The Mi Watch Revolve was launched by Xiaomi a few days back at its Smarter Living event alongside the products like Mi Smart Speaker, Mi Band 5 and more. Everyone is familiar with the kind of finesse that the Mi Bands comes with. But that’s not the only band/watch that Xiaomi has to offer. With the launch of Mi Watch Revolve, Xiaomi is trying to take on Samsung and Apple in the smart wearables field. But the only thing is, it is priced at Rs 10,000. It is quite expensive than what people would have expected from Xiaomi. But then, there must be equally good features compensating for the price of the smartwatch. Let’s take a look at how the Mi Watch Revolve overall is.
Mi Watch Revolve Review: Design & Display
Xiaomi always focuses on the design of its products. The Mi Watch Revolve comes with a very classy design. You can wear it to your office for formal events, and you can also wear it when going to parties. The dial is 46mm broad and has a steel finish. The straps of the watch can be detached and changed quite easily.
The dial is quite thick and muscular so it would even look good on people who have a little big wrist. However, do make a note that the Mi Watch Revolve comes in only 46mm dial size. Talking about the straps, they are also a little thick and broad but are very comfortable against the skin. You can possibly wear them all day long and even while sleeping. There are two buttons on the dial, and both of them serve a purpose. One dial is used to access the menu, and the other one is used to power off and power on the watch.
Talking about the display of the watch, you get a 1.39-inch AMOLED display. The text on the screen is very easy to read and the colours that come are really crisp. Even under sunlight, it is quite possible for you to read and see what’s on the display of the watch. One of the best things of the Mi Watch Revolve is its always-on display which works well but also eats up battery life.
Mi Watch Revolve Review: Performance and Battery
Xiaomi has developed its OS (operating system) for the Mi Watch Revolve. This in many ways, has helped the watch being so impressive in performance as the software is optimised with the hardware. But since the watch does not run on Google Wear OS, there are a few advantages and the disadvantages.
The advantage is just that the software and hardware complement each other very well. But the disadvantage is that you won’t be able to download third-party apps from an app library. You do get to customise the watch through the Xiaomi Wear app, but the functionality of the watch remains quite limited.
There are a few more limitations of the Mi Watch Revolve. First of all, you can toggle notifications from the Xiaomi Wear app for calls and messages and receive them on your Smartwatch. But when you do, you won’t be able to interact with the notifications. To do so, you will have to head back to your smartphone. But don’t worry, you will be able to do basic things such as control the music playing on your smartphone from the watch.
As such the Mi Band, the Mi Watch Revolve also focuses a lot on the fitness of the users. You get different sports modes such as outdoor cycling, indoor cycling, trekking, trail running, freestyle workout, walking, and swimming as well. Even though there are a few limitations on the functionality of the Mi Watch Revolve, there a few other advantages of an in-house OS.
You will get a great battery life because of the optimised OS. The battery life of a Smartwatch is a very crucial element, and a lot of people do not notice it. However, with the Mi Watch Revolve, you get great battery life. You can charge the watch for two hours, and it should be able to run-up to two weeks without any further charging required. For example, I have started using the Mi Watch Revolve on September 29, with a 79% battery. And as of filing this review, the battery life on the watch was still at 12%. So you get an idea of how good the battery life is.
Mi Watch Revolve Review: Price and Verdict
Talking about the price, yes, it is a little unresting that Xiaomi has priced the Mi Watch Revolve at Rs 10,999. Honestly, I expected the price to fall anywhere between Rs 7,000 to Rs 8,000. But if you look at its competitors, you wouldn’t be too unhappy with the price.
Coming to whether you should buy this Smartwatch or not, my answer would be you can consider buying it. It all depends on the usage that you seek from your Smartwatch. If you want a Smartwatch with simple fitness features and limited functionality in an appropriate price range, you can take a look at the Mi Watch Revolve.
However, besides the bigger screen and full-fledged touchscreen support, the Mi Watch Revolve is very much in-line with the Mi Smart Band 5. For example, the fitness features offered by the Mi Watch Revolve are being offered by the Mi Smart Band 5 and that's priced at just Rs 2,499. Xiaomi should have at least added the ability to reply to the notifications via Mi Watch Revolve. But that's a bit too much of asking for the price it is retailing.
We are also expecting Xiaomi to launch full-fledged WearOS-laden Mi Watch to launch in India soon to compete with the Oppo Watch. The Mi Watch Revolve will retail at Rs 9,999 as an introductory offer for a limited period, so if you are looking for a fitness watch that also looks gorgeous, then grab the Mi Watch Revolve before the price ends.
