Xiaomi Watch 2 Review – Value King of Wearables

Unboxing the Xiaomi Watch 2

Xiaomi Watch 2 Review – Box

Starting off the Xiaomi Watch 2 review with the unboxing, the packaging is minimalistic, even by Xiaomi’s standards. It’s a white box with a picture of the smartwatch, the Mi logo stealthily placed on the top-right corner, and the model name listed on the bottom. Nothing much else to see here. Inside the box, we found the following items:

Xiaomi Watch 2 Review – Box content

• Documentations
• Magnetic charger (USB-C)
• The Xiaomi Watch 2 itself

Specifications

The Good

Xiaomi Watch 2 Review

There are a number of good reasons to consider getting the Xiaomi Watch 2. For starters, it has dual band GPS, both L1 and L5 to be precise. Under normal circumstances, the L1 GPS signal alone can provide reasonably accurate location data but with L5, the accuracy is even greater. When companies market their product with real-time and precise location tracking, this is the key behind it all. This isn’t even about just getting lost and finding your way back like a compass but for those who use the Xiaomi Watch 2 for physical activities that require a lot of movement, it’s easier to track yourself with this.

Furthermore, the Xiaomi Watch 2 has a good suite of sensors. This includes accelerometer, gyroscope, ambient light, electronic compass, barometer, and optical heart rate sensor. Not only will it be intelligently capable of detecting your surroundings within a 3-dimensional space, you get a richer, deeper breakdown of data on your health regardless of whether it’s sleep tracking, heart rate, or fitness level. Sure, you might be questioning its accuracy with these kinds of data but realistically, a truly accurate reading would require professional gear so just treat it as an indication rather than hard fact.

Xiaomi Watch 2 Review – Mi Fitness app synced to the watch

Next up, this one has gone from the proprietary OS as seen with its predecessor to the global standard Wear OS. This means that you get access to a whole suite of apps that have been developed for it as seen on other Wear OS wearables, enjoy a rich amount of customization especially for its watch faces, access to Google Pay, and more. Unlike other similar wearables however, you will need the Mi Fitness app to make full use of its features but it’s a small matter in my opinion. While it can work with the iPhone, the need for the Mi Fitness app inhibits its full potential on that platform but realistically, it’s a small loss since iPhone users are likely to stay within their own ecosystem.

With its move to WearOS, one area that it suffers compared to its predecessor is the battery life as it nosedives from a full week to less than half of that. This is to be expected given how much more complex this OS is but on the bright side, the Xiaomi Watch 2 has a pretty good battery life for its kind. While most will only give you a day and a half of use at most, this one gives you two full days even with a decent amount of usage as opposed to treating it as a simple timepiece. This is likely thanks to the larger 495mAh battery, being 60mAh larger than even the pricier Galaxy Watch6 Classic.

Xiaomi Watch 2 Review – Notifications

One thing I’m happy to report is that the Xiaomi Watch 2 is pretty comfortable to wear. The watch itself has a light aluminum body, lighter than even the Pro variant, while the band itself is made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). The band’s material makes it ideal for those who are looking to use it for workouts or just sweat easily, but this is also the one thing that makes it feel a bit cheap. With that being said, you can always change the band to something else if you want something more fitting for a casual / formal outing. Just make sure to get the right band size.

Lastly, the Xiaomi Watch 2 isn’t what I would call cheap but at RM869, it’s a pretty solid value for money proposition. With its competing rivals sitting above the RM1,000 mark, you get virtually the same thing. In fact, with its 2GB RAM and 32GB storage configuration, it has more memory than a good chunk of its rivals. The only thing that should stop you from getting this instead of its competition is whether you’re okay with the Mi Fitness app and if the others might be better suited to the smartphone you’re using. Otherwise, this will certainly be more than enough for most consumers.

If you’re looking for the perfect match for the Xiaomi Watch 2, check out our Xiaomi 14 review by clicking right here.

The Bad

Xiaomi Watch 2 Review

There are a number of drawbacks to consider for the Xiaomi Watch 2 as well. For starters, it looks rather dull. It’s a wearable with a flat, rounded display, rather thick bezels, two buttons on the side and that’s pretty much it. Adding a rotating bezel would instantly uplift the boring design but then again, I suppose that’s why it’s reserved for the Pro model. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing however as people who prefer simplicity would enjoy this, and looks are subjective so to each their own.

Next up, it only has 5ATM water resistance and no IP rating. I was hoping for it to be at least IP67 water and dust resistant but functionally, this is more of adding a boost of confidence with this. After all, 5ATM water resistance would still allow it to withstand water pressures in depths of 50 meters or less, so you can easily take it swimming with you. Just be a bit careful if you take it to the beach, not because of the water but you don’t want sand to invade its internals and damage the screen.

Xiaomi Watch 2 Review – Pins for charging in the rear

One issue that has plagued Wear OS, and it seems to not have been fixed in this iteration either, is the notification delay. From what I noticed, it seems to be affecting the ones that have frequent notifications like WhatsApp, Instagram, Gmail, and more. I have an odd feeling it’s happening in order to preserve battery life as at times, it’s a delay going from minutes to hours, and sometimes no notifications whatsoever. It doesn’t always happen, but it is indeed present. When it comes to Mi-related apps, notifications seem to work perfectly fine, likely because it doesn’t push out often rather than having some form of priority over other apps.

Lastly, the magnetic charger isn’t exactly the most convenient design around. Unlike those universal wireless charging pucks, the Xiaomi Watch 2 needs to be placed in a specific orientation for it to charge as the two pins need to be in contact, making it a little less convenient as you will need to put in the effort to look compared to most other smartwatches in today’s world. Furthermore, the USB cable itself is directly attached to the magnetic charger so if anything were to go wrong with the USB connector or the cable itself, you will have to buy a new charger instead of just replacing the cable. Another issue is that you will need to bring this around with you if you’re traveling as you can’t rely on Qi wireless chargers for it.

Xiaomi Watch 2 Verdict

Xiaomi Watch 2 Review

The Xiaomi Watch 2 is a solid smartwatch to consider given its price. It’s by no means cheap at RM869 but it does show that you don’t need to splurge in order to enjoy to the full Wear OS experience. Sure, it does have some areas for improvements but I would consider it a minor annoyance at most rather than a dealbreaker. At the end of the day, it ultimately depends on what smartphone you’re using, if you’re willing to make use of the Mi Fitness app, and if there happens to be other wearables that would be better suited for it.

At the end of our Xiaomi Watch 2 review, I award this smartwatch with our Silver Pokdeward.

Big thanks to Xiaomi Malaysia for sending us this smartwatch for the purpose of this review.