Samsung has been the king of smartwatches for Android phones for years, but it is soon set to get some real competition. After Google, Chinese brands have started to work on smartwatches running Wear OS. Xiaomi has announced its first smartwatch with Wear OS, and it plans to bring it to global markets.
Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro goes head-to-head against Galaxy Watch 6 Classic
The Watch 2 Pro is Xiaomi's first smartwatch to run Wear OS. It is a properly high-end smartwatch with a 1.43-inch OLED screen inside a 46mm stainless steel case with an IP68 rating. It also features a digital crown, similar to the Apple Watch and the Pixel Watch. This is where Samsung has created its own identity, thanks to its unique rotating bezel for smartwatches. The Watch 2 Pro has a dedicated shortcut button and 20 preloaded watch faces.
Qualcomm's 4nm Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chip powers this smartwatch. It comes with a 65-hour battery life promise, higher than the Galaxy Watch 6's 40-hour claim but lower than the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro's 80-hour figure. Xiaomi has equipped the Watch 2 Pro with 2GB RAM and 32GB storage (higher than the Galaxy Watch 6's 16GB).
Xiaomi's new smartwatch can also measure body composition, which was earlier only available on Galaxy Watches. It also features blood oxygen measurement, heart rate tracking with high heart rate notifications, sleep tracking, and stress measurements. It has dual-frequency GPS, though, which is not available on any Galaxy Watch, and it offers more accurate location tracking accuracy.
Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro is attractively priced in Europe
The Watch 2 Pro comes in Wi-Fi-only and Wi-Fi + Cellular variants, with the former being priced at £229.99 and the latter priced at £279.99. While Xiaomi hasn't announced when and where it plans to launch its Wear OS smartwatch, it could launch soon in most European markets where the company has its presence.
It costs much less than the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic (£449.99 for Wi-Fi-only and £499.99 for Wi-Fi + Cellular), and some of its health features are not exclusively available when used with its own smartphones, so some people might prefer the Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro over Samsung's smartwatches. It lacks ECG, though.
