Xiaomi Watch 5 Review: An Affordable Wear OS Watch With Impressive Battery Life

On the connected watch market under Wear OS, two brands have been pulling at each other for several years: Google and Samsung. But this does not mean other manufacturers have abandoned the segment.

After a Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro launched in late 2023 and a Xiaomi Watch 2 released in early 2024, the Chinese brand returns at the start of 2026 with a new Wear OS connected watch, the Xiaomi Watch 5. Offered at a competitive price under €300, it also boasts a battery life of up to six days. Here is the complete review.

The watch in this review was provided by the manufacturer.

At first glance, Xiaomi has adopted a no-risk format for its Watch 5. We are dealing here with a round-screen watch, with thin bezels, with a 2.5D glass panel that protrudes from the case and hugs its edges. The Xiaomi Watch 5 also displays a pair of lugs on each side of the watch as well as two buttons: an oblong key at 4 o'clock and a rotating crown at 2 o'clock.

In short, nothing but very classic and a format that is not unlike that of the Xiaomi Watch 2 or even previous Samsung watches, like the Galaxy Watch 7, with the addition of the crown.

Materials and Build

However, the Xiaomi watch stands out particularly by the choice of materials. While the screen protrudes from the case, which poses risks of potential scratches, this is a sapphire glass protection. Similarly, the Xiaomi Watch 5 is equipped with a particularly resistant 316L stainless steel case that should provide good protection against scratches.

Weight and Comfort

Of course, all this has a cost on the weight side, with the Xiaomi Watch 5 weighing 56 grams without even taking the strap into account. The watch is also quite wide with a 47 x 47 x 12.3 mm format that should confine it to fans of large watches or users with large wrists.

In use, however, this weight is rather forgotten and, even without a sporting context, the watch manages to stay well in place. The fluorinated rubber strap provided by Xiaomi is elastic enough to adjust the tightening to the wrist size.

Aesthetics and Variants

Overall, the Xiaomi Watch 5 is therefore a beautiful success on the aesthetic level with a screen that occupies more than 69% of the surface of the watch. Choice materials, a refined crown, and successful finishes.

The Xiaomi Watch 5 is available in two colours, black or green, and certified 5 ATM. It can therefore be worn without fear in the rain, in the shower, or for swimming in a pool. It is not however suitable for diving.

Xiaomi has not done things by halves for the screen of its Watch 5. We are dealing here with a 1.54-inch AMOLED panel for a definition of 480 x 480 pixels, that is a density of 312 pixels per inch (ppi).

It is a little below the "Retina" screens of Apple Watches, at 326 ppi, but on a daily basis this is in no way bothersome. You can comfortably consult the watch screen at a reasonable distance without detecting each pixel individually.

Brightness

Furthermore, the AMOLED screen of the Xiaomi Watch 5 allows, according to the manufacturer, to reach a peak brightness of 1,500 cd/m². In use, during the two weeks of testing, I was never bothered by a screen that was too dim. Even in full training with strong sun, I was able to easily consult my pace or my heart rate without screen reflections obstructing reading.

The watch also benefits from a brightness sensor to automatically adjust the screen lighting to your environment. Naturally, it is also possible to manually adjust the screen brightness with 27 lighting levels offered.

Always-on Display and Watch Faces

The Xiaomi Watch 5 also integrates an always-on display mode to keep certain face elements displayed on the screen, even when the watch is in standby. The always-on display, like the function allowing you to lift the wrist to turn on the screen, can fortunately be deactivated on certain time slots.

Finally, Xiaomi offers no fewer than 46 watch faces preinstalled on its Watch 5. Most of them are customisable, at least in terms of shades, if not in the choice of complications. Equipped with the Wear OS system, the Xiaomi Watch 5 will be compatible with many third-party watch faces offered on the Google Play Store or on specialised shops like Facer.

The Xiaomi Watch 5 is a connected watch equipped with Google's Wear OS system, a first for the Chinese brand since the release of the Xiaomi Watch 2 Pro and Xiaomi Watch 2, in 2023 and 2024.

Here, this is the latest version of the Google system, Wear OS 6, powered by a Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 chip and a BES2800BP co-processor for less power-hungry tasks. We also find 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage.

iOS Compatibility

Like all Wear OS watches, the Xiaomi Watch 5 is only compatible with Android smartphones and not with iPhones. To configure the watch and pair it with the smartphone, you will have to go through the manufacturer's in-house application: Mi Fitness. Good point, it will serve both for configuring the watch and hosting health data, unlike Samsung or Google models which multiply companion applications.

Navigation and Controls

For navigation within the watch, we find familiar terrain based largely on touch. The two side buttons of the Xiaomi Watch 5 give access to additional options. Customisation of certain interactions is possible.

Gesture Controls

The Xiaomi Watch 5 also integrates detection of certain gestures to enjoy gestural controls, like Apple Watches, Pixel Watches, or Galaxy Watches. You can do a double pinch or a thumb swipe on the index to control certain actions like stopping a timer or answering an incoming call.

App Ecosystem

One of the main interests of the Xiaomi Watch 5 lies in the available app catalogue. Via the Google Play Store, you can download a plethora of third-party applications among the most renowned such as WhatsApp, Citymapper, Bring, Spotify, Strava, or Komoot.

You can naturally answer phone calls thanks to the integrated microphone and speaker. Contactless payment is also natively supported via Google Wallet.

Like any self-respecting connected watch, the Xiaomi Watch 5 naturally carries its share of sensors dedicated to wellness, activity, and health tracking. We thus find an optical heart rate monitor, a pulse oximeter, a gyroscope, an accelerometer, an electromagnetic compass, a barometer, and a GPS chip.

GPS Accuracy

For geolocation tracking, Xiaomi has chosen a multi-GNSS chip (GPS, Galileo, Glonass, Beidou, and QZSS) compatible with dual frequency (L1+L5).

To evaluate the GPS accuracy of the watch, I wore it several times for running training sessions in varied environments, both in the city and on a track or in a park. I then compared the distances and routes to those of a high-end sports watch, the Garmin Fenix 8, used here as a reference.

Overall, there is a strong variation in distance covered from one session to another. Even if the total distance measured is very close between the two watches, the routes signal some misses on the Xiaomi side. On the first route, there is a discrepancy between the Xiaomi Watch 5 route and the path actually taken on trails. The observation continues with the track session: while the Garmin watch shows the alternation between the first and last lane, the Xiaomi indicates a much more approximate route. Finally, in the city, the Xiaomi watch has trouble and tends to cut corners.

Heart Rate Accuracy

With its new Xiaomi Watch 5, the Chinese brand inaugurates a brand new optical heart rate sensor. It is equipped with four LEDs and four light sensors.

Compared to a reference cardio chest strap, the Garmin HRM 600, the Xiaomi Watch 5 measurements are rather close on long sessions, even if it tends to drift towards the end. Paradoxically, the Xiaomi Watch 5 does better on the VMA session, with two blocks of eight times 200 metres. The intervals are well identified.

Heart rate measurements on the wrist remain by nature less precise than via an armband or chest strap. We will regret that the watch does not allow connecting third-party sensors for increased accuracy.

Sport and Health Functions

Concerning health tracking, the Xiaomi Watch 5 can track sleep, blood oxygen level, stress level throughout the day, and even the breathing rate at night. The Mi Fitness application also offers menstrual cycle tracking.

However, unlike most competing Wear OS watches, the Xiaomi watch does not integrate an electrocardiogram function for atrial fibrillation detection. It also does not offer blood pressure tracking.

Concerning sport, the watch is capable of analysing more than 150 sports modes. The Mi Fitness application can also estimate the user's VO2 Max. The watch does not allow connecting third-party sensors. You can however configure synchronisation of sessions to Strava, Suunto, or Google Health Connect.

The Xiaomi Watch 5 carries a substantial 930 mAh battery. By way of comparison, the Google Pixel Watch 4 45 mm settles for a 455 mAh battery, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra a 590 mAh battery, and the OnePlus Watch 3 a 500 mAh battery.

Manufacturer Claims

Such a battery should ensure substantial battery life on the Xiaomi watch which promises up to six days of use in classic mode, 18 days in power saving mode, or 4 days with always-on display.

Real-World Testing

I tested the Xiaomi Watch 5 with the most power-hungry settings: heart rate measurement every minute, advanced sleep monitoring and breathing rhythm tracking at night, and SpO2 and stress tracking throughout the day. I also activated always-on display during the day, from 9 am to 11 pm.

With these greedy parameters, I was able to use the Xiaomi Watch 5 for three days and two hours before it ran out of battery. During this period, I also used the watch's GPS tracking for two running sessions, totalling an hour and a half of GPS tracking. More than three days of battery life under such conditions remains an excellent result for a Wear OS watch.

Charging

For charging, the Xiaomi Watch 5 comes with a magnetic dock with a dual-pin connector and a USB-A cable. We would have liked Xiaomi to finally switch to USB-C for charging. The brand communicates on a complete charge in 90 minutes and, in fact, I was able to go from 0 to 100% battery in just 76 minutes.

For connecting the watch to the smartphone, the Xiaomi Watch 5 is compatible with Bluetooth 5.4. It does not allow connecting to a third-party sensor in ANT, ANT+ or Bluetooth LE.

You can use the watch to answer phone calls thanks to the integrated microphone and speaker. However, in the absence of eSIM, the Xiaomi Watch 5 will require having your smartphone nearby to answer or make calls — the watch is not 4G compatible.

Positive Points

• Beautiful 1.54-inch AMOLED display with 1,500 cd/m² peak brightness
• Premium 316L stainless steel case with sapphire glass
• Wear OS 6 with full Google Play Store app ecosystem
• Mi Fitness app handles both setup and health data
• Excellent battery life for Wear OS — over 3 days even with heaviest settings
• 930 mAh battery — much larger than Pixel Watch and Galaxy Watch
• 46 preinstalled customisable watch faces
• Google Wallet contactless payments
• 5 ATM water resistance
• Multi-GNSS dual-frequency GPS chip
• 30+ sport modes and Strava sync
• 76-minute full charge

Negative Points

• GPS tracking accuracy uneven, especially in city environments
• No ECG function (unlike most Wear OS competitors)
• No blood pressure tracking
• No eSIM support — requires phone for calls
• Cannot connect third-party heart rate or power sensors
• USB-A charging cable instead of USB-C
• Heavy at 56 grams (without strap)
• Only compatible with Android, not iPhone