can take advantage of the Xiaomi Smart Hub as you can access features like remote photo-taking and find my phone as soon as you connect. While you can use most of these features with an Android or iOS device, you’ll need to download the Mi Fitness app and go through various app permissions to unlock all the features. This means you’ll need to do some setup work at the beginning, but this shouldn’t be a major issue. It also helps that when I got things set up on an Android phone from a different brand, I didn’t run into any other issues.

For battery life, the Watch S4 promises to last up to 15 days. More realistically though, we imagine that this will last for around a week-and-a-half if you’re fairly active. The fact that this can easily last for a week on a single charge (even with fairly heavy use) is impressive. Plus, you should be able to extend the battery life by changing the watch face or sticking to a lower brightness setting.

One thing to note is that when it comes to brightness, the auto adjuster works, but the selected brightness setting when outdoors is a bit dimmer than we like. This is not a major issue though as the screen still remained readable.

More than battery life though, what surprised us the most about the Watch S4 is how great having a rotating crown feels. The crown lets you scroll through the various features, apps, and menus. It also function as a home button which instantly moves you back to the watch face. The watch also has a handy button for shortcuts below the crown.

The addition of a crown isn’t really necessary as you can navigate the watch’s OS without any issues using the touch display (which is pretty responsive already). But we did enjoy having a rotating crown for navigation as the tactile feel it gave was much more satisfying for us, especially as it felt more natural than flicking through the screen. In fact, we hope to see this become a standard feature not only in Xiaomi’s watch line, but also in other smartwatches.

Final Geek Lifestyle Verdict

After testing the watch out, we can say that the Xiaomi Watch S4 does deliver on its promise of a premium experience. Aside from having a wealth of health and fitness trackers which were responsive and easy to use, the watch also has a great design that looks and feels nice. All of this while having a rotating crown that feels great to use for navigation, along with battery life that’s impressive given its feature set.

Overall, the Watch S4 is well worth checking out, especially as its starting price tag of PHP 7,799 (PHP 8,299 for the Rainbow version). Even if you’re already using a Watch S3, the addition of the rotating crown and the fact that the straps and bezels are interchangeable mean there’s a good argument for upgrading.

Xiaomi Watch S4 Specs:

47.3mm x 47.3mm x 12.0mm
1.43” AMOLED color screen (466×466) with 326 PPI, 74% Screen-to-body ratio
Strap: Fluororubber strap, Fluororubber strap+nylon strap, Leather strap
Sensors – Heart rate sensor (with blood oxygen sensor) | Accelerometer | Gyroscope | Ambient light sensor | Electronic compass | Barometer sensor | Hall sensor
IP68 Rated (5 ATM Water Resist)
Bluetooth (2.4 GHz, supports BT5.3), Dual-Band GNSS
15 Days Battery Life (typical usage time) 486mAh battery capacity
Xiaomi HyperOS 2
Price: PHP 7,799